Finally joining Club SSD

[shiven]

I purchased at some point last year a wonderfully priced 300GB WD Raptor from a friend, and thought quite myself lucky. In the very recent past however (almost the present), I've been considering buying an SSD drive as a new primary drive (OS, few programs, etc), selling the Raptor to another friend, and using an old WD 160GB 7200 RPM drive for storage space.

I know very little about what to "look for" in an SSD, but my amateur searching has netting me the following result:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820148442

Is this a good drive? Will I see a significant improvement from my Raptor?

Thank you all very much! :)

[Kelxin]

Horrid write speeds... imho, spend the extra $60 bucks and get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167093 which has better writes, and an extra 2 years warranty.

[shiven]

Horrid write speeds... imho, spend the extra $60 bucks and get http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820167093 which has better writes, and an extra 2 years warranty.

** I should have mentioned in my first post: I'm trying to keep this around $130 or less.

The OCZ Vertex 3 120GB has similar read/write speeds (to that of the Intel) of 550MB/s and 500MB/s respectively, but in a review I read for that drive, it said in "real usage" conditions, the OCZ only had read/write of 450MB/s and 150MB/s. I also read that that had more to do with the SATA controller on the motherboard (my motherboard has an AMD SB850 controller?)

In short, would I be better off going with the OCZ? http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820227706 versus the Crucial?

[shiven]

Almost noon bump~

Also, I did a bit more research and found this: http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Gb-s2-5-Inch-Drive--SDSSDX-120G-G25/dp/B006EKJCWM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338107070&sr=8-1

It has better read/write speeds than the Crucial M4, and apparently performs better in real world scenarios than the OCZ (and similar to the Intel 520). Thoughts?

Thanks again

[TheLegendOfMart]

Get the OCZ Vertex 4 which is the Indilinx Everest 2 controller, with the new 1.4 firmware it doubles the write speeds, its also good at random read and writes, the Sandforce 2281 ones like the one you linked too last have terrible random read and write speeds for uncompressible data, youd be lucky to break 200Mb/s. The Vertex 4 does up to 120k IOPS, most of the others are rated at 80k IOPS and under.

[mrp04]

I'd go with the Crucial M4. They have the best overall value considering price, performance, and reliability. SandForce based disks are known to be less reliable.

[TheLegendOfMart]

The Vertex 4 is better than the M4, has speeds near Sandforce 2281 unlike the M4.

[shiven]

Get the OCZ Vertex 4 which is the Indilinx Everest 2 controller, with the new 1.4 firmware it doubles the write speeds, its also good at random read and writes, the Sandforce 2281 ones like the one you linked too last have terrible random read and write speeds for uncompressible data, youd be lucky to break 200Mb/s. The Vertex 4 does up to 120k IOPS, most of the others are rated at 80k IOPS and under.

It doubles the write speeds... from Vertex 3? I wish I knew more about the SSD controllers (and everything else related to SSDs), but from what you said, the Crucial M4 and the SanDisk both have Sandforce 2281 controllers? But in your next post you say the Vertex 4 has speeds near Sandforce 2281. So do I want Sandforce 2281? Thanks!

I'd go with the Crucial M4. They have the best overall value considering price, performance, and reliability. SandForce based disks are known to be less reliable.

That's what I read as well, which is why it was my first choice.

[TheLegendOfMart]

It doubles the write speeds... from Vertex 3? I wish I knew more about the SSD controllers (and everything else related to SSDs), but from what you said, the Crucial M4 and the SanDisk both have Sandforce 2281 controllers? But in your next post you say the Vertex 4 has speeds near Sandforce 2281. So do I want Sandforce 2281? Thanks!

That's what I read as well, which is why it was my first choice.

No, the Vertex 4 with the 1.4 firmware doubles the write speeds from 200Mb/s to 420Mb/s, the random read and write of the Indilinx Everest 2 controller that's in the Vertex is far superior, almost double, what the Sandforce 2281 controllers provide.

No you don't want Sandforce 2281, I was just saying since the 1.4 firmware brings the speeds up to SF-2281 levels there is no point going SF-2281.

You will get nowhere near 500Mb/s random read or write with Sandforce, the speeds are just marketing, you will struggle to get 150-200Mb/s read/write with uncompressible data like games, videos, music, movies.

The Crucial M4 has the Indilinx 2 controller just like the Vertex 4 but doesn't have the firmware update to bring the speeds up to Sandforce levels.

tl;dr - get the Vertex 4.

[shiven]

No, the Vertex 4 with the 1.4 firmware doubles the write speeds from 200Mb/s to 420Mb/s, the random read and write of the Indilinx Everest 2 controller that's in the Vertex is far superior, almost double, what the Sandforce 2281 controllers provide.

No you don't want Sandforce 2281, I was just saying since the 1.4 firmware brings the speeds up to SF-2281 levels there is no point going SF-2281.

You will get nowhere near 500Mb/s random read or write with Sandforce, the speeds are just marketing, you will struggle to get 150-200Mb/s read/write with uncompressible data like games, videos, music, movies.

The Crucial M4 has the Indilinx 2 controller just like the Vertex 4 but doesn't have the firmware update to bring the speeds up to Sandforce levels.

tl;dr - get the Vertex 4.

Ahh, that definitely clears it up, thank you! I'm reading some reviews right now on the Vertex 4, and a few people are complaining about the update from v1.3 to v1.4? I see no reason why updating it should be an issue. Am I right?

Thanks again!

[TheLegendOfMart]

They are complaining because its a destructive update, you will lose all data on the drive.

[shiven]

They are complaining because its a destructive update, you will lose all data on the drive.

Oh. Well that shouldn't be a problem for me, since it will either already have the update when I get it (since it was released 5/15), or I can just update it before putting anything on it.

Alright, I guess Vertex 4 it is! Thanks for your help LegendofMart, and thank you everyone else! :)

[TheLegendOfMart]

No problem, anytime.

I didn't know anything about SSDs until i researched which is the best one to get, I'm buying the 120Gb Vertex 4 myself next week.

[dr_crabman]

The Crucial M4 has the Indilinx 2 controller just like the Vertex 4 but doesn't have the firmware update to bring the speeds up to Sandforce levels.

No, m4s controller is from Marvell. And in day to day use the write speed isn't that important, I wouldn't pay a lot more only for that, the m4 is a great reliable SSD. Another alternative: Samsung 830 which in some tests is faster than the Vertex 4.

[+Fahim S. MVC]

The Crucial M4 has the Indilinx 2 controller just like the Vertex 4 but doesn't have the firmware update to bring the speeds up to Sandforce levels.

The M4 has a Marvell controller. I have the 128GB M4 as a boot drive - very happy with it.

[TheLegendOfMart]

My bad, the Indilinx 2 is built by Marvell I must have got the wrong end of the stick when I was reading up assuming the M4 Marvell was also Indilinx.

No, m4s controller is from Marvell. And in day to day use the write speed isn't that important, I wouldn't pay a lot more only for that, the m4 is a great reliable SSD. Another alternative: Samsung 830 which in some tests is faster than the Vertex 4.

Technically its not important but why settle for less when the Vertex and M4 are very similarly priced?

[ecotrojan]

Doesn't your bios have to support AHCI ?

Correct me if i am wrong folks.

[+Fahim S. MVC]

Technically its not important but why settle for less when the Vertex and M4 are very similarly priced?

In a word - reliability - Crucial's track record is as good as the most reliable SSD makers. OCZ on the other hand have a reputation that suffered horribly through using SandForce controllers. With the recent price changes, the M4 is a very compelling offering.

[tomasarson]

intel fan myself but no matter which way you go with any of these suggestions you're going to love life.

[shiven]

In a word - reliability - Crucial's track record is as good as the most reliable SSD makers. OCZ on the other hand have a reputation that suffered horribly through using SandForce controllers. With the recent price changes, the M4 is a very compelling offering.

Hmmm.. I haven't ordered yet, and reading these posts, I'm now beginning to doubt my (admittedly hasty) Vertex 4 choice. Practically speaking, will the read/write difference between the M4 and the Vertex be noticeable in day-to-day usage?

[+Fahim S. MVC]

To be honest that can only be answered by someone that has run both in real world scenarios. My view is biased by the fact I have the M4 and that it has been great.

Anyhow, any SSD will be better than pretty much any spinning platter solution including the Raptor.

[shiven]

To be honest that can only be answered by someone that has run both in real world scenarios. My view is biased by the fact I have the M4 and that it has been great.

Anyhow, any SSD will be better than pretty much any spinning platter solution including the Raptor.

Since you have an M4, let me ask you this: do you ever feel that it could be faster? Or is it always as fast as you could imagine for any specific task? Thanks!

[+Fahim S. MVC]

It can be faster. Nothing is totally instant and until it is, it can be faster. I am pretty sure there isn't a single SSD in the world that makes things instant. I guess a PCIe based SSD would be better but still not instant.

Also my board is SATA2 so I know I am not using the SSD to even its full potential.

Having said that, it replaced 2x7200rpm Seagate Barracuda's in RAID0 and the machine feels far more responsive than it ever had previously.

[BoneyardBrew Member]

I've owned two Crucial M4 drives, one 64GB and one 128GB. I traded the 64GB in with a service plan at MicroCenter for the 128GB drive and I couldn't be happier. Write speeds are supposedly faster (which I never had a problem with before) and I doubled my capacity. Both drives have been reliable and I haven't had a single issue.

The Vertex definitely looks like a great value though, so it's something to consider. I can't recommend it personally though.

[shiven]

It can be faster. Nothing is totally instant and until it is, it can be faster. I am pretty sure there isn't a single SSD in the world that makes things instant. I guess a PCIe based SSD would be better but still not instant.

Also my board is SATA2 so I know I am not using the SSD to even its full potential.

Having said that, it replaced 2x7200rpm Seagate Barracuda's in RAID0 and the machine feels far more responsive than it ever had previously.

I have SATA 3, so getting the M4 will at least net results as good as yours (which you say is quite good). This is encouraging, thanks!

I've owned two Crucial M4 drives, one 64GB and one 128GB. I traded the 64GB in with a service plan at MicroCenter for the 128GB drive and I couldn't be happier. Write speeds are supposedly faster (which I never had a problem with before) and I doubled my capacity. Both drives have been reliable and I haven't had a single issue.

The Vertex definitely looks like a great value though, so it's something to consider. I can't recommend it personally though.

Another positive review for the M4! And yeah, the Vertex is a good value (from what I've read). I just don't want to be one of those unlucky few who have to RMA for one reason or another... then again, the two drives are so similar in price, I feel that if i did get the Vertex, I'd be (supposedly) getting the extra write speeds for free.

Still voraciously reading up on this; a decision shall be reached soon. Thanks again everyone!