New SSD Drive for ASUS G53

Sold my old laptop, getting a new ASUS G53SW-XN1 from Newegg for $990 (after rebates), and decided to spent part of the savings (from selling the G51 for $1300) on a new SSD drive.

First, about how much space will the 60-64GB SSD have after format? Is it around ~48GB or more?

Second, the actual SSD. What are the best brands on the market for 60-80GB size drives that can be had for under $130?

Here are my possible options (all are SATA III since the G53 supports it):

Crucial M4 64GB - $119.99
OCZ Agility 3 60GB - $84.99 (specs/price are amazing but reviews are mehhh...any opinions on OCZ SSD products?)
OCZ Vertex 3 60GB - $129.99
Corsair Force Series 3 60GB - $119.99
Corsair Force Series GT 60GB - $139.99
Patriot Pyro 60GB - $119.99

Thanks a lot for the help, will be ordering soon tonight or tomorrow.

 

64GB SSD typically formats in around 60GB.

OCZ is dangerous, stay away. Crucial M4 is a good drive in your range, Intel 510 is a good drive too but I don't remember if they have anything under 100GB.

 

So you are saying this is a better option?

What concerns me are the stats that each one has...
Crucial M4: 415MB/s Read and 95MB/s Write
OCZ Agility 3: 525MB/s Read and 475MB/s Write

Why is there such a large gap in write speeds between the models? Also given that the OCZ is about $40 cheaper.

 

Stats don't really mean a thing during actual use, you will notice no difference when booting up, copying files, and similar tasks (at most you will notice a difference in a superficial benchmark)... if one boots in 18 seconds and another boots in 17.77 seconds, well that is not a noticeable difference; but if one would fail randomly and the manufacturer refuses to do anything about it even though it is a new product from them, or it has random freezes and other issues with operation because of the chip it uses, then those are noticeable difference (you can expect this sort of thing from a OCZ product; but not likely from Crucial or Intel)

With that out of the way, go for either the Intel, or the Crucial, both are reliable drives from manufacturers that have a very solid reputation for good products and support; if you can afford a 510 then get it, if you don't want to pay the 510's premium then get the M4


also, it looks like you mis-quoted the Crucial M4, on a SATA 1 connection it will get 95MB/s write.... but on a SATA III connection it will be closer to 250MB/s+

Also, you should be looking at the 4K speeds, as those are what effect real world use

 

ohhh that was what it was! i just looked on the specs page and it never mentioned a SATA I vs SATA III speed difference, only a "up to". That's what stopped me from ordering the laptop + SSD tonight, because the 95MB/s was so much lower that i would've assumed there would be a real world difference when comparing to something 5x as fast