SSD recommendation for M15x

Looking for some recommendations for a SSD for my M15x.

Needs to be > 100GB
and less then $300

 

Crucial do 128gb's at a decent price. The M15x 'only' has Sata II and the Crucial's are Sata III. I got one just for future proofing but you can probably get some OCZ Vertex's for a good price as well.

 

I'd recommend waiting a little bit longer. Intels G3 SSDs are just about to be released (should be available in April) and they probably have a pretty good rand 4k r/w ratio as well as a good price performance ratio (though there are no official numbers out yet)

Micron is about to release their new drives too as well as some other manufacturers afaik.

But if you get a really great deal on a current drive I'd say buy it.

 

Heads up:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/com...lid-state-drive-128gb-ssd-like-brand-new.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/com...on-ssdnow-v-series-128-gb-ssd-retail-kit.html

 

I run 2 SSDs in my M15x - an Intel X25M-160GB in the main drive bay, and a Crucial C300 256GB in the optical bay with an adapter. Both of them work flawlessly.

Be aware that the optical bay is only SATA1 if you choose to go that route, although it hasn't really impacted performance much for me, since that drive is my data drive and the OS drive (the Intel) is in the main harddrive bay.

 

I vote the 120GB x25-m, that's what I'm ordering.

 

I've had 2 Intel 160GB X25-M_G2 SSD's for nearly a year and both have been bulletproof. However, as previously mentioned, the introduction of the new Intel G3 SSD's is imminent. It is rumored that the new G3 will offer 300GB drives for about the same price as the current 160GB models (about $400), with substantial performance increases. It would be wise to wait.

 

i was planning on waiting till the g3 to get released but i got offered $200 for a 160gb g2 which is very tempting, don't know if i should just go ahead and get it.

 

^ Really depends on whether you need the bigger size.

I'm waiting for the G3 since a while now, the rumored random 4k r/w speeds are fantastic and 300 gig is a nice size for me.

 

i think i prolly get it and flip it once the g3 are out. prolly still need to carry my externals around.

 

Hard to go wrong at $200.

 

yeah thats what i'm thinking, that and my old one will gave me a decent amount of space.

 

Hey guys,

I'm looking for some advice on a good reliable ssd for my ssd. Currently I have a Seagate Momentus 240gb and I am looking to upgrade to an ssd 120gb-160gb. I don't want one with too much space as all my files are kept on my external 2TB HDD.

The one I was looking at was the ocz vertex 2 (vtxe) 120gb which is roughly $230 (australian). But, I've heard a lot of issues of it performing poorly.

Is this a good choice or is there a better option out there which performs well and is reliable (sata II only)?



Thanks once again!

 

Well the C300 is very good, I have one myself with no problems. Perhaps look at any Intel G2 drive.

 

if you want a very stable one buy an intel 320 series, they also get 7,8 in perfomance rating, maybe a little slower than the vertex 2 but much more stable and better support because ocz is a crap of support.

 

what do you guys think of this...

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series FM-25S2S-120GBP2 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD).

I found one for 140 brand new. will it work?

 

oh! lucky i saw this post .. was thinking of getting a 240GB SSD OCZ Vertex 2!! .. supposedly performs at read/write speeds of 275MB per sec! 0.o ....

I was also looking at the Intel SSDs ... the 320 series doesnt have great write speeds .. but the 510 series does! .. max read/write speeds like the Vertex2 .. but its super expensive and its SATA3 which is a waste coz our M15x can only take SATA2 anyway right? ...

 

ive just been checking on some pricing and these look like some good candidates ..

ive arranged them according to popularity on pricespy (most popular first) .. but these all have pretty good reviews ... and oddly enough, the ratings from the reviews are in reverse order to popularity! lol! .. probably coz of the cost =)

your feedback please? =)

Intel 320 Series 2.5" SSD 300GB
Product details for Intel 320 Series 2.5" SSD 300GB

Crucial m4 2.5" 256GB
Product details for Crucial m4 2.5" 256GB

OCZ Vertex 3 Series SATA III 2.5" SSD 240GB
Product details for OCZ Vertex 3 Series SATA III 2.5" SSD 240GB

OCZ Agility 3 Series SATA III 2.5" SSD 240GB
Product details for OCZ Agility 3 Series SATA III 2.5" SSD 240GB

Crucial M225 256GB
Product details for Crucial M225 256GB

 

They are all a waste as they are all Sata 3. Dunno about the M225.

 

ya our poor m15x can make use of the sata 3, it'll drop itself down to sata 2 which is pointless due to the price premium.

so basically the candidates are vertex 2, c300, or the intel g2?
the whole purpose of buying the ssd is for the speed so if the c300 isn't as quick (noticeably, not talking benchmarks) then tbh i wouldn't opt for that one.

Unfortunately I can't shop on newegg because I live in australia and going through drop-shipping isn't really worth the hassle if I get stuck with a problematic drive on delivery (RMA-ing will be a pain)!

will try to look around aussie sites or overseas sites that deliver to australia.

does anyone know how much of noticeable difference there is with the c300, intel g2's, vertex 2

as this is for a laptop I will have my os, games, movies, and music on there as well.

 

The C300 is the quickest out of those 3. It is Sata 3 too so it may be a waste but it has the best speed/capacity/reliability/price ratio so that's why I went for it.

 

ya so c300 is out of the picture so I guess its down to intel g2 or vertex 2.

price/performance wise which would be better for a 120gb-160gb ssd?

 

Compare the prices of the 160GB version of the Intel G2 vs the 265GB version of the C300. I don't see why the C300 is out of the picture. Reason being is that the C300 will still be faster than the Intel G2 even under Sata II and perhaps cheaper with a bigger capacity if you can get a bargain. That's the reason I went for it. Also for future proofing as I can take it out and use it in a new Sata III laptop.

 

well if i bring in sata 6gbit/s then wouldn't the vertex 3 or agility 3 be faster than the c300, going in line with the idea of future proofing and keeping the ssd to about under 200gb?

 

Remember I'm taking price ratio into account as well.

 

The C300 is the class of the group overall. The Intel G2's are legendary for reliability and utility; I own and still use 2 of the 160GB's and both have been bulletproof, but they are the oldest and now slowest of the group (although still plenty fast in practical application). The Vertex drives are very fast, but are the most troublesome and suffer from lack of support. However, if you have not yet enjoyed the benefits of an SSD, the increased speed and responsiveness provided by any of these is mind-boggling for most users.

 

Wow, my eyes have truly been opened. I sat around for a couple of hours just reading around and checking prices as well. The c300 apparently is quite a strong drive in comparison with the vertex 3, m4, gskill, and intel drives.

It seems to either come out on top or is right there with the competition. I may just swing for the 128gb c300, because the 256gb is a bit pricey and I'm not sure if I wanna swing for that just yet because I plan on buying the corsair sp2500 as well (in my sig).

For some reason the c300 isn't on the crucial site, all I see is the m4 which is also a great ssd. But I have been convinced to get the c300, and can't find it on their site =/.

EDIT: would the c300 in sata 3gbit/s still be a better solution than going for a proper 3gbit/s ssd?

 

I was browsing around for final prices before I buy the c300 or the m4, but I noticed that there are apparently 2 different model numbers and they have a difference in price. What I don't know is what the actual difference is??

Some drives will have there model number with a -1G1, but some will have -1G1CCA. for the c300 drives.

for the m4 the model number ends with ssd2 or it'll end with ssd2cca.

Any ideas??

 

true, it is a waste to pay for SATA3, however, if you look at that list, and the read/write specs, and price, some of those sata 3 ssds are actually comparable in price to the SATA2 equivalents, which is why i listed them =) ... not sure about overseas though, as these are NZ prices from pricespy.co.nz

Unfortunately i couldnt find any c300 in NZ that were above 200GB =(

this anandtech review is pretty helpful:
AnandTech - OCZ Agility 3 (240GB) Review

and another review for the M4
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4253/the-crucial-m4-micron-c400-ssd-review/2

mmmm ... maybe M4 is the way to go? ;P

 

the M4 is supposed to be the successor to the C300, but for some reason, the C300 still outperforms it in some areas ... so strange .. =( ..

i think the model numbers are just different production batches, but they should be exactly the same drives ... difference in price probably reflects the current market price? 0.o ... not sure

 

Ya its crazy how well the c300 is still holding up, but it seems the 128gb drive is quicker than the 256gb, but this damn c300 is hard as hell to find in australia. Like I said I am happy to shop overseas only if they ship here.

So the c300 is a great drive if I keep it for my os/games/movies/music??
-when I do download stuff onto it I will be moving it straight off to a separate drive so it doesn't stay used up with crap.

The model numbers that have "cca" at the end of the c300 and m4 come with a data transfer kit, and are a bit more expensive, but not much. That is the only difference I was able to find.

Anyone think the m4 might come out on top with better firmware support or is that just wishful thinking?

 

The M4 and the C300 are very similar. M4/C400 write speeds are higher, but read speeds somewhat lower, than the C300. Check here for a review of the M4, which includes numerous comparisons to the C300. "For your average desktop usage model, the m4 is either the best or second best you can get." AnandTech - The Crucial m4 (Micron C400) SSD Review. And here: Crucial's m4 SSD Tested At 64, 128, 256, And 512 GB : Performance Across Capacities.

 

I think this summary should open our eyes even further ...
Summary : Best SSDs For The Money: July 2011

any damn SSD should do! lol =)

 

Ya I see the point that going from my HDD to any SSD will make a huge difference, so I really shouldn't be too considered about that little extra performance and should take benchmarks with a grain of salt.

Like I said once I get some more money I'll probably end up buying the m4, as the c300 is hard to come by.

 

khetik, same here .. its a shame that you are in australia and im in new zealand! ... otherwise we could both buy the SSDs from Crucial (im also planning to buy some RAM from them) and we would save on shipping, retailer markup and exchange rate! =D

FYI: The price difference for me (after shipping/exchange rate and possible 15%GST) is still over NZD100!

 

ya that would've been great if you were in australia. I actually just recently bought 8gb kit from crucial pc3-8500 1066mhz ram for 83.99 including shipping. Which was pretty reasonable tbh considering some of the outrageous prices here.

The prices for the m4 including shipping aren't too bad, I've found a few sites that are selling the c300 and m4 for around 200-270 including shipping.

 

yeah ... it sucks that prices for IT stuff is so high in aus/nz =(

 

I'm in the process of purchasing a m4 128gb ssd for $200US + plus shipping from a user on here, benny90. Just wondering if its a good deal or not. The drive is less than 3 months old, and comes with a 3 year newegg warranty which is til May 2014.

I've attached a photo of the disk benchmark (ATTO bench tool)



EDIT**: I've also found a brand new c300 128gb w/ data transfer kit on ebay which starts bidding at $200AUD + free shipping and has 5 days left on it. Which would be the better deal?

 

hmmmm .... for the m4, if you buy it from crucial brand new, you pay USD225 and shipping is USD30 i think? and you also get 3 years warranty from crucial =)

the c300 brand new is quite tempting if you can get it for that price, especially since it performs about the same as the m4. Does it come with full warranty too?

*** EDIT ***
shipping to Australia is USD25 ;P ... USD30 was for shipping to NZ

PS: i've ordered the HDD caddy for my notebook hehe =) ... next step, im gonna get the following items =)

http://www.notebookcity.co.nz/ocz-vertex2-240g-solid-state-drive
https://www.notebookcity.co.nz/strontium-hynix-4gb-sodimm-ddr3-1333mhz-laptop-ram

PPS: hdd caddy is for this upgrade ;-)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...drive-hdd-caddy-installation-56k-warning.html

 

oh nuts .. just read some "glowing* reviews of the Vertex 2 ... =( ...

i wanna get the M4 too, but its so pricey in NZ .. sigh ..

 

ya the vertex 2 was my initial choice, but after reading how fast and unreliable it was, and talkin to the people on here i was swayed from it.

 

ok .. ive finally decide to get either the m4 256GB or the intel 320 300GB ... but both are too pricey at the moment .. will wait until they drop in price, or until i head to Malaysia for a holiday and get it for cheap there! =)

with the price and the exchange rate, i can save over NZD150! =D

 

Wow, get me one too!!!!

 

lol .. but can you wait until mid december? ...

im only going on holiday end of november and will be back early dec ... and you will have to wait for it to be shipped from NZ to USA ;-)

 

hell if u can pick up a m4 128gb or c300 128gb and its legit....get me one...shippin aint to far lol

 

Sold my old broken MacBook Pro for parts today - SSD incoming on monday)

 

Hi guys, I bought my m15x 1 year ago I have the best processor possible and 4mb ram, but I am kinda unhappy with it right now.

So I am going to upgrade it, I heard the best thing to do is buy a SSD, my question is, which one should I get ? is there any thing that I should consider other then storage ? because I know that ssd doesnt store as much as hhd, I am willing to get a 256 or even a 128 if the 256 is too expensive.

Thanks !

 

In order to make sure you get the best SSD available, go to eurocom`s web page. Choose a new model laptop. Customaze it, On HDD selection, you will see many SSD options and their Read - Write speeds with them. Here you can see the price difference and performances of SSD`s.

There isnt many SSD`s out there without TRIM funtion nowadays, nevertheless just make sure you get one with TRIM funtion.

 

Crucial M4 or Intel 510.