SSD advice

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speedlever

Limp Gawd
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Sep 29, 2006
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I have a system I built about 4 years ago that still meets my needs. It is based on an Asus P5B-E mobo and an Intel E6600 running 6 GB ram. I have been using a sata WD74Gb Raptor for my OS/programs and a 320Gig Samsung and 300 Gb Seagate for data in an Antec Solo case with dual case fans blowing cool air over them. I have no issues with noise from any of the drives, but reliability has become a thorn in the flesh.

I just experienced my 2nd Raptor failure this year. The first Raptor failed in January with about 3 years in service. The warranty replacement drive (recertified) just failed after about 10 months of service.

I've been pressing WD for a warranty replacement that is not a Raptor, if they have something more reliable. Of course WD maintains that the WD74ADFD has been a reliable drive. My experience is otherwise.

I've just had a wild hair and am thinking instead to replace the Raptor with an SSD. Could you guys give me a quick primer in the pros/cons of an SSD replacing a conventional HD? Any suggestions for a good value in a replacement drive? I assume the SSD is just plug and play in place of the Raptor?

I see Newegg has an 80Gb Intel SSD for $150. But I don't know how to compare the specs with something like the 120 Gb OCZ Vertex 2 for $230. I don't want to spend any more than necessary, but OTOH I don't want to hamstring performance if spending a few extra bucks would make a difference. Guess I'm just looking for the sweet spot in performance/value at this point in time.

I normally like to research this stuff to death before I jump in but am pressed for time so I can get the PC back in operation. I would appreciate any help you can offer helping me find a good compromise in cost and performance.

Edit. I am running Windows 7/64 Home Premium.
 
You are definitely not going to hamper performance by getting an Intel SSD.
 
Intel G2 for 150 is a great deal. It will make your system a lot faster than your current Raptor. It's not even close. The only thing you're going to need to do is make sure your controller is set as AHCI in the BIOS, and that's it. Windows 7 built in drive offer great performance and passes the TRIM command so you don't have to worry about slowdown.
 
Intel G2 for 150 is a great deal
Click to expand...

Not as good as the $173 120 GB Intel G2 I got on black Friday. That is if I get the $32 rebate card soon. But I agree still a good deal.
 
I don't know what the G2 designator signifies. Here is the Intel SSD that I referenced above.

Is this the consensus for the current value/performance buy?
 
SSDSA2MH080G2K5

Yes that is a G2

G2 -- Generation 2 -- Made from the newer 34nm process. Supports TRIM.
 
Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the info.

BTW, how can you know a G2 SSD from reading the spec sheet?
 
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These 90 GB SSDs have much higher write times than the Intel X25M referenced above and they're just a few bucks more.

Are they worthy of consideration or do they not have the reliability of the Intel X25M?

Also, are they just 2.5 inch drives... even for tower PCs? I assume they come with some kind of adapter to fit the 3.5 inch HD carrier and use standard sata power and data cables.
 
Those are Sandforce based drives. You can't rely on the advertised specs because of how they work. Those speeds are only reached with easily compressed data, but real world usage falls a bit short of those marks. As for reliability, we don't really known. Sandforce drives are still young, so we don't know how they'll hold up over time. And most 2.5" SSDs come with 3.5" adapters, so they'll fit in any PC case and use normal cables.

I say buy the cheapest with the amount of capacity you want, and be happy. You'll probably never be able to tell the difference in an Intel or Sandforce drive outside of benchmarks.
 
Thanks for that.

I also checked over at Storage Review. They like the C300 for performance and call the X25M long in the tooth. OTOH, that sounds like a mature product. :D

I think I"ll spring for that 80Gb Intel SSD.
 
Since I didn't have an issue until the Raptor failed, I didn't even begin considering a SSD until last night. I think the only price break is a $30 rebate bringing the price down to $150... which is about what I paid for the 74 Gig Raptor, iirc (4 years ago).

I ordered the Intel SSD early this morning.

What sale are you referring to?
 
I put an Intel SSD into an old crappy PC for kicks and it made it feel almost like a brand new machine.

You don't realize how much of a bottleneck old HD's are until you replace one with an SSD.
 
Old Hippie said:
I thought you were talking about the Newegg sale but you must be talking about the MWave price.

It's a great unit!
Click to expand...

Nope. I linked to it in post 5 above. It's from Newegg. What was the recent sale? The MWave deal is about $5 cheaper. I tossed in 2 day shipping so I hope NE gets it out today so I can have it by Friday and begin the arduous task of getting the computer back operational.

Reinstalling the OS is easy. But reinstalling the programs and tweaking them it what takes so much time for me.

I need to remember to check my BIOS and make sure my controller is set as AHCI... or so I've been told. I think it may already be, but can't remember.

I'm a bit concerned about the limited write cycle issue with flash memory. I don't understand how this is being handled, but am kinda trusting it to be OK since I'm pretty bummed with conventional HDs at the moment.
 
I've got two of these OCZ Agility 2 in RAID0, perform great.

I got them for $105 each after 20$ rebate.

R/W performance: up to 285MB/s // 275MB/s each
 
I received my shipping notice today for my 2nd day air SSD.

Interestingly, WD seems to be stepping up to the plate, I got a call from them this afternoon saying that a drive was delivered to my house today but that they wanted me to send it (a 74 Gb Raptor warranty replacement) back because they were going to replace it with a 150 Gb Velociraptor.

Well, well. What to do?

Chance the reliability of a recertified 150 Gb VRaptor (and save myself $150) or chance the reliability of SSD?

I'm tempted to keep the SSD and stash the 150Gb VRaptor for a rainy day.

What do you think?
 
Came accross this thread and don't want to hijack, but it had some of the questions in it that I am looking for. I have an opportunity to pick up a Intel X25-M 160GB SSD for $219. This will be my first venture into SSDs so I too like the OP had some questions.

-What kind of maintenance should I expect to do with one of these drives?
-Are there any OS tweaks (Page filing, Defrag, etc) I need to do with Win 7 to reduce the amount of writes to the SSD, ultimately increasing the longevity of the drive?

Specs of the new rig will be:
i7 960
Asus Rampage III Formula
6gb RAM
Win 7 Pro
Boot Drive - X25-M 160GB SSD
Storage Drive - WD 1TB Black


Sorry for the hijak, figured it was better than a new post, and thanks for the info.
 
Fritzz said:
-What kind of maintenance should I expect to do with one of these drives??
Click to expand...
Nothing.

Fritzz said:
-Are there any OS tweaks (Page filing, Defrag, etc) I need to do with Win 7 to reduce the amount of writes to the SSD, ultimately increasing the longevity of the drive?
Click to expand...
Do a clean install on Win7, there's nothing you need to do then.
 
-What kind of maintenance should I expect to do with one of these drives?
Click to expand...

None.

-Are there any OS tweaks (Page filing, Defrag, etc) I need to do with Win 7 to reduce the amount of writes to the SSD, ultimately increasing the longevity of the drive?
Click to expand...

The drive already guarantees that you can write 20GB a day every single day for 5 years. It is expected that the drive especially a 160GB model will still work much longer than any hard drive you currently own.

The only thing you need to do is make sure the drive is aligned. I am pretty sure Win7 will do that for you anyways but you can use AS SSD to check. Win7 will also disable any automatic defrag on SSDs so you do not have to worry about that. As for the page file put that on the SSD and do not worry.
 
Good questions. Glad you jumped into this thread.

I'm expecting my SSD to arrive today.

Interestingly, WD really stepped up to the plate. Initially they sent me another replacement WD740ADFD. I think this sort of happened automagically because I had no knowledge of anything being shipped. I thought we were still discussing my options and how they were going to resolve the issue.

When I told them I was displeased with the reliability of this drive, having had two failures this year, WD sent me out another drive... a WD1500HLFS VelociRaptor (recertified) via overnight delivery and had me RMA back the replacement 740ADFD.

I ordered the SSD drive thinking I was going to get jerked around for a while before they made up their minds what they were going to do. I was surprised when the first drive showed up unannounced, and also when I got the call from the CS about sending it back and they would replace it with the VRaptor. At that point I didn't even know the 740ADFD replacement was on my front porch as I was away from the house when I got the call.

So now I have the 150Gb VRaptor and should have the 80Gb SSD in the next few hours.

I'm conflicted over whether to RMA the SSD and save the cash and yet I'd love to see how the SSD will perform. But I don't know that it's any more reliable than the conventional HD.

Edit: I see a couple of responses popped as I was writing mine. Well, that sure sounds good about the longevity, I had not seen that before about 20 Gb/day for 5 years.
 
The more I read about SSD the easier they seem to have gotten, especially with Win 7. I think this is a good deal $219 for the 160GB so I will probably jump on it.

speedlever - sounds like you have quite the dilema, could always use the VR as a storage drive lol. Load the OS on the SSD and all your games on the VR?? Faster boot for games and less writes to your SSD.
 
I already have a sata 320 Gb data drive and an EIDE 300 Gb data drive. My mobo has no more connections for another drive even though my case has room. I also have an external esata 1.5Tb WD green drive.

Argh.
 
speedlever said:
I already have a sata 320 Gb data drive and an EIDE 300 Gb data drive. My mobo has no more connections for another drive even though my case has room. I also have an external esata 1.5Tb WD green drive.

Argh.
Click to expand...

lol the dilema continues......
 
Interesting article, albeit about 2 years old, found here. I now know what MLC and SLC is all about. And why a higher capacity SSD will likely provide longer life than a smaller capacity SSD.

Makes a good case for the Intel X25-M SSD... especially at today's prices. I was surprised to see the WD VRaptor perform so well in comparison.
 
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