I've been more than pleased with my Kingston 40gb, aka the poor man's Intel G2 SSD. As an os/app drive, it's working well - boot times are much improved, multitasking is much improved, load times are much improved...you get the idea. If you want quantitative analyses, check the benchmarks here & at other sites.
I was skeptical the Kingston would 1. be crippled by its inferior write speeds 2. not be enough space. I haven't noticed 1 at all in daily use & 2 is something I'm managing (mainly uninstalling apps I use less than once a month...I'll just run them on my secondary system now).
This sounds reasonable to me.
My full install, of Windows 7 Ultimate and the applications I generally use run me to about 20 Gb which depending on your circumstances may leave you with an ample amount for a page file or a frequently played game.
As for an SSD for a main drive for 'extra data'... well it really depends on your usage to be honest. I am no expert on SSD's but would perhaps be right in saying "If your main aim is to have a fast boot, responsive system with a few apps/games that load quickly when you want them.. then an 80Gb or 160Gb SSD using either the Intel controller (G2 preferred) or Indilinx controller (bad spelling) would be your best option and use standard HDD's for anything else.
It would be helpful to know:
- What programs you typically use
- What programs do you use regularly
- How much storage are you looking for in total?
- What are the reasons behind you wanting SSD and what are your expectations of it
Referring to some of these points will help us form an opinion of what we believe would be best for you and allow you to make an informed decision.
Welcome to the forums. As you will find, >99% of Anandtechers are helpful and will aim to provide you with the best advice they can. We don't want to spoil anyones fun but we don't want someone to spend a lot of money on something and for them to end up disappointed, whether their expectations were wrong or they purchased the 'wrong' product.