Best SSD for Sabertooth x58?

Head over to SSD Buyers Guide & Information Thread. It will answer alot of your questions and provide detailed info for each brand.

Then choose any of the following, whatever is the cheapest:

Crucial M4
Corsair Performance Pro
Intel 520/510
OCZ Vertex 4
Plextor M3/M3 Pro
Samsung 830

Once you have the ssd installed. Choose AHCI mode in your bios and install windows. I recommend you have the SSD for your OS and essential programs. You don't want the ssd reach max capiticy as it will decrease the performance. Have a second regular HHD for your other programs/games.

Hope this helps.

Those drives actually go beyond the limit of his X58 chipset, as the Marvel 9128 controller isn't great...

But all great potentials if you plan on any future upgrade...

True but SATA2 SSDs haven't dropped in price lately while SATA3's did. So its becoming less interesting to buy them.

I would say, get a SATA3 SSD on sale.

Are you using the SSD as a OS drive?

Just leave the SATA mode set to RAID. Plug the SSD in the Intel SATA 3Gb/s port, not the Marvell SATA 6Gb/s one.

If you are installing the OS on the SSD follow my install guide: http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

If you are not installing the OS on it then just plug it in the system ad quick format it in disk management.

As for what one get the cheapest of the following.

• Crucial M4
• Corsair Performance Pro
• Intel 520
• OCZ Vertex 4
• Plextor M3/M3 Pro
• Samsung 830

Most SSDs are now optimized for AHCI mode, so you'll definitely want to use that.

I'm partial to Crucial M4's. They're solid SSDs - fast, reliable, and affordable. (at least in North America - where are you at?) Crucial keeps putting out firmware updates which correct obscure issues before you even see anyone complaining. Quite different from other manufacturers, where the forums have to be engulfed in problem threads before there's a fix.

I've seen other people on Overclock.net recommend Plextor SSDs (same hardware as the M4), Corsair (Sandforce hardware usually, but a good company standing behind it), Mushkin (again, Sandforce + good company), and Intel. (Great quality, but horrible horrible price.)

What SSDs can you get where you are? If you can post some examples, I'm sure people will post what they vote for.

On Average: (Best being on the left)

Price: Mushkin < Corsair < Crucial < Plextor < Intel

I keep seeing Mushkin SSDs around $200 for 240GB. Crucial and Plextor are getting close to $1/GB in North America. Intel is way above that.

Reliability: Crucial == Plextor >= Intel > Corsair == Mushkin

Crucial/Plextor - no major issues. Intel had the 8MB glitch (reset the firmware and bricked the drive at random upon reboot), but it has since been corrected on their Intel 320. I did hear that it hasn't yet been fixed for their mSATA SSDs, so don't get Intel mSATA (netbook) SSDs for the time being. Intel's 2.5" drives should be fine. And Corsair/Mushkin were at the mercy of buggy Sandforce firmware for nearly a half year - again, that has since been corrected.

Crucial, Plextor, and Intel have the least horror stories of SSDs just "disappearing" from the BIOS never to be seen again. (all data gone/inaccessible)

Performance: Plextor > Crucial ~= Intel > Corsair ~= Mushkin

This is more difficult to rate accurately, since NAND choice has such a big impact on write speeds, and varies from model to model. So, to quote myself: