Read the SSD Guide - Have Beginners Questions

[latches]

So, I havent paid much attention to SSDs other than to observe their rise in popularity and speed but in light of a possible impending hard drive failure I want to move into the SSD market.

As far as I know a wonderful pricing war has a erupted and there have been some pretty good deals but none of them are currently active. Id like to maybe get a 120GB drive for between $75 and $90 but dont see any good deals.

My Questions are:

- Which SSDs are current the least problematic and best performing?
- What capacity is recommended for a PC gamer - Some 10 games installed at a time.
- I know to avoid SandForce drivers but what is the deal with these drivers?
- What tips do any of you have for getting into SSDs?
- Should I wait for cheaper prices?

Let me know! Thanks.

 

[cmdrdredd]

- Which SSDs are current the least problematic and best performing?
Crucial M4, Samsung 830, Corsair Performance Pro, Plextor M3 any Intel SSD are the most reliable. Pretty much every one is within a few points of the others in benchmarks. Really no need worrying about synthetic scores.

- What capacity is recommended for a PC gamer - Some 10 games installed at a time.
Depends on what games they are. On my SSD I have Batman: AC, Crysis, Crysis 2 with high resolution textures, Skyrim with high resolution textures and EMB as well as other mods, DeusEX: HR, & Battlefield 3. I use 74GB of 119GB available on the drive.

- I know to avoid SandForce drivers but what is the deal with these drivers?
The sandforce drives have issues in general, mostly related to the OCZ brand. They die or corrupt data. I'm not really up to date on what the real issue is (remember the vender has to work on the firmware).

- What tips do any of you have for getting into SSDs?
Never defrag it. Other than that...nothing special

- Should I wait for cheaper prices?
You can, but $1/GB is pretty good for the 120GB Crucial M4

 

[Aikouka]

It doesn't hurt to wait for a good deal, and there seems to practically be at least one a week.

Also, the size really depends on what you're planning on putting on it. If I had to guesstimate, the average game size is probably only 7-8GB. Indie games are typically smaller ranging from a couple hundred MB to 2-3GB, and some AAA games can be ginormous and go up to around 30GB (Max Payne 3, Rage, Star Wars: Force Unleashed).

 

[Zap]

- Should I wait for cheaper prices?

Since you need one soon, but not immediately, check recent expired hot deals for general pricing information. That way when the pricing drops to that again, you know it is time to buy.

For instance, if the Crucial M4 256GB hits $180 again, buy buy buy!!!

 

[latches]

lol Thanks a lot guys. I think Ill go for 120GB or higher. There really has been quite a few deals lately so Ill go for something slightly less than $1/GB and settle. Im testing my HD right now to see if its alright but in the mean time Ill keep my eyes open. A Crucial M4 256GB sounds mighty good. Ill have to hide the package when it comes though. lol. My mom would give me hell for spending that much on a drive. Maybe $90 or less for a 120GB is the way to go for now. Haha.