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

Yep, they are the same drive, as far as I have seen from reviews.

As for Apex, it's not just the dual controllers but you also have the RAID controller taking up power. I wouldn't put all the blame on the 602, though I guess if it was a good controller, they wouldn't have had to do RAID.

 

I want a nice OCZ Summit or Vertex or Samsung (Corsair) 128GB SDD real bad. Or, maybe what Intel is coming out with shortly I want it to have the latest version of whatever controller it has. I figure I just need to wait a little longer as I would hate to purchase and then a day later have Intel come out with its 2.0 version

 

Uhh I had one bad fight with the new intel.

I couldn't screw out THE ONE HOLDING THE OLD HDD.

I've fought for hours to get that screw out without breaking the rest of the notebook. in the end, i used raw force to get the disk out, without the screw..

hate it. that's one thing i hate about the 1.8" world. not really userfriendly, only about size..

but it booted, and installed vista. so far so good. was quite fast at it, too. but now i have to install drivers and all. it right now has a one min boot delay while it tries to detect some hw..

 

Dave I feel your pain. What a bummer about that screw!

 

I got so mad, it's unbelievable. Right now I'm updating from winupdate. could be faster, but I'm on a slow net. lalala..

can't wait to finally have fun with the disk

so, maybe from tomorrow on, we can talk about two samsung 1.8" ssd that have no purpose anymore...

 

@Beersentes: I reccomend getting any SSD with an Intel (X25-M), Samsung (PB22-J) or Indilinx (Vertex, Ultradrive, ... ) Controller.

Sequential Reads and Writes are not that important. In everyday computing, you are looking for random access times, and at that the X25 is still king.

Also, with Intel you buy from a very reliable company. And besides, they need a little support after the big fine from the EU... ;-)

@Pipper: There is a tool to reset your SSD, called "safe erase" or something. Maybe someone else in the thread can help you. It just resets everything in the SSD to factory settings. After that, you coult try to update the firmware again. It's pretty bad that it didn't work for you, 8820 has a lot of advantages. Maybe you should return your drive if it still doesn't work then.

To install Windows, just pop in your Vista or 7 DVD and install it to the unassigned space. That should automatically quick format a new, correctly assigned partition.

@Samsung Controller: I'm really looking forward to the PB22-J, but they don't have them (yet) in Europe. Are the Corsair P256 and the PB22-J 256GB the same drive?

 

I ordered a corsair P256 and it has been shipped today

I hope it's faster than my Hitachi 5400rpm 250GB

unfortunately I can't try it till i finish my final exams 2 weeks from now

 

Why would you wait for samsung? you have intel, which is anyway better than Samsung.
btw. Samsung ssd’s are already in Europe, but it’s hard to get them. http://geizhals.at/?cat=hdssd&xf=1035_Samsung
I saw few shops having them, but the next day they were sold

 

@eney: The Samsung would be for my Eee PC. The X25 would be a bit overkill in a netbook. So is the Samsung, but i think ~150 Euro is more acceptable.

 

Thanks for that info, Tocharius: I'll look for that tool. Intel was good about trying to help me with the firmware update, but when I told them that nothing was working and requested a replacement, they stopped responding to my emails. It came installed on my laptop, so they would probably put the replacement responsibility with HP anyway. Fortunately, I got it through Costco, and I'm within the 90 day return period. Maybe Costco's concierge service can get me a replacement with the current firmware.

I tried the full format because after installing Win 7, I would get slow boot and shut down times after about 24 hours of use, then I'd reinstall and the same thing would happen (I'm sure that it was probably due to a Windows update or driver update that I installed within that time period). Anyway, I thought that I'd try a full format and then reinstall. Oops. This is the first time that I've tried setting up partitions and dual booting. I read a lot about it beforehand, even performed tweaks to optimize SSD performance, but I missed the "don't format an SSD" rule somehow. Live and learn. Thanks for the help!

 

@Pipper: Secure Erase, that was the tool: http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml

I think it's pretty complicated to get it to work, because you have to make a DOS CD and install it on there, somehow. Maybe someone else can help you. I'm still on my first SSD install, so i never used it.

What was the problem with your firmware update? Burning the ISO worked? Did it recognize your drive?

That would indicate how to solve your problem.

 

The ISO burned fine, but when I would attempt to run it, it wouldn't get past the opening message. Intel said that I needed to set my BIOS to Legacy, AHCI, or Compatibility mode, but HP has locked out these options on my HDX18. Intel then said that I needed to install the SSD on another computer that could be set to this mode and run the update there. I tried 3 other PCs, and the update ran to the point where it gave the message that "no Intel drive is installed on this computer", so it wasn't recognizing the drive on any of the other machines even though the drive would subsequently mount on these PCs after a normal boot. Intel then actually suggested that I go to a computer store and ask the management if I could install the SSD on one of their machines and attempt the update (this made me laugh).

 

I sprang for the OCZ Summit. It is my birthday tomorrow and I figured what the heck. Life is short. If I get jammed and need money, I can always EBay it I will keep you informed, I hope to have it Friday. I will be cloning it using Acronis Workstation. I sure do hope I can get it to work that way as there is no way I have time to do a reformat.

 

Congrats Cape! I may finally get one myself for the fall semester. I'm thinking one of the big Samsung drives. I love their low power consumption.

 

Yeah, it was time to take the plunge. I am always the optimist thinking I will get a windfall of some sort! Off to work I go!

 

good luck with it. i'm exploring installing and configuring my x18-m. so far, it's great (more than great.. it's.. wow.. and that for a guy who uses ssds since a while )

 

@Tocharius...thanks for the advice. The more and more i read about SSDs the more i learn (is that obvious ). I just read this damn 15 page reveiw and it seems the indilinx controlers reign supreme on random write times when writing on fresh blocks and when rewriting blocks. I'm not sure if these benchmarks were using x25-Ms with the 8820 firmware. I guess it's supposed to increase the drives long term performance, so i don't even know if it would matter.

But when you look at the overall test results and real-world application tests your right, the x25-m is still the king of MLC drives. Just goes to show that Intel knows what it's doing. I meen damn, their first SSD controller ever and it blows the compition away. It does make you think though: Should we wait until they come out with controller version 2.0 before buying out new drives? It will probobly be worth it, but with Intels but-crack tight security who knows when they will release that information (or when it will be leaked ). Looks like it's worth flashing to the 8820 firmware revision too: fared much better in real world apps.

Looks like i'm going with Intel's x25-m 80GB, it might the most expensive ($/GB), but shows to be worth it.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16848/2

 

cape, congrats mate !!!

for all you guys talking about how you should never full format ssd ?
what R U talking about ?!?!?
why not ?
I understand it makes your drive spend one hole write cycle....but it should be no problem...

 

Cape I don't have the Summit but I do have the actual Samsung drive and I haven't had any problems with them.

 

Yes, I am expecting relatively trouble free. I could have got the Vertex for a little cheaper, but the 128MB cache lured me in. Plus the Samsung controller, which I think will prove to be a winner. I hated to buy it when it is so new, but heck, there is never a PERFECT time to buy. And OZC has sure worked hard to make better SSD's. The Intel 80 was simply too small, and the 160 too expensive. Fingers crossed.

 

No need to worry, just enjoy it!

Btw: Happy birthday! I wish You a new SSD for every birthday!

 

It's not called XtremeSystems for nothing:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3841480

 

^^

Biggest waste of money. Ever.

 

Geez no kidding...I think the top priority should be to replace that hideous carpet

 

I don't know if this was already mention, but the summit (2nd gen samsung controller) has some sort of auto-trim thingy if left idle.

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=397584&postcount=31

 

I want to know what RAID controller he has for those 10 Samsung drives. RAID 0 with anything more than 2 drives is really stupid, the performance scaling isn't good enough to be worth it unless you entertain yourself by moving large files back and forth all day.

 

sounds like it

---

on the full formating issue: If you do full format of your SSD then you'll find out the real speed of the drive when it's full, which can and will most likely happen, sooner or later.

 

OK, I am getting quite excited about my Summit! I am going to clone it using ESata and Acronis Workstation and then simply place it in the laptop and I hope to be up and running. Fast. That is kind of the whole point I have had bad luck with shipping lately, so I figure it will be here by Friday It would be too much to expect it to arrive on my actual birthday

 

well, I know my slc 64 had performance drop after some iometre tests, but, next day all came back to normal, where intel drives couldn't do that...

 

Guys, I have a question regarding the Vertex.

I currently have a number of VTX250's distributed amongst 4 Dell Precision M6400's running Vista64 (all RAID0), as well as two Macbooks, two 15's and three 17's running OS X only.

I tried flashing one of the Dells using the OCZ-supplied tools a few weeks ago but it didn't work under V64, and the advice on the forums didn't work either. I bought the VTX's in three batches, from probably two different stock landings - one unit for testing, then straight after most of the SSD's for the Dells, then followed by a long wait for stock to complete the upgrades.

I believe even the latest drives need at least one step of firmware upgrade. Obviously when I bought them for the performance, I didn't realise that a firmware upgrade would actually be important in realising peak performance - I was thinking about them like regular HDD's. I'm a little peeved over the flurry of actually worthwhile releases for the above reason.

What I'm looking for is a hassle-free way to do this under V64 and/or OS X. I have no system which run XP - the only machines I have with readily accessible HDD bays, whether desktop or laptop, run V64 or OS X - and the fact that the abovementioned machines are not in the same location also complicates things a little. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

@Cape
I seriously hope you didn't get the 250gb summit. It is insanely over priced compared to the other 256gb second gen samsung drives.....

 

Well i just ordered the supertalent ultradrive ME 128GB drive. I would have prefered the 256GB Samsung, but for 355 i cant really complain much and i have a 500GB drive in my second drive bay so i should still have enough storage to carry around what i need to.

Yay i'm offically a member of the SSD club

Should be here tomorrow... i'm so excited

From everyone with the Indilinx controllers... is the 260/195 read/write speeds for real? Because thats pretty impressive (almost maxes out SATA). If i can get anything near that i'll be happy. As all i plan to do is mostly OS and Reads from the drive it should be good though.

 

Hi does anyone know what is the most power conserative 128GB SSD SATA 2.5 drive? I would prefer one also from a well known brand. I would like it to be a decent performer as well.
I would also prefer an SLC drive but I have noticed that they seem to stop at 64GB from most drives.
I would search the thread but that is just not possible at the moment.

 

Hi Rachel,

The Vertex EX meets your criteria, but if you're not ready to spend that much on a SSD, the regular 128GB Vertex is definitely worth considering.

 

laserbullet thanks for your help. With those prices i think i might have to consider the 60GB version as well.

 

The Samsung drives thend to have the best power consumption, but its a bit hard to find the 128ish sized drive with the 2nd generation controllers they came out with.

Other than that yeah the vertex is a solid preformer and power usage drive

 

@Rachel

Hey, anything with a Samsung controller is the king of power conservation. At idle, the Samsung PB22-J and the Corsair P256 barely consume a quarter of a watt, which is less than half the power demanded by the Intel X25-M (those are 256GB drives, but they are the only ones I could find a review that included power consumption on). You can't buy the actual Samsung drive, they only come in prefabed books. The Corsair S128 uses a 2nd gen Samsung controller too, so you figure it should have the same power saving possibilities...right?

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16848/13

 

Kamin and Beersentes, thank you for your help. The link about the power consumption is very helpful. Now i will see if i can go and track down some of those drives. I might have to forget about the SLC V MLC thing.

 

no worries

SLC is the best of the best, but an MLC drive is still so far above mechanical Hard Drives that you shouldnt have a problem

 

Agree with Kamin Majere. SLC drives like the Intel x25-x extreme have blown the compitition away in all the reviews i've read. Only problem is they cost 2-3x more!

Question for the masses:
I've almost decided on a drive but I have one quick Noob question before I hit that purchase button. The 128GB OCZ Summit uses the 2nd gen samsung controller w/128MB DRAM cache, but Newegg lists it's dimensions as follows:

Dimensions
Width 5"
Depth 6"
Height 2"
Weight 0.55 lbs.
Form Factor 2.5"

This is not the standard 2.5 inch form factor....is it? I thought 9.5mm was the standard, not 2".
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227450

Can someone help shine some light on this for me?

 

I got the 128GB Summit. I hated to pay that much, but I thought it would be a good drive. It is actually coming TODAY. I will not be home until much later, so may not get to it until very late or tomorrow.

 

hehe, soon your sig will change and we will all be happy

 

I'm lost, too. I have the Intel x25-M 160gb with the older firmware that has the fragmentation issue, and I haven't been able to flash the firmware succesfully in multiple attempts on 4 different computers. Intel is making me jump through hoops to get a replacement with the newest firmware. I wrote down the serial number and the SA number for warranty support, but they said that that SA number does not correspond to anything that they have, so now I have to pull the drive again to look for a similar number on the label. I was really hoping to resolve this through Intel rather than send my laptop back and start over.

 

I'm pretty sure newegg just REALLY messed up the dimensions. The summit is a standard 2.5in drive. I really cant see any computer hard drive being that large.

 

how do i check the firmware of my intel, actually? i don't know which version it has ) *ashamed*

 

So are those dimmensions I posted above from Newegg wrong or are they the actual 2.5 inch form factor standard? I swear those dimmensions seem too big for standard laptop 2.5" SATA Ports.

 

Well i just pre-ordered the PB22-J one from OCX. I won't get it until the 15th. However, i'm not planning to upgrade my laptop until September lol. That is the only time i can part with as i need it to do some work right now. May be i might be tempted to do it before when i get the drive.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-078-SA

 

should i wait for intel to release a 2.0 version of their x-25m (that comes with TRIM?)? seems like there's a problem with their flashing software...

 

ok updated my firmware for my intel x18-m 160gb. was no problem here. created a bootable usb stick, copied the files over, started with it. and yes, the intel doesn't even kill the data on the disk!! never had a firmware update before that let my data alive

lets wait for trim, but with the current firmware, intel shouldn't need trim really anyways we'll see.

don't want to switch to win7 just for trim anyways..