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

Personally, I would just get the G2(or any existing one).

Look at this

OCZ Vertex 3 Pro Preview: The First SF-2500 SSD - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

With all those yada, yada about how fast the newest kid in the block is, it is only being translated into 20-25% gain in what people would use it for.

I just hope that these new releases would push the tried and true G2's price point lower and I would get it instead.

 

Some info about 25nm NAND.
And on the end they say that C400/M4 will hit the shelves in mid-March.

 

Tomy B:

That is a GREAT link! It helps explain things so I (an old ph4rt) can understand them, and dispels some of the rumor about the 25nm product.

 

Thanks, good info +1.

Wonder how they managed the same endurance, if it's more over provisioning space, and if so how much more?

 

My guess is they have a better firmware that reduce WA. If the drive is used in a sequential manner, its endurance is just simply PE cycle * size but no SSD vendor would quote that number as the write pattern is not always favorable. So it depends on the wear leveling algo to make it as close as to the above number.

This actually is not much different than a memory management system or a file system so they can borrow(learn) from that two fields where lots of research has been done(just look at java VM or all those new file systems in linux).

 

@htwingnut just wondering how is SB is handling the 4k random on your X25m, does it have the same defect of the past i7 with low 4k?

 

wow, this guy is aiming the post to some vendors

 

is it true that Intel SSDs would only work in ACHI mode ?

 

Here's CDM NOT in Safe Mode (if that matters).

 

Hi guys, I just got my 2 x 64gb crucial c300 ssd's and installed windows 7 on a raid 0 configuration with 128kb strip on my envy 15. But these scores seem rather low, I installed intel rapid storage driver and it doesn't seem any better. How can I solve this? Here are the benchmarks/info:

In short I get 337mb/s on sequential reads...
Here is a guy who has 2 c300's on his envy and his sequential reads are WAY better.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6483964-post5842.html


Help PLEASE

 

Don't know what is going on with reads, but writes won't get any better because 64GB version can deliver "only" 75 MB/s sequential write.

 

Yep I already know that, the 64gb version has 75mb/s and the write results are normal, the sequetial reads are the problem.

 

This just came to my mind. Not sure does Your Envy have that problem.

 

Yeah, I followed the guide to get better results, but still no go... Also look @ the last benchmarks of my previous post those are from an envy 15!?!?!

 

don't have time to look through the 877 pages of this thread lol.. anyone have benches of the 128gb corsair performance 3?

planning on getting one on my Sager NP8150 (check sig), but we'll see what Intel's G3 produces (heard it's released march 1st?)..

 

I thought G3's were going to be 160GB, 300GB, 600GB? 120GB is G2.

 

Ha, idk.. Either way. Edited it to be broader

 

I'm very new to SSD, I have never had one yet and I just read some basic informations here on the forum and some reviews websites.

For my new laptop (xps 17 with i7-2630qm, nvidia gt555, 12gb ram and fullHD screen) I was planning to add a SSD for the OS/programs and most used documents along with the defualt HDD for storage.
My laptop usage would be mostly web surfing and programs like Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Fireworks (light web graphics mostly). Occasionally also some CAD and Structural Analysis programs, in case I need to bring/use the laptop at work too sometime.

I'd like something around 100+ gb and cost effective. Don't need something super fast as long as it's good value for money.
Also something reliable/long lived would be nice.
Any suggestion on what I could buy?
Thanks

 

-> For reliability and longevity - Intel G2.

 

hmm... any other word on the intel G3's? I just got a job and have to move so I'm considering selling my Mac, and putting a bigger SSD in my Elitebook and taking that with me... I think I will need at least 160GB, but may consider ~240 (or 300) if the price isn't ridiculous.

I have a SandForce based SSD in my mac and it's amazing (even better then my G1 80GB intel). so I'm open to anything as good or better than that.

I'm move at the end of april so I got some time still. ( want to buy it here are the tax is way less).

 

Two diffrent statements regarding 2X nm chips from Mushkin and Corsair

 

Only downside to newer intels will be reduced write cycles - OK, light use and replacement every couple of years will keep you from exhausting the write cycles, but still...

As far as I can tell the new SSDs will be a worse product - but what do you expect of capitalists? They'll produce rubbish so you must replace it every year...
The Future of SSDs: How do semiconductor process shrinks affect the de - Storage Forums

And yes, I do view a more than 50% drop in write cycles as an offence to the buyer -> your key market is most likely to get anywhere near the write limit of current Nand flash (video editing, heavy photo editing, music production)

 

If you're into heavy editing like that then it's best to buy an SLC SSD which has something on the order of 100,000 write cycles. Yes they are loads more expensive but would probably cost the same or more to replace your SSD every six months to a year if you used MLC.

 

-> Exactly, a lot more expensive and much smaller.

Get an Intel G2 160GB and at 10.000 write cycles you are fine over 1600TB -> enough for the heaviest user.
Intel pretty much guarantees 20GB per day for 5 years (or 3?) - I managed that, and photography is just a hobby.

SLC - the 64GB Intel costs a little under a 1000€ - more than twice compared to the Intel - additionally, after you put an OS and the editing programmes on it, you don't have much space left.

-> SLC drives aren't the solution - 34nm MLC NAND is.
Now yes, there are valid SLC uses, e.g. servers - but even professional use would benefit more (cost value) from 34nm MLC

 

I have some questions regarding an Samsung SSD drive that I have recently acquired.

It is the infamous Dell / Samsung PM800 256gb drive with the VBM15D1Q firmware. I gather from my research that this drive was a decent drive out of the box but its lack of trim support hurts the drive over time. There are also other ways to try and keep the drive trimmed (Tony TRIM for instance). My questions are:

1. Is there an easy way to get the drive back to factory performance standards before I install the OS and spftware.
2. Is this drive worth the hassle with its lack of TRIM for an everyday, personal use system (email, web, media playback).
3. Are there any other (preferably free) means to keep this drive in check?
4. About how long does the degradation process take?

To try and answer any questions you guys might have:

1. I will be using the drive in either my XPS1645 or in an Latitude E4300 system.
2. The drive was free so I am not out any cash and do not have a warranty/return option.
3. It will be replacing a 250gb 7200 Seagate drive.

I hope this was clear and I appreciate any help, I know the answer probably lies buried in this or the older SSD thread but after hours of searching I am having hard time finding these answers.

Thanks for any help! Eric J.

 

I tried to read a bit more the forum and some external reviews.
All the following SSD have about the same price (about 200-220€) in my country (Italy):
Crucial RealSSD C300 128gb
Samsung 470 128gb
Corsair Nova V128 128GB
Kingston SSDNow V 100 128GB
INTEL SSD X25-M - 120 GB

My choice would be the Crucial RealSSD C300 128gb for the Sata 3 interface.
But I couldn't find much difference between the above SSD by reading the few reviews I could find. Any reccomandation or any to avoid?
Or should I just pick the cheapeast one? (even if just 10 or 20 € cheapter)?
Thanks again

 

I think Marvell still have god awful firmware issues. The Nova V128 I'm pretty sure is one of the old Indilinx drives. I can never tell whats in a Kingston drive because of their mad naming scheme.

The Samsung 470 and Intel X-25M are beast. I think both have pretty good Q&A. I dont know anything about Samsung firmware support but Intel's is pretty good and they have the best toolbox out there right now. I guess it comes down to whichever is on a deal but I'd definitely go with one of those two in the list you posted.

 

hmm, didn't realize that 25nm wasn't great... still if it comes out the 34nm will get much cheaper...

 

Issues with Marvell controller depend on the OEM. Because Marvell only design/produce the chip, OEM's have to write their own firmware.

Kingston V+/V100/V+100 use Toshiba controller which deigned with JMicron support.

 

Not as familiar with the PM800s, but if I recall correctly;

1) Secure Erase. Wipes out the drive and essentially sets everything to empty, which is what TRIM is supposed to do (in combination with garbage collection). Tony TRIM is essentially a secure erase intended to retain your data.
2) Probably. davepermen raves all the time about his Intel G1s that also lack TRIM, so if there's any significant degradation in his usage patterns, he hasn't noticed it.
3) You could also always image the drive, secure erase, and then re-image it back. That should basically be the same as a Tony Trim, with perhaps a few more write cycles involved.
4) Depends on your usage. Note that this degradation only affects writes; reads are unaffected. The problem, of course, is that Windows as an OS tends to do a lot of "random" writes, so that has a minor tendency to show up as slowness in response.

Not really. 34 nm flash is actually getting more expensive right now because stocks are dwindling and fewer fabs are manufacturing it. It's like DDR2 (34 nm) vs DDR3 (25 nm).

 

anyone have info or input on the plextor px-m2 drives?

 

@ yellowlt4: I have Super Talent MasterDrive SX 64 GB (PM800) which I don't use too "hard" (mail, Internet and studying). It has TRIM and GC, but TRIM is disabled because it stays in better "shape" without TRIM, so I think You should be just fine without it. Of course, if You have GC.

 

Torn between 2 drives here.Need some input people.

Wich one would you guys choose..

This one

Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

or this one

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series FM-25S2S-60GBP2 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)



Now if this was ram I wouldnt hesitate to get the G.Skill over the OCZ but this being SSD's im a little ify....

 

OCZ

10/char

 

Thanks for the feedback, it sounds like in my usage model and the fact that I dont mind imaging/reimaging this drive would be worth using.

 

Thanks, this was the feedback I was looking for. Does the drive with my firmware support GC, or is this something I need software for?

 

Well, as the drive was made before trim, and specifically designed with this constraints, it makes a lot of sense that trim doesn't matter much on it. the sammies i have work well without trim, too.

trim was mainly ment for more simple controllers that can't handle it themselves in some way. basically to let the crap that ocz spread stop stutter. trim obviously makes a lot of sense and is nice to have. but it's not the big holy grail thing. ssds made their uproar way before trim, and performed awesome way before trim.

ssds designed with trim in mind, though, obviously expect it to work. if it doesn't, they will degrade, as they are not designed for that case. i guess this is not true for the intel g2, as it's based on the g1 massively, but as i'm on win7 i don't really know both g1 and g2 intel work very well. gen1 now soon since two years? or something, don't remember.

 

Is my benchmark normal for my drive?

 

Was looking around and it seams that it doesn't have GC, nor TRIM.
I think only secure erase can help You.

 

Hello, guys. I am looking for a SSD for my Envy 14. I read a lot of review and benchmark of SSD. And I fix my choice on 3 manufacturer:

1. Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB 448$
2. OCZ Vertex 2 or Agility 2 240GB 429$
3. Intel X-25M G2 313$

My main daily tasks are:
1.High quality image processing.
2.Music composition
3.Programmation. Compilation
4.3D modeling. 3ds
5.Intense gaming session.

The intel one seemed to have the best random read/write stat and is very stable. But it has too less capacity...if they have 256 GB one, I will take it for sure.
And the 2 other are really faster than intel X-25M and have better capacity. But they are a little expensive.

So I am really confused right now and I don't which one I should take. Any ideas please? Thank you very much

 

Because of the HQ image processing, I'd forget the OCZ. The (current) Sandforce controller doesn't handle incompressible files very well, which would put you between the C300 and the Intel. Truthfully, apart from the incompressible file issue of the Sandforce, you wouldn't notice much, if any, difference between any of those 3 drives in actual use.

 

Is it true that the intel x-25M has slow speed in term of game level loading compare to Vertex 2 and C300?

I also read on some review that C300 and Vertex 2 have their performance dropped after a few days of use where as Intel X25-M has the some performance and will last longer than the two other. Is that true?

Thank you

 

Slow compared to what? Intel has average sequential reads compared with the newer tech drives, but 4k read/write is on par. Compared with an HDD, it wins hands down.

 

Kyoka Suigetsu, why Samsung 470 isn't on Your list?

 

The Intel may be slower than the Vertex 2 or C300 in game loading, but we're talking about a matter of seconds, here. As I said, the differences are largely unnoticeable. And in terms of the Vertex 2 or C300 dropping performance in a few days, only if you put them through ridiculously unrealistic usage scenarios. I'm talking about running huge benchmarks, constant writing, that sort of thing. Basically, if you just use them as "normal" drives, and don't go stressing them ridiculously (like by putting 3 TB through one in 2 weeks... oh, hi, tilleroftheearth ) then there isn't much performance degradation.

 

Ok, with the Newegg 20% off all SSD's promo, which SSD for a SATA III machine? I'm somewhat partial to Intel, but thought I'd consider a couple others:

120GB Intel X25-M $187
128GB Samsung 470 $200
128GB Crucial C300 $196

I plan on putting this in my new Sager NP8170 laptop with SATA III controller. I have an 80GB in there now, but thought when the time came I would like something larger in capacity and put the 80GB in my netbook.

 

htwingnut, try looking here and here.

For SATA-II I would go with Samsung, but for SATA-III it is hard to choose between C300 and Samsung.

 

Thanks. Can I assume same/similar performance for the 128GB versions of the Samsung? The C300 128GB seems to be lacking behind the 256GB Samsung and even the Intel 160GB by quite a bit.

 

I've owned both the samsung 470 and Crucial C300 and they are both great! The samsung is better at writing but the Crucial is much faster in the seq 4k read / writes and 4k read / writes. Also, the Crucial is obviously faster at reads (even in sata II mode) topping out on ATTO around 285 read.

So if I were to buy one again which would I choose?

Probably the Crucial just for the fact that it's more future proof. Meaning that it has the Sata III option if you decide to move it to another laptop / desktop in the future. Hopefully this helps!

 

Looking at the specs there is no difference between the 128/256 GB model.
The 64 GB model is slower in sequential writes.