Intel 320 series SSD

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lil layzie

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I have a chance to get the 120GB drive from the retail edge program for about $192 after taxes and shipping. Doesn't seem like much of a discount from other sites but still a discount nevertheless. Is there anything out there that will be better for the same price range?

I'm planning to build a Sandy Bridge system in the next following weeks and the main uses will be gaming and media viewing/playback. I was thinking going with a HDD (1TB Samsung Spinpoint) as a main drive for now and wait til SSD's get cheaper. Now that I have this discount in front of me, would it be worthwhile to go with this SSD? The thing that is making me hesitant to buy it is because its SATA2 while the 510 series is SATA3.

After reading some threads in this section it seems like the 320 drives are reliable and compatible with mostly everything even though they aren't top performers but I probably won't notice the real world performance.

I know nothing about SSD's so I just want to be sure before I purchase anything SSD related. Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions?
 
Intel just bumped the warranty on the 320 series to 5 years, which is a big plus, imho.

Yes, it is only Sata II, so its benchmarks are not going to look good against Sata III ssd's, but for the purposes you describe, I don't think you'll be disappointed with it. At that price, it is a good buy.
 
With Intel you'd be buying reliability.
They also have a higher resale value.

The 320 would be a good choice.
 
I have one each in two old (SATA II) systems. Work great so far (about a month); systems are very noticeably faster. $192 is a good price.
 
lets nor forhet that the Intel 320 series are the first consumer grade SSD with caps to prevent data loss from power failures, a feature previously only present on enterprise SSDs like the SF 1500 and 2500.

Add that to the 0.6% RMA rate of the X25-M G2, that Intel promises to make even better, and the buying decision is not that [H]ard
 
Yes, the features, warranty, & reliability are very appealing.

Some things are making me hesitant to purchase it. Like I've mention, it's only SATA2. Also the discount doesn't seem much. I believe its in the range of about $50 in savings. So wouldn't it be better to just save up that 50 and invest in something more faster like a 510 drive?

I'm just afraid of buying this drive when I can get something significantly faster without breaking the bank.

Question, how much of a performance increase would it be going from a Samsung Spinpoint 1tb HDD to an intel 320 drive? And from a Spinpoint to a 510 drive?
 
What's your usage? How many different SSDs have you had?

You may not even be able to tell a difference between a 6G SSD.

The 120 320's a nice SSD.
 
If your not moving large files you probably won't notice the II vs III speeds.

I have an Intel G2 80gb, and 2x 510 120gb and the G2 IOPS are much higher but I can't tell the difference at all. I am a 3 monitor, heavy-multi task user minimum 8 hours a day 7 days a week usually.

I DID notice a difference between my Core2Duo and my i7-920 with the same SSDs when multi-tasking.. not heavily just normal. It wasn't SLOW, it was just a slight noticeable lag.
 
Brahmzy said:
What's your usage? How many different SSDs have you had?

You may not even be able to tell a difference between a 6G SSD.

The 120 320's a nice SSD.
Click to expand...

The Intel 320 120gb are cheap on amazon right now, 225$ after MIR.

I was thinking of snagging one to compare to my 510, or 2 for an array :D :D
 
Brahmzy said:
What's your usage? How many different SSDs have you had?

You may not even be able to tell a difference between a 6G SSD.

The 120 320's a nice SSD.
Click to expand...
Gaming, a lot downloading, web browsing, movies, music, watching and streaming HD content. Never owned an SSD before. That's why I want to be sure before I purchase one.

ToddW2 said:
If your not moving large files you probably won't notice the II vs III speeds.

I have an Intel G2 80gb, and 2x 510 120gb and the G2 IOPS are much higher but I can't tell the difference at all. I am a 3 monitor, heavy-multi task user minimum 8 hours a day 7 days a week usually.

I DID notice a difference between my Core2Duo and my i7-920 with the same SSDs when multi-tasking.. not heavily just normal. It wasn't SLOW, it was just a slight noticeable lag.
Click to expand...
After reading this, the 320 drive is looking very appealing.


I'm just worried I might regret my decision with the 320 drive when I can just pony up another $50 dollars and get a 510 drive that will perform better. I still got until the end of this month or when they run out of stock to decide on the 320. Thanks for all the suggestions and opinions.

Edit:
There's also a deal going on with the 510 drive for $225 after MIR on Amazon and NewEgg. Wouldn't this be a better deal?
 
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I'm sure the 510 will suit your needs as well. Sounds like you've made your mind up. Keep in mind however, on some of the 6G 120GB models, a substantial performance hit is taken from their 240/256 bigger brothers. Do your research on the specific SSD you're looking at.

For me? Speed is king.
 
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I'm on the fence about the 320 and 510 drive. If only the 510 used an Intel controller, I'd get it right away.
 
If in doubt, go with the 320. It is the safe, reliable, and compatible choice.
 
Yeah.

With the 320, I won't have to worry about rebates, I get a long warranty to back me up and I can use that $50 on other components for my new system. It's not like the 320 drive is sluggish right? I've been using a SATA1 74gb raptor for nearly 7 years. And I've been using this PATA seagate 80gb drive for a few months now since my raptor died.
 
lil layzie said:
Yeah.

With the 320, I won't have to worry about rebates, I get a long warranty to back me up and I can use that $50 on other components for my new system. It's not like the 320 drive is sluggish right? I've been using a SATA1 74gb raptor for nearly 7 years. And I've been using this PATA seagate 80gb drive for a few months now since my raptor died.
Click to expand...

Im thinking about purchasing a SSD myself - and from my research the 320 looks to be the best bet for me.

I read somewhere that the 320 was more reliable then the 510; and intel being more reliable then all the other brands.

Ive seen a few users here and elsewhere talking about some failures with the 510 ...

(know Im highjacking your thread with this next question but ...)

how much space will I have left after a win 7 install with a 80 gig drive? ... and how much do I need to leave free?
 
Dulak said:
Im thinking about purchasing a SSD myself - and from my research the 320 looks to be the best bet for me.

I read somewhere that the 320 was more reliable then the 510; and intel being more reliable then all the other brands.

Ive seen a few users here and elsewhere talking about some failures with the 510 ...

(know Im highjacking your thread with this next question but ...)

how much space will I have left after a win 7 install with a 80 gig drive? ... and how much do I need to leave free?
Click to expand...
No worries.

IIRC, around 20 gigs of space was taken after my fresh install of Win 7 64bit with all the applied windows update and necessary drivers.
 
510 or 320 a desktop user won't notice the difference unless they move large files often.

TECHNICALLY the 320 and G2 have higher IOPs than the 510 but you shouldn't worry about that for most people in desktop environment.

What I`m saying is that now that I've used the G2 and 510 and the IOPs are drastically different as are the sustained read/write I can confidently say most SSDs out there are not near their limits in most desktop users systems.

I say get whatever you can get the best deal on 510 vs 320.

If I had to do it again I would go 320 for the 5 year warranty!!!
 
happy with my 320
no problems at all, rock solid - just like my G2 :)

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I have been playing with SSD's off and on for a couple of years now. Even in the bad ol days of the first gen stuttering disaster, they were still way faster overall than any magnetic drive. Any current or last years model drive will work great for you.

If you are a benchmark junky, go with the 510 and get a MB with Sata III and schwing away with the Epenis. Better yet, get 2 and Raid them and go HOLMS on us.

Otherwise, go with the 320.

Either way, it is almost impossible to be happy with a mechanical drive after you have lived with an SSD.

Don
 
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