Thinking of moving from 2x128GB to a single 256GB SSD

[DJ-phYre]

I had a single 128GB M4 SSD for a couple years before I decided to get back into gaming. When I reconfigured my build, I opted to go for adding a second 128GB M4 instead of purchasing a single, larger drive.

Well I recently purchased a Lenovo TS140 Server and now I do not have to run my gaming machine 24/7 (I was running Plex which is now moved to the TS140). In fact, it probably only sees about 12-15 hours of usage on a normal week.

Anyway, I am thinking about breaking up the 128GB drives and putting one of them into the server. The thing is whisper quiet and the loudest thing in there is an old 500GB WD Black I had lying around. I would sell the other M4 to recoup some of my costs for a single 256GB.

So I ask, what does everyone think of this plan? Any issues running Linux on an SSD 24/7? What 256GB drive should I spring for?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Soulkeeper]

You shouldn't have any problem.

I've been running two linux systems for a long time with crucial and plextor 128GB drives.
As a linux user I avoid sandforce drives because they require windows apps to update firmware.

as far as which 256GB drive to get it comes down to personal preference and price imo.
I'm partial to marvell based SSDs (crucial and plextor), but the samsung ones perform really well for extra $$.

i'm up to 20107 power on hours with my crucial M4
17120 with my plextor (304 day uptime on that server, only ever rebooted 10 times)

I've contemplated getting a larger/faster SSD, but I really don't need one myself.

 

[Cerb]

Any issues running Linux on an SSD 24/7?

Nope. Use the discard mount option for TRIM, if you can, though.

What 256GB drive should I spring for?

Here's a fair cross-section of what's available, IMO:
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/internal-hard-drive/#t=0&sort=a6&qq=1&s=129000&f=3
(Microcenter removed due to often having in-store-only prices listed)

I'd get the Crucial M500 (240GB) or Sandisk Ultra Plus (256GB), myself.

 

[Soulkeeper]

you can manually trim your SSD with the fstrim command also

 

[DJ-phYre]

Thanks for the replies. This is probably my next purchase.

 

[tweakboy]

Win 8 and other version. also has trimming option, to check if its enabled and put it to use.

 

[johny12]

You shouldn't have any problem.

I've been running two linux systems for a long time with crucial and plextor 128GB drives.
As a linux user I avoid sandforce drives because they require windows apps to update firmware.

as far as which 256GB drive to get it comes down to personal preference and price imo.
I'm partial to marvell based SSDs (crucial and plextor), but the samsung ones perform really well for extra $$.

i'm up to 20107 power on hours with my crucial M4
17120 with my plextor (304 day uptime on that server, only ever rebooted 10 times)

I've contemplated getting a larger/faster SSD, but I really don't need one myself.

Hey Soulkeeper, I was doing some reading and found out about the how to go about the sandforce firmware update on a linux os. Apparantly it works.
Don't know the rules of this forum but here's a link for that article on another forum. Please check it out
http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=111434
hope it helps and also if you try please let us know if it works out:thumbsup:

 

[etherealfocus]

I'm in a similar situation - considering a move to a 256GB SSD. The 128GB 830 in my sig is running strong, but has obnoxious read service time issues that occasionally result in me waiting literally 5-10 seconds to open a folder in Win8.1. I used the latest Magician to optimize for performance, set OP to 20%, and have another 15GB free on top of that. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but it does disrupt my workflow at least once a day.

With the exception of the M500 apparently being dog slow at 120-250GB sizes, I doubt I'd notice the peak performance difference between most of the quality contenders... but I do really hate the service time lag issues. After reading a bunch of reviews, I'm thinking the Seagate 600 or Samsung Evo are the way to go, with the Mushkin Chronos Deluxe being a good third choice. Only snafu: I really like the Samsung Magician software, and I already have the notebook transfer kit from a previous build...

but the Evo 250 is gimped by being on 8 channels instead of 16, which also seems to have a big effect on the frequency of service times >1s. The 250 has almost twice as many long service times as the 500 from one of the reviews.

and the Seagate 600, despite being a sweet robust drive that apparently handles heavy loads like a champ, doesn't come with support for low power states. Most of the reviews show it still scoring pretty well on battery life, only slightly behind the M500 and Evo... that sound about right? And of course no Magician software is a bummer. Any recommendations on a quality (pref. free) alternative for duping my data to an external? The Sammie transfer kit dongle should work with anything since it's just a SATA-USB adapter.

Finally, my Probook 430 G1 doesn't have an M.2 slot, but how soon can I expect next gen drives to hit the market? I'm planning to upgrade again when I can get a Broadwell machine in similar form factor for under 700ish and it'll most likely come with a nice M.2 drive, so this is really just about making the wait a bit more pleasant. Thoughts?

 

[Cerb]

What do you use Magician for, that it makes any difference?

Personally, I use Clonezilla to clone drives. It uses partclone, which will only copy used space on NTFS. I'm not sure exactly how it handles the GPT end-of-drive partition tables, if you're not using MBR, though.

There's also Macrium and EaseUS, with free versions.

Performance-wise, the Evo's SLC cache gives it an edge in light workloads at the smaller sizes, but has the same channel issues as the M500, and if you're able to get a Pro into a corner like that, the Evo will only be slightly better. The M500 would definitely be better than either in that case, but at the cost of top-end performance at every capacity. It not having that kind of behavior is part of why we like it, even though it doesn't bench quite as well in desktop tests (plus Crucial's good consumer-facing support, and the low cost is a cherry on top).

What about the Sandisk Extreme II? It's got good steady-state performance, and good DIPM power usage.

 

[etherealfocus]

I use it for the performance optimization button, tracking wear levels, and cloning drives when I do an upgrade.

I care way less about top-end performance than I do about a stable baseline and avoidance of obnoxiously high >1s service times. If the M500 is a little slower but gets me a solid baseline, I'll take it.

Magician is convenient, but I can do perf tweaks and check out Clonezilla or whatever if needed.

The SDE2 looks great, but it's a bit more than I'm looking to spend on what's basically a convenience upgrade... and pricing on the 240G version makes the 480G a much better deal - currently $200 for the 240G or $280 for the 480G. If I'm gonna bite on that, I might as well blow the extra 80 bucks for twice the drive.

That's a bit reason I was wondering about ETA on the next-gen drives. If they're gonna show up in the next couple months and force the SDE2 down a bit, I might as well wait for that. The 480G is already a stupidly good deal - the M500 undercuts it by $20 but that's about it aside from a few cheap also-rans.

 

[Cerb]

That's a bit reason I was wondering about ETA on the next-gen drives. If they're gonna show up in the next couple months and force the SDE2 down a bit, I might as well wait for that. The 480G is already a stupidly good deal - the M500 undercuts it by $20 but that's about it aside from a few cheap also-rans.

Several re-designs of current SSDs recently hit the market, there's the Plextor M6, and so far, no new controllers to be available in large numbers, yet, TMK.

I'd just about bet, as well, that the flash making SSD brands are waiting for their next shrink, to bother.

The M500 has better bottom-end performance than an 830 or 840 Pro, but for that matter, so does the Sandisk Ultra Plus, another fairly cheap one. The Seagate 600 can yet best that, though, and the Extreme II can best that, leaving basically the Neutron as the only drive ahead.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7006/sandisk-extreme-ii-review-480gb/2
Now, the prices, well, yeah...they are what they are. The Extreme II and X210 (an Extreme II with less factory spare area), and Seagate's 600, are priced as premium units, rather than competing with the regular prices we see for the M50, 840 Evo, Ultra Plus, etc..

P.S. Looks like the 240GB can be had $170. Not amazing, but not bad, and still quite a bit cheaper than the 480GB.

 

[DJ-phYre]

I use it for the performance optimization button, tracking wear levels, and cloning drives when I do an upgrade.

I care way less about top-end performance than I do about a stable baseline and avoidance of obnoxiously high >1s service times. If the M500 is a little slower but gets me a solid baseline, I'll take it.

Magician is convenient, but I can do perf tweaks and check out Clonezilla or whatever if needed.

The SDE2 looks great, but it's a bit more than I'm looking to spend on what's basically a convenience upgrade... and pricing on the 240G version makes the 480G a much better deal - currently $200 for the 240G or $280 for the 480G. If I'm gonna bite on that, I might as well blow the extra 80 bucks for twice the drive.

That's a bit reason I was wondering about ETA on the next-gen drives. If they're gonna show up in the next couple months and force the SDE2 down a bit, I might as well wait for that. The 480G is already a stupidly good deal - the M500 undercuts it by $20 but that's about it aside from a few cheap also-rans.

Do you do a clone of the boot drive? Can I clone my RAID0 onto a new SSD and boot w/o any issues? I am ignorant to these things

 

[etherealfocus]

RAID0? Haven't used it since like 2008, but it should clone fine as far as I know. We use RAID1 to protect against drive failure in the server, but anything that needs performance were converted to SSD a long time ago. Haven't gotten to a point where we really need better than SDE2 performance in the infrastructure, but it sounds like the parts will be there when we're ready for them.

For personal use though... saving my Illustrator files can still take over a minute for some for some of our signage - even with the 830 in my sig. I don't have to do stuff like that very often, but when I do, I dream of 128G RAM drives.