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

It's described on the OCZ forums. They use HDD Erase.

 

Can anyone here owning the first generation SSD able to comment on its reliability?
I'm thinking of making the plung but am still getting mixed feedback on the long term reliabilty. I know that the speed does get affected with increasing cycles but I just want to make sure the unit will work in 3-5+years.

 

Not sure if this SSD is any good, but there is a Kingstone 128GB SSD on Newegg today for $159.99 with rebate.

Newegg.com - Kingston SSDNow V Series SNV425-S2/128GB 2.5" 128GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Best price I've seen for that capacity.

 

Have one in my netbook - good drive, dependable so far, just as some will point out not the fastest for benchmarks. But if you're replacing a mechanical hard drive you'll will see a speed increase.

 

Power consumption can be quite high though...

 

Make an image of what? Your current drive?... and restore that to the SSD? With a new SSD I always do a clean install of Windows 7 to make sure I have proper partition alignment. With these image creation and restore programs, you are not assured of proper alignment on an SSD and this can slow down the SSD a lot. As as for "all the fussing with it" -- no, you don't have to do any of that but you should turn off scheduled defrag for sure. SSDs don't need it and it will cause a lot of unnecessary writes to the drive.

Most of the "fussing" you read about has to do with prolonging the overall lifespan of the drive by reducing writes, since SSDs have a limited number of write cycles. But again, you really don't have to worry about it. Most of us just like to get the best speed and lifespan for our money.

 

Thank you everyone for your comments concerning "just running the SSD and forgetting the fussing" per my post. It is nice to know I do have a choice and can be somewhat lazy about upkeep. My statement about making an image is to do much like restore in Win 7. After a clean install and all new installs on programs then make an image so if I run into some really dificult trojan or virus to clean up I can just reinstall back to the last good image. I look forward to my new SSD as I feel the need for speed.

 

For people looking for an SSD deal:

See:
NEW! Best deal SAMSUNG MZ-5PA064/US 2.5" 64GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - LogicBUY


$99 for 64GB - this could be fine for a boot drive (or a netbook) upgrade.

 

Could someone please tell me the difference between these two, one says 7mm and the other is 9.5mm:
Intel X25-M 80GB 2.5" SATA2 MLC 9.5mm (SSDSA2MJ080G2C1) - dabs.com
Intel X25-M 80GB 2.5" SATA2 MLC 7mm (SSDSA2MJ080G201) - dabs.com
Thanks.

 

I bought this SSD in July 2008, sold it few months later, but it is still working like new.

 

They are equivalent except for the thinner housing.

SSD's don't need to be any 'standard' size - except to fit inside current notebooks.

If I remember, the 7mm version also has a 'spacer' to allow it to be used in a system that needs a 9.5mm size to fit properly (not loose).

 

Me and my ideas again!

If someone can and want buy that SSD for 99$ and then send it to me in Croatia just PM me. Of course, I'll pay all that.

Now You are asking Your self: "What I have from all that?"
Well, You'll make one average men very happy and You'll have a chance to play with that SSD for a few days, and all that for free!

Hope someone will help!

 

Thanks tiller for the quick response.

 

I was just going to PM you. Sold out. If it pops up again, I'll buy it.

 

Too bad it's sold out!

Thank You anyway! It's nice to know that there are people who want to help!

 

I'm getting ridiculously slow writes on a 80GB X25M-G2 on an Acer 1830T.

Clean OS, Intel RST drivers, AHCI. The drive was running fine previously on my desktop, didn't check when I slapped it in a G73JH.

Unzipping a file = 5mb/sec!

 

the pm55 tweaks will solve the low 4k random performance.

the low seq write might be caused by write caching disabled.

 

Thanks, that solved it for the 4k speeds but the low writes are still there.

Write caching's enabled (disk management, properties)... speed of unzipping a 188mb file is a meager 2.5 mb/sec

 

It might be the unzip program that you use is not utilizing your io and CPU resources effectively. There might be a better way to test write speeds..

 

@ lowteckh: Seq, 512K and 4K QD32 can't be any higher for Intel G2 80GB.

 

a quick question, whats the difference between Vertex 2 and Agility 2?

 

Quick answer: not much (basically, cheaper nand chips).

 

Vertex 2 has 4k random IOPS of 50,000
Agility 2 has 4k random IPS of 10,000

Otherwise basically identical, and for most people in real world use won't notice a difference.

 

Same NANDs by the way.

 

Phill please recommend good SSD for me..(120Gb or up)

I'm working @ studio, so I have to work with lot's of pictures and videos. (Nearly 5-6Gb write per day / Lot's of pictures/office document files + large Zip/Video Files as well as encrypted files)

I want drive to last at least 2+ Years without performance drop.

My current choice is C300/Vortex 2E/Agility 2E

 

bigspin,

I would rule out the Vertex2 (or any other SandForce based drive) on my experience with an Inferno in a similar usage situation.

I would be looking at an Intel G3 (coming soon...) or the new Samsung 470 Series.

Good luck.


Phil,

Although they can use the same nands - the 4K Random IOPS tell the true story (lesser quality-rebinned nand used).

 

Had to get it out here cause I have nobody else thats family just like you guys...

Woot!! Booked For CES and people are making appts with us! I hope to get some stuff up here for you guys!!!

Anyone else going to be there?

 

I notice some issue with Sandforce drives when it comes to my type of workload. BTW what about C300? Sammy's 470 still not available in UK.

 

Les, where is the CES meeting?

 

bigspin,

The C300 is great if you have a SATA3 port on your notebook (I don't think you do?). Otherwise, with a SATA2 connection, they don't offer a compelling reason to buy instead of other options right now (which you seem to not have).

Do you need to spend the money now for an SSD?

 

I brought ASUS G53, so my plan is buying new SSD now & do clean install.

BTW you know UK prices are quite higher than US & to make it worse VAT % will increase by 2.5% from Jan 1st.

Pre-Christmas sales are quite good tho...

 

Consumer Electronics Show...

2011 International CES, January 6-9

Las Vegas in Jan. Alot of SSD releases take place every year at CES.

The next is CEBit in Germany in March....That would be great!

 

CES is Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, Nevada every year. 2011 it's from Jan 6-9.

2011 International CES, January 6-9

 

I'd go with Samsung 470. Only downside is the price.

Alternative: Seagate XT.

No, check OCZ Tony posts. They use exactly the same quality NANDs.

The Onyx 2 is the one that uses cheaper NANDs.

 

Thanks. Damn that would be fun. Low $$$ this year so probably not for me

But things can and do change, that I know for sure!

Unless, unless... I put $50 on DOUBLE ZERO

 

If anyones interested will be letting go of a Sammy 470/256 in a few days...

Its here:

I just need it for a few days as I am experimenting with RAID now and want to try two 256GB Sammys together...

 

DARN, I swear if I had the $$$ I would buy it!

 

If I could come up with the money I'd buy it. Maybe I'll retract all my christmas games I'm giving away. lol.

 

256G SSD, S2, 2.5, Samsung, PM800 Does anyone know if this is the 470?

 

470 only available @ Amazon UK marketplace. 128Gb cost £250.

I an buy Corsair Force 160Gb for £240 with delivery.

Not sure what to do.............

 

PM800 is older one, Samsung 470 is PM810.

 

Anyone know where I can get a great deal on a decent 120-128GB SSD? I'd prefer Intel or Sandforce and under $200.

 

testing the new Corsair F90 now...First one out for review eheh.

Vantage brings it in line with the rest that I have posted in the 43000 point range... Hint Hint... If you are buying a SandForce drive, ensure it is recently released f/w as it brings it up to SF1500 standards.

 

can you show the evidence of this 50k IOPS? at 4K, this would be 195MB/s, but yet to see many benchmarks of this drive that get near that. is this new firmware or something?

 

No, manufacturer specs.

 

has anybody here used the GSkill Phoenix Pro 120GB?
planning to buy one for my X200.

 

Hmmm New firmware? SandForce? eheheh Just testing the new F90 and if you look at the last few SF reviews I have done, specifically the last few paras, it will prob all come together.

The new SF firmware avail only through new drive purchase is 50000 IOPS..

 

I just searched through this thread and can't find the answer:

The Vertex 2 "extended" versions, do they add space or just free up some of the extra space that was already there?

 

the latter.

 

Boo-urns. So I should just save the extra cash and buy a 100GB version, and it will perform the same full as the extended would at 100/120GB?

I hate marketing sometimes.