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Fastest SSD under $300?

zCypher

zCypher

Diamond Member
I've been very pleased with my 120GB Vertex3. I'm not as limited in space compared to my 60GB Vertex2, and it's noticeably faster. However, 120GB is still a little on the small size especially if I keep my Steam folder on it which I'd like to do.

Using two Vertex3 120GB in RAID-0 is an idea I've toyed with, but the simplicity of a single 240-256GB drive is nice too. I don't run my system 24/7, so total boot time is a concern though not a huge deal as it's already pretty damn fast.

I was looking at the Intel 520 and Samsung 830, and the prices are just too much in the 240-256GB range. I'm seeing $500+. Now there's obviously a plethora of other SSD available at less of a price premium in that capacity, but if I upgrade I want to see capacity and speed improve, not just capacity. I make do with what I have, so the extra space would be nice but it's not like I'm dying for it or anything.

I keep multiple backups of all my important stuff, and don't keep anything I can't afford to lose on a boot drive. I'm not afraid to buy another SandForce drive if it gives the best price/performance.

Are there any SF2281 drives that give a large performance boost over a Vertex3, or are they still all virtually identical in performance?
 
Keep an eye out for this one, it's been in and out of stock for that same price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226226

All 32nm Toshiba toggle NAND equipped SF2281 drives are similar and will be the fastest SSDs out there. There are only four that I know of:

Patriot Wildfire
Mushkin Chronos Deluxe
OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS
OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G

These are THE fastest standard 2.5" form factor SATA SSDs you can get outside of proprietary "exotic" PCIe solutions.

Then, you want to focus on the 240 GB model because they are significantly faster than the 120GB models due to saturating the full set of parallel NAND channels on the controller, but not so bogged down with massive maps and lookup tables that overwhelm the controller in the slower 480GB models.

These as you probably know are premium $400+ SSDs, thus if the $278 price sticks around for a while on the Chronos Deluxe, it's probably *THE* best SSD deal there is. Maximum performance available and the only one price under $400 let alone $300.
 
exdeath said:
Then, you want to focus on the 240 GB model because they are significantly faster than the 120GB models due to saturating the full set of parallel NAND channels on the controller, but not so bogged down with massive maps and lookup tables that overwhelm the controller in the slower 480GB models.
Click to expand...

I know the larger cap SSD's are supposed to be faster (for the reasons you mentioned, another reason I wish I would have went to a 128GB instead of a 60GB...) but if I'm reading your post correctly, there is a point where efficiency falls off vs capacity? 😕
 
When the number of channels is already saturated, all more NAND does is add to lookup table complexity and controller load. This is apparent when you see the same model drive in 120, 240, and 480. 240GB is faster than 120GB, but the 480GB is slower.
 
Thanks for that info exdeath, that's good stuff. I had my eye on the Wildfire when I was shopping for my Vertex3. Love the names Patriot came up for their drives, and like the fact that the performance is just as interesting.

I see NCIX lowered the 120GB Vertex3 down to $149, so I'm so very tempted to try adding one to my computer for RAID-0.

What do y'all think, better to raid two Vertex3 or replace the single Vertex3 with a 240-256GB faster SSD? Decisions decisions...
 
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zCypher said:
How does this deal look for the Chronos Deluxe?
http://forums.ncix.com/forums/?mode...id=62972&msgcount=29&overclockid=0#msg2474268

Edit, screw it, that looks like a really good deal - ordered it. $294 shipped!

Here's how much the competing drives go for, for comparison:
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=60505&vpn=VTX3MI-25SAT3-240G&manufacture=OCZ Technology
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=62265&vpn=PW240GS25SSDR&manufacture=Patriot&promoid=1375
Click to expand...

I grabbed my Chronos Deluxe from NCIX last week. Did local store pick-up here in Vancouver so I saved shipping, looks like they dropped the price $10 with the weekly sale now to $269 from $279. You will be pleased with your choice, trust me 🙂

Ships with the latest firmware too (3.3.2)
 
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2225442

Some 240GB SSDs under $300, of which the Chronos Deluxe is the fastest.

They are all similar (SF2200 series) and all very fast (SATA 6g, 60k+ IOPS, 500MB sec r/w), it just comes down +/- a couple 1,000 or so more IOPs in benchmarks due to the type of NAND used really.

Added benefits of the Chronos Deluxe is that competing 32nm Toshiba Toggle NAND drives (WildFire and Vertex 3 MAX IOPS) are still $400+, and the fact that it's 32nm and not the newer .2x nm NAND meaning it's good for 10,000 P/E cycles instead of 5,000 (higher durability AND faster NAND for the same price).

Can't go wrong with any of them, just be aware they are all Sandforce drives, so research potential firmware and system compatibility hiccups. But then again, you don't buy a Ferrari and expect it to run 200,000 miles without maintenance or surprises like a Toyota Camry right 😉

If you are looking for "fastest" and/or "cheapest" anyway, you are pretty much shoehorned with Sandforce anyway.
 
Last edited:
zCypher said:
How does this deal look for the Chronos Deluxe?
http://forums.ncix.com/forums/?mode...id=62972&msgcount=29&overclockid=0#msg2474268

Edit, screw it, that looks like a really good deal - ordered it. $294 shipped!

Here's how much the competing drives go for, for comparison:
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=60505&vpn=VTX3MI-25SAT3-240G&manufacture=OCZ Technology
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=62265&vpn=PW240GS25SSDR&manufacture=Patriot&promoid=1375
Click to expand...

Cheaper here, they just got more in stock today 🙂

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226226
 
exdeath said:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2225442

Some 240GB SSDs under $300, of which the Chronos Deluxe is the fastest.

They are all similar (SF2200 series) and all very fast (SATA 6g, 60k+ IOPS, 500MB sec r/w), it just comes down +/- a couple 1,000 or so more IOPs in benchmarks due to the type of NAND used really.

Added benefits of the Chronos Deluxe is that competing 32nm Toshiba Toggle NAND drives (WildFire and Vertex 3 MAX IOPS) are still $400+, and the fact that it's 32nm and not the newer .2x nm NAND meaning it's good for 10,000 P/E cycles instead of 5,000 (higher durability AND faster NAND for the same price).

Can't go wrong with any of them, just be aware they are all Sandforce drives, so research potential firmware and system compatibility hiccups. But then again, you don't buy a Ferrari and expect it to run 200,000 miles without maintenance or surprises like a Toyota Camry right 😉

If you are looking for "fastest" and/or "cheapest" anyway, you are pretty much shoehorned with Sandforce anyway.
Click to expand...

Cool, so it's a solid choice. I'm not afraid of SandForce. The worst that can happen is I RMA the drive and use my other SSD until the replacement arrives. There isn't anything important which the sole copy resides on the boot drive anyway. I've been thoroughly pleased with both Vertex3 drives that I have in use right now, the older one for about a year now, maybe more.

NCIX shipped, should have it Monday or Tuesday. 😀

Now I just gotta figure out what's limiting my 1100T from going beyond 3.9GHz.
 
zCypher said:
I'm not afraid of SandForce.
Click to expand...

In hindsight, I wish I would have gone with the M4... what I spent on an additional HDD to back my OCZ SandForce SSD up would have covered the difference; but don't get me wrong, I love my Agility3. I think if you get a currently produced component with up-to-date firmware, you are good to go.

Let us know what you think when you get it!!!
 
Charlie98 said:
In hindsight, I wish I would have gone with the M4... what I spent on an additional HDD to back my OCZ SandForce SSD up would have covered the difference; but don't get me wrong, I love my Agility3. I think if you get a currently produced component with up-to-date firmware, you are good to go.

Let us know what you think when you get it!!!
Click to expand...

I hear you, but IMO getting an M4 does not preclude you from needing to backup your system. There's no such thing as a drive, ssd or otherwise that is reliable enough to not need backups. Not yet anyway. 😉 So IMO it's a moot point in that respect.

Having said all of that... my first OCZ did die a terrible early death, its RMA'd brethren is still kicking though.
 
Zap said:
For those considering alternatives to Sandforce, how about Marvell?

Plextor M3 256GB $290 AR FS

Think of it as a Crucial m4, but cheaper and with 5 year warranty. Uses Marvell controller.
Click to expand...

Crucial "M4" and Plextor "M3"? lol... looks like a pretty nice deal though. Still waiting on my Mushkin, looks like it's not arriving today as I hoped. AH well.
 
lol no restraints but they did include a mushkin hat
everything installed and running some benchmarks now, will post them shortly
 
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