OT: solid state drives

[vqdriver]

i need to replace a hard drive pretty soon and wanted to know if anyone out there has tried one yet. with the high cost, i'll probably just load the OS and programs onto it and use a USB or network drive for storage, mostly pictures and itunes library. i'm thinking a 120gb or so should do the trick.

to that end, i have a few basic questions:

1. with ssd there look to be some newcomers to the hard drive market, a la intel and viking. so which brands should i look at?

2. are all chips created equal? meaning, are there only a couple chip manufacturers that i'll find supplying all the drive makers?

3. i'm comfortable wiping out a system and installing my own os so i have no need for a "backup" software or other migration tools. so ignoring all the included bits and marketing, and only looking at the drive itself, i'd appreciate any recommendations.

4. are there any special cooling considerations i need to make?

5. am i missing something? school me.

[biker72]

Go to this forum http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1004 and run a search for SSD.

Last time I looked at SSD's, Intel was the one to buy. Of course the most expensive. :D

[11.4]

This is complicated and there are very long, very complex issues with each question. There's also a ton of garbage out there on the internet about the subject. The best review, now slightly dated, that I'm aware of is

http://macperformanceguide.com/SSD-RealWorld.html

The bottom line is that it's very dependent on your computer, whether the manufacturer provides which kind of SSD support, the make and design of the SSD (40 nm gives higher density but much lower lifetime, for example), and how you use it anyway. I'm on a couple SSDs and still waiting to see how it performs. This would be the longest post on this forum if it answered all your questions in one sitting. I suggest you read this review, which deals with some of the hard truths and less of the superficial rhetoric.

Also, note (very importantly) that the SSD has a great speed benefit when launching your programs at start-up, but from then on, you rarely have an application that uses the speed of the SSD. The smart money says to get a Seagate Momentus drive, which has a fast hard drive paired with a small SSD that will launch your operating system and regularly used programs. A 500GB Momentus is about $100. I have one as well and highly recommend it. Compared to another computer with an SSD, the Momentus works virtually as fast.

[1happygirl]

This is complicated and there are very long, very complex issues with each question. There's also a ton of garbage out there on the internet about the subject. The best review, now slightly dated, that I'm aware of is

http://macperformanceguide.com/SSD-RealWorld.html

The bottom line is that it's very dependent on your computer, whether the manufacturer provides which kind of SSD support, the make and design of the SSD (40 nm gives higher density but much lower lifetime, for example), and how you use it anyway. I'm on a couple SSDs and still waiting to see how it performs. This would be the longest post on this forum if it answered all your questions in one sitting. I suggest you read this review, which deals with some of the hard truths and less of the superficial rhetoric.

Also, note (very importantly) that the SSD has a great speed benefit when launching your programs at start-up, but from then on, you rarely have an application that uses the speed of the SSD. The smart money says to get a Seagate Momentus drive, which has a fast hard drive paired with a small SSD that will launch your operating system and regularly used programs. A 500GB Momentus is about $100. I have one as well and highly recommend it. Compared to another computer with an SSD, the Momentus works virtually as fast.

Hey 11.4 havent read article yet but isnt the advantage (or would be for me) that yr data is safer on it. so if its just being used for os then that doesnt help right?what about reverse os on usb & data/programs like yr daily use database on ssd?

[Dekonick]

Go to this forum http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1004 and run a search for SSD.

Last time I looked at SSD's, Intel was the one to buy. Of course the most expensive. :D


Intel remains a safe bet - that is what I have in 2 systems. Crucial was a good buy, but they jacked their prices up... not any more.

OCZ is also a top contender. They make good products.

I prefer OCZ for a $$ performance point of view, Intel for the warranty and stability.

No matter which way, you will be amazed. Absolutely STUNNED at the performance difference.

[ultraman6970]

Still too slow to compete with a real hard drive.

[Dekonick]

This is complicated and there are very long, very complex issues with each question. There's also a ton of garbage out there on the internet about the subject. The best review, now slightly dated, that I'm aware of is

http://macperformanceguide.com/SSD-RealWorld.html

The bottom line is that it's very dependent on your computer, whether the manufacturer provides which kind of SSD support, the make and design of the SSD (40 nm gives higher density but much lower lifetime, for example), and how you use it anyway. I'm on a couple SSDs and still waiting to see how it performs. This would be the longest post on this forum if it answered all your questions in one sitting. I suggest you read this review, which deals with some of the hard truths and less of the superficial rhetoric.

Also, note (very importantly) that the SSD has a great speed benefit when launching your programs at start-up, but from then on, you rarely have an application that uses the speed of the SSD. The smart money says to get a Seagate Momentus drive, which has a fast hard drive paired with a small SSD that will launch your operating system and regularly used programs. A 500GB Momentus is about $100. I have one as well and highly recommend it. Compared to another computer with an SSD, the Momentus works virtually as fast.

I like the solution offered with the momentus, but there is still some work to satisfy my belief in this solution. I prefer a SSD with applications, and a data drive for the bloat stuff - video, mp3 etc...

[amgc36]

I would go with OWC or Ocz really any of the manufacturers that use the Sandforce 1200 series controller, which is the performance/reliability/price leader. The Intel drives were too expensive, too small and too slow for the price until the new 510 series came out a few weeks ago. Of course, Sandforce has a 2000 series controller that Ocz and others are starting to use in product that is just beginning to ship. These drives stomp. I am a longtime Mac user and backordered the new SATA-III based SSD from OWC (www.macsales.com). The OWC Extreme SSD SATA-II variant (200GB) has proven to be very reliable in my last generation Macbook Pro.

Also, for long term stability, I'd get a drive that is rated at 120/240 capacity etc. (not 128/256) as these reserve areas for maintenance.

Anandtech is probably one of the most authoritative pc technology sites and they have comprehensive reviews of SSDs, including the Ocz and Intel. This site also tells it like it is and is critical of manufacturers in print; it appears they have direct access to important PC decision makers as well.

You will find the SSD to be fast, silent and a joy to use.

[vqdriver]

I have actually read thru the anandtech and tomshardware reviews but forgot how supersteeped in the tech they are. There was a time when I kept up with that stuff and it was meaningful to me, but no longer. Frankly I'm not sure I can even take advantage of a newer Sata standard in the computer i have.