Which SF-1200 SSD?

[nyfirefly11]

OK, so i want both a 60GB and a 120GB SSD, and I'm pretty sure I'm willing to go with the SF-1200. That said, I've narrowed it down to three:

OCZ Vertex 2 (E series)
G.Skill Phoenix Pro
Corsair Force

They all have similar specs, they're neck and neck in the benchmarks, and are all about the same price.

Any thoughts? I know a lot of people go with OCZ, but I was thinking Corsair since they have very good phone support (in my experience, anyway).

Thx!

 

[Emulex]

the C300 looks nice.

crucial=micron
intel=micron

Intel has superior support to all. period hands down. oem might be just as good but if my ssd fails- i have someone to call right now to dispatch a overnight. go call ocz now and see what is up

 

[LokutusofBorg]

The only thing the Crucial and Intel drives are sharing is the IMFT NAND chips coming out of the IM Flash plant in Utah. Intel has their own controller, and the Crucial drives are using a Marvell controller.

If you're going SF1200 and you don't want to be subject to firmware debacles, then go Vertex 2 for now. The firmware-exclusivity for the Vertex 2 doesn't last forever, but for now the other drives have to use beta or RC firmware to match the Vertex 2.

 

[jjmIII]

G.Skill Phoenix Pro

I know the Vertex2 is the "in drive" right now, but bought my G.Skill just because I like their memory. I would never buy OCZ memory...just not a fan personally.

I wish I could find the review that convinced me...
EDIT: here I like that G.Skill is using better NAND to overcome the OCZ firmware advantage.

 

[nyfirefly11]

Yeah, the C300 is interesting, and is probably fine on Win 7, but I wasn't blown away by Anand's review.

The firmware issue is definitely a bit of a mess...I thought Corsair finally got an updated one...but maybe not, it's hard to keep track of these things.

The NE reviews on the Vertex 2 60GB are pretty good, but the 120GB version has seen some problems, especially for the low number sold.

 

[nyfirefly11]

AH, now I understand better re: the firmware: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3661/understanding-sandforces-sf1200-sf1500-not-all-drives-are-equal

 

[coolVariable]

the C300 looks nice.

crucial=micron
intel=micron

Intel has superior support to all. period hands down. oem might be just as good but if my ssd fails- i have someone to call right now to dispatch a overnight. go call ocz now and see what is up

Intel has a superior support? Hahahahahahahaha!
YOU are funny, my friend! I love their support for the G1 drives ...
"TRIM? Yeah, we duped everybody into believing that we would release a firmware with TRIM support ... but we won't. F you, early adopters!"
Also - he asked about SF-1200 SSDs ... not intel.

The BEST support is OCZ at the moment, hands down.

Any SF-1200 drive will be fine at the moment. There is not much of a difference besides price and support.

 

[nyfirefly11]

Thx!

Just ordered the OCZ's...we'll see!

I bought a 60GB and 120GB - the former as the Win 7 boot drive for my desktop, and the latter as the drive in my laptop. Here are a few questions:

1. Do I need to zero the drives before first use? (I heard that some people were doing that, and thought it might help). Is there any harm in doing that?
2. Can I use an image of my current Win 7 install (HDD), or would it be better to do a fresh install?
3. A number of people have been using CCleaner to wipe free space with zeros every so often to keep the drive at top performance. Is that recommended? If so, how often?
4. How often do you recommend completely wiping to keep top performance?
5. I assume I should install the latest Intel chipset drivers?

 

[LokutusofBorg]

Just use the Windows 7 installer to partition the drive, install Windows and go. Don't worry about all the tweaking and other crap people are talking about. You don't need to do any of it. TRIM takes care of it for you.

You can use any imaging program that is 4K alignment-aware, or whatever the terminology is. The partition alignment is the only concern in using/not using an imaging program.

The Intel chipset drivers aren't the ones you need to pay attention to. Intel has a separate install package called Rapid Storage Technology (RST). If you're going to update your chipset drivers after Windows is installed then you'll want to install the Intel RST pack. If you want to just go with what Windows gives you at install, you'll be fine. Just make sure AHCI (some mobos call it RAID) mode is enabled in BIOS.

 

[nyfirefly11]

Ah, good to know about the RST and alignment...thx!