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Time for an SSD.

J

Jospeh

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
1,885
Okay I want to get an SSD for my main computer. I think that a 256gB is a little small but a 512gB drive is going to run cost a bit too much. I don't really need it for anything special but I want stuff to load faster and hang less because of HDD speed. Mostly just going to be gaming on it. Maybe photoshop and such from time to time. The OS and all programs will be installed on this SSD.

I think around 300$ is what I would be willing to spend on it give or take some if I can get more than 256gB.

I'm open to suggestions. I mostly want to get the best bang(in terms of what I will get out of it, not how good the deal is) for my buck and not spend it needlessly.
 
I would recommend a Samsung 830, an Intel 520 or a Crucial M4. I have all of them and they have been fast and reliable. The Plextor M3/5 is also very highly regarded around here and has a 5 year warranty, Whatever you do decide on, the only brand as a whole I would avoid is OCZ.
 
I am using an Intel 520 series SSD, and am pretty satisfied with it. I would stay away from SSDs with the SandForce controller for it seems they have some issues sometimes.
 
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How do you guys feel about 256gB for games/programs and OS? Is it enough? Barely enough? ..ect.
 
OrbitalChaos said:
I am using an Intel 520 series SSD, and am pretty satisfied with it. I would stay away from SSDs with the SandForce controller for it seems they have some issues sometimes.
Click to expand...

You do realize that your Intel 520 USES a Sandforce controller, right?
 
Forceman said:
Samsung 830 is a solid choice right now - $199 for 256GB.
Click to expand...

This.

Also the Crucial M4 or Plextor M3/M5. Corsair Performance Pro (non-Sandforce controller) is on my list, but the price often pushes it out of the running.

Get whichever out of these brands is cheapest at the time of purchase.

If you can swing another $70...then this one...512GB.
 
mwroobel said:
You do realize that your Intel 520 USES a Sandforce controller, right?
Click to expand...

Yes, in fact, the 520 model has a bug (AES 256 related) in the controller,
that cannot be fixed.
As long as he is aware of the fact that there could be some issues with some SandForce controllers, my purpose is served.
 
OrbitalChaos said:
Yes, in fact, the 520 model has a bug (AES 256 related) in the controller,
that cannot be fixed.
As long as he is aware of the fact that there could be some issues with some SandForce controllers, my purpose is served.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you actually need full 256 encryption (AES128 works fine) it is an issue. Intel, unlike some other manufacturers <cough, OCZ> has offered a full refund for any affected drives purchased before the flaw was publicized. The updated drives should be shipping in about a month.
 
JayJapanB said:
Where are these numbers from? I disagree with the OS and in the other direction games can take up less than 10gb
Click to expand...

The OS number is from the XP pro SP3 installed and all the fixes updated.
I was trying to export the image for my Hyper-V virtualization project and surprised as well.
I believe reserving 10GB for an OS is not too bad for an approximation.

As for the games, someone who is willing to install an SSD for gaming, would usually play games like WoW or Diablo 3, and these games take up lots of space. But then as you stated, some games only take up a few hundred MB. It really depends on what he plays and runs.

so JayJapan, what do you think? Wouldn't 256GB be enough for him?
 
OrbitalChaos said:
The OS number is from the XP pro SP3 installed and all the fixes updated.
I was trying to export the image for my Hyper-V virtualization project and surprised as well.
I believe reserving 10GB for an OS is not too bad for an approximation.

As for the games, someone who is willing to install an SSD for gaming, would usually play games like WoW or Diablo 3, and these games take up lots of space. But then as you stated, some games only take up a few hundred MB. It really depends on what he plays and runs.

so JayJapan, what do you think? Wouldn't 256GB be enough for him?
Click to expand...

256 would be fine. OS's dont take up 10gb these days. My windows folder(w7) alone is 20gb and it hasn't even been that long since I formatted.
 
JayJapanB said:
256 would be fine. OS's dont take up 10gb these days. My windows folder(w7) alone is 20gb and it hasn't even been that long since I formatted.
Click to expand...

Did you disable hibernation, shrink the page file size, and empty out your temp/Windows download folders? 20GB sounds rather high imo.

Edit: I guess I should have only asked about emptying your Windows download folder, seeing as you only mentioned your Windows folder. Still seems kinda high :)
 
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MissJ84 said:
Did you disable hibernation, shrink the page file size, and empty out your temp/Windows download folders? 20GB sounds rather high imo.

Edit: I guess I should have only asked about emptying your Windows download folder, seeing as you only mentioned your Windows folder. Still seems kinda high :)
Click to expand...

No downloads, just the system files and a 460mb memory dump.
64bit 7 just takes up a lot more than xp.
 
Mine is 29GB, in fact it's bigger than Program files and program files x86 combined, and I have a ton of stuff installed !
 
OrbitalChaos said:
Yes, in fact, the 520 model has a bug (AES 256 related) in the controller,
that cannot be fixed.
As long as he is aware of the fact that there could be some issues with some SandForce controllers, my purpose is served.
Click to expand...
From what I understand, the Intel 520 never had any issue other than the AES encryption was limited to 128-bit mode which is sill impossible to crack in our lifetime, so it should work fine for you.
 
With current technology. In our lifetime, even AES 256 will be rendered obsolete.
 
Aesma said:
With current technology. In our lifetime, even AES 256 will be rendered obsolete.
Click to expand...

Yah. There is a concept called the "lifetime" of a crypto key. How long would a brute force attack run with today's technology before the key is discovered. Now apply Moore's Law to that time. When Moore's Law says only days or maybe two weeks, some years in the future, that is the "lifetime" of that key.

Now if quantum computing becomes a reality, then all bets (and security) are off.:eek:
 
SSDs are awesome.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances in my life, I was an early adopter of SSDs. Now I have a boat load of old 30 and 60 GB SSDs floating around my house

Here are some things I have found out the last 4 years.

An old slow SSD will run even or better than a current mechanical drive, other than space.

Once you get used to an SSD, a mechanical drive is painful to use.

Spend some extra money now and buy the bigger but slower drive now. The only problem I have consistently faced with my old and small drives is space.

Sadly, I must say you should avoid OCZ. They still get a low score for reliability.

Don
 
OrbitalChaos said:
I am using an Intel 520 series SSD, and am pretty satisfied with it. I would stay away from SSDs with the SandForce controller for it seems they have some issues sometimes.
Click to expand...

I see the forums talking about issues they hear about, but no one actually has any problems any more. That appears to be ancient history. The performance is outstanding in so many reviews
 
John** said:
I see the forums talking about issues they hear about, but no one actually has any problems any more. That appears to be ancient history.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Sandforce has continually had problems, for years, ever since they were introduced. The most recent problem is that TRIM was broken for months on most Sandforce SSDs until they finally released a fixed firmware. Although some Sandforce SSDs still haven't gotten the fixed firmware, and TRIM is still broken.

Sandforce should be avoided. There are better choices. Samsung 830 or Plextor M3P or M5P are good choices now.
 
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