Intel X25-M G2 is currently considered the best mainstream SSD from what I've read. They have an 80GB which sells for anywhere from $215 to $250 lately. It has great speeds for everything and supports TRIM with the latest firmware.
Help choosing an SSD
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If you can afford to spend $210 and want the most space, get the Corsair P64 (64gb). Very fast read and decent write speeds, 128mb cache and samsung controller (100% sutter-free). EDIT: its sold out on the egg, but instock 12/04/2009
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If you want the best performance and don't mind only have 30gb, get the OCZ Vertex Turbo 30gb. Phenomenal read and great write speeds, 64mb cache and Indilinx controller (also 100% stutter-free).
The Kingston ssd you have picked it is a great price, but its read speed is embarrasing... WD blacks and Samsung F3s (regular mechanical hdds) can match that for much less money and MUCH more storage.
If you want the best performance and don't mind only have 30gb, get the OCZ Vertex Turbo 30gb. Phenomenal read and great write speeds, 64mb cache and Indilinx controller (also 100% stutter-free).
The Kingston ssd you have picked it is a great price, but its read speed is embarrasing... WD blacks and Samsung F3s (regular mechanical hdds) can match that for much less money and MUCH more storage.
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Be careful about which one you get. That Kingston has that JMicron controller that people complained about.
I recommend taking a look at this chart:
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=736
Pick one that has the Indilinx controller, or one that has the Samsung PB22-J Controller. Except for the Intel ones, the rest won't be as good.
Unfortunately, it will be very difficult to find a brand new 64 GB SSD that's worth buying for under $200. I got my Falcon for $180.00 shipped, but it was a Shell Shocker back in early August.
But be careful. They're not all the same.
Originally Posted by Pheatton  Im thinking about upgrading to a SSD for my Windows 7 install. Im looking to spend around $200 for it and will be using one or two or my Raptors as my stoarge drive(s). Possibly in a RAID5 setup. So I did read some stuff on this one today. I have not kept up with SSDs so Im in the dark as to which features and products to look for and stay away from. If there is a better one in my price range please feel free to let me know. |
I recommend taking a look at this chart:
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=736
Pick one that has the Indilinx controller, or one that has the Samsung PB22-J Controller. Except for the Intel ones, the rest won't be as good.
Unfortunately, it will be very difficult to find a brand new 64 GB SSD that's worth buying for under $200. I got my Falcon for $180.00 shipped, but it was a Shell Shocker back in early August.
But be careful. They're not all the same.
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What he said
Originally Posted by Shogon Nay, If your going OCZ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227394 Intel released their firmware that supports TRIM like 2 days ago or whatever, everythings workin fine my intel SSD and their new firmware. |
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Nice!! That looks like a good one. Thanks for the info. Now to see if the price drops as it gets closer to Christmas.
Originally Posted by Shogon Nay, If your going OCZ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227394 Intel released their firmware that supports TRIM like 2 days ago or whatever, everythings workin fine my intel SSD and their new firmware. |
Nice!! That looks like a good one. Thanks for the info. Now to see if the price drops as it gets closer to Christmas.
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Go with MLC for sure. One good reason other than technical ones is that the prices for MLC drives are much, much lower.
Regarding the fragmentation with the Indillinx: take notice that this article was written on June 24th. Also take notice that this fragmentation isn't a problem:
"While the firmware currently lacks in long term write performance, slowing as write combinations fragment the flash, there is a solution in the form of proprietary TRIM support. This requires the newest firmware and the running of a special software tool to keep write performance up to par. While it does work, it is very picky about running under certain OS / controller combinations."
Fortunately, this article is old and this problem is also not a problem thanks to TRIM. With the OCZ Vertex drive (at least this is the one I can remember), you get something called "Background Garbage Collection" which keeps the drive running in like-new condition. But not only that, the latest firmware release also supports TRIM much better than the previous release (at least according to the release notes), so this makes these SSDs much better than before.
And for those who have the G.SKILL Falcon with the 1571 firmware on it, there's Wiper.exe. Wiper.exe is awesome because you can run it any time you want and it restores the drive to like-new condition. It's kinda like a defragger for their SSDs. But, it's not that SSDs get fragmented: it's that when data is moved or deleted, there's something that remains behind that I like to call "ghost data". I mean, the data is still there, and so when the drive tries to write new data to that area, it gets noticeably slowed down - especially in benchmarks. It gets slowed down so much over time that benchmarks can begin to look pretty ugly. But just a run or 2 of Wiper.exe clears this right up. And for the Vertex, all one has to do is let the system idle for a few hours. Now that's what I call easy!!
But still, even after this degradation in performance, these Indillinx-based drives are still awesome. And from what I've seen based on both performance and customer support, your best bet is the OCZ Vertex.
Originally Posted by Pheatton Im liking the OCZ models. I checked out some of them that have the Indilinx controller. On the page this page it states those controllers have fragmentation issues. I was under the impression that SSDs did not have to worry about fragmentation. Other than that which technology should I choose, SLC or MLC. I understand the basics between that two but most things I read did not have any comparisons listed. Im really liking this one. Its an OCZ and has the Samsung controller. Yay or nay? |
Regarding the fragmentation with the Indillinx: take notice that this article was written on June 24th. Also take notice that this fragmentation isn't a problem:
"While the firmware currently lacks in long term write performance, slowing as write combinations fragment the flash, there is a solution in the form of proprietary TRIM support. This requires the newest firmware and the running of a special software tool to keep write performance up to par. While it does work, it is very picky about running under certain OS / controller combinations."
Fortunately, this article is old and this problem is also not a problem thanks to TRIM. With the OCZ Vertex drive (at least this is the one I can remember), you get something called "Background Garbage Collection" which keeps the drive running in like-new condition. But not only that, the latest firmware release also supports TRIM much better than the previous release (at least according to the release notes), so this makes these SSDs much better than before.
And for those who have the G.SKILL Falcon with the 1571 firmware on it, there's Wiper.exe. Wiper.exe is awesome because you can run it any time you want and it restores the drive to like-new condition. It's kinda like a defragger for their SSDs. But, it's not that SSDs get fragmented: it's that when data is moved or deleted, there's something that remains behind that I like to call "ghost data". I mean, the data is still there, and so when the drive tries to write new data to that area, it gets noticeably slowed down - especially in benchmarks. It gets slowed down so much over time that benchmarks can begin to look pretty ugly. But just a run or 2 of Wiper.exe clears this right up. And for the Vertex, all one has to do is let the system idle for a few hours. Now that's what I call easy!!
But still, even after this degradation in performance, these Indillinx-based drives are still awesome. And from what I've seen based on both performance and customer support, your best bet is the OCZ Vertex.
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