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

The single drive doesn't reach the limit of the Intel chipset right? It's only if you go RAID0 and exceed 133MB/s (is that the limit?)

 

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9895986-1.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Crave

Any comment on the high failure rate? Maybe we should create a poll for those who have SSDs and see satisfaction level?

 

i use a 32gb ssd from mtron, and it works just fine, streaming video, everything is fine.... its not as fast as it used to be.. but then again i havent cleaned my laptop for months now. no time to yet :-o

 

I really hope Les can get the new OCZ SSD with reported 120/100 MB/s read/write speeds to see how they hold up to the new Samsung's and his Mtron. I'm excited that the MSRP is $499!! Hopefully by the time I am ready to buy this in June/July it will be $399 or less.. hey I can always hope! lol

 

Mtron 1000 series announced, ssdisk.eu says April.

Hope they'll be cheap and ZIF

 

Yes, the new OCZ should be uber interesting!

 

what a fascinating new technology! i can see this technology replacing conventional hard drives permanently once the prices start to drop. But in the mean time manufacturers could offer "hybrid" laptops with small 8gb SSD's with only the OS on it, and a conventional HDD for everything else!

I am particularly intrigued by the DIY SSD article. If my next laptop will be a D901C, with its 3 disk capability, I could use an 8GB SD HC or something and install Vista on that. It amazes me that modern flash cards are not as fast as 7200 hard drives. Has anything changed in that field since the start of this thread?

 

Modern flash cards were never designed to have such high speeds...that hasn't changed. SSD flash is in a league of its own as far as I'm concerned.

 

I see. I suspected that would have been the problem.

I suppose everyone is waiting for just one thing: a substantial price drop.

 

quick question - sorry if it's been asked - but an SSD has no moving parts, right? Meaning less chance of failure due to drops, movement, etc?

Also, what is the useful life compared to regular hard drives?

 

Yes...no moving parts and if your looking at the slc (single level cell) version - anywhere from 49 to 149 years lifespan. Mlc (multi level cell) will be significantly less but still longer than a typical HD.

 

Super Talent announced their 256GB SSD today for those that didn't see/hear the news.

Price? If you have to ask

 

I can't wait till 64 becomes affordable. I never use more than 60. I'd be set :-D

 

WaterWizard:

I agree with you. I've been intentionally managing my laptop disk to stay below 50GB knowing that when a 64GB with performance and a reasonable price (from my perspective) arrives I'll buy it.

Cheers,

 

Geez...right now the price for the two 64gig on new egg are

Supertalent:1749.00
OCZ:1249.00

Alternativly, the cheaper 32 gig models are less than half the price of the larger models:

Team Group:524.99
Supertalent:569.00

Guess if you really want to save (and if prices drop in a reletave mannor), it'd be cheaper to buy two 32gig models, and then have 2 hard drives.

Supertalent: 2x32 = $1138, 1x64=$1749. Thats a big slice o change.

 

WaterWizard:

Maybe if we plead hardship to Les, he'll hook us up

Cheers,

 

I'm waiting to here from Mtron who will be releasing their new 1000 series 65Gb plus...any day.

It has been delayed for some reason....seems actually like the whole industry took a month off in ssds.

 

Thats a shame, because well....as consumers of modern technology, we don't take any time off.

Will these be just the 2.5" notebook versions....or will they have desktop versions as well?

 

I won't know until the release...

 

Laptop versions can use adapters to be placed into a desktop chassis Makes for a great HTPC assuming big storage is off the machine on a NAS somewhere.

 

True...true.

 

The same SSdisk.eu tells release date is June 2008 for the 1000 series, and that they will be (the part numbers match ) 1,8" PATA and 2,5" SATA.

My 2710p is excited about it

 

I spoke with Mtron earlier today (as we are 12 hour difference) who still expects mid to late April and promises me the exclusive on the 1000 series ssd.

 

Sounds pretty great!

 

Any clue on pricing for the 1000 series?

 

The only clue they would give me is that they will be somewhere in the area of 40% cheaper...

I will believe that when I see it because 'suggested retail price' by the company is alot different than the resellers final price.

 

The cheapest I've seen their 64gb models is in the $1,200 range, so 40% off would be around $720, which is still too much for me.

 

I really hope you're right I just noticed I'm really fine with the 32GB ssd, but it lacks storage space, and expresscard SSDs are still slow and not PCI-E... I'm a damn fashion victim and need some space for iTunes

(And, ahem, I hope the dollar stays low until I can buy a 1000 series, do whatever you want after my purchase ).

 

32GB is fine! if its $600 now and 40% -> $360... not bad... just get ext. 1TB HD or 320GB WD passport.

 

That's not a very good portable solution IMO.

Cheers,

 

how do you define "good" (fast? cheap?) and "portable" (size? weight?)? what is a good solution then?

 

There is nothing wrong with 32Gb ssds if you are just a typical user. I have one and it is great having this performance boost all the time. I am not a gamer and still have 3.5Gb of data files on with around 12Gb free after I installed SP1.

If you need more space, check out the latest in USB prices as i just picked up a Sony 8Gb usb stick for 20 bucks...great for data.

 

Les:

If we're on this forum, are we typical users?

 

I would say yes John. Yourself, you have a 100Gb if my memory serves me correct and your fighting to stay below 50Gb so....you are waiting for that 64Gb or higher. In my opinion, many of the power savers (those who keep everything including their kitchen sink on their hard drive) don't seem to be involved much as they know the ssd will not be able to hold all that they have. Many I meet are like myself who, although they would like larger, are keenly interested in what can be done now and the amazing boost that can be had at the cost of storage space.

Ive said it a number of times and will again... On my system I have Ultimate 64bit with SP12, MSOffice, all my ssd articles and benchmarking programs as well as tons of personal data to include hundreds of songs and I bet thousands of pictures going back several years... I still have over 11Gb free space. This is where the 4Gb ram came in handy with the 64Gb system. I have shut down pagefile as it is not needed at all and deleted the file...This has saved me just under 4Gb space. I shutdown system restore as I backup regularly when needed. This has saved me a few Gb space. I have completed all the other tweaks which I have listed in my tweaking thread which again not only helps performance immensely, but also gains a few more Gb space.

In short, my key interest has become my success with the 32Gb drive which is trimming the fat and making this M1330 unbeatable and, in the end, my PCMark05 score of 6225 has achieved that as well. I am happy.

I would hope similar of others who put such an effort into their system; its well worth it in the end.

 

Very Very well said. I am so excited for them to get moving on this, because the possiblities seem unthinkable unless you already own one. I mean, i would've never thought of the page file idea. Theres endless capabilities. Imagine the massivly online multiplayer games. Even like FPS. When a new level starts...the people who get in first, are the people who have a true leg up. If you've got 1 gig of ram, and a 5400 rpm drive, you'll get into the game, everybody will be about 2-3 kills ahead of you, and the battle lines are drawn. If you've got 2 gigs of ram, a 7200rpm drive with 8-16mb cache, you'll get in with 2-3 other people at the same time. They will start getting their stragedy, and moving to the stronger positions on the maps, and setting up for the rest of the people to arrive soon as their level gets loaded. Now, imagine you've got 3-4 gigs of ram, and an SSD, with 60+mb/s speed. You'll be the first one in the map/level, and have a good head start on the playing feild. Heck, you could probably get behind enemy lines, and ambush if your patient enough. Possibilities are endless. Simply, endless .

When these get affordable, i'm going to be laughing at all the people with raid-setups.

 

I have been in contact with Dell the last few this and the first of the new Samsung ssds are being made available with the Precision series. Here are the present configuarable options:

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I am going to believe the Ultra is the new SATA II version Samsung ssd which is expected to have great reviews around the 100MB/s read/write speeds. They did stand by their word of supplying a superior ssd with a phenomenal peformance boost without charging an arn and a leg for the upgrade. I wish they might have brought all he ssds down just a bit though....oh well wait and see I guess.

I am going to guess they are still fixing the site up as the 32Gb Ultra ssd is cheaper by 200 bucks than the older Sandisk model. This one IS well worth it and you may see these prices switched in the next few days.

 

Sooner than i thought . Hopefully they show up in online stores 400 or less. That would be great, and i wouldn't hesitate too much

 

I assume these options will trickle down into the Latitude D430, XT, and the XPS series at some point?

 

I have raised the question with Dell and am hoping to have those answers and benchmarks in a review in the next week or so....no promises though. I can only do my best.

 

Les,

Unfortunately, on this machine I have a little more than that that I store regularly.

I do some consulting and carry around some OS .iso files that are DVD images. That tends to chew up some space. Eventually I'll move them over to flash memory, but I'm waiting for the 32GB sticks to get down in price a little more.

If I didn't have to worry about having some of these resources at my fingertips it wouldn't be an issue. But this is the real world and it matters

However we aren't typical users either IMO.

Cheers,

 

Does any one know how is this drive compare with Lenovo Thinkpad X300's 64gb SSD drive?

 

It has very similar results as this press release identifies it as being the exact same drive used in both the Dell and Lenovo; its the SATA II.

 

Sorry, I didn't respond to this sooner.

Anything beyond the single box when you're traveling is neither good nor portable.

CHeers,

 

In the X300 NBR review ( http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4281), the SSD only manages to hit an average transfer rate of 57MB/s... a bit disappointing if the Samsungs are supposed to be around 100MB/s...

I don't mind carrying more than just the laptop since I will always have a bag, so the WD passport solution is fine for me. I plan on keeping the 1TB drive at home though.

 

This new ssd nasnt been benched yet. It only reached production just under a month ago. The review is the older SATA I drve I believe.

 

Ahh, that explains it! When will the new Samsungs be offered in Lenovos? The link above stated sometime in March in Seoul, do you know about the US/Canada?

 

How long do you guys think it will take for SSDs to get down to HDD levels in price. Will even go that low or is there some sort of constraint (i.e. do they cost more than a common HDD to manufacture?).

 

They have SSDs at HDD prices... like 16GB SSD for $200, just a bit more than a 200GB 7200 RPM drive Unless you mean same size... I don't see SSDs being <$1/GB in the next 3 years. Current prices range from $10-30/GB.

 

I don't know of the Lenovo's but they are going into the Dells now. Might wanna call Lenovo or check out the ordering page.

 

JLF,

You had requested information comparisons with respect to one 128Gb Memoright ssd in comparison to two in a RAID 0 configuration. I, myself am shocked at the return 303MB/s write and 234MB/s read on the raid and have have attached the response and also the tests..

Please also be aware that these are the tests supplied and I have not been able to independently test these myself as the ssds are so hard to come by.

Dear Les,
Thanks for your information.

1.Of course two MemoRight 64GB ssds in a RAID0 is faster than a 128G SSD.
2.Attached please find ATTO Benchmark for 2X 64G and 1X128G for your reference.
3.Please let me know where your customer is located in and we will ask our territory USA distributor to contact him directly.

Thanks,
MemoRight

If you want me to forward your info, simply PM me with it.

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