Solved SSD Question

[Fumz]

It's new build time, always a giddy time at the Fum household... well, more for me than my wife, but I digress.

I'm going to jump into an SSD, but wonder what would be better: one newer sata III Plextor ( Plextor PX-128M2S PX-M2 Series Solid State Drive - 128GB, 2.5, SATA III, 6Gbps at TigerDirect.com), or two sata II drives in raid 0 (Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD3-2VTX90G 3.5" 90GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)).

Second question: since two sata drives in raid 0 theoretically has more bandwidth than the sata II port can handle, can/should I use the sata 6GB port on the new board (when the revised P67's arrive)?

I should mention this is going to be a gaming only box built just for the man-cave. I while I realize drives have no impact on actual gaming, F1 2010 takes it's sweet time even with my F3, and I'd like to cut it dramatically down.

 

[Mashed1316]

Hello there.

If you're going for Sata 6Gbps SSD, i'd suggest a Crucial C300 64GB or the new Corsair P3 Series, you could RAID them, too.

OCZ Vertex 2 SSD are really good, too.

2 SSDs in RAID will give you more read/write speeds, but you're going to have the same seek latency which is what makes SSD fast! (0.1ms)

64GB is OK for an OS only/few apps SSD, here:

Newegg.com - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Newegg.com - Corsair Performance 3 Series CSSD-P364GB2-BRKT 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Of course if you have a lot of apps and programs, i'd suggest a larger one

 

[Fumz]

Hi Punkster,

Thanks for the reply. It's my understanding that the Corsair 6GB drives are identical to the Plextor in that they both use the same Marvell controller; the only difference being price? Am I missing something?

edit*

I'll also be running another 1GB F3 as a secondary drive for games that don't take too long to load... and hopefully filling it up!

 

[Mashed1316]

Actually yes, they're the same controller chip. but i haven't hear any reviews so far from the Plextor, on the other hand, i've hear great reviews from the C300

I don't know if you take reviews as a starting point

 

[Fumz]

I don't know if you take reviews as a starting point

I do; and I was considering the Crucial, but the slow writes are depressing and not what I was expecting. Being first to market isn't always best.

*edit*

1000th post!

 

[whs]

I would definitely vote for the 90GB Vertex2. I have this exact same SSD in one of my laptops. It performs beautifully. I also have a Vertex1 and two Intels on other systems that are not quite as fast.

The Plextor is a no-name device. I have never heard of it and know nothing about it.

If you plan to Raid two Vertex, I would go for the 6GB ports - although that really only comes to bear when very large records are being handled (which is rare). But be aware that Raid really does not buy you anything because the access times do not change.

 

[Brink]

Fumz,

The OCZ Vertex 2 SSD drives are great ones to have.

In addition, Newegg is having a 20% OFF Any SSD (48 HOURS ONLY!) with a Maximum discount of $100 per order.

Promo Code: BTEKHHJ26

Promo code expires at 11:59PM PST on 2/23/2011
No minimum purchase required. Limit one promo code per customer. Only avaliable while funds last.

 

[Fumz]

Really, you've never heard of Plextor? They make high end cd/dvd burners and players... or at least they used to before they got bought out. Not sure where they stand now?

I bought a Plextor cd burner about a decade ago that's still quieter and faster than any of the several cheaper ones I've had since... still running like a champ staring down at the pile of NEC's, LG's, and Lite-On's that have long since departed this world.

I can't find a review on it either, but I would imagine it's performance is on par with the Corsair... which I will probably default to if you guys talk me out of the Plextor.

 

[pparks1]

The Plextor is a no-name device. I have never heard of it and know nothing about it.

Plextor is a known name in the optical drive market. CD Drives, CD Burners, DVD drives, etc. Been around for a very long time. Used to make fabulous SCSI based CDROM drives for servers.

 

[Fumz]

Fumz,

In addition, Newegg is having a 20% OFF Any SSD (48 HOURS ONLY!) with a Maximum discount of $100 per order.

Promo Code: BTEKHHJ26

Promo code expires at 11:59PM PST on 2/23/2011
No minimum purchase required. Limit one promo code per customer. Only avaliable while funds last.

Hi Brink,

Lol, yeah I got that email yesterday... which is why I'm here today. Seems the Plextor sold out last night.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

 

[Win7User512]

Really, you've never heard of Plextor? They make high end cd/dvd burners and players... or at least they used to before they got bought out. Not sure where they stand now?

I bought a Plextor cd burner about a decade ago that's still quieter and faster than any of the several cheaper ones I've had since... still running like a champ staring down at the pile of NEC's, LG's, and Lite-On's that have long since departed this world.

I can't find a review on it either, but I would imagine it's performance is on par with the Corsair... which I will probably default to if you guys talk me out of the Plextor.

Are they still making hard drives? I had one of those in the '90s.

 

[Brink]

Fumz,

In addition, Newegg is having a 20% OFF Any SSD (48 HOURS ONLY!) with a Maximum discount of $100 per order.

Promo Code: BTEKHHJ26

Promo code expires at 11:59PM PST on 2/23/2011
No minimum purchase required. Limit one promo code per customer. Only avaliable while funds last.

Hi Brink,

Lol, yeah I got that email yesterday... which is why I'm here today. Seems the Plextor sold out last night.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

I like the OCZ Vertex 2 SSDs. I have two in a RAID 0, and they are pretty fast.

Of course the new faster OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs with SATA III 6 GB/sec are due to be out sometime soon.

 

[whs]

I referred to Plextor in the SSD arena. But if you want to buy it, no problem. This is a free country - LÖL. With OCZ you know at least what you are buying.

Btw: the other day some problems were reported with the Corsairs, but I forgot the details. The Crucial C300, however, seems to be a top SSDs.

 

[Fumz]

Ok, I think I'm going to go with the RevoDrive, unless someone knows of any issues.

120GB OCZ RevoDrive: Newegg.com - OCZ RevoDrive OCZSSDPX-1RVD0120 PCI-E x4 120GB PCI Express MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

[Brink]

I believe that RevoDrives do not have TRIM support though.

 

[Fumz]

I believe that RevoDrives do not have TRIM support though.

Oh boy, this is a real dilemma.

Take a chance on a Marvell 6GB Plextor or Corsair, or get the C300, which sometimes doesn't even perform as well as Vertex 2 drives.... just go with a 120GB Vertex 2, which is tried and true... or, just wait for the new SandForce drives and screw the 20% off.

 

[Brink]

Depending on how soon you need them, you might consider waiting for the new SATA III SSD's to come out sometime this year to see what they have to offer between the brands.

I'm sure that the older SATA II SSD's will be reduced in price and/or be on clearance then as well if the new ones cost to much.

 

[pparks1]

I say get it now. The speed bump from mechanical hard drive to SSD is incredible. The speed bump going from current gen SSD to next gen SSD isn't going to be anywhere near as big. With SSD's, it's mainly about the low access times...and those aren't improving with new models.

 

[seth500]

I just bought a couple of intel ssdsa2m080g2gn of ebay used and they are lightning fast and were practically brand new which are 80 gigs a piece in a raid 0 and I'm completely blown away by the speed of them. To the OP your computer will be a fun new toy with ssd's...I have heard of plextor and used to have a one of the good ones until they took a dive. Anyhow for the money I will go with lite-on it a damn good optical drive for the money actually blew my good plextor awayn at the time it never made a mistake...lol

 

[whs]

I believe that RevoDrives do not have TRIM support though.

The OCZ people say that the Revo does not need Trim because the sandforce controllers use a "lazy" garbage collection algorithm. Apparently tests have shown that there is very little write degradation.

But on another note: You should check whether your board/BIOS supports a PCI attached SSD.