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

ofelas, I think that setting only applies to spinners and would likely be useless with SSDs.

Mr. X. some benchies are in this thread posted many moons ago for the 256GB Sammy.

 

That may be true, but with a thead this long, I can't find it.
Mods - please prune this thread or lock it and start a new one. 5200+ posts is getting a bit ridiculous.

 

for me, it works better in bypass

 

We have this handy dandy little tool called search. Its even powered by google, so you know it works. And is taking over the world, but hey!

 

Agreed, Intel at it's worst still does better than most SSDs out there.

 

Not so sure if that's true with the Vertex drives with the new FW.

 

So, how do we get the latest firmware???

I have VBM15D1Q and I would like the newest (is it VBM1801Q?).

My drive is benchmarking around 100-130 on Xbench, but the random 4K read is pretty low (~3MB/sec).

I've seen other benchmarks more than twice as fast. Is this because of my firmware, or are others testing it differently than me? (I'm testing while booted from this drive, but got similar results when booted from a separate USB drive).

 

Can you post before and after benchmarks using either CrystalMark and HDTune? I am not doubting your word, I just want to see how big a difference it makes because honestly, I would think that there is some SMART-related firmware technique that makes the HDD quieter by reducing performance. It just doesn't make any sense that SSDs would support this feature.

I think OCZ has much to prove when it comes long-term reliability and overall performance. Their record in the past has been suspect which makes me weary. Many of us were BURNED by the original OCZ SSDs. So firmware or no firmware, I would have to see many more testimonials before I become a believer again. This is with all due respect to Anand's articles on this. The real test comes from everyday users over a longer, sustained period. Intel has no such credibility issues, despite their recent PR setbacks which they corrected with amazing alacrity in my opinion.

 

Just found a Japanese link with benchmark ratings of all major SSD's. If this link helps you in any way, please rep
http://www11.atwiki.jp/flashssd/m/pages/68.html?

 

Look at my link, Mr. X, it has IOPS for Samsung 256GB.

 

Thanks, Zephir.
+1 to you.

 

http://www.driveyourlaptop.com/video/what-is-flash-memory

I thought anyone who is still trying to understand exactly how Flash memory works at the cell level would be interested in watching this video. It explains the answers to a lot of questions in this thread, and in general is a very helpful video for people new to SSD's. Plus the guy's accent is awesome because you never know how he's going to mispronounce the next word, which makes it excitingly tense and you can't look away.

 

G.Skill w/ new Falcon SSD (Indilink controller):

http://vr-zone.com/articles/g.skill-launches-mlc-based-falcon-ssd-series/6919.html?doc=6919

 

New OCZ Vertex EX series announced:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/storage/news/2009/04/21/OCZ-Launches-Enterprise-Level-Vertex-SSDs/p1

It is based on SLC memory and it will be available initially on 60GB and 120GB flavors.

Max sequential speed:
Read: 260MB/s
Write: 210MB/s

 

Wow gonna cost an arm... and a leg... and maybe a kidney?

 

Meh!, can't be any more than $999 for the 120GB. That's only an arm and a baby kidney!

 

Yowza, I can't wait to see if those claimed sequential speeds are accurate, how its IOPS compares to Intel's SLC offering.

Edit: Wow, Tony is saying you can order 500GB Vertices by request it looks like. The catch is you have to order 100+ =(

 

I broke down and bought a intel x-18 80GB ssd to put into my dell xt2 and thought I would share my results with anyone interested.

Here is the crystalmark score with the latest intel firmware.



I find the 4k read speeds to be abit low though I have no idea why.

 

Now is really not the time to make a purchase, unless you enjoy buyer's remorse.

 

Things will always get cheaper and cheaper thats just how it goes but I got a good deal on it I think. Paid 300.

Ya just did some quick calculations only paying like 3.75/GB for 1.8 inch form factor. Vertex 60GB 2.5 inch on newegg is like 3.6/GB.

Also have to factor in that it only uses .15w active and even less idle. I think the intel wins =)

 

A 120GB SLC would be something to see. Prices have to come down sometime

 

And by "calculations", you mean you divided, right? Thought I'd spice this forum up with some humor!

 

Your sequential speeds are on the low side too. It probably has to do with the mobile SATA controller and power management features. That is the penalty of having a low power system.

 

haha (10 char)

 

Here's the crystalmark score for my new OCZ Vertex. Was just installed yesterday with the newest fw (1307) and a fresh install of Windows 7. Oh, and I aligned to 64 before the install.

How do these numbers look for this drive on this OS? Any suggested tweaks I can make? Thanks!

 

hi, i just receiced dell studio 1640 with samsung 256gb ssd, i dont feel like there is any speed diference between samsung ssd and 7200 rpm hard drive.
any software firmware i need to download?

 

actually, win7 aligns by itself so you made more work than needed. but it looks okay. maybe you can disable powersaving features for more speed. but in the end, it doesn't matter anyways. i guess it's fast enough, isn't it?

 

Install the latest intel storage matrix, and use ACHI mode, I believe you would see the boost. Vertex does not support ACHi mode directly when you do the fresh installation. if you are using latop, set your cpu and hard drive to the maximum performance.

 

C'mon Dave... I there ever really a fast enough?? It runs great. I definitely see the performance boosts over the 7200rpm Momentus.

I read that Win 7 aligns, but the step only took a minute, so I figures why not. Just wanted to be sure.

 

why not? because you can just trust facts? because you can trust vista/win7 for doing it right..

 

hey Guys

I am using AHCI mode on my x-25m on my dell 6400 Covet (vista64). I am not using the intel storage manager, would it increase throughput or add overhead?

 

Try cloning whole SSD to HDD after one week of working on SSD and let us know is there any speed diference.

 

How the heck did you get on AHCI? Did dell lock that option in BIOS?

 

Does anyone know how to enable AHCI MODE on the HP HDX16T?
I mean, I know I have it enabled and it's capatable but I am still on IDE MODE!
I don't care if I have to do a clean install or whatever.
I just want to be on AHCI mode.

I can't find it in BIOS because HP locked it out. It's not even an option on the BIOS. It's simply not there.

I have the latest intel MSM and I dont see any options to enable it. Can someone tell me how to move over the AHCI on HP's HDX16T?

I also tried asking in the HP forums but seems like all those guys don't know anything about AHCI. I assume none of them know what it is. Blah!


BUMP

 

Yes, it's a bios choice, SATA, PATA, RAID, and AHCI.

 

man you loev to argue!

 

Your random reads are a bit low Eric618. Here's what I get in XP:

 

Yes I do. Well, Microsoft statet only XP doesn't align partitions. I do trust them, it's their os.

 

1. battery life, my E6400 with 9cell battery can hold 8 hours working, thats the whole day.
2. I do notice the speed is faster than 7200. maybe your system is new,so u dont have too much stuff to load. as time goes by, 7200 gonna get slower.

 

sorry to hear that HP loced the ACHI mode? why? did you try to call HEP for a solution? this will be the first laptop i have known that ACHI is not a standard setup in BIOS.

 

Aligning SSD's...

Bit confused...
So does Vista need alignment then?

I am about to do a clean install with Vista 64 and am trying to figure out if I need to align the disk???
My Dell came set to AHCI in BIOS so that at least is good.

 

Yeah, I know, but I'm a real visual guy, and if I don't *see* it happen, I'm always suspicious. lol.

 

so there is no apparent speed diference between 7200 rpm hd and samsung 256gb ultra fast ssd when it comes to web browsing and office.
at least i have not yet found out what is the benefit of ssd.
vista boot up time is still over 1 minute on ssd.

 

Someone needs to get on this guy immediately!! My roommate was arguing with me yesterday (someone who has yet to even see a real-life SSD yet) about how an SSD doesn't sound worth it for the money, and I was telling him how everything in general is just snappier, and I used the example of Photoshop loading in 3 seconds rather than 23 seconds. He didn't seem convinced either...

 

My Photoshop loads pretty quick on a 500GB 5400RPM HDD. I want an SSD but until they are comparable to HDD in price (I'd rather have the storage within my notebook), I'll stick with HDD. Yeah, things will be snappier overall, but just a few seconds more, which is the premium some people will pay for. I realized that as someone who constantly puts the notebook to sleep and does little travel, the SSD wouldn't really benefit me. Not for the money, anyway.

So I understand your friend when he says it isn't worth it.

That said, I really want to get an SSD. I may get one by the end of this year, but I want at least 256GB with good performance with <$150. Am I dreaming?

 

maybe in another 2 years, when 512gb SSDs goes for about <$300

 

Vista with lots of RAM eliminates that benefit too due to readyboost.

 

No matter how many times this is said it's worth repeating.

Use your SSD for a week or two. Then go back to your mechanical HDD. It will be intolerable. I even have a fairly fast 7200 RPM desktop drive and it's unreal.

 

For now. Maybe not in a couple years.

 

bump for help.