Please help with my upgrade choice

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

Soldato
Joined
5 Aug 2006
Posts
11,428
Location
Derbyshire
Hey all.
I have put this in General Hardware rather than in Hard Drives as the question involves my rig as whole to some extent :p.
Firstly, my rig is in my signature :).
I have a first generation OCZ vertex hard drive. I got it 2 years ago and it is quick, but is only 60GB and is very slow compared to what is on the market at the moment. I could really do with a bigger/faster SSD.

I want a new SSD and my motherboard has Sata 3, but it is the naff Marvel controller which is slower than Sata 2 and wouldn't even have trim. Therefore I am stuck with Sata 2, but my rig is fast and doesn't need upgrading, despite it being a 1st gen i5 I am not buying a new rig just for Sata 3! A PCI add-in card would be no use as my pcie ports are 1x and so would be limited to 300mb/s.

So my options are:
1) Stay with the Vertex 1 60GB (circa 150mb claimed maximum read speed).
2) Buy an Agility 3 120GB as these can be had for £95 now (or a Corsair Force 3 120GB for just under £100). Both would be Sata 2 limited.
3) Buy a Vertex 4 (or Aglity 4 when it comes out) and have the nicest, latest tech, but as with option 2), just be battering away at the Sata 2 limit.

Thanks :).
 
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Warecast said:
I've heard that sata 2 does'ent limit ssd much???
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That is what I am thinking. The claimed maximum speeds are just very short peaks to claim the performance.
I think my current drive averages somewhere around the 100mb/s mark for read speed. If the new one averaged at 250mb/s then that would be a huge improvement.
I may go to an Ivy Bridge rig but my overclocked i5 destroys anything I throw at it - Despite the graphics card being 1 year newer than the cpu, the graphics card is still holding me back for games, but loading times really **** me off (GT5 on the PS3 is a good example).
 
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Yeah, I don't know much about SSD's as I don't have one but I do want one. They are very well priced atm.
250mb/s is very very fast
 
The crucial M4 is THE favoured SSD choice here on the forum. For both speed and reliability, note as the capacity increases so does the write speed.

I prefer to look forward, ok it might be limited by your rig now but should you upgrade your mobo bundle in the future you'll be glad you didn't penny pinch now :)
 
honosuseri said:
The crucial M4 is THE favoured SSD choice here on the forum. For both speed and reliability, note as the capacity increases so does the write speed.

I prefer to look forward, ok it might be limited by your rig now but should you upgrade your mobo bundle in the future you'll be glad you didn't penny pinch now :)
Click to expand...

Is it the prefered choice? I have just noticed people complaining about the OCZ drives a lot :p.

I will probably get a new rig sometime in 2013 - I wonder if there will be Sata 4 by then or more PCIE cards, because I can't how new SSDs will be sold when they will just be scrapping it out the Sata 3 limit, but then again the 'max read speed' is not representative of real life performance.
 
the vertex 4 is new therfore untested by the greater market. it could be an amazing flawless drive but we wont know that till people start buying and using them.

the m4 is the choice atm as honosuseri says, a lot of people will recomend it.

the difference between sata 2 and sata 3 can only really be seen on benchmarks and not by general use. ie if u put the 2 side by side i doubt u would notice a massive difference.

but again as honosuseri says always look forward. u may get a new mobo in 6 months to years time that will have sata 3.
 
hi open to suggestions. I recently had the similar situation and a similar system. Ive opted to get an M4 128gig ssd. It will arrive tuesday so I can let you know what I think. Plan to use ti for windows and main files then use my WD for other storeage.
 
ndaar said:
hi open to suggestions. I recently had the similar situation and a similar system. Ive opted to get an M4 128gig ssd. It will arrive tuesday so I can let you know what I think. Plan to use ti for windows and main files then use my WD for other storeage.
Click to expand...

Remember to update it's firmware, also check you are on ACHI not IDE in the BIOS. Only plug in the SSD when you install windows, once that is done connect the storage HDD, you can format it and mount it in windows itself

Word to the wise ;)
 
for regular usage, IOPS, latency and small file reads are more important than sequential read speed, and even more important than sequential write speed.

The M4 strikes a nice balance in that department, and mine has been flawless. It's got great read speeds for games loading, and good small file performance for general usage.

To be said, I had a Vertex 2E 60GB, and it's been a great little OS drive. As for longevity, the quality of the memory can also play a factor, hence the price difference between a force3 and a Vertex 3. They all use the same controller.

I also originally mistakenly plugged my drive into a sata2 port, and as expected, only the sequential speeds suffered.
 
honosuseri said:
Remember to update it's firmware, also check you are on ACHI not IDE in the BIOS. Only plug in the SSD when you install windows, once that is done connect the storage HDD, you can format it and mount it in windows itself

Word to the wise ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, Ill be installing it tonight after work :)
 
Is the M4 due for replacement anytime soon?

I am quite OCD about buying new computer bits at full price shortly before they are replaced!! As I said, an Agility 3 for £95 is hard to pass up on...
 
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