SSD :cool:

OK lads and lasses,

I think I'm back in the states and mad enough to splunk a load more dollars on my lil R2. I'm gonna go full hog on a 160GB SSD and want your opinions on whether to get the Newegg.com - Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH160G2R5 2.5" 160GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) or cough up an extra $60 for the new Newegg.com - Corsair Force CSSD-F160GBP2-BRKT 2.5" 160GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD).

Any advice is more than welcome especially if you think its worth it to wait for another month or if anyone thinks there are better/cheaper models out there. Thank you for your help in advance guys

 

I have the Intel X-25M 160GB Gen2 SSD and I am *very* happy with it. It is a lot faster than the HDD the M11x R2 came with... I can't imagine a faster SSD, but one might exist. The Intel drive is running TRIM, NCQ, etc under Windows 7 for me. I followed a number of recommendations out there to help with the SSD optimization as well (such as turning off System Restore and instead backup up regularly).
- Kirk200

 

I've been reading that the corsair uses less than 50% of the power consumption than the intel thanks to the new sandforce processor and no DDR3 memory. I think if this rings true then I will have to get the F160 - $$$ gonna be missing

 

Wait until Christmas, Black friday, or until you're 40 for good deal.

I'm waiting until Christmas for mine.. i KNOW there are gonna be some steals out there. As far as black friday, I'm too impatient to bother.

 

The speed and performance of an SSD is determined largely by the controller used. The current top 3 controllers are made by Intel, Indilinx, and SandForce. And honestly, as long as you use a drive that uses one of those 3 controllers, you will be in good shape.

There is going to be performance differences between drives that use those controllers. But honestly, you won't be able to tell the difference in real-world performance. An SSD based off of any of those 3 controllers will be monumentally better than your current mechanical HDD.

Personally, if I were to buy an SSD now, I would buy the OCZ Vertex 1 120GB drive for $250. It is based off the Indilinx controller, and was considered the king of SSD's before SandForce drives came out. It loses its crown, but still has kick performance and an incredible price point.

If you're dead set on one of the two drives you listed, I'd go with the Intel X25-M drive. That is also a fantastic drive, and will be well worth every penny.

 

I have the Samsung 256GB that came from Dell with the laptop, after owning a R1 with a 500GB HD before this R2, I'm happy with this one.

 

I think the fastest is the Vertex II turbo? Could be wrong. Maybe Intel's Extreme line is faster

I haven't looked at benchmarks since I bought my 160gig, can't go wrong with Intel G2 SSD's

 

Intel has plans to release a refresh of their x25-m's sometime in Q4 of 2010. 300gb along with 600gb! I was VERY close to getting a momentus xt or a 160gb x25-m, but I've decided to hold out for the new 300gb.

Intel SSD roadmap revealed | THINQ.co.uk

 

The absolute fastest in terms of random & sequential read/writes are drives based off of the SandForce controllers. These include OCZ Vertex 2, OCZ Vertex 2 Turbo (which is an overclocked Vertex 2), Corsair C300, etc. The importance of this number is faster read/write times.

The fastest in terms of I/O's per second is still Intel X25-M, I believe. The importance of this measurement is when you are multi-tasking, and don't want your performance to choke because you're waiting on your storage drive to respond.

But as I mentioned, the reality of the situation is that you will never know the difference in real-world performance. You will never be able to give someone a drive, and have them say "Hrm... this drive feels like an Intel X25-M" or "This drive feels like an Indilinx OCZ Vertex 1". The only way you will ever be able to even know the difference is through benchmarking - and nobody buys an SSD to run benchmarks all day. When you actually USE whatever drive you buy, they will all feel "fast enough"