Kingston SSD

[alucasa]

Hi.

I've been looking into SSDs.

My choice is either 80gb Intel MLC one which costs around 300 CAD or take a big breath and go for 128gb one.

Then, Kingston SSDNow series came to my attention which were considerably cheap compared to competitors. For the price I have to pay for Intel 80gb SSD, I am able to afford 128gb Kingston SSDnow one and save 20 bucks.

I know "You get what you pay for", but does anyone have any first-hand opinions regarding Kingston SSDnow SSD drives ?

 

[lemode]

Hi.

I've been looking into SSDs.

My choice is either 80gb Intel MLC one which costs around 300 CAD or take a big breath and go for 128gb one.

Then, Kingston SSDNow series came to my attention which were considerably cheap compared to competitors. For the price I have to pay for Intel 80gb SSD, I am able to afford 128gb Kingston SSDnow one and save 20 bucks.

I know "You get what you pay for", but does anyone have any first-hand opinions regarding Kingston SSDnow SSD drives ?

my understanding is that the kingstons are rebranded gen1 intel ssds...so they are decent. but the 80gb will be a better choice in the long run. that's just imo.

 

[alucasa]

Thanks, hm. Intel gen 1 SSD, eh.
I'd personally go for the latest technology especially when it comes to SSD...

 

[INFRNL]

it depends on which Kingston it is exactly. Some are intel based (40gig) and others are jmicron I believe.

 

[angelkiller]

it depends on which Kingston it is exactly. Some are intel based (40gig) and others are jmicron I believe.

The SSDNow series uses lots of controllers. Originally, they used JMicron controllers. Then Kingston released a 40 and 80GB version (under that brand I think) and those were obviously Intel rebrands. After everyone found out JMicron sucked, I think Kingston switched to Samsung controllers, and finally, as of very recently, they use a Toshiba controller. Obviously the JMicron drive is bad. The Samsung and Toshiba ones are decent, but both controllers suffer in small random reads. Not JMicron suck (I doubt they will stutter), but not as good as other options. So you do get what you pay for.

Meh. Anandtech (imo) has the most comprehensive reviews and recommendations of SSDs right now. It's my personal opinion that sticking with Indilinx is a solid option. (unless you have like $300+ to spend)

 

[alucasa]

300 (CAD) is my budget. I am currently leaning toward the Intel 80gb SSD. I am just exploring my options before making the final decision.

I think someone said that no rig is high end until a SSD goes in. And I fully agree with it.

 

[alucasa]

Just an update. I went for Kingston SSD 64gb. I know it's not the best one on the market. In fact, it was the cheapest one I could find.
I just wanted to give it a shot, wanted to taste what a SSD feels like.

And ...

Shit ...

I am never going back to traditional harddrive. Damn, this thing flies literally.

 

[INFRNL]

Congrats on your decision. Aren't the 64gb Kingstons Toshiba based? in the US this drive is priced similar to the Agility. I am very sceptical of the agility or at least 60bg as there have been too many problems with them for my taste.

Enjoy your new drive. I guess any ssd no matter performance is better than a mechanical drive

 

[Duffman]

Congrats. Lovin my Corsair P128 SSD.

 

[TotalChaos]

I just added the 64GB Kingston V Series today and it seems fine so far. I do some beta testing with Diskeeper so I am awaiting a reply from them as to if you need to defrag or let TRIM deal with performance

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

I have done a TON of research on SSD's and was seriously looking into the Kingston V+ series. From what I have found is that they are not good performers. IF you want a better drive for about the same price check out ADATA 128GB.

However I would just WAIT. The new controller is coming out and it has serious improvements. I actually returned the SSD in my sig so I can get one of the new drives with the new controller.

I will post some links...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3663/this-just-in-ocz-agility-2-sandforce1200-ssd

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2829/23

The Kingston V+ series has one of the worst write speeds. Also just a slower driver...Im still looking for this one really good review. Has the ADATA I mentioned.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/kingston_ssdnow_128gb/10.htm

 

[Velvet Wafer]

um... the V Series and the V+ Series are completly different SSD Series.
The 32,64,128gb V Series have an improved Jmicron controller with more cache, and tweaked firmware from Toshiba, but as OS drive they still seem to lag.
(except the 40gb variant, its a rebagded intel X25-X,which is essentially a X25-M, with half of the Flash Channels used)

the V+ Series features a Samsung controller.. i cant say anything to their performance, just that theyre not the fastest... can also be, that they also feature OS lag.

I would recommend you an SSD with either an Intel or Indillinx Controller

for Example:
A-Data S592S
A-Data SX95
all other A-Data drives feature Jmicron, and the SX94 and also probably the SX 93 feature a Dual Jmicron controller. improves speed, but still doesnt kill the OS lag wholly, from what i have heard.

i would you recommend one of these drives:
Crucial CT128M225
Gskill Falcon I and Falcon II (second sports 34nm intel flash IC´s)
Intel X25-M
Intel X25-M G2
Intel X25-E
SSDNow E Series (rebaged X25-E)
SSDNow M Series (rebadged X25-M)
OCZ Agility
OCZ Agility EX
OCZ Vertex
OCZ Vertex Turbo
OCZ Vertex
Patriot Torqx
Runcore Pro IV
Solidata K5
Solidata K6
Supertalent Ultradrive GX (former LE and ME) with either SLC or MLC

These are all equipped with Indillinx Controllers or Intel controllers. Only the drives i posted here, that i marked as "X25" or "X25 rebadged" feature the Intel controller.

if you have the money,and availability i would suggest you the Solidata SSDs, they seem to be quite a bit faster than ordinary Indilinx SSD.
I personally bought the Ultradrive, and im very pleased with its performance!

 

[Muhad]

Intel X25-M G2 80 or 160

 

[AsRock]

i got 2 Intel X25-M G2 80 and used them about 2 weeks now and they been great. Only issue i have had is running my other HDDs in raid but not looked into that so might be able to solve that issue.

Other wise very happy with mine and 1st thing i did is too make sure they up to date as the software requires it and the update is important.