Flesh_Infektion
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So whats a good SSD out there ?
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Ive tried to research SSD's but I always seem to fall short on fully understanding what I need and what is not worth the money. I also find that everytime I look up SSD's there always seems to be a much better one just shy of being released
Its time for me to upgrade to a SSD, Im not a huge memory hog and usually only use around 200gb which can easily be lessened even further. I think a single 128 will do fine for now
Quick system spec recap:
Intel Core I7 2600k @ 4.8Ghz
8gig DDR3
Asus P67 (new revision 3.0) sabertooth MB
GTX580
Motherboard -
SATA 3Gb/s - 4
SATA 6Gb/s - 2 xSATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (brown) by P67
- 2 xSATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (gray) by Marvell PCIe SATA 6Gb/s controller
SATA RAID - Intel Rapid Storage Technology Support RAID 0,1,5,10
I am not trying to take the lazy way out and suggest someone shops for me, but ive been going to this forum for quite some time (on different accounts also) and everyone here is incredibly helpful and ive always appreciated it a great deal. Especially Ravyn
So here are some of the questions...
Is there any certain specs I should seek out aside from shooting for a SATA 6gb/s?
Is there any particular feature I should look for or be weary of?
I hear alot about bad firmware updates or people waiting on firmware releases...any good stable drives?
I guess any info would help out a great deal! Thanks very much in advance
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Ravynmagi
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Subject:
So whats a good SSD out there ?
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There are a lot of SSD drives out there, but only a handful of controller chips and these controller chips pretty much dictate the performance and attributes of all the SSDs using the same controller.
The controller makers are...
Intel
Samsung
Jmicron
Marvell
Sandforce
OCZ/Indilinx
Overall the Sandforce 2200 controller is the fastest available right now. OCZ Vertex 3 and Kingston HyperX are a couple of top SSDs using this controller. Sandforce uses compression to improve performance and does slow down when dealing with uncompressable data, but even then it's still faster than most other controllers.
I'd say the Marvell 9174 controller is in second place. This is used in the Intel 510, Crucial m4, and Corsair 3 Series SSDs. They don't use compression, so have more consistent level of performance regardless of what kind of data is being used. These controllers also do real time garbage collection (needed to maintain performance).
If I were buying, I'd only look at SSDs with the above two controllers. They are the clear leaders.
Intel has a Cherrycreek controller coming this fall, which they say will be faster than anything else available now and is replacing the 510 mainstream model.
Samsung's controller is kinda bleh.
Almost all of OCZ's drives use Sandforce controllers now, but their first Vertex and Agility drives used Indilinx. Inilinx hasn't done anything since then though and OCZ purchased them. OCZ will soon be making it's own controller based on the Indilinx controller. I don't know when this might arrive or if it'll be worth the wait.
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Flesh_Infektion
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So whats a good SSD out there ?
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As always...much appreciated Ravyn!
I have 2 types of sata 6gig ports, one set is p67 the other is marvel. Is there a preference between the two? I would just assume if I got a Marvell controller that I would want to put it in the Marvell slot
How different is a SSD installation from a standard HDD installation?
Would you suggest waiting on the cherrycreek ? I can easily wait on SSD's but sometimes waiting isnt all that necessary
I miss how easy HDD shopping was. You were only ever concerned about connection type, reliability and price per storage...now its much more in depth
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Ravynmagi
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So whats a good SSD out there ?
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The Intel SATA 6Gb ports are much better and the definite choice for any SSD (or any hard drive).
If you are using Windows 7, then nothing special is needed with the SSD and just install it the same as you would a hard drive.
Regarding Cherryville (I accidentally called it Cherrycreek by mistake), not much info on this yet. But while faster, probably not necessarily something to wait for. Speeds are increasing pretty much every 6 months anyway, so you'll have to hope in eventually.
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Flesh_Infektion
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So whats a good SSD out there ?
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Ravynmagi posted:
The Intel SATA 6Gb ports are much better and the definite choice for any SSD (or any hard drive).
If you are using Windows 7, then nothing special is needed with the SSD and just install it the same as you would a hard drive.
Regarding Cherryville (I accidentally called it Cherrycreek by mistake), not much info on this yet. But while faster, probably not necessarily something to wait for. Speeds are increasing pretty much every 6 months anyway, so you'll have to hope in eventually.
I would assume you mean ...use the regular one of the marvel port?
I figured installation wouldnt be too different. Thanks again for your reply!
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Ravynmagi
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So whats a good SSD out there ?
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On a P67 motherboard you usually have two Intel SATA 6Gb/s ports, four Intel SATA 3Gb/s ports, and two "others" (Marvel, Jmicron, etc), in your case two Marvell SATA 6Gb/s ports.
For SSD drives, you should use the Intel SATA 6Gb/s. For regular hard drives, use the Intel SATA 3Gb/s (or 6Gb/s if not used by SSDs). Use the Marvell only as a last resort, they are not good, worse than using Intel SATA 3Gb/s ports even.
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Karsus_the_Great
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Subject:
So whats a good SSD out there ?
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I just purchased a 256GB Crucial M4. It's not the fastest of the SSD's but from what I have read it is one of the most reliable which counts for alot imo.
Have not heard anything really that positive about the sandforce drives.
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Karsus the Great - lvl 240+ Original BM(retired)
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