Intel X25-V 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive

[1bawolf]

I have a new system up and running on xp3 and wondered about putting the Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive in for C drive and reload xp on it to boot. I have a new system with the below in it.

CASE ANTEC|NINE HUNDRED+EA650RT
CPU INTEL|C2Q Q8200 2.33G 775 4M R
MB GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P P45 775 R
VGA SAPPHIRE|100279-1GL 4870 1G RT
2-HD 640G|WD WD6401AALS
MEM 2Gx2|GSK F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK R

I just want the machine load faster and newegg had it for $119. It sounds like it will load xp or 7 a lot faster than a regular wd like I have. Am I thinking the right wasy about that? Will it just go in the SATA plug as #1 and then move the other 2 ahead of it? I am going to load a new xp3 disc. The original copy was a old beta a friend had. I hate to go through all the driver loads and wondered if anyone knows a program that would help me with just the drivers if this is a new xp3 copy sealed?

With this new system do think it is crazy not to go to windows 7. I mainly do adobe photo stuff and business on it. I am not a gamer and just wanted to build a new system since the one I last built was 5 years ago.
Thanks for the help, Budde

 

[Zap]

Yes it will be faster. Know that boot times will not magically drop to nothing. Some boards take a while to POST, so while the OS might drop from (just pulling imaginary numbers from my ass) taking 40 seconds to load, to taking only 20 seconds to load, your overall boot time may still be 30-40 seconds.

You will have to do some tweaks to get the best out of an SSD for Windows XP use (search for "aligning"). Windows 7 will "understand" how to use an SSD better.

You will probably still want to keep your WD 640G around to use as data and scratch drives.

If you really want to get the Intel X25-V 40GB drive, then wait until Saturday because it will be a Newegg Shellshocker. Make sure you are signed up to the Newegg Newsletter (if you aren't already) and if you want to make sure you get in on the deal, check for it right after they post it (what, midnight or 1AM?). Don't forget Bing cashback (last I checked 2% for Newegg). I'm predicting that this drive will be under $100 during the Shellshocker.

 

[sxr7171]

Wow damn! I feel like I am privy to insider information! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Zap]

They give you a weekly "sneak peek" in email if you're signed up for their newsletter.

 

[Axon]

You sure that's going to be the X25V Zap? Did you zoom in on the photo or something?

Anyway, I own an X25V, and for what I wanted to do (boot faster, play a game or two) it was a worthy upgrade. If you're looking for a drive to load with games, the X25V isn't it. The boot speed is immense; I don't even see the Windows logo after BIOS. Everything feels nice and snappy. Good drive overall. Writes speeds are a touch slow but I rarely notice.

 

[caspur]

Bump for Zap update...is it the X25-v or M? Was it supposed to be 189.99 for the X25M with free ship or 89 for the V?

 

[Zap]

You sure that's going to be the X25V Zap? Did you zoom in on the photo or something?

The thumbnail makes it clear that it is a retail boxed Intel SSD, of which there are three at Newegg. So far Newegg's been pretty good about using the thumbnails from their site, so as you are looking at the three retail boxed drives, only the 40GB X25-V is angled in this manner.

 

[klocwerk]

The thumbnail makes it clear that it is a retail boxed Intel SSD, of which there are three at Newegg. So far Newegg's been pretty good about using the thumbnails from their site, so as you are looking at the three retail boxed drives, only the 40GB X25-V is angled in this manner.

Genius.
Now I'm considering staying up a few more hours...

 

[Glenn]

Pretty dissapointing at $114.99.

 

[sub.mesa]

What is disappointing, Glenn?

By the way, avoid using 10 year old operating systems. XP behaves bad on SSDs; Vista or Win7 is recommended. Using XP on an SSD would more than halve its lifespan and reduce performance significantly.

 

[Emulex]

why? you can run the trim toolbox on an automated task scheduler with XP.

do you think anyone here really cares if a 40gb SSD lasts 3 years instead of 6 years? probably not. we'll be rocking 640gb $99 SSD in 3 years

 

[Beautiful_Life]

If you're using XP, you've have to go through the tedious task of making sure XP won't create your partition and start it at the 63rd sector(XP's default). This will cause the SSD to be misaligned and your SSD's speed will be nearly halved.

If you're looking at a machine that's going to last you 5 years, invest in Windows 7 too. I however advice you to have only 3 year at the most in mind. Sell everything after 3 year and build a whole new machine. New technology is coming out at an ever increasing rate, you'd just be wasting money building a super machine hoping to last you long. Just my opinion.

Don't expect your boot times to be magically faster though. Mine boots in 15 seconds, however the exact similar setup takes just 35 on a 7200rpm drive and 50 on a 5400rpm drive. Applications do load alot faster, but not all loading is dependent on the drive. Apps takes times to organize before being fully usable. Certain add-on makes my FF load very slowly even after all the data has been fed into the RAM. On another PC with a 5400rpm HDD, FF actually loads faster. Depends on the programs.

Also processor intensive task won't improve due to your SSD. Multimedia playing won't improve because they hardly read anything off the drive. They just stream it very slowly.

You'll however see a huge improvement in multitasking, like multiple programs open to reference from when doing your Photoshop work. You won't have to suffer the agony or waiting for programs to open and close when you need them.

 

[Zap]

Pretty dissapointing at $114.99.

Yeah, I was only half right with my predictions. :hmm: Maybe I should write for SemiAccurate?

What is disappointing is that the Newegg Shellshocker price is the same as Amazon's regular price.

Why I was predicting under $100 was that the Kingston version of the same drive hit under $100 on several occasions both on Newegg and Buy.com.

 

[Glenn]

I was expecting sub c note too, but I was able to get the dane electric rebadged 80gb x18 Intel G1 for $150 so I don't feel too bad.

 

[Zap]

I was expecting sub c note too, but I was able to get the dane electric rebadged 80gb x18 Intel G1 for $150 so I don't feel too bad.

:awe: So did I. Good thing too, since it jumped up in price soon after.