At what point is an SSD worth it?

[YBS1]

Of course I should add we all occasionally do something retarded even when we should know better. I recently replaced my HDD in my netbook, yes...netbook, with an 80GB Intel X25-M. Best Buy had them on clearance for ~$129 or so and I had $30 in rewards points so I figured pretty good deal and jumped on it. This was akin to slapping a Ferrari F1 transmission into your Chevy Aveo. I guess my battery will last longer....maybe.

 

[krumme]

Well if your netbook is Atom I understand you. The only portable computer in the house not having a ssd is the lonely Atom netbook. And thats because that processor is in a league for itself, its an even bigger pain thant the slow 5400 HD in it - btw the x25 is not the best for battery life - sorry haha

 

[VirtualLarry]

Since I found out that my laptop lacks ATA password support, I'm not sure what to do.
I cannot believe that a BIOS would be brain-dead like that.

I was originally also planning on choosing the Intel due to the FDE, and the fact that, supposedly, the FDE interacts with the ATA password. Unsure to what extent, Anand's article wasn't totally clear.

So I could choose the Crucial M4, which was as low as $180 for the 128GB model. SATA 6G and 128GB, for the same price as Intel's 80GB 320 Series SSD.

Although if the above comment is correct, and the M4 is only faster in sequential transfers with SATA 6G, and the Intel actually has better IOPS, then I should probably still get the Intel.

I suppose, if I were to re-word the original thread question, to "When will SSDs become mainstream", then the answer to that could be "When you see SSDs on the shelf at BestBuy".

I went to BestBuy to look at SSDs, after finding out that they carry the Intel drives in-store, at least the 80 and 120GB sizes. Prices weren't too bad, the 80GB was $190 (the full deluxe kit, with the desktop mounting kit, and the notebook transfer kit, with the USB3 to SATA adaptor cable for a notebook drive), and the 120GB was $260. Newegg wanted $222 for the 120GB unit, unsure if it was the full kit or not. Newegg wanted $179 for the 80GB, so price was in the same ballpark as BestBuy.

This is a real PITA to choose an SSD, there don't seem to be any that are somehow CLEARLY better than others. If price indicates quality, then Intel must be the best somehow. Either that, or they are just maintaining their gross margins, one of the two.

 

[krumme]

Well Intel is keeping their huge margins, but they have to protect their brand too.
Intel sells safety above everything else. Therefore its safe to asume the reliability is higher than many other. Especially the new drives. Its like ssd have to be released months before the firmware is ready...

I wouldnt care to much about iops or sequential. You are more or less in the same ballpark. Without a bm instrument, you will not be able to tell the difference.

The last two drives i bought was corsair, not because i didnt have problems with the first one - i did have 2 with errors - yikes, but because the customer service is just superior. And the work on the corsair forums by some support guys is just fantastic. That is also confidence and reliability in my world.