SSD Questions? Also, Best Bang-For-Buck 256GB Drive?

So I'm trying to find an SSD, because everybody in class is burning through their VMs like it's nothing while my insane computer struggles to keep up. So i'd like to get a 256Gb SSD to put my Win 7 x64 OS, Adobe CS6, Microsoft Office, all my main programs, and my VMs, of which there will be about 100GB/semester.

Firstly - is this enough space for my needs(OS, 100-150GB VMs, core apps, maybe Adobe CS6, link user folders to other drive)? Everything on my C: drive right now, which does not have games orI can offload my apps to another drive(I have one in my ultrabay) if need be, but those VMs need to be on there, otherwise I can't justify the price.

Secondly - How much space should be left on an SSD of the 240/256GB division? Should it have 10GB left? More? What gets the best performance?

Lastly, and most important, which is the best bang-for-buck ~256GB SSD? I'm looking at this site, because they are local. Look at the list, and tell me what you'd recommend for $200 or less. I'm wondering about the 840 EVO, or maybe the HyperX 3K, which is on sale right now, or the Sandisk Extreme

 

I would personally, go for Samsung, Intel or Plextor drives. I don't know how the new Crucial M500 is faring, so I won't recommend it until I know it's solid.

Regarding free space, it depends no what you do and who you ask. The consensus here about a year ago was ~80% used no more, but some power users would recommend ~50% free if you put the drive through a lot of I/O regularly.

 

From that site, the Intel 335 240GB at $189 is a solid buy. The M500 240GB should be avoided, poor performance.