Help me Chosing SSD

[Gonzo1971]

Hi Everybody!

I’m planning to update my computer. First step will be buying a SSD. I’ve read a bit but I’m a little bit lost. Maybe you can help me.

Right now I have an Asus PK5 Deluxe motherboard that supports SATA II but I’m thinking to buy soon a new P67 motherboard with an i7 2600 K processor (which will support SATA III). My OS is Vista Ultimate 64 bits (no plans to upgrade to windows 7 if is not a must!).

I want to buy first the SSD and install it on my current computer. I’ve seen basically two SATA III SSD that are the OCZ Vertex 3 and the intel 510. I’ve seen the benchmarks here in anandtech and it seems that OCZ is better than Intel in most of the features. Also both of them seems to be able to run under SATAII. I will not get the best of them until I buy the new motherboard, but it does not worry me at that time.

Which one of these 2 SSD will you recommend me? I want the best features but basically I need reliability. If the OCZ runs faster but lasts less time then I prefer another SSD.

Also, will I have problems to configure it under Vista? What are the main issues that I have to think about when installing under windows vista and with my current motherboard?(I plan to move all the OS to the new SSD, not installing it from zero)

I would really appreciate if you could give me dome advice and help! And sorry if I did not make myself understood properly. Is quite hard to write in English, and if you talk about technical things, when you are not an expert in computing, is even harder! J

Thank you very much!

Gonzalo

 

[Bauss]

In terms of performance, both drives are great. That said, the V3 is faster in all aspects except for large file copies.

Intel is known to have the most reliable drive, but there is no telling how these new drives will shake out. My guess is that OCZ has closed much of the gap in reliability, but it has much to prove. As one of the world leaders in flash manufacturing, Intel's QA is certainly second to none.

When it comes to longevity, it's a wash to me. The 510 has 34nm flash, so 66% more writes can be done. That said, it doesn't have any of the compression goodness of the V3, so it's write amplification is probably higher. Both will last you a very good amount of time.

Lastly, price. Both are selling above MSRP, but the V3 will end up being cheaper, as it uses cheaper flash. Also, Intel is a name that you pay for. For that name, you really do get the assurance of a well built product. No OCZ V2 25nm funny business here...

In the end, I'd go 510 if you have the cash, and reliability is as big a concern as you suggest it is.

 

[Infrnl]

You will get a lot of people that will not reccommend OCZ anymore with their recent issues. I personally do not trust any of their ssd's, but I am sure many have been trouble free.

In real world use, depending on needs; most will not be able to tell the difference in perfomance.

Of the 2 I would go intel. For my personal use it will either be Crucial or Intel depending on price. I currently have some c300 drives, but no other ssds to compare them with. They have been great drives with no issues for me.

 

[razel]

I'm surprised you're sticking with Vista. I'm one of the few who enjoyed Vista (especially after SP2), but if you plan on owning an SSD, then a Win7 upgrade is a 'must' primarily to utilize and take advantage of TRIM. The garbage collection (GC) without TRIM of the two SSDs you mentioned seems ok. Having an aggressive GC increases wear, but that increase may not be enough to worry about in the lifetime of your ownership since most people will upgrade within a few years.

 

[Gonzo1971]

Thank you for the info. I will go for the intel and update to windows 7

regards

 

[Blain]

Intel 320 series