Thinking about upgrading my SSD (Solid State Drive)...

Hey everyone...So I've had my Intel X-18M 80GB MLC SSD Generation 1 for almost a year now, and while it's still kicking buttock, I was wondering if all y'all think it's worth upgrading to the same SSD, but Generation 2? My G1 is runnning beautifully and it is being used pretty heavily. Would there be a benefit besides TRIM on supported SSD's that I should know about, and how big a deal is that anyway?

Alternatively, how about going the X25-E Extreme SLC route? How big a difference can I expect from that?

On a different note, I keep reading that I should keep a good chunk of any SSD empty for reliability and performance sake. what's your take on how much free space should be kept in order to keep performance at its highest level, and would it also reduce wear?

Incidentally, I just put a bunch of benchies together, and after I organize them, I'll post my thoughts on the impact on performance by BitLocker's encryption of the system drive using an SSD. There is a loss in performance. I wonder how (in?)-significant all y'all will consider it to be.

 

well, you talk about the x-18m. afaik the g2 of it is still not available. and the x25-e is not 1.8". and it should not be used for ordinary systems anyways, that's not what it's designed for.

 

Well, I use the 1.8"-2.5" transposer, so I'd prefer all 2.5" anyway. The X-25E shouldn't be used in "ordinary" systems? Are you calling the W700 an "ordinary system"? j/k

I don't really care about that. If there's a really good reason as to why I should get the SLC over the MLC, I'm there. I wonder, though, if it will really be all that different.

I see you have the X18-M 160GB MLC SSD. Nice! Did you ever have the 80GB model? If so, is the 160GB significantly faster?

Thanks.

 

the W700 is not a high end server that has some database and webservices to feed thousands of clients simultaneously, or does it?

and that's what the SLC is designed and configured for. and thus, in quite some tests, the MLC showed faster (as in more snappy) performance, desprite technically having lower numbers. the firmware is designed for end users. the SLC firmware is not.

i'd suggest a 160gb x25-m g2 in your case, best for high end laptops.

i have the g1 160gb, and in g1, 80gb and 160gb are as fast.

 

I believe Provantage and some other retailers have the X-18M G2 in stock for $230 or so. That said, I have an 80GB X-25 G2 (Trim) in my desktop, and have used both a 30GB Vertex (with GC) and currently have a 1st gen 80GB X-18M in my Elitebook. In a blind test, I would not be able to distinguish one drive from the other. I even had a Vertex before the days of Garbage Collection or Trim, and saw the infamous "degradation" in benchmarks and real-life sustained transfers, yet never once felt the responsiveness of the drive change for app loading and multitasking.

Bottom line- I would not buy a new SSD just for GC/Trim, although if you actually need a new SSD, there is no good reason to buy a G1 over a G2.

Regarding free space, here is a relevant post from the anandtech forums:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=29050799&postcount=28

 

+1 to what he said.

especially the drives BEFORE trim and such where designed for the workload without trim and such => the ones that where great then will work great nowadays just as well.

for a new drive, get an actual one. but replacing it? no..

 

The SLC drive is more reliable but at a higher cost and power consumption, if that makes a difference to you.