Please help spec me a SSD

Foehammer2003

Foehammer2003

Foehammer2003

Associate
Joined
22 Apr 2006
Posts
979
Location
Arms reach from mouse
I'm looking to buy either a sub £100 60-64Gb SSD today or go for a larger capacity 80-120gb on Friday, and want to get an idea on the best SSD for me really.

I want one thats reliable, which in my mind puts the OCZ agility range out the window. I'm not sure about the vertex 2E reliability either?

Basically i want to run Win7-64, vegas pro 10, an assortment of other app like 3dmark and still have room for Deus Ex, Space marine, BF3 etc etc. So how much capacity would i really need? All i can reliably find is that Win7 will need about 20gig.

Also my max budget is £140, as i will wait for prices to come way down before i ever purchase a SSD again. (perhaps i can be convinced to raise the budget though ;) )

I really dont want BSOD issues (who does) but the OCZ's are priced well, so can i rely on a Vertex 2E to work? Or am i better off with the 80Gb intel for instance?

So the ones i have looking at are:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-008-CR&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=910

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-018-IN&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=910

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-060-OC&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1427

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-021-CS&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1427

Argh lol, its a minefield
 
Destroyer^ said:
From what i have gathered on here, crucial m4 and Intel are the ones to go for as they have had hardly any problems
Click to expand...

ya from what I read also - intel being the better one, the whole issue with the 320 series is over talked about ... supposedly the issue only happened with very few drives and I think this occured when they unplugged them while the power was still going if I recall correctly.
 
For issue free happiness (Yes there are happy Corsair and OCZ owners, but more complaints and issues than satisfied owners) get Crucial or Intel.
 
Ok, thanks. But will 80Gb be enough for what i want one for?

EDIT: Thanks Stulid, thats what i needed to hear, i just needed someone to say 'dont be a prat' lol. OK one of those two it is then, so how much space is adeqaute do you think?
 
Just buy the biggest drive you can afford. Once you've experienced the speed improvement of an SSD you will want to put everything you can on there ;)

Are you going to be running this drive in SATA 3?
 
Foehammer2003 said:
No, SATA 2, still on 775. But am i right in saying the difference will be nowhere near the same as from mechanical to SSD?
Click to expand...

You will still notice the Afterburner with a SSD on sata2, I used mine on my old Phenom system with SATA2 and the difference was a lot coming from a 74GB Raptor.

Now I use a SATA3.0 board I got another boost again.
 
Last edited:
Correct.

Although they're all decent drives I'd be tempted to get the 120GB Vertex 2E for the extra space. Any firmware issues have long since been sorted as the drive has been out ages and it will max out your SATA II. At just under your £140 limit it should sort you out nicely.
 
stulid said:
You will still notice the Afterburner with a SSD on sata2, I used mine on my old Phenom system with SATA2 and the difference was a lot coming from a 74GB Raptor.

Now I use a SATA3.0 board I got another boost again.
Click to expand...

Awesome sauce, i'm now edging to the 128gb Crucial (seeing as you have the 64gb) And will i'm be upgrading the mobo and CPU before the end of the year, hopefully seeing the benifit of SATA3

Darkman said:
Correct.

Although they're all decent drives I'd be tempted to get the 120GB Vertex 2E for the extra space. Any firmware issues have long since been sorted as the drive has been out ages and it will max out your SATA II. At just under your £140 limit it should sort you out nicely.
Click to expand...

Aw, dont be putting those ideas back in my head! :p As i said to Stulid, i'm kind of edging to the Crucial 128gb now, hopefully OcUK will get more in by time i order. The forums at OCZ have scared me off to be honest there are just too many posts about the 2E (as well as the rest of their drives), but the price is appealing.

I'm going to go by the philosophy of 'you get what you pay for' and stretch the budget to go for the bigger Crucial. However come friday, if out of stock, i will be in a quandry again :(
 
stulid said:
For issue free happiness (Yes there are happy Corsair and OCZ owners, but more complaints and issues than satisfied owners) get Crucial or Intel.
Click to expand...

Just to comment on that but its just a case of human nature, people will always complain and make noise when slightest thing goes wrong and can you imagine the looks of insanity and derison if someone was to actually start an 'OMG not one issue with my SSD' thread. You're always gonna have more whines than yays in any aspect, so just cos there are more whinge posts doesnt mean that they outnumber the happy owners :P

*edit* just re-read my post and seems too serious.... BOOBIES
 
oh hellz yeah, dont get me wrong, ive got an OCZ agility and love it, not one issue (hey i must be teh first poster) but can not deny that it has its issues when it comes to intel, I even tried to persuade people with this chip not to get it untill all sorted.

Even if they do resolve it and hope they do, its gonna be awhile before the stigma goes away
 
seandog said:
Just to comment on that but its just a case of human nature, people will always complain and make noise when slightest thing goes wrong and can you imagine the looks of insanity and derison if someone was to actually start an 'OMG not one issue with my SSD' thread. You're always gonna have more whines than yays in any aspect, so just cos there are more whinge posts doesnt mean that they outnumber the happy owners :P

*edit* just re-read my post and seems too serious.... BOOBIES
Click to expand...

HAHa.... BOOBIES indeed! :D Or hairy man nipples :eek:

It's a point thats very valid and one i'm very aware of (having worked in retail for over a decade) criticism comes all to easily and praise never often enough.

However peace of mind is something i will always be willing to pay for, so if i can say play a game without worrying if its my harddrive borked should it randomly crash or BSOD then thats perhaps a price worth paying
 
Indeed, peace of mind is well worth the extra price tag when it comes with it. The M4 is a good SSD but personally if I had an intel I'd go with the corsair for higher write times as being as fickle as I am and constantly change what games I play and may delete/re-install fortnightly.

Now taking bets for when my drive dies ><
 
Bottom line they are all good brands and unless you're benchmarking you are unlikely to notice a difference so don't worry about one being much faster than another (while you're on SATA II).

Size does matter though ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom