• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Best SSD => 120GB =< $319 US

Mindweaver

Moderato®™
Staff member
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
8,193 (1.50/day)
Location
Charleston, SC
System Name Tower of Power / Sechs
Processor i7 14700K / i7 5820k @ 4.5ghz
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WiFi D4 / X99S GAMING 7
Cooling CM MasterLiquid ML360 Mirror ARGB Close-Loop AIO / CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme
Memory CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600 / G.Skill DDR4 2800 16GB 4x4GB
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti / ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 V2 OC Edition
Storage 4x Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2, 2x Crucial 1TB SSD / Samsung 870 PRO 500GB M.2
Display(s) Samsung 32" Odyssy G5 Gaming 144hz 1440p, ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p / 2x ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p
Case Phantek "400A" / Phanteks “Enthoo Pro series”
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC4080 / Azalia Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply Corsair RM Series RM750 / Corsair CXM CX600M
Mouse Glorious Gaming Model D Wireless / Razer DeathAdder Chroma
Keyboard Glorious GMMK with box-white switches / Keychron K6 pro with blue swithes
VR HMD Quest 3 (128gb) + Rift S + HTC Vive + DK1
Software Windows 11 Pro x64 / Windows 10 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores Yes
Hey all I need a little help or a push!

I have an Intel 40gb G2. Now I would like to update my laptop that I use mainly for work. I want to install XP on to the drive (Please no one say WHY XP you should use Win7). I plain to upgrade to Win7 down the road when some of the programs i use support Win7.

Now for the big question! What is the best SSD greater than or equal to 120gb and under $319. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Sandforce 1200 is the latest and greatest for SSD. I'm looking for fastest read and fastest write possible for the price. And something that has XP software to use the Trim support feature.

I have been looking at the OWC Mercury Extreme pro, but I've seen some reviews and its not the fastest. Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
236 (0.05/day)
Location
Jersey Shore
System Name Everyday driver
Processor AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
Motherboard Asrock 870 Extreme3
Cooling Xigmatek Prime SD1484
Memory 4x GSkill 4GB DDR3 1866
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 780ti
Storage 2x WD Black 640GB RAID 0
Display(s) Samsung 245BW 1920x1200
Case Antec 900
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Corsair TX-850
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64 SP1
I don't think you can get TRIM support with XP. You could run Win 7 and use your legacy XP programs in Win 7 XP mode.
 

Mindweaver

Moderato®™
Staff member
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
8,193 (1.50/day)
Location
Charleston, SC
System Name Tower of Power / Sechs
Processor i7 14700K / i7 5820k @ 4.5ghz
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WiFi D4 / X99S GAMING 7
Cooling CM MasterLiquid ML360 Mirror ARGB Close-Loop AIO / CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme
Memory CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600 / G.Skill DDR4 2800 16GB 4x4GB
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti / ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 V2 OC Edition
Storage 4x Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2, 2x Crucial 1TB SSD / Samsung 870 PRO 500GB M.2
Display(s) Samsung 32" Odyssy G5 Gaming 144hz 1440p, ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p / 2x ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p
Case Phantek "400A" / Phanteks “Enthoo Pro series”
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC4080 / Azalia Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply Corsair RM Series RM750 / Corsair CXM CX600M
Mouse Glorious Gaming Model D Wireless / Razer DeathAdder Chroma
Keyboard Glorious GMMK with box-white switches / Keychron K6 pro with blue swithes
VR HMD Quest 3 (128gb) + Rift S + HTC Vive + DK1
Software Windows 11 Pro x64 / Windows 10 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores Yes
Last edited:
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
236 (0.05/day)
Location
Jersey Shore
System Name Everyday driver
Processor AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
Motherboard Asrock 870 Extreme3
Cooling Xigmatek Prime SD1484
Memory 4x GSkill 4GB DDR3 1866
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 780ti
Storage 2x WD Black 640GB RAID 0
Display(s) Samsung 245BW 1920x1200
Case Antec 900
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Corsair TX-850
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64 SP1
Have you tried running XP in a virtual machine? At work we use Oracle VirtualBox to do Red Hat Linux development on Windows XP machines. Never had any problems running Red Hat in a virtual machine. We also just started doing Android development in a virtual machine running Ubuntu. If I had Windows 7 I would try XP in a virtual machine for you but I haven't upgraded yet.
 

ebolamonkey3

New Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Messages
773 (0.15/day)
Location
Atlanta/Marietta, GA
System Name Norbert
Processor Intel Core i7 920
Motherboard Gigabyte X58A-UD5
Cooling Corsair H50 with 2x Scythe GT AP-14
Memory 3x 2gb G.Skill 1600Mhz C9 DDR3
Video Card(s) MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 465 GE & EVGA GTS 450 SC
Storage 2x 1Tb Samsung Sprinpoint F3 7200rpm
Display(s) Dell U3011, Dell 2408WFP, Samsung 2693HM
Case Lian Li V1020R
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium
Power Supply Seasonic X-750
Software Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
You can definitely get a 120gb Agility 2 or Vertex 2 for less than $300. Crucial C300 has the highest read speed though.
 

Mindweaver

Moderato®™
Staff member
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
8,193 (1.50/day)
Location
Charleston, SC
System Name Tower of Power / Sechs
Processor i7 14700K / i7 5820k @ 4.5ghz
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WiFi D4 / X99S GAMING 7
Cooling CM MasterLiquid ML360 Mirror ARGB Close-Loop AIO / CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme
Memory CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600 / G.Skill DDR4 2800 16GB 4x4GB
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti / ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 V2 OC Edition
Storage 4x Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2, 2x Crucial 1TB SSD / Samsung 870 PRO 500GB M.2
Display(s) Samsung 32" Odyssy G5 Gaming 144hz 1440p, ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p / 2x ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p
Case Phantek "400A" / Phanteks “Enthoo Pro series”
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC4080 / Azalia Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply Corsair RM Series RM750 / Corsair CXM CX600M
Mouse Glorious Gaming Model D Wireless / Razer DeathAdder Chroma
Keyboard Glorious GMMK with box-white switches / Keychron K6 pro with blue swithes
VR HMD Quest 3 (128gb) + Rift S + HTC Vive + DK1
Software Windows 11 Pro x64 / Windows 10 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores Yes
Yea, I've thought about running it in a VM and I do have a few VM's on my machine now, but I don't want to share space on an SSD for 2 OS's. If i could afford a 240gb..lol maybe.. I'm also running a good number of test DB's on this machine as well.
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
236 (0.05/day)
Location
Jersey Shore
System Name Everyday driver
Processor AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
Motherboard Asrock 870 Extreme3
Cooling Xigmatek Prime SD1484
Memory 4x GSkill 4GB DDR3 1866
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 780ti
Storage 2x WD Black 640GB RAID 0
Display(s) Samsung 245BW 1920x1200
Case Antec 900
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Corsair TX-850
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64 SP1
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
5,250 (0.90/day)
Location
IRAQ-Baghdad
System Name MASTER
Processor Core i7 3930k run at 4.4ghz
Motherboard Asus Rampage IV extreme
Cooling Corsair H100i
Memory 4x4G kingston hyperx beast 2400mhz
Video Card(s) 2X EVGA GTX680
Storage 2X Crusial M4 256g raid0, 1TbWD g, 2x500 WD B
Display(s) Samsung 27' 1080P LED 3D monitior 2ms
Case CoolerMaster Chosmos II
Audio Device(s) Creative sound blaster X-FI Titanum champion,Creative speakers 7.1 T7900
Power Supply Corsair 1200i, Logitch G500 Mouse, headset Corsair vengeance 1500
Software Win7 64bit Ultimate
Benchmark Scores 3d mark 2011: testing
u want my advice, if u look for extreme speed and equal to 120GB also 320$ range
2xOCZ vertex 2 60GB on raid 0 , nothing better at all
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
13,791 (1.94/day)
I don't think you can get TRIM support with XP. You could run Win 7 and use your legacy XP programs in Win 7 XP mode.

Actually with Intel SSD drives you get an on-demand TRIM tool which can also be scheduled to run daily/weekly or whatever interval you prefer. Not automatic on OS level, but it does the job.
 

GENTLEMEN

New Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
198 (0.04/day)
Location
Philippines
System Name needs a new case with good cable management
Processor amd phenom II 1055t @ 3.5GHz (250 * 12)
Motherboard Gigabyte 880GA-UD3H
Cooling Thermaltake FRIO
Memory 8GB DDR3-1600 Corsair xms3 (4x2GB)
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1 GB (FINALLY)
Storage Intel x25-m 80GB (boot), Seagate 80GB + 250GB + 1tb (Hitachi) + 300gb (Raptor)
Display(s) Samsung 2233sw
Case Antec 300 (way too cramped)
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply Thermaltake TR2 RX 650w
Software Windows Vista Ultimate x64
u want my advice, if u look for extreme speed and equal to 120GB also 320$ range
2xOCZ vertex 2 60GB on raid 0 , nothing better at all
He's using a lappy, so it may or may not support 2 drives. Single SSD would be better if the lappy can't raid.
 
Joined
Nov 21, 2007
Messages
3,688 (0.62/day)
Location
Ohio
System Name Felix777
Processor Core i5-3570k@stock
Motherboard Biostar H61
Memory 8gb
Video Card(s) XFX RX 470
Storage WD 500GB BLK
Display(s) Acer p236h bd
Case Haf 912
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply Rosewill CAPSTONE 450watt
Software Win 10 x64
A-DATA S599 AS599S-128GM-C 2.5" 128GB SATA II Inte...

A-Data, not the best known but according to it's spec's it has the great speeds. Idk how A-data does with their SSD's, but i had a set of ram from em that ran fine and still do in my bro's comp.

EDIT: saw the g.skill ones that people posted up, the phoenix Pro forsure.
 

Mindweaver

Moderato®™
Staff member
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
8,193 (1.50/day)
Location
Charleston, SC
System Name Tower of Power / Sechs
Processor i7 14700K / i7 5820k @ 4.5ghz
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WiFi D4 / X99S GAMING 7
Cooling CM MasterLiquid ML360 Mirror ARGB Close-Loop AIO / CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme
Memory CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600 / G.Skill DDR4 2800 16GB 4x4GB
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti / ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 V2 OC Edition
Storage 4x Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2, 2x Crucial 1TB SSD / Samsung 870 PRO 500GB M.2
Display(s) Samsung 32" Odyssy G5 Gaming 144hz 1440p, ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p / 2x ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p
Case Phantek "400A" / Phanteks “Enthoo Pro series”
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC4080 / Azalia Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply Corsair RM Series RM750 / Corsair CXM CX600M
Mouse Glorious Gaming Model D Wireless / Razer DeathAdder Chroma
Keyboard Glorious GMMK with box-white switches / Keychron K6 pro with blue swithes
VR HMD Quest 3 (128gb) + Rift S + HTC Vive + DK1
Software Windows 11 Pro x64 / Windows 10 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores Yes
I just pulled the trigger on the G.Skill Phoenix Pro with sandforce sf-1200 chip for 279.99 @ the Egg. It thought about the Intel but I couldn't drop down to 80gb and the 160 is out of my price range. I like my 40gb drive reads, but the write leaves a little to be disired. The indilinx chip is good, but I like the specs on the sandforce sf-1200 with it's dura last tech (wear leveling).

I've read a lot of reviews from mac users and they were good. I say mac because it doesn't support trim command like XP. I've already purchased win7 pro x64 a few weeks ago to test all the software myself, but i have one SQL server running sql 2000, and i'm worried it won't let me install query analyzer or the manager. I guess i'll see. hehehe Thanks guys for all the help! :respect:
 
Last edited:
$

$immond$

Guest
I own the G.Skill Pheonix Pro 120Gb. Pretty solid drive, I wouldn't settle for anything less that is unless you RAID 0 some Cheaper SSDs but you def lose TRIM.
 

surfingerman

New Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
209 (0.04/day)
System Name "The Triple Trader"
Processor I7 920 D0@3.8 1.175v
Motherboard Asus P6t Deluxe V2
Cooling Prolimatech Megalahems 2x 1800 rpm 27 Dba
Memory 3x 2GB Mushkin enhanced Balckline 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s) Saphire 5870(6) 2GB
Storage 2x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black
Display(s) 3x 24" dell u2410 1920 x 1200 (eyefinity)
Case Thermaltake Element G
Audio Device(s) HT Omega Claro plus
Power Supply Corsair 850w
Software Win7 64 bit
Benchmark Scores max stable 4.2 Ghz stable at 1.35v at 78C max semi-stable 4.494 Ghz at 1.4v (i don't want to put
OHH this is GOOD, SSD prices are finally dropping like a stone, they used to just stay flat for months!!



looks like the golden age of SSD is coming, id say golden age is when 120GB costs under 120$, looks like maybe 14 months?

also anyone know if all this SSD mania, will lead to increase in ram performance, or drop in ram prices, due to volume>? just curious would be awesome to have some 3500hmz DDR4 lol
 
Last edited:
$

$immond$

Guest
I hope within 3-5 years HD's will be phased out completely and replaced with SSDs.
 

surfingerman

New Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
209 (0.04/day)
System Name "The Triple Trader"
Processor I7 920 D0@3.8 1.175v
Motherboard Asus P6t Deluxe V2
Cooling Prolimatech Megalahems 2x 1800 rpm 27 Dba
Memory 3x 2GB Mushkin enhanced Balckline 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s) Saphire 5870(6) 2GB
Storage 2x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black
Display(s) 3x 24" dell u2410 1920 x 1200 (eyefinity)
Case Thermaltake Element G
Audio Device(s) HT Omega Claro plus
Power Supply Corsair 850w
Software Win7 64 bit
Benchmark Scores max stable 4.2 Ghz stable at 1.35v at 78C max semi-stable 4.494 Ghz at 1.4v (i don't want to put
HDs will always have a place as long as they're cheaper than SSD's
 

surfingerman

New Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
209 (0.04/day)
System Name "The Triple Trader"
Processor I7 920 D0@3.8 1.175v
Motherboard Asus P6t Deluxe V2
Cooling Prolimatech Megalahems 2x 1800 rpm 27 Dba
Memory 3x 2GB Mushkin enhanced Balckline 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s) Saphire 5870(6) 2GB
Storage 2x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black
Display(s) 3x 24" dell u2410 1920 x 1200 (eyefinity)
Case Thermaltake Element G
Audio Device(s) HT Omega Claro plus
Power Supply Corsair 850w
Software Win7 64 bit
Benchmark Scores max stable 4.2 Ghz stable at 1.35v at 78C max semi-stable 4.494 Ghz at 1.4v (i don't want to put
ok smart guy,
I heard that about floppies in 1995.
Floopies arnt chepaer than CDs per GB, i guess i should have added in cheaper per GB,

if i could put 600MBs on a floppy for 1/2 the cost of CDs then i would probably be doing it even if it was slower, however the point is almost moot as cds are so low cost the difference is in cents which kind of defeats the price issue altogether in which case the only decision point left is convenience and performance, if a SSD cost 10$ and a HD cost $1 id buy the SSD, however were talking much larger figures

so lat me qualify my original statement that HDs will always be here while they are margin-ably cheaper than SSDs per storage volume AND their cost has not become completely trivial
 
Top