Need a SSD/HDD asap!

[neit]

Bad news, my laptops HDD started clicking today and I shut everything down. Now it's stuck in windows will try and repair startup but never works. I am operating off an ubuntu live CD and can access the drive, but now I'm looking for a replacement since supposedly the HDD is junk. I've done some research (last couple hours worth), and here's what I got figured out so far:

Asus UL80VT laptop (not sure of SATA speed)
I need at least 60/64Gb for OS + Core apps
I want to spend <$100 unless there's an amazing sale/reason to go a little above

Based on a quick newegg search for stuff in stock, I found this:
Corsair Nova 60gb
This looks good too: Kingston SV100 64gb with rebate


I've looked at the ssd guide and I dont' think it's a bad one, and I plan on using win 7 64bit from the recovery disks. Please let me know if you think this a good choice or if there's a better one that fits the criteria.

Thank you!

 

[Zap]

The Nova is an Indilinx Barefoot based drive and the Kingston is probably a Jmicron 618 based drive.

They both are pretty mediocre in performance when compared to more expensive SSDs. However, they both are pretty good when compared to hard drives. As with many things in life, you get what you pay for.

Note that the Indilinx Barefoot controller used to be near the top of the performance heap. It has fallen only because there are newer controllers on the market that are faster, not because they have always sucked.

For the price I would take the Kingston drive. I don't feel that the Corsair Nova is worth 25&#37; more cost. If you are buying RIGHT NOW and you have a hard price ceiling of $100, go for it.

The Kingston drive you linked to also is a "notebook upgrade kit" meaning it comes with cloning software plus a USB drive bay for your old HDD, not that it helps if your old drive is dying. Just a nice "plus."

 

[Shmee]

also, you may want to consider the seagate momentus XT hybrid drive. Could be considered almost a "budget SSD" but with more space. the 500 gig should be just around $100.

 

[RaiderJ]

also, you may want to consider the seagate momentus XT hybrid drive. Could be considered almost a "budget SSD" but with more space. the 500 gig should be just around $100.

That's a good option if you need the space. I believe it's a bit more power hungry than most drives, but that laptop should still get plenty of battery life regardless of the drive.