What Brand/Model SSD Would Experts/Enthusiasts Recommend?

Hi everyone,

I'm ready to buy a Lenovo Ideapad y550p and I want to install an SSD for faster memory access/gaming/etc. Any particular brand and part # recommended?

 

hi, intel or sandforce drives..You most probably won't notice the difference.. This benchmark should get you started..There are alot more benchmarks and a lot more brands but this one is pretty direct and it has real world benchmarks which, IMO, is a lot better than numbers..

The OCZ Vertex 2 is considered the "best" sandforce drive out there..So you can probably use it as a general drive for all sandforce drives performance wise..(Corsair Force, G.skill Phoenix 2, Mushkin Callisto Deluxe, OCZ Vertex 2, Patriot Inferno, and probably more which aren't all that known are the main Sandforce based drives..They all perform similar)

Intel is proven to be the most reliable though..

 

Note though that the currently shipping Vertex 2 (with 25nm nand) is slower than a HDD in sequential writes. Even the 34nm nand is still not better than a 7K500 HDD in that regard.

See:
OCZ’s 25nm Vertex 2 Performance Issues | Overclockers


Nowhere close to the 'best' in my books.


The Intel 320 series is what you want for reliability/performance/price if you need 300GB or higher. The X25-M 120GB or the 160GB models is what I would recommend if your capacity requirements are less than 300GB.

Good luck.

 

This review compares the best SSDs for SATA II. Intel 320 seems overpriced sofar for what it offers.
Intel SSD 320 (300GB) Review - A Review of the Intel SSD 320 (300GB)

Incorrect. Any Vertex 2 blows away the sequential writes of any notebook hard drive or even a Intel X25m with normal data.

It's only incompressible data that are limited to 80 MB/sec. Note that Intel X25m 80GB is limited to 70 MB/sec for any kind of data.

 

Now don't get confused here, I highly doubt you'll be copy-pasting large files very often for the sequential read/writes to actually matter all that much..I'll go out on a limb here and guess that you're getting an ssd because of the speed of loading times and boot as well as the speed of opening apps, this means you won't actually notice the difference between these drives MOST of the time..So I'd say go with what's cheapest and most reliable..like the intel x25-m..

Note that I'm actually just passing on info that other members post..I don't have any actual experience on ssds..

 

I've had great experience with both Intel and Samsung SSDs, which are generally considered some of the most reliable drives on the market. The Intel X25-M and Samsung 470 are both good choices to look at (the latter is also particularly attractive if power consumption is an important factor).

 

Oh if I could only get my hands on a Samsung 470 here..I've read the reviews (both real world and synthetic benchmarks) and it performs well on both..Great drive..

 

Phil, the 34nm V2 equals the X25-M and the 25nm V2 @ 35MB/s (see link above) is 2004 2.5" HDD levels.

Both SSD's are tromped on by a 7K500 which hits over 100MB/s (as do many other 2.5" HDD's). And yes, with proper partitioning, that ~100MB/s can be very consistent (for ~64GB or so).

I know this is only one aspect of performance - but it is still a cornerstone of a substorage 'solution'.

And I know of no HDD that puts a distinction on 'incompressible data' or 'normal data' - only the SandForce based SSD's with their clever/lying marketing spin make us wonder if 525MB/s (V3's) will give us ~350MB/s max or as low as ~250MB/s - depending on what data we are pushing.

The Intel may be 70MB/s - but they also state that before you buy the drive too - right in their spec's.

 

So does the samsung 470..Actually the samsung's benchmarks are sometimes higher than what they actually claim..Though I'm not sure about real world benchmarks though. I remember the intel G2 leading most of the real world benchmarks, not by a large margin though, but still..

 

I think it's solved now.

Update 2/16/2011 3PM: Official statement from OCZ — “Customers are welcome to go through our service program to exchange for a 32gbit model if they have concerns about their 64gbit drives. The new part numbers will reflect the 32Gbit die solutions to distinguish between the models (last page): OCZSSD2-2VTX60G, OCZSSD2-2VTX120G (non ‘E’ part numbers)”

"OCZ is now offering free replacements for affected 25nm SSDs. We will update this review when we have a revised 25nm Vertex 2 in hand."

OCZ Issues Mea Culpa - Offers Free SSD Replacements | StorageReview.com

 

Having customers to track down this issue on their own and having to ask/beg for the 'proper' version of the product you thought you bought in good faith all along is not 'solving' the issue.

OCZ should do what Intel did with the chipset bug: issue a recall and replace each and everyone of those defective SSD's they sold. On their dime. Without 'playing dead' until the customer calls first.

Yeah.

 

What ssd do you recommend tiller?

 

By the way Laptopmag compared the file copy speed of the Vertex 2 34nm with a 7K500. The Vertex is about twice as fast.

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/storage/intel-ssd-320.aspx

 

The x25-m G2 is 34nm am I correct?

 

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/7299762-post4.html

 

Oh that was my thread! Yeah I remember that post.. Yeah seems like the intel seems to be the best choice as it is a constant performer.. =)

 

Yes it is.

 

Samsung 470 Series 64GB ,,,Prices fluctuate,,right now they cost more than what I paid. I have one installed, great drive.

Amazon.com: Samsung 64 GB Solid State Drive MZ-5PA064: Electronics

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 470 Series MZ-5PA064/US 2.5" 64GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Cheers
3Fees