Best performing SSD?

Setting aside items that are out of range even for those considering standard consumer SSD units, the drives based on Intel and Indilinx controllers are still pretty much neck and neck. Some benchmarks show Intel ahead, others Indilinx ahead, but in real world scenarios there's really not much in it.

For the Intel controller you're basically talking about the Intel X25-M, though I believe one of the more expensive Kingston models uses it too. For Indilinx you're looking at Corsair X-series, Crucial M225, OCZ Vertex or Agility, Patriot Torqx, and so on. Performance of all of these is very similar.
 
CBJ said:
Setting aside items that are out of range even for those considering standard consumer SSD units, the drives based on Intel and Indilinx controllers are still pretty much neck and neck. Some benchmarks show Intel ahead, others Indilinx ahead, but in real world scenarios there's really not much in it.

For the Intel controller you're basically talking about the Intel X25-M, though I believe one of the more expensive Kingston models uses it too. For Indilinx you're looking at Corsair X-series, Crucial M225, OCZ Vertex or Agility, Patriot Torqx, and so on. Performance of all of these is very similar.
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So, 7 drives and they all run about the same? Which is the best!!?
 
The Intel G2 drives are very good for bragging rights. The Crucial drives are very popular too, but they've shot up in price over the last few months.
 
There is no definite "best". Both controllers have had their fair share of firmware issues, both are still in the process of ironing out issues with performance degradation over time and the TRIM command, and the calculation for which gives the best bang per buck changes on an almost daily basis as the prices fluctuate.

Right now availability and price are generally bigger factors than performance once you get to these levels. The Crucial M225 is the cheapest of the Indilinx bunch that is actually available (the Agility was cheaper for a while, but it seems to have vanished). The extra storage of the Intel puts it almost neck and neck with the Crucial on price per MB, but the Intel is slightly bigger and therefore more expensive in total outlay terms.
 
ChileanLlama said:
Best is subjective - as all the drives have strengths and weaknesses - what are you going to use it for and what is your budget?
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I want it for best performance in games? And boot times.. etc.. load times. And also write times i do a lot of downloading also.. I pay for newsgroup access.
 
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Performance in games is only going to be affected to a limited extent. If you're getting stuttering while assets load then it may help, but otherwise game startup time is pretty much going to be the only thing it improves. Boot time and shutdown time for Windows are definitely improved with an SSD. Downloading isn't going to be affected at all; the bottleneck here will be your internet connection, not your hard disk.
 
Don't know much about the Micron, it's announced today, but doesn't look like it's released. The read/write figures look very impressive, but they will be sequential speeds and not the whole story. We need to understand how the drive/controller works at random and small reads/writes too.

It will be interesting to see some reviews of this, and also pricing in time.

Just been reading your other thread on your new build. I would seriously consider getting a new graphics card for your i7 before considering an SSD. Get a decent mechanical HD, like an F3 now - as you'll still need something for storage.

But if you're set on an SSD, the Intel is probably the drive of choice, though for gaming you'll probably need a 160gb one, or perhaps 2 in RAID0 depending how many games you have. You should also be wary, because I notice the SSD most during normal Windows use, application and file handling, I'm not as wowed by the improvement in game loading - but different games will vary.

In any event all of the drives mentioned by CBJ, together with the Samsung PB22J (also in the Corsair P series) would be more than up to the job.
 
ChileanLlama,

Your right each game is set at its own pace when your actually playing I guess? Once its off the hard drive its in RAM anyway?

My main concern then would be both read and write times. As I want things to load fast and also help with my heavy usenet downloading.

I dont play that many games to be honest.. Ive only got mw2 installed at the moment.

So ur saying the Intel X-25M is the one to go for ?
 
SSD won't improve your downloading one bit, your connection speed will be nowhere near fast enough to saturate an SSD.

If it's more for general use in Windows and apps with the odd game, then get any of the ones mentioned here that's the best size and the right price for you. Outside of benchmarks they'll all "feel" the same.
 
Its not my downloading as such.. Just the current sata hard drive I have will only truly write at about 27Mb/s. And im on Virgin 50Mbit. Newsleecher queue is forever pausing waiting for my hard drive to catch up. Now you can see my want for a suitable SSD?
 
BoroRob_UK said:
Its not my downloading as such.. Just the current sata hard drive I have will only truly write at about 27Mb/s. And im on Virgin 50Mbit. Newsleecher queue is forever pausing waiting for my hard drive to catch up. Now you can see my want for a suitable SSD?
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I still don't think the drive is the biggest problem here. Are you sure you've got no other processes running in the background causing it to slow down?
 
BoroRob_UK said:
Its not my downloading as such.. Just the current sata hard drive I have will only truly write at about 27Mb/s. And im on Virgin 50Mbit. Newsleecher queue is forever pausing waiting for my hard drive to catch up. Now you can see my want for a suitable SSD?
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If its just for that why not get a better hard drive, i have 2 that i have used a 500 gig baracuda and now a 1.5tb and neither have paused while downloading on 50mbit VM on Newsleecher.

What cpu have you got ? i know my brothers pc which is a 6320 C2D when it was at stock 1.8gig it couldn't keep up and often paused etc but soon as i over clocked it to 2.7 its fine now.
 
Jabbs said:
If its just for that why not get a better hard drive, i have 2 that i have used a 500 gig baracuda and now a 1.5tb and neither have paused while downloading on 50mbit VM on Newsleecher.

What cpu have you got ? i know my brothers pc which is a 6320 C2D when it was at stock 1.8gig it couldn't keep up and often paused etc but soon as i over clocked it to 2.7 its fine now.
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Its not just that.. I am getting a complete new system for xmas and want to know which SSD to get.
 
Slackworth said:
I still don't think the drive is the biggest problem here. Are you sure you've got no other processes running in the background causing it to slow down?
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No, nothing. If I drag a file from one drive to my main one.. I get a transfer of 27Mb/s - Im unsure which drive it is its just a standard 7200rpm sata.

But nm.. Im getting a new system for xmas and am wondering which SSD to go for? Over read and write speeds I would have to choose read speeds.
 
I think people are giving you good advice here that could save you quite a bit of money, but if you're determined to get an SSD drive then I suggest the Intel or the Crucial. Get the Intel if space on your system drive is your highest priority, and the Crucial if total budget is a bigger issue. The same rules apply whether you go for the 80GB (Intel)/64GB (Crucial) bracket or the 160GB/128GB.
 
Im not bothered about the cost.. I can save up and buy what I want. Even if it means waiting. What i want is the best system for my money. I notice the OCZ vertex has much faster write speeds than the Intel ? but quite a bit dearer ? I dont want to resort to buying 2nd best when I can simply wait till I can afford the parts I want.
 
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