New to SSDs? Read this first before asking questions! (UPDATED 07/17/2011)

[Rubycon]

Intel is ridiculously aggressive with their ssd life cycle ratings. Even 20 gb/day forever would only net you ~ 7.3 tb/year. Unless you plan to use that drive for 15+ years with that type of usage pattern then you are unlikely to ever experience an issue. And keep in mind that 128-256gb drives will seem ridiculously tiny in the next few years. 15 years from now you probably wouldn't pay $5 for a 128gb usb 7 thumb drive...

USB 3.0 will be superseded by Thunderbolt 2.0.

 

[videobruce]

Gotta admit, this is surely the place to know for info on SSD's.

Excellent posts Zap.

 

[tdg84]

So I read this forum cause I'm trying to figure out which SSd to buy. I see that the Plextor M2 is mentioned as one of the better ones, but now there is a PLextor M3. It has a Marvell controller, which (according to this thread), is one of the better ones to have. Also the specs of the latests drives seems to be on the higher end of the spectrum.
But one thing, the Plextor brand isn't mentioned that much in this, or any, SSD forum. So is that a good thing or a bad thing? I know Plextor is more known for their DVD/CD drives, but that shouldn't stop me from getting one of their SSDs, right? Or should it? Anyone got more feedback regarding the Plextor M3 SSD?

 

[Zap]

But one thing, the Plextor brand isn't mentioned that much in this, or any, SSD forum. So is that a good thing or a bad thing? I know Plextor is more known for their DVD/CD drives, but that shouldn't stop me from getting one of their SSDs, right? Or should it? Anyone got more feedback regarding the Plextor M3 SSD?

They aren't mentioned much because they're just getting known for SSDs. If the price is right, I wouldn't mind owning their SSDs.

 

[bryanW1995]

The marvell controller is great, and I've heard good things about the m3.

 

[MustISO]

What are the recommended benchmark tools that are spyware/adware free? Is Atto the best choice?

 

[santilmo]

Guys, which would probably give better value overall in terms of price/performance? Intel 330 (180GB) or Intel 520 (120GB) ? On top of the added capacity of course, would Intel 330 (180GB) be a better buy?

I've read somewhere that bigger capacity SSDs of the same make and model tend to perform better (e.g. Intel 330 120GB vs. Intel 330 180GB)...

By the way, I am from the Philippines so here are the prices locally.

Intel 520 (120G) - 10,500.00 PHP = 248.333 USD
Intel 330 (180GB) - 11,610.00 PHP = 274.543 USD

 

[tristtan]

I was so enlighted by this thread :thumbsup:

 

[fng01]

Great thread, I came here to learn what I could about SSD's because I was interested in getting one. After reading this I learned that my old 2007 gamming rig I built that’s running XP isn't really the right platform for an SSD. Thanks again for the time you put into writing this and to all of you folk that added to it. This will spark me into researching my next mombo and switching to win7 or maybe hold off for win8?

 

[Momar99]

just got myself a crucial m4. best decision of my life.

 

[phobsi]

went from m4 to sandisk Extreme, pretty happy about that.

 

[Rhezuss]

This sticky is really awesome, thanks a lot!

I followed ALL the steps yesterday when I installed my first ever SSD...i.e....set the SATA mode on AHCI lol!

Now I understand all the talks about SSDs, THEY ARE fast! Drivers, programs and apps load in mere seconds! And they're easier to setup than I thought.

After installing Win7 Pro 64bits yesterday and booted I laughed when I saw how fast SSDs are!

 

[Koing]

Cheers for the thread! Great info!

Great thread, I came here to learn what I could about SSD's because I was interested in getting one. After reading this I learned that my old 2007 gamming rig I built that’s running XP isn't really the right platform for an SSD. Thanks again for the time you put into writing this and to all of you folk that added to it. This will spark me into researching my next mombo and switching to win7 or maybe hold off for win8?

Finally bit the bullet and got a Samsung 830 256GB SSD for my 2008 Macbook which is capped at SATA 1 speeds. Why not get a slower drive? The 830 is suppose to be reliable and the price difference in a slower one wasn't enough to make me jump.

I'll update the thread once I have installed it.

Koing

 

[shortnugly]

Wow.... great thread. Learned a bunch.

Getting ready to build a new pc from the last one I built 9 yrs ago. Hooo boy! Am I out of touch. Been tweaking and optimizing my desktop for years.

This is gonna be like going from dial up to broadband.

Very excited about the SSD advancements and I can't wait to see the results.

I plan on using the midrange builders spec sheet and getting the latest of everything. SSD now being a must-have.

Looking hard at the Samsung 840 Series MZ-7TD250BW for about $189. Probly gonna wait to see what is on sale on the after-christmas deals.

Thanks for all the great info.

 

[Fallengod]

Yeah, im just waiting to find an Intel 330 or 520 180gb for $90-100AR. I refuse to pay more.

 

[xilience]

Thanks!

 

[xeledon20005]

Ive got 2 samsung 840 pros, in a raid0 array effectively is double read/write speed along with IOPS. Its crazy fast boot time under 20seconds.

 

[Whitestar127]

Hi Zap, and thanks for the guide. I see the last update in the "Which SSD should I buy" is from mid 2011.

What is the situation in the market today? I'm looking for a 240GB or 256GB SSD to replace my old Vertex2 128GB, which seems to have issues. It will be used mainly for gaming.

 

[Zap]

Yeah, haven't updated and the number of SSDs on the market is a lot larger now.

Today? Here is some general buying advice.

1) Buy SATA 6Gb/s only.

2) Any Marvell or SandForce should be relatively safe to buy as they are reasonably mature firmware-wise. And follow #1.

3) Any Intel, Samsung, Plextor. And follow #1.

4) Performance is relative. An "old and slow" Crucial M4 will still be so much faster than a HDD, and unless you are benchmarking or have a stopwatch built into your head you may not notice much difference between it and the benchmark leaders when doing your daily tasks. So buy SSD = yes (caveat: one that isn't "crappy"). Which exact SSD? Not as important. And follow #1.

5) In regards to #4 you will probably notice a $100 difference between a $160 and a $260 drive more than you will notice the performance difference.

That all said, through tomorrow there are deals on the Crucial M4 256GB for $160 shipped at a couple places. I would be comfortable with that drive at that price unless a better offer comes along. It isn't the latest/greatest/fastest, but it has mature firmware and is cheap. Good alternative is the Samsung 840 when it goes on sale, which seems to happen every other week (this week it is Crucial's turn).

 

[Whitestar127]

Thanks for answering.
So, just to be sure, I should follow #1? Kidding.

I made a new thread before I saw your answer here: "SSD for gaming - does write performance even matter?" I'm guessing the answer is no.

I get your point I think. I stopped being a benchmark slave a while back. I mean, if an SSD copies a 1GB file 2 seconds faster than another, what do I care. I'm not going to pay extra for that. I just want an SSD that will do it's job and be reliable at the same time.

Anyway, thanks for the input. Appreciated.

 

[Whitestar127]

Hi, I have another couple of questions.

I'm about to install Win7 on a fresh 128GB SSD. Now, since I like to keep Win fresh I usually reinstall it once, maybe twice a year. But all the Windows updates (patches) are a pain to download each time.

I was thinking of using Acronis True Image 2012 to make a disk image after all was downloaded and installed. And then applying that image every time I want to install Win7 again. From earlier posts in this thread it seems you (Zap) are not 100% sure the disk will be properly aligned, is that right? Or did I misunderstand?

Slightly off-topic:
Anyone have other tips on how to save time during reinstall of Windows? How about service packs? Do they contain all or most of the patches that come on windows updates (never been sure about this)? Earlier I have had trouble installing Service Pack 1 for Windows.

 

[Phynaz]

You're going be surprised how fast those 200 updates install. Remember your drive grinding away for a couple of hours installing them all?

No more. You will actually become cpu limited for Windows patching. Still not the greatest experience, but you won't put off applying a service pack because you didn't want to spend an hour with your fingers crossed.

I just do SP2 installs and set Windows to auto update. Couple of reboots are your convenience and your done.

I tried Acronis to Image an SSD and couldn't get it to work properly.

 

[Whitestar127]

Thanks, but not sure what you mean by SP2 installs. As far as I know there is no Service Pack 2 for Windows 7.

So you would just set it to auto-update rather than install SP1 first in the form of an exe? I could not get the exe to work so maybe it is best to just let Windows Update take care of it.

 

[Whitestar127]

Just installed the whole thing. You were right, it went fast.

 

[Kanonliraren]

What's the recommended SSD for operating systems w/o TRIM support right now? I will primarily be using the system in question for gaming and video/audio/image editing and encoding. Any help greatly appreciated, I thought I'd bump this thread since I don't really think it deserves a new one.