SSD/HDD order question

should i order my m17x with 512gb(2x256gb sdd) in raid 0 or just order a 128 or 256 ssd for booting windows and games and install a second hdd myself for storage? I really don't plan on storing anything on my laptop besides games so would the 512gb ssd's in raid 0 be the best way to go for me performance wise? money isn't a problem i just need second opinions i can always get an external hdd if i need storage.

 

I would suggest a SSD drive ti boot with, and a standard hard drive to use for files etc.

 

+1.

Any hardware you buy through Dell has a pretty hefty margin added. I would say that you're better off buying a single spindle-based drive (maybe a 500GB 7200RPM), and buying your SSD from somewhere like NewEgg. It's a bit more hassle than getting the system set up that way from the start, but it'll be a lot cheaper.

 

hardware pricing margin added by dell is true but my real question is about which would provide me the best performance and speed through gaming and load screens

 

SSD is faster than a standard HD by a long shot.

no comparison at all

 

so 512 ssd (2x 256gb ssd) in raid 0 provides the best performance, which i figured just wondered if it was the best route to go

 

I have a 256 Gb SSD as my Boot drive and use a 500Gb 7200 RPM drive as my backup

The only issue with SSD in Raid is the TRIM command is not supported, which is used to clean up old files

 

thats unfortunate is TRIM going to be supported in the near future?

 

Your best bet is the ssd to boot and a data drive if u can....for everything else.

 

alright ill keep that in mind and make it my preferred configuration for now +1

 

Your advice doesn't really hold true for SSD's, though. Dell's pricing for SSD's is very competitive. Dual 256GB SSD's are a $1040US upcharge. That's $520 each. Good luck finding a 256GB SSD on Newegg for that. Most are in the $600-$700+ range. There is some no-name-something-or-another for about $500, or the Crucial C300 (which I read sucks unless you have a 6Gbps SATA interface, which we don't), then everything else goes way up from there.

I am very happy with my two Dell 256GB SSD's in RAID 0. I've not really noticed a performance degradation due to the lack of TRIM. As a matter of fact, I reran ATTO on them today, just to see where they were after a month of use, and still getting 430MB/s on reads and 267MB/s on writes. Not too shabby.

Plus, I don't have to worry about what I put on which drive...one big, fast 512GB volume is great!

 

Well colour me surprised!

I never thought I'd see the day when one of the big PC manufacturers actually provides a component at less than the normal market price. Given that Dell's pricing is so good, I'd suggest that my original idea should be ignored and the SSDs should be ordered with the system (assuming that the total price doesn't become unaffordable).

 

What is you're CrystalDiskMark score? I got the same SSD's from dell in Raid 0 and I'm unimpressed. Very slow.. (for SSD's in Raid0 that is)

-Mike

 

no the price itself isn't the problem, my only concern is performance

 

I've seen a lot of posts here complaining about poor performance on SSDs, hence why I didn't get them. Can someone clarify the issue? Can someone also link me the best 256g SSD's on new egg to be raid 0'ed? I'm thinking about switching my dual 320's for a dual SSD config as well.

How much does it actually contribute to ingame performance?

Edit: Are these any good? http://www.adatausa.com/?action=product_feature&cid=3&piid=33

 

Looks like something isn't configured correctly on your system, because my scores are much better (see attachments).

Also, there is some inherent problem with the M17x and 4K read/writes and is being discussed in another thread here. But, overall, I think the Dell 256GB SSD's are a great value! Consider, too, that if you can buy with a discount or coupon, that the cost of the SSD's goes down even further, making them an even better deal! (The Dell Outlet has some great deals on M17x R2, and from time-to-time, has 15% or 20% off coupons!). Haggling with the phone sales people is a good way to get a discount also.

 

Not sure I would invest that much money in the ADATA brand...though for the price ($550) they look sweet! Sandforce SSD's have much better performance than the Samsung/Dell variety, but the problem then becomes that the drives are too fast for a RAID 0 system with a traditional 3Gbps SATA channel! Two of those Sandforce drives would saturate the SATA bandwidth, and you'd find that, although it's wicked fast, you are not getting the full potential of both drives.

 

Samsung SSD in raid (video is march 2009 so much faster now but fun to watch)

YouTube - Samsung SSD Awesomeness

Personally for my needs SSD in raid is overkill and I just use a single SSD with HDD for storing media. Technology is changing so fast and prices falling so quickly it really doesn't make any sense to buy an SSD drive that will last 100 years. Even Samsungs consumer SSD will last 1,000,000 hours. Buy just what you need now and buy what you need later at a fraction of the price.

http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/products/flash/ssd/2008/down/PB22-JS3.pdf

 

With a really fast single SSD and a big HDD as the 2nd drive, I agree. But, for me, between getting a few really good deals on M17x's at the Outlet, swapping parts and reselling, etc., let's just say that what I wound up paying for my two 256GB SSD's is next-to-nothing.