SSD Thread (Benchmarks, Brands, News, and Advice)

I prefer real world tests in which the user is waiting for the SSD to finish a job, preferably measured in seconds. Like file copy, booting or loading applications and games.

For example:

Crucial's RealSSD C300 solid-state drive - The Tech Report - Page 5

If one is to measure multi task performance I prefer the way Laptopmag does it:

Intel X25-M G2 Review - Application Open Tests

The Hardware Heaven review is one of the best I've seen. It has several good benchmarks like file copy, booting and loading levels. It also explains in detail why IOPS have been overhyped:
Hard-Drive Roundup June 2010 - IOPS - Should you care?

 

One question, what would boot Windows faster ?

Intel X25-E (SLC SSD) or a Caviar SE16 640GB (HDD)

I would say the SSD, what would you say?
TIP (the difference between them is 6 seconds)
the answer is here

 

Yeah I'd say the same. I'd say there's something wrong in that test setup.

Techreport often have some strange discrepancies. Like the C300 being very fast in most tests and then suddenly being the slowest in the FF compile test. Or the Intel G2 taking twice as long in their Photoshop test.

Laptopmag does a very good job of making reviews comprehensive yet simple. Unfortunately they haven't published any SSD or HDD reviews lately.

 

That's what I am talking about
I have read many reviews but still I can't really decide about which one is more valid.
For instance would a C300 or vertex 2 on my laptop with the same configuration beat that 7 seconds boot time of the X25-E?

 

I've heard from a reliable source that the C300 performance on a laptop SATA 2 controller ain't all that.

That's another problem, a lot of these reviews like Techreport and Hardwareheaven use desktops instead of laptops.

Tough question. I wouldn't put my money on it.

The C300 does seem to be the fastest at sheer loading though.

 

Excellent point. If we think about the market, a very large amount of it consists of laptops. What about those people that decide to buy a SSD based on a desktop review? What happens when you pay a premium and you end up having the same performance with a half that price SSD?

 

As long as they don't know about it they're fine

I've upgraded from a Intel X-25V to Sandforce but can I really notice any difference? I honestly don't know.

I'm glad I got the Vertex LE second hand at a good price, otherwise I wouldn't be able to justify it for myself.

PS. I just noticed that Laptopmag might be doing a C300 review soonish. Although they said the same about the Momentus XT and that hasn't even been published.

 

The thing is that by the time Windows start booting, it is mostly reading from the SSD but there is some writting as well. The file systems performs quite some logging and this variable may alter many theoretical (based on benchmark numbers) outcomes. We also have to examine how well they perform and scale their performance on various CPU/RAM/CHIPSET configurations.

 

That's true, I wouldn't notice a difference either between a X25-E,X25-M or even X25-V

Yes, the prices are still very high

I wonder what would they choose as their testing machines? A mid range performance laptop? a desktop replacement laptop? what about netbooks?

 

Intel X25-M G2 Review - Controller and Test Methods

 

Ok so judging from these benchmarks
Bench - SSD - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
and from the article you provided what would you choose for your laptop?

I personally and from experience would choose the Intel one, but based only on those two links I wouldn't be able to decide

 

Well as you know by now I completely disregard Anand's benchmarks.

Going by the Laptopmag review performance is very similar. So I'd make my choice on price, capacity, power consumption etc.

If they'd cost the same I'd go for Intel.

 

Does anyone know something about OCZ Warranty?

I bought a second hand Vertex LE without receipt under the promise it would have (close to) three year warranty. It's a reputable seller so I kind of trust him.

Now I'm checking the OCZ website and it says I do need a receipt. And it says warranty is only for the original buyer.

Who knows how it works in reality?

 

Phil do you have any kind of proof that you paid a certain amount of money for this particular product? I would ask for a receipt though even if that amount was the 1/10th of the real purchase price. Worst case scenario an invoice maybe that would describe the product, the date of purchase and the seller... It would be better than nothing. (Is he an authorized OCZ dealer?)

 

Hello, was wondering if anyone could give me some advice?
I'm in the market of upgrading my HDD to an SSD in my M17x. I'm thinking about purchasing the Intel 160GB SSD but decided to make a post here first, to get other opinions on different brands to consider.

My budget is around $500-700. I would prefer if I could get a little more storage over the Intel. Around 250GB would be nice. Thanks in advance.

 

I have a bank transfer statement.

I think it's best I contact OCZ support and see what they say.

 

I believe 256GB OWC Mercury Extreme and Crucial C300 256GB are the top dogs within your budget.

Intel, while a reliable choice, is outperformed by these newer drives.

 

I agree that would be the best, and please let us know what they replied. I am sure many people will be in a similar position in the future

 

so just to be sure SSD has absolutely no influence on web browsing & downloading correct? that is 100% based on internet connections? also, do SSDs slow down overtime like hard drives do

 

Not 100% correct imo. I feel in IE tabs open faster with SSD than with my HDD. Also FF magic bar loads way quicker from SSD.

For most browsing the differences are minor though, it doesn't warrant the upgrade.

 

For the Internet browsing, if your browser uses your SSD to do the caching it will give an extra boost compared to an HDD but I would recommend to use the RAM for this reason, plus you save your SSD from additional writes.

 

aww i was actually hoping the ssd had a large effect on that. it was one of the reasons i was looking at the hp dm4t over the envy 14-- I could add an SSD for about the same price in exchange for a really nice screen. anyway about the second question - does the ssd slow down overtime like the hdd?

 

An HDD slows down because of fragmentation, or because the mechanical parts start moving slower after some time or due to bad sectors. With SSDs the performance can degrade due to the lack of TRIM or failing NANDs after many years of use.

 

Back at ya, Les. What looks good to you coming up? I sure think it wil be an interesting Fall for SSD's. Over a year ago I made a silly prediction that even Staples would have an SSD on the shelf by this holiday season. This would be proof that SSD's had made it to mainstream. I think I may still be right.

Dave

 

Going by the OCZ forum it doesn't look like I'll be getting warranty.

 

Your only hope then if something happens is to send it to the guy who sold it to you and he can RMA it for you and send you the new one.

 

Well he doesn't have the receipt either.

I've contacted OCZ Netherlands to see what they say. If they say the same I'll go back to the seller and return it or get a discount.

The price we negotiated was for a Vertex + 3 year warranty. Not a Vertex w/o warranty.

 

Dont really know as I have been trying to put my first system together to 'stay up with the times" eheheh (Rampage III Gene/i7-930/HSPC Top Deck/RAM?/Vid?/PSU?Cooler?). Having said that I will prob be grabbing one of the soon to be released C300's 64Gb?? to test out SATA3/USB3 within the next month. I think I am going to finally learn about RAID and oc'ing as well eheheheh.

 

Strange, while OCZ is saying on their forum they won't give warranty without a receipt, I've had three people telling me actually they do.

All good then, I'll keep enjoying my Vertex LE.

 

I had to RMA an Agility 120GB that I bought on eBay, no receipt was needed.

 

Great to hear. That's four different customers confirming it.

I wonder why OCZ doesn't confirm this on their forum. Reading they won't back up their SSDs w/o receipt is off putting.

 

Great price on those 300's! Amazing. You will love your new system. I still have not done RAID or OC, except for the most basic OC. But then I always set it back to default

Since I have no need for heavy video, I use the built in and can therefore build a quieter cooler system. I sure do want to get another 4gb of RAM though, for sure.

Both the Marvel and the SandForce controllers are very interesting. ANd I am very curious about the Intel G3 as well. Such interesting times! Dave

 

Hey everyone. I'm a noob when it comes to SSD's... and i can't get a straight answer on whether the Samsung pb22-j 256gb SSD is any good?

Model: MMD0E56G5MXP-0VA
Firmware: VBM19D1Q

Does it have trim on that firmware? its a dell model ssd...

I got offered it for 310$ shipped to my house. Should i go for it? Much thanks and rep to whoever can help me out The guy is waiting for an answer asap whether im takign it or not

 

OV A = older version (no TRIM feature)
OV B = TRIM enabled.

Alienware owners with Samsung PM800 SSD - TRIM now available!

 

Can i upgrade the firmware? And with Trim, is this a good/Decent SSD? or should i not bother with it... and keep my 310$ and save up for a g2...

EDIT: OK i read that page... and it says i MAY or MAY NOT be able to upgrade with firmware...and it might brick the SSD. If i do it properly, shouldn't i be abel to upgrade the firmware no problem? What to do what to do

 

Doesn't sound like a bad deal. But personally I'd rather have an extremely fast 128GB than a medium fast 256GB SSD.

Especially when the 256GB doesn't have TRIM.

 

If it had trim would you go for it? for 310$?

It should still be alot faster than my 500gb hdd at 7.2k no?

I've never been so undecided

 

Not worth the trouble after spending $310, IMO. (esp. the possibility of bricking your SSD)

Intel G2 is the better choice.

 

OK . i'll scrap the deal

thanks guys. I had a bad feeling as soon as no1 jumped on the offer after it being posted for a couple weeks.. 256gb at 300$ and no bites... sounded fishy..

 

It's not a bad deal and heaps faster than your 7.2k.

But do you really need 256GB?

We might have completely different storage needs, I could get away with 32GB and put my rest of the data on an external device.

 

I'm a Dj with 80gb or so of ever growing music on my current HDD that i need on my laptop at all times... with a couple of apps liek MS office, photophop, a few games, the os, and maybe a coupel of movies... what space am i left with?

I'm a GB Hog...

whats the ACTUALy space on the 160gb intels after formatting? like 145gb?

 

148 on mine.

 

hmm.. guess i'll wait till x-mas time... i heard prices are supposed to drop... as more and more brands will be coming out with good performance...and the newer 6GBps bandwidth should smash the intel g2...although intel will probably release one of those also... can it be.. a G3 ? Loll

 

if you are planning to put it inside your laptop 6gbps bandwidth is irrelevant as it only supports SATA2 (3gbps).

 

good to know

but i wasn't planning to get one as they're sure to be friggin expensive. I'm just waiting untill they are more popular so the sata2 ones go down in price

Also, anyone know if intel plans to release a 256gb model? that would be awesome and worth every penny for me

 

Cool, my Samsung coming with my Envy 14 is OVB (supposedly)

What is the command you can run to verify TRIM is enabled? I can't seem to find it, but remember seeing it at some point.

Of course at first I thought I was getting a bargain, it was $535 CTO upgrade to the 256GB SSD, and about $400 with 30% BCB, but seems you can buy the darn thing at eBay for $400. Yes I need 256GB. I'd like the Intel but 160GB is just too darn small for me.

 

Brian from Storagereview just posted this in one of the other threads.

 

Thank for the advice, I've been shopping around and I can either purchase the Intel 160GB X-25M G2 for $310 shipped. Or purchase the 256GB Crucial C300 for about $540 shipped. What do you guys think is the better deal?

 

I don't know how important capacity is for you.

Anything over 40GB is overkill for me personally.

 

It's important but I'm trying to get a good deal. So which ever deal sounds better in your opinions, I'd most likely purchase.