Objective difference between SSDs

[ochadd]

I've had some experience with the Vertex, Agility, 1st and 2nd gen X25-m drives. Ran both Windows XP and Windows 7 on them. Day to day usage I can't tell the difference. Contemplating going with a Vertex 2 or Agility 2 as I like the specs and the way the Sandforce controller works.

My goal is OS and application response time. I game and tweak on my machine endlessly. My system is in my sig and I'm wondering if getting a different SSD would make a bigger difference than waiting for Sandybridge or i7 build.

Any input is welcome.

 

[Old Hippie]

I've had some experience with the Vertex, Agility, 1st and 2nd gen X25-m drives.

I've owned a GSkill 1st Gen, Intel 1st&2nd Gen, and Vertex2 drives.

First hand knowledge is always the best and I try to correlate the drive's testing specs to my real world experience. I try to "see" if the specs mirror my personal experience and what specs reflect the positive attributes I need to make the drive improve my desktop performance needs.

The SF controller is used in the Vertex2 drives that I just sold. They screamed on RAR/unRARing but just didn't have the "snap" that my Intels have.

Even though the Vertex2s had a much higher read/write speed the compression used by the SF controller doesn't always pan out in real world usage.

I ordered a 256GB Crucial SSD yesterday so we'll see how it stacks up against my Intel 80GB RAID0 set-up.

It will be interesting to see.

The differences between the current crop of SSDs are very small and waiting for an Intel SATA6 solution would probably be the best bet.

PSSSS.....I forgot...just keep your G2.

 

[SJetski71]

Ya, the Crucial RealSSD C300 series + SATA III seems very interesting, and tempting:

Shame they don't sell the Crucial C300, it's crazy fast.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/31...56gb_sata_6gbps_solid_state_disk/index10.html

I'm (hopefully) getting one for my birthday this month

Those are SATA III numbers, but even their Sata II numbers still look fantastic to me. be sure to check out the review in the link above.

I'm currently researching their 64gb flavor to see what the speed differences may be compared to the 128gb and 256gb models.

 

[Old Hippie]

I'm gonna give the Crucial SSD a shot.

When my Intel G2s RAID0 were brand new....

And this is what it looks like now after 6 months....

I really can't perceive any difference but it's been 6 months, 16 cases of Budweiser, and many......it's been awhile.

We'll see how the Crucial does.

PSSSS....sorry for screwing-up your thread ochadd but you did say "Any" input was welcome.

 

[Makaveli@BETA]

Can someone post scores for a 320GB G2 Raid 0 setup ....

 

[ochadd]

PSSSS....sorry for screwing-up your thread ochadd but you did say "Any" input was welcome.

Not screwing it up at all, I'll take any discussion about SSDs. Thanks to Hippie as well as that's exactly the type of thing I was looking for.

I went from Agility -> Vertex -> X25m -> X25m G2. Things I noticed were Windows updates on Windows 7, creating a restore point, playing with Nlite, system "snap". The G2 seems quicker but the actual difference may just be in my head. The Intel software is what really won me over and kept me using it this long. It's just flawless for the way I like my software to behave.

Couldn't care less about sequential transfers and system response is everything to me. The Sandforce drives by the specs look to dominate in that. Think I'll hold off upgrading my storage awhile until the next gen stuff hits the streets.

 

[Old Hippie]

The Sandforce drives by the specs look to dominate in that. Think I'll hold off upgrading my storage awhile until the next gen stuff hits the streets.

IMHO stick with the Intels and I'll let ya know how this 256GB Crucial SSD performs.

The G2 seems quicker but the actual difference may just be in my head.

Exactly my same experience and what I've been saying all along. I think it's the Intel screaming read speed (even with RAID0 and no TRIM) that makes the OS "pop".

I'm getting close to 500 MB/s read with the Intel's in RAID0 and am hoping that's enough "overkill" read speed that the Crucial's 355 MB/s will have comparable snap and higher read speeds than my Intel's 100 - 140MB/s read speed.

I'm very interested in these other testing parameters (4K read and write and 4K-64Thrd) but I have yet to see how these correlate to everyday usage.

Maybe someone could jump in and explain where these different parameters would make a difference in real world usage?

Specs are written, discussed, and argued about all over the place but I'm trying to apply them in a normal home enthusiasts situation.