Best 160GB & 256 SSD

Hey guys,
Just wondering which brand and model SSD's i should consider buying for a laptop I'm about to purchase - Asus N61JQ-A1.
I don't really want an expensive one but one that make me feel the wonder of their powers.

Thanks,

 

For the 160GB, Intel G2.

For the 256GB, I'd go with crucial.

 

The crucial is fast, but I wouldn't get one until they figure out the firmware issues.

Crucial issues RealSSD C300 firmware fix, bricks more drives -- Engadget

 

There a very good thread on a sticky (lots of pages) at the top of this forum - but you'll find they generally recommend the Intel Drive. Got one myself - really enjoy using the system now. Well worth the upgrade price.

 

Intel G2 anytime

I'd not trust crucial even if they paid me a few thousand to use it...
First they can't test their drives and they die after standby... then loose performance... they issue a firmware upgrade and it leads top another problem...

 

If you 've got the money: OCZ Vertex 2 200GB and Vertex LE 200GB beat the Intel G2 in overall performance while consuming less power.

Intel G2 is the better budget choice.

 

Not that I trust OCZ to produce a SSD that doesn't fail...

And I'd still wouldn't ever recommend a Sandforce drive.

 

Well times are changing and it looks like the Intel G2 is coming close to end of life. Anandtech says the G2 will be replaced mid year.

 

So what?

The G1 drives are still working well for people who bought them.

The fact that they are replaced by an improved product doesn't mean they are bad - in fact, it was clear from very early on that the G3 will come, only question was when.

And on that note - if the G3 finally arrives it will most likely outperform all those other products

 

It means it's a good time to wait a bit.

I'm sure most people who bought the G1 one month before the G2 came out would agree

 

Not necessarily - especially if the G1 was cheaper.

Also, you can always wait for something better.

Why buy a laptop now - in 40 years it'll beat today's most powerful desktops...

If you want/need an SSD buy it now - if you don't don't.

 

OP, if you can wait a bit I would advice you to wait.

Sandforce drives are stirring up the market, putting pressure on the rest of the prices and Intel will be replacing the G2 soonish. How much more reasons do you need.

 

Probably still by the G1, only 5 weeks later when prices on the G1 dropped.

 

What is the time frame roughly we are looking at so we could see G3 or something else available on shelves?

 

This is what Anandtech said "Current roadmaps put the next generation of Intel SSDs out in Q4 2010, although Intel tells me it will be a 'mid-year' refresh".

So maybe June or July I would guess.

 

If it is June or July it is worth waiting but Q4

 

I have SSD Toshiba 256GB [THNS256GG8BAAA-FDE]
on ThP X200s with ram8GB (w7 ult 64-bit)

my Toshiba HG2 (256GB) compared with others
Spring 2010 Solid State Drive Roundup, Part 1 | April 7, 2010 – 2:00 AM
Spring 2010 Solid State Drive Roundup, Part 1 : SSD Roundup, Part 1: Getting Ready For SATA 6Gb/s
Crucial M225 (256GB);
Intel X25-M G2 (160GB);
OCZ Vertex (120GB);
Solidata K5 (64GB);
Toshiba HG2 (256GB)

Spring 2010 Solid State Drive Roundup, Part 2 | April 13, 2010 - 2:00 AM
Spring 2010 Solid State Drive Roundup, Part 2 : SSD Roundup, Part 2: Crucial's SATA 6Gb/s, WD's First SSD
Crucial RealSSD C300 (256GB, SATA 6Gb/s);
Kingston SSDNow V-Series (128GB);
Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue (256GB)

BTW for me
1. still is unclear optimalisation for SSD
2. TRIM command problems {G1 ssd; ICH8 chipset (old); SATA to PATA interface}

OTOH see also SSD Tweaker 1.3
Download SSD Tweaker 1.3 - Enhance SSD Performance - Softpedia

 

If that's an Intel G1 you don't need Trim as it has a built in "Garbage Collection".

 

I have used the next SSD's:

OCZ Core Series -> JUNK
Samsung First Gen 128 GB MLC -> NOT BAD
Samsung Second Gen 128 GB -> GOOD
Crucial M225 128 GB -> Very Good
Intel X-25 M 160 GB -> Very Good

I must say the Crucial and Intel feel the same in speed in day to day work, I'm using Win XP (still). I slightly prefer the Crucial because it feels a bit snappier in loading apps ( I do see better benchmarks with the intel on random 4k writes, for example when unzipping smaller files, but better benchmarks in reading with the crucial, for example in reading a large soundfile)

Personally, I would go for the Corsair Force series now, or maybe wait a bit as Phil suggests..

 

But when the G3 comes out, I'm guessing there will be a slight reduction in the cost of the G2 - Although the performance will be overrun by the new product. What would the price range be for the new G3 if i were to wait, for the 160GB or so.

Thanks

 

Well the G2 came in at the price of the G1 iirc.

If they do that the same way the 160GB G3 should costs about $400.

 

$400? I remember retailers selling those for at least $500 when they first came out.

 

Sandforce 1200 are the best consumer SSDs right now, a lot faster than the Intel 2G. Anandtech.

# Sequential Access - Read: up to 285MB/s
# Sequential Access - Write: up to 275MB/s

The Corsair's F100 version would be my choice if you have no budget. OCZ Agility 2 is probably the cheapest or Mushkin Enhanced Callisto when it releases on 5/25.

 

I know the ocz core are junk. But I heard that the vertex 2 are better than intel one. Is that true?

 

Yes, that is also Sandforce 1200.

Intel X25M:
# Sequential Access - Read: up to 250MB/s
# Sequential Access - Write: up to 100MB/s

 

Judging a SSD by it's sequential read and write speeds is a bit limited, but it's true the Sandforce based drives outperform the Intels in general.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/3690/...dforce-more-capacity-at-no-performance-loss/5

Yes but the G2 came in at the current price then of the G1, I expect the same for the G3.

 

except that sequential read/write is meaningless as no commercial users backup data on SSDs (unless he's made of cash or something).

 

That's why I pasted the image of PC Mark Vantage. It's not based on sequential speeds.

 

So worth the wait you reckon? $400 sounds pretty jet for a new generation SSD so I'm fair happy with that.

 

Looking at the specs of your laptop it comes with a 500GB 7200 RPM hard drive. Try it first and see how you like it.

In the mean time you can see what happens with the prices of the new Sandforce and Intel drives that are coming out. There's also good chance there will be good deals on the Intel G2 soon.

Or you could just get a $400 160GB Intel G2. It will be fast enough anyway. I would wait though.

PS. no one really knows what the prices of the G3 will be, we can only guess.