SATA SSD vs. mSATA SSD in Sager NP9150

Hey guys, long time reader, first time poster with a question about SSD performance. I recently got a Sager NP9150 after reading numerous posts on this site and have really enjoyed it. I always planned to put an SSD in this machine, but have hesitated because I am struggling internally with getting a 2.5" SATA SSD and putting it in the main drive bay or getting a mSATA drive and leaving the stock hard drive in the bay. I know that the mSATA port is only SATA II vs the SATA III connection in the main bay.

My questions are:

1) Has anyone gone with a setup with the OS on the mSATA in a NP9150 and are they satisfied with the results?
2) Is there going to be a noticeable real world performance difference using a SATA II connection vs a SATA III connection?
3) If a mSATA Drive will perform at a fairly comparable level, is there a recommended mSATA drive (I have read about numerous 2.5" SATA SSD's, not as much on mSATA SSD's)?

 

Assuming an identical SATA (either II or III) connection - the mSATA Crucial M4 256GB SSD will not disappoint.

However, the difference between SATA II or SATA III is huge imo - it is like running a Core 2 Duo vs. an IB i7 platform - definitely noticeable and if 'stuck' with SATA II definitely not recommended if maximum performance from your system/platform is your goal.

M4 mSATA (256GB) SSD highly recommended - but not as your boot drive when you're limited to SATA II. This would be more like a 'side-grade' instead of a true 'upgrade'.

To be 100% clear: even at SATA II speeds, an SSD will be much snappier than a HDD - but considering that it can be even faster still.... it is in the 'not worth it range' - especially if your system is 8GB or more, has a quad core IB cpu and a dedicated video card.

It would be something like putting performance WalMart tires on a Ferrari (it will feel fast until the first turn...).



You may want to consider the M500 line of SSD's from Crucial too (both in 2.5" and mSATA formats) - 480GB/960GB (2.5") and 480GB (mSATA).

The SATA II vs. III difference may not seem that much 'on paper' - but in real world use it can take a modern platform (IB) and knock it down to 2010 levels...

Buy a good 2.5" SSD instead and if you need the storage space - get an M4 or M500 mSATA SSD too.

Recommended 2.5" SSD:
Intel 520 240GB SSD
Sandisk Extreme 240GB SSD
M4 256GB/512GB SSD

M500 480GB/960GB SSD (new model: proceed with caution!).


Good luck.

 

If you are in need of a raid 5 array, you can do that by getting an msata SSD, 2 of its 2.5' brother with identical speed in the main bay and the optical bay drive, but ONLY if you really need that kind of array, other than that I believe most people who don't need the DVD/BD drive will have a 2.5' SSD in the main bay, the HDD in the optical bay and an external usb casing for the DVD drive, just in case they need it.

Unless you really need both the HDD and DVD drive inside the chasis then the msata SSD acting as either a cache or OS drive will come in handy, bare in mind that the recommended capacity for SSD is 256Gb, 128Gb is still acceptable, 32/64Gb is only for caching purposes, you can hardly fit a game in a 64Gb SSD after OS and driver installation just so you know.

The recommended msata drive would definitely be the M4 msata SSD, its 256Gb version is cheap and well, needless to say, operate at sata2 full bandwidth.

As for the 2.5" SSDs, I would recommend those mentioned above and add in 3 more choices which is the samsung 830, 840 pro and OCZ vector, the reliability of the 830 cannot be unspoke of, if you can find a new one in the market, 840 pro and vector bumps up your performance further when under heavy load, IMO its snappier than intel 520 and have a cheaper price tag. Since this system only features one SATA3 port, I strongly recommend you not to waste the slot on a traditional HDD, havent been looking for the price of DVD/RW usb enclosure but a 12.7mm HDD bay caddy goes really cheap on ebay, and they all work as long as its shape is same as the DVD drive you have in hand, yes, you just need the shape to be identical and nothing more to insert the HDD and make it work

 

Id like to say that outside windows loading time and a fwe games that will load a tad faster there is not much of a difference between ssd connected to sata 2, 3. sequential speed is not most important thing on ssd. Random reads and writtes are at various depths.
That said my 50 cents would be go with msata if you can just so you can add 1 more drive via caddy down the road and get extra storage.

From my personal experience once window loaded there was no difference in 2 of my old systems with samsumg ssd drives connected to either sata 2 or 3. As a refference 1 system was i5 760 (1st gen) and 8gigs of ram with sata 2 and other was i5 2500k with sata 3. Both had samsungs 830 128gb. Other than a tad faster windows loading on sandy bridge system everything else was the same.