• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Where the heck are the Intel SSD's

J

Jingato

Member
Where can I get my hands on one of these things? I can't seem to find them online anywhere! I'd like the 160GB preferably. I was really hoping to have one of these to go with my new nehalem build next month.
 
Wow.....not even close to cheap. What is the next best SSD performance wise that is a little more reasonable. I'm looking to spend around $400. How long do you think before the Intels come down in price? I remember reading Anands review and they said the Intel SSD's were the only one they'd recommend buying. Are they really that much better?
 
Originally posted by: Jingato
Wow.....not even close to cheap.
Click to expand...

Ya gotta pay to play!

So, you're going Nehalem...

CPU $300-1500
mobo $350-500

Does $633 for the SSD break the bank after buying the Core i7 gear? Pathetic! 😉

Just do two 150GB VelociRaptors in RAID 0 and call it a day for this generation.
 
The performance version of the Intel SSD(X25-E) is about to be released also(The X25-M is the mobile part). That one will be $800 for a 32GB model.
 
Originally posted by: aka1nas
The performance version of the Intel SSD(X25-E) is about to be released also(The X25-M is the mobile part). That one will be $800 for a 32GB model.
Click to expand...

Ouch. They're not even bothering with lube these days, are they? All you're paying for is the controller...sheesh. Wish JMicron would get off their ass and release an improved model already.
 
Directron has the 80gig for $669... :-( What happened to the ~$500 price point that Anand mentioned? I guess they are trying to screw the early adopters before the drives become more plentiful on the market... Sucks because I just got a new laptop and I would love to throw one of these in there....
 
Originally posted by: Denithor
Originally posted by: aka1nas
The performance version of the Intel SSD(X25-E) is about to be released also(The X25-M is the mobile part). That one will be $800 for a 32GB model.
Click to expand...

Ouch. They're not even bothering with lube these days, are they? All you're paying for is the controller...sheesh. Wish JMicron would get off their ass and release an improved model already.
Click to expand...

is it really just the controller? i though intel was doing something different with their flash chip design on top of things to net the performance they are exhibiting, not to mention the addition of the DRAM cache for the first time on a SSD AFAIK? intel is just pricing them comparatively to the other offerings on the market at the same performance points. also, i remember reading somewhere that intel contracts out its NAND fabs to another company who makes SSDs, and their drives get the same performance as every other drive on the market despite using a different flash chip design. i could be wrong though /shrug
 
Intel uses NAND flash in their SSD's same as everyone else. The majority of the increase in performance over other MLC drives is due to the new controller Intel designed...
 
intel uses 50nm NAND chips they make in house. those chips are identical to other nand chips, but they do use 50nm fab, (don't know what process the commonly used samsung chips use, the sunsung chips are used... remember Jmicron makes the controller samsung makes the nand).

But yea you are mostly paying for the cost of research and a new tech, not for the cost of production (Should be well under 100$ for each drive)

anyways, a quick google:
http://www.techonweb.com/produ....aspx?id=A02R74&src=FG

not to mention the addition of the DRAM cache for the first time on a SSD AFAIK
Click to expand...
Firstly, there models from other companies of SSDs that used ram as cache. Secondly, Intel does NOT use a ram cache. They have ram for the controller to run its optimization software on! intel was clear on this point. (The caching is done on a cache inside the controller itself, not on the ram chip)

Originally posted by: Zap
Originally posted by: Jingato
Wow.....not even close to cheap.
Click to expand...

Ya gotta pay to play!

So, you're going Nehalem...

CPU $300-1500
mobo $350-500

Does $633 for the SSD break the bank after buying the Core i7 gear? Pathetic! 😉

Just do two 150GB VelociRaptors in RAID 0 and call it a day for this generation.
Click to expand...

and the intel SSD will give you a bigger and more noticeable performance boost then going to nehalem.
Also, you forgot DDR3 ram 🙂
 
How much better do you think it will be over a raptor? They have so many benchmarks and they're all different. I'm not sure which one to go by. I can put 2 VR in a Raid 0 for only $350
 
wow... I can't find any reviews yet... if the X25-M is any indication, it will show up in the next few days, I can't wait to see how well it performs.
 
Originally posted by: Jingato
Wow.....not even close to cheap. What is the next best SSD performance wise that is a little more reasonable. I'm looking to spend around $400. How long do you think before the Intels come down in price? I remember reading Anands review and they said the Intel SSD's were the only one they'd recommend buying. Are they really that much better?
Click to expand...
Well there are a lot of other good SSDs out there, Mtron and Memoright, for example. But they use SLC and are more expensive per GB than the MLC Intel.

Mtron's 32GB drives are about $400 I believe.
 
Originally posted by: taltamir
and the intel SSD will give you a bigger and more noticeable performance boost then going to nehalem.
Also, you forgot DDR3 ram 🙂
Click to expand...
I agree with almost everything you said until this point. I know this point has been made in other cases, but I think it depends on the setup.

If he's running a Pentium III, with VelociRaptors, I think the Nehalem-VR setup would be faster than the Pentium III-SSD setup. But in general, I think the point is very valid.

Another problem I see online is that the SSD speeds are repeatedly compared to something like 4600rpm drives. Really? They couldn't even use the low-end 5400rpm drives that laptops use, not to mention, they didn't compare it to common 7200rpm drives; furthermore, SSDs are supposed to be an enthusiast performance product, compare it to the like. I have Raptors in my box and I want to see the performance to that.

There are some that do (such as Anandtech), but as the poster said, there are comparisons all over the net with different results.

I would say the one thing to be cautious of is the Random Read/Random Write times you see on the net. For instance, Newegg has MLC SSDs posted with 100MB/s Random Write. Clearly, this is not the case, and if you refer to the manufacturer's website and view the specs, you will notice that it is the Sequential Write speed for that model. My guess is either someone does not know the difference between Sequential and Random, or someone is trying to falsely advertise products, where they can shift blame.
 
Originally posted by: faxon
just BTW, CDW has these drives in stock right now...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say 'Call for availability' equates to 'In stock'. It will probably be December before the X25-E ships.

 
Originally posted by: vol7ron
Originally posted by: taltamir
and the intel SSD will give you a bigger and more noticeable performance boost then going to nehalem.
Also, you forgot DDR3 ram 🙂
Click to expand...
I agree with almost everything you said until this point. I know this point has been made in other cases, but I think it depends on the setup.

If he's running a Pentium III, with VelociRaptors, I think the Nehalem-VR setup would be faster than the Pentium III-SSD setup. But in general, I think the point is very valid.
Click to expand...

Well, I couldn't realistically see anyone running a P3 with it... i meant upgrade from a step below it.... Although in retrospect I am not too sure anymore, the velociraptor is very fast...

I was thinking that if you have a penryn + regular drive.

Upgrading the HDD to the SSD would give you more then upgrading to nehalem. But the veloci kinda throws a kink into it...

But if you have something older then a penryn + modern regular drive, then you should upgrade to a penryn + WD640... BOTH together will give you a greater boost then each individual upgrade (SSD or neha) and will cost a lot less...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top