Any SSD worth getting around $200?

[LOUISSSSS]

i'm looking for a new SSD for about $200, first priority would be reliability, then speed, then size.

i have enough storage space on other hdds for programs (150gb raptors) + (640gb Caviar)

i dont mine using the SSD just for the OS and some apps and using my 150gb raptors for programs.

i have NO research on SSDs besides SLC and MLC and that the intel one is best for $600.

some questions:
1. what would u recommend for ~$200?
2. do sdds die fast? (less than 5 years like hdds)
3. what, about ssds makes them perform worse than hdds (multitasking, transfers...)?
4. is installation the same as a regular hdd? (just mount it in cage, plug in sata to mobo, boot from hdd, and install OS on it? do i need patches? drivers? firmware updates?
5. any info to tell to a SSD noob?

i mainly use my computer in a desktop environment. itunes, internet, movies etc... occasional gaming and cpu intensive tasks.

 

[allthatisman]

I am also contemplating buying the 128 GB Gskill SSD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231221

It's not so much the price, but the reviews of these products and how mismatched they are from the individuals vs tech sites. Most tech sites say they are the fastest thing out there and that if you know what you are doing, the stutters will be minimal. A large enough group of individuals claim that the stuttering is unbearable if you do more than one thing at a time (which anymore most of us do).

At this point the slowest part on my computer is my hard drive. I am just not willing to go X58 simply because Intel came out with it... but load times have always been the one thing that seems slow about my machine. I have thought about putting two of those drives in a RAID 0 using the 780i hardware, but I have also heard there are problems with that as well... the logical side of me just says wait another 6 months and the SLC's will be this cheap...

 

[Denithor]

Actually, most of the "stutter" problem is due to the crappy JMicron controller used on the current generation of MLC SSD drives. As in, all of them (with the single exception of the Intel MLC drive which features a proprietary controller designed by Intel) have this problem.

The drives have a real problem handling 4k and smaller writes, they can be slowed down severely when these writes occur (hence, the "stutter" problem). The AT write-up on the Intel X25-M gives the best details I've seen around the net so far on the problem, showing up to a 1 second (!!) delay when doing something as simple as changing pages on your browser (the new downloaded data is written into the temp file and causes a noticeable lag in loading the new page). There's another great review on these drives over at bit-tech.net that shows performance in large & small data creation, writes, and reads. Very good article, worth reading before spending a wad of cash on a drive that may not meet your expectations.

 

[coolVariable]

No.

Current "cheap" SSD drives are crap.

The intel SSD drives are very good and the expensive SLC SSD drives are excellent.
The rest is often slower than a 7,200 rpm HDD ... let alone a raptor.

Wait until mid next year ... then we will probably see good SSDs for around $200.

 

[allthatisman]

Thanks for the reply. I have been trying to talk myself out of this purchase and thankfully tou guys did it for me. I have been thinking about getting a velociraptor for the time being... anyone go from a perfectly good 1TB hdd to a velociraptor and notice enough of a difference to justify it? Right now they are $199 after MIR

 

[Mango1970]

I am certainly not trying to change your mind but I bought an OCZ Core series 64GB drive a few months back. I installed it as my main OS drive using Vista 64. AT the time I never did read the info on the OCZ site about how to set up Vista/XP to take better advantage of the SSD or I should say to try and speed it up and remove some of the writing issues. It was a slow install (slow to write to the drive compared to my other regular HD's) but honestly i have been using it now for months and I will never got back to a regular drive again. I have NO stuttering... nothing.. everything opens up like a rocket. I ensured to install Vista and Office and all my apps on the SSD and everything else is stored on my 2 other regular drives... mostly storage, music, videos and games etc and all temp files and swap files. I never benched it and never cared to. I love the fact it's silent... cold to the touch and so damn small. I bought the 64GB for $180 and there was a 70$ rebate which I already got. For that money I figured it would be a 'fun" project and never would have expected it actually become my main drive. I am sure that the Intel one is few X better than what I have but for the money, this was a very nice intro into the SSD market for me.

Edit: no drivers were required. Vista did everything. There are tweaks on the OCZ forum that apply to most SSD drives (not the intel one i would think). I have tried most of them but honestly never noticed any performance increase (or decrease) so.. heck it's all good.

 

[allthatisman]

my main issue is that people seem to notice small stutters when they are multi tasking, any such instances with you? I think I typically either get very lucky with my hardware and software choices because I rarely have problems with my computers(except the 780i....) but all in all I think I run a tight ship in terms of my OS and viruses, TSR's, etc. I want my games to load fast, that is pretty much all... and vista could be a tad faster, but honestly I have no real complaints otherwise, just want something newer/faster because I am an American... lol.

 

[taltamir]

A velociraptor is singificantly better than every SSD out there EXCEPT the intel ones, the intel SSDs annihilate the velociraptor.
If you want to spend 200$. than get one of those two drives:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...n=velociraptor&x=0&y=0

 

[taltamir]

2. do sdds die fast? (less than 5 years like hdds)

SSDs don't really die, they run out of writes. That is, after enough years you would get a "write failed" error whenever you try to write new files, all your old data will still be there and accessable in read only mode, so you can transfer it to a new drive.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

ok i guess its not time for a ssd yet. i'll stick with my 150gb raptor. i actually have 2 raptors and have raid-0'd them before. i didn't notice any speed so i'm back to a single.

 

[Das Capitolin]

There are a few sub-$200 SSD's available, and many of them perform quite well. I personally like the G.Skill SATA-2 SSD, and the Patriot Warp v2. Both perform well, and both are very affordable.

There is one big problem though: Solid State Drive (SSD) Benchmark Performance Testing they don't test so well, so you don't really know what you're getting for performance.