Best SSD out right now?

[Infrnl]

thanks i haven't ordered yet. i thought the vertex 2 beats the intel on specs tho?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...NE&N=100008120 600038510&IsNodeId=1&srchInDesc=ocz 60gb&page=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=636|20-167-031^20-167-031-TS,20-227-550^20-227-550-TS

mainly write speed and IOPS..

I believe they are still recommending the intel for Reliability.
I have seen way too many people have issues with OCZ drives to bite on one. granted there are many without issues as well. Even though the OCZ's are generally cheaper; I personally do not want to take a chance. if you ask me; OCZ's quality s not what it once was.

I will probably go with the crucial C300 just to take adv of SataIII. Then I will see when the new drives will really release. When they are where I need them, I will buy another. I do not think the new drives will offer any real noticeable difference in real world use. I also do not think pricing will be a great as everyone is hoping, but I could be wrong.

 

[fffblackmage]

I will probably go with the crucial C300 just to take adv of SataIII.

I wouldn't buy a C300 just because it has SATA3. The reason is simple. You don't make real use of it unless you're moving a huge file to or from the SSD (sequential read/write). You're most likely aren't saving many large files on the SSD.

In terms of random 4K write or read, the C300 is competitive with Sandforce-based SSDs. At least with Sandforce, you get potentially lower write amplification.

 

[Infrnl]

I wouldn't buy a C300 just because it has SATA3. The reason is simple. You don't make real use of it unless you're moving a huge file to or from the SSD (sequential read/write). You're most likely aren't saving many large files on the SSD.

In terms of random 4K write or read, the C300 is competitive with Sandforce-based SSDs. At least with Sandforce, you get potentially lower write amplification.

so are you saying that you prefer the sandforce drives, but both would be a good choice?

this is probably why I still do not own an ssd; too many variables. I just read some info saying that the C300 performed better than the OWC drives; granted C300 was sata3 and ocw was sata2. However the OCW performed better when both drives were tested on Sata2.

I think atm My choice would be C300, OWC, Intel, but I imagine for the avg daily user any would be a great option.

I am in dire need of a Drive and do not want to wait till next year when the next gen drives come. I will either buy now or i could always buy a cheaper storage drive and use it for OS while we wait.

 

[exar333]

Intel G2. If you wan afford to wait, give it a few months and you should see the new drives launch with either (1) lower price for the same storage GB (2) more storage for the current price point. This is assuming etailers don't price gouge too much above MSRP.

 

[Voo]

I wouldn't buy a C300 just because it has SATA3. The reason is simple. You don't make real use of it unless you're moving a huge file to or from the SSD (sequential read/write). You're most likely aren't saving many large files on the SSD.

While sequential r/w isn't the most important spec, it's still nice.. I've got a Intel 160gb G2 and sometimes you have to copy/duplicate larger files and a bit more speed would be nice there.

All in all the difference between the SF based drives and the C300 is minimal - they're both much faster than the Intel drive. One controller wins random read by 10%, the other wins random write by 10% - you can argue about what is more important but in the end you won't notice that bit.

 

[jez006]

Hey everyone, thanks for so much interest in helping me to find my perfect SSD!

I've ordered the OCZ vertex 2 60GB...my reasons are:

1. My Mobo is not sata 3 capable, so i would see no advantage of the c300 sata 3 capabilities.

2. I will not be storing any large files on this drive, only the OS and applications, so 60gb is plenty. I do not want to spend the extra on the intel 80gb...

3. Vertex 2 has faster write speeds than the C300

4. I'm slightly skeptical about Crucial's firmware after reading about how their firmware update bricked peoples SSDs.

5. All the reviews I've read about the vertex 2 are very positive, unless people are unlucky enough to get an ssd that is doa.

6. I've read a lot of good things about the sandforce controller which is used in the vertex 2.

Some of you may disagree with me but each to their own I guess!

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again,

Jez

 

[Infrnl]

congrats on your decision! Let us know how you like it

 

[jez006]

thank you! The install day is thursday. I'm as excited as I was for my first build

 

[LokutusofBorg]

They're pretty fun. Ignore most of the advice out there on how to "optimize" your SSD. Use the Windows installer to partition and format it, and just use your computer like normal.

 

[fffblackmage]

They're pretty fun. Ignore most of the advice out there on how to "optimize" your SSD. Use the Windows installer to partition and format it, and just use your computer like normal.

+1
A lot of information is now obsolete and some suggestions were also questionable.

The only suggestion I would give in addition LokutusofBorg's is to make sure you're using Microsoft IDE or AHCI drivers and not nVidia's or ATI's. TRIM commands are only passed with Microsoft drivers. TRIM command might also be passed by Intel drivers, but I'm unsure.

 

[tweakboy]

Id say G2 X25 OCZ agility 2

 

[fffblackmage]

Id say G2 X25 OCZ agility 2

An X25 agility 2 hybrid?

 

[Infrnl]

An X25 agility 2 hybrid?

:biggrin: good one

 

[jez006]

+1
A lot of information is now obsolete and some suggestions were also questionable.

The only suggestion I would give in addition LokutusofBorg's is to make sure you're using Microsoft IDE or AHCI drivers and not nVidia's or ATI's. TRIM commands are only passed with Microsoft drivers. TRIM command might also be passed by Intel drivers, but I'm unsure.

do you mean mobo drivers? i've looked up how to enable AHCI on my mobo but that's all i've done so far...

 

[Makaveli]

Hey everyone, thanks for so much interest in helping me to find my perfect SSD!

I've ordered the OCZ vertex 2 60GB...my reasons are:

1. My Mobo is not sata 3 capable, so i would see no advantage of the c300 sata 3 capabilities.

2. I will not be storing any large files on this drive, only the OS and applications, so 60gb is plenty. I do not want to spend the extra on the intel 80gb...

3. Vertex 2 has faster write speeds than the C300

4. I'm slightly skeptical about Crucial's firmware after reading about how their firmware update bricked peoples SSDs.

5. All the reviews I've read about the vertex 2 are very positive, unless people are unlucky enough to get an ssd that is doa.

6. I've read a lot of good things about the sandforce controller which is used in the vertex 2.

Some of you may disagree with me but each to their own I guess!

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again,

Jez

I would like you to keep us updated on the speeds of the sandforce drive once you start running into data it cannot compress i've heard numerous owners say it drops pretty quickly.

 

[fffblackmage]

do you mean mobo drivers? i've looked up how to enable AHCI on my mobo but that's all i've done so far...

Yeah, it should be included in the mobo drivers.

When you install Windows, Windows should automatically install the microsoft AHCI drivers for you. Then, once you're at the desktop and you go to install the mobo drivers, it'll have drivers for things like ethernet, chipset, and whatever else, but just make sure any AHCI driver is not installed with them.

For example, when I install my mobo drivers, it lists "AMD SATA AHCI driver" as one of the components to be installed. Just uncheck it.

 

[jez006]

I would like you to keep up updated on the speeds once the sandforce drive start running into data it cannot compress i've heard numerous owners say it drops pretty quickly.

No worries, I'll keep you guys updated. When you say data it cannot compress what specifically do you mean? Any links to articles about this?

Yeah, it should be included in the mobo drivers.

When you install Windows, Windows should automatically install the microsoft AHCI drivers for you. Then, once you're at the desktop and you go to install the mobo drivers, it'll have drivers for things like ethernet, chipset, and whatever else, but just make sure any AHCI driver is not installed with them.

For example, when I install my mobo drivers, it lists "AMD SATA AHCI driver" as one of the components to be installed. Just uncheck it.

Thank you! OCZ don't make this clear in the manual? That's pretty bad since it is advertised with "Native TRIM support" according to their website.

Hopefully installed in 24 hours!

 

[fffblackmage]

No worries, I'll keep you guys updated. When you say data it cannot compress what specifically do you mean? Any links to articles about this?

I think he's talking about DuraWrite. Here's the article. It is why I like the Sandforce-based SSDs versus the Crucial C300's native SATA3 interface.

Thank you! OCZ don't make this clear in the manual? That's pretty bad since it is advertised with "Native TRIM support" according to their website.

I think it's because they don't believe it's really their responsibility. Apparently, there's no way to really know if it's actually working. From Windows, you can check if TRIM is enabled, but can't exactly check if it actually does what it's supposed to do. More about it over at the OCZ forum if you're interested.

 

[jez006]

I think he's talking about DuraWrite. Here's the article. It is why I like the Sandforce-based SSDs versus the Crucial C300's native SATA3 interface.

Does this mean what i think it means??

"SandForce states that a full install of Windows 7 + Office 2007 results in 25GB of writes to the host, yet only 11GB of writes are passed on to the drive"

no way....

I think it's because they don't believe it's really their responsibility. Apparently, there's no way to really know if it's actually working. From Windows, you can check if TRIM is enabled, but can't exactly check if it actually does what it's supposed to do. More about it over at the OCZ forum if you're interested.

Just so you know...
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/wiki/index.php?title=How_to_set_up_Windows_on_a_VERTEX

If you scroll down it says:

Which SATA/Chipset drivers are best to use with Vertex?
1 Intel chipset IDE mode = Intel driver
2 Intel chipset AHCI mode = Microsoft driver
3 Intel chipset raid mode = Intel driver
4 AMD chipset IDE mode = Microsoft driver
5 AMD chipset AHCI mode = Microsoft driver
6 AMD chipset raid mode = AMD driver
7 Nvidia chipset IDE mode = Microsoft driver
8 Nvidia chipset AHCI mode = Microsoft driver
9 Nvidia chipset raid mode = Nvidia driver

So at least it says it somewhere!

 

[Voo]

I think it's because they don't believe it's really their responsibility.

Which goes for absolutely every manufacterer.. or do you see anywhere the warning from Intel that TRIM won't work with AMD drivers? They may note that somewhere, but in the end it's obvious that if the driver doesn't forward the TRIM command to the controller, there's nothing it can do, so it's really not their fault and they actually can't do anything about it.
Actually the only one we could blame is MS who recommend the AMD drivers for SSDs.

And if you can I'd use the Intel instead of the MS drivers.. there are situations where you get a noticeable performance boost from those (same goes for HDDs as well)

 

[fffblackmage]

It's rather unfortunate that this doesn't get more attention for a fix. I remember Intel was working on an updated driver, but I'm not sure if they ever came through with it.

 

[Voo]

It's rather unfortunate that this doesn't get more attention for a fix. I remember Intel was working on an updated driver, but I'm not sure if they ever came through with it.

If you mean that Intel drivers support TRIM, yes they do for some time now.. actually only AMD is slacking off (I can understand Nvidia for not investing in their doomed chipset business, but AMD?). But thanks to the MS drivers that's all not so bad..