In the market for an SSD

Hi, I just recently bought my new computer ASUS G53SW-XN1 and I was looking to add an SSD to it.

After doing my research I came across this one. Has anyone bought it? What can you say about it?

If you want to suggest other ones please go ahead, but keep this in mind:

• It has to be from a Canadian reseller, I don't want to pay extra duties.
• I'm looking for something in the 120GB range
• Budget is tight so price is the first thing I look at
• I care more about reliability than I do about speed

 

SandForce (SF) based - stay away if you really care about reliability in any way shape or form.

The most/only reliable option I can recommend is the Intel 510 Series drive - but way out of your current budget (sorry).

It is something that is worth to save up for though.

A budget is an arbitrary thing: buying a quality product is not, and by stating your concern about reliabilty then I suggest that you reconsider your budget.

The following Canadian store has these in stock and be sure to look into their 25% price beating policy too to get the best possible price.

See:
Solid State Drives in Canada at Memory Express


See:
Uber Price Beat Guarantee in Canada at Memory Express



A couple of other points to consider:

The 120GB capacity limits you in two ways: first, it is a slower performing SSD than the same model but with more nand capacity (the higher capacity allows populating all the controllers channels for increased performance and also allows the optimum interleaving of the nand chips on each channel to achieve an additional RAID0-like boost). But, as you stated, this is not a primary issue for you.

What could be an issue for you with the smaller capacity SSD's is that if you need to use all the capacity for your storage requirements, it may result in greatly increased WA (write amplification) ratios which could eventually affect the reliabilty of the drive. And even though you don't care about performance as much, this same factor could slow down the drive to at or below HDD levels - if you use/push the storage sub-system that much to drive it into a corner it can't work itself out of (through it's GC and TRIM cleaning routines). And if you do get to these HDD performance levels, what was the point of spending $$$ on an SSD?

Unfortunately, the 500GB HDD that comes with your new system is not doing it justice, I agree. But making a seemingly rushed decision to buy/own an SSD based on an arbitrary and much too low budget will not get you the reliability you seek either.

It doesn't seem you simply want to 'play' with an SSD - you want to have a system you can trust. I suggest saving up for an SSD with the capability to earn that trust, no matter what workflow you throw at it.

Good luck.

 

Crucial M4 SSD Micron C400 128GB 2.5IN Solid State Disk Flash Drive SATA3 6Gbps $199.99 CAD - Good ssd for the money, among the best peformers atm, and also one of the cheapest of Gen3 ssds, if you go this route, make sure you flash the firmware to 0009.

Or if you are fan of intel, and willing to spend an extra $100, Intel 510 Series 120GB Solid State Drive SSD 2.5IN SATA 6GB/S Elm Crest $299.99 CAD

 

M4 will be your best bet on a lower budget. And it's a very good drive too. Today the 128GB is $180 on Newegg, don't know if the deals carry over into Canada though.

 

M4 128GB is 205$ on newegg.ca, $200 at NCIX: NCIX.com - Buy Crucial M4 SSD Micron C400 128GB 2.5IN Solid State Disk Flash Drive SATA3 6Gbps - CRUCIAL TECHNOLOGY - CT128M4SSD2 - in Canada.

 

What I understand from this is that I I fill up the drive to much it will start to fail and become slow, right?
Well, besides from the OS, all I'm installing is a few programs and 2-3 games. And doesn't TRIM fix this?

3 people here suggested the crucial, and I've heard good things about it, I may end up buying that one. As I understand they use their own controller, right?

I was thinking of Intel but the 510 is expensive. Even though I do have enough money to buy it I'd rather save those 100 bucks.

 

Is the Intel 510 250Gb really worth the extra 300$ over the 120gb version for someone who is primarily gaming? I want to put my OS and some games on it. Would I notice a difference besides having space for more games?

 

The Intel 510 and Crucial M4 use the same controller in fact, a Marvell one. They also use the same brand NAND, but in different tech sizes (32nm for the 510, 22nm for the M4), and the only other real difference is the firmware. both are terrific drives, but the Crucial is certainly more affordable. Interesting to note is that in real-world usage, the M4 with FW0009 is now the fastest drive on the market, albeit only slightly over the Sandforce drives. But it is naturally more reliable and has a better reputation than Sandforce.

The Intel is great, so is the Crucial. Like you I could have gotten the Intel and gladly would have were the difference in price not so huge. Crucial has been using the Marvell controllers longer than Intel anyway (the C300 was also a Marvell).

 

I may actually end up getting the M4, seems like the best choice, considering its price and reliability. Does anyone have the G53SW and an M4? I read in the G53SW owner's lounge about some guy that bought one and seemed to be experiencing compatibility issues between the two (G53 and M4). He even said that ASUS emailed him confirming that the two were not compatible. I think that the person in the Owner's Lounge was experiencing the same problem as this guy.

I'm just asking to be sure, I don't want to take any chances, especially after what happened with my computer.

 

My M4 has been solid so far in my G73Jh, it is running on a SATA 2 port though. The one in my desktop (Asus P8P67 Pro motherboard) has been working flawlessly so far too. I haven't seen any complaints about the M4 and the G series (haven't looked that hard), i did see issues creeping up with vertex drives.

 

I would search on the G53 owners lounge, and see sigs, i bet you will find some, and then PM them and ask if they had any issues.

 

Why didn't I do that before? Haha, thanks!