SSD/HDD Decision

[Deleted]

Hi all!

Thanks for your help about choosing my SSD/HDD a few days ago, I've looked long and hard and come up with these 2 SSD's, and one HDD (Which I think is a pretty obvious choice).

Only thing I'm not sure about is which SSD.

Crucial CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5-inch Solid State Drive (128GB,Real SSD,C300,SATA 6GB/S)
is the one I looked at first, but on that page it states there is a newer one available that is £10 cheaper...
Crucial CT128M4Solid State Drive2 128GB M4 Solid State Drive

I'm on a SATA II Mobo, and I've only heard good things about the C300, whilst some issues with the M4. Which would you recommend?

HDD Choice in case anyone was wondering is the Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 1 TB 7200 RPM Internal Hard Disk Drive

Also I know, lol Amazon, but honestly they seem to be the cheapest for those items, at least from any retailers that I recognise and seem reputable!

Thanks for any help,

~Daz

[taekvideo]

You know this hdd is just as fast right?

And I'd go with the crucial m4 for the ssd. The problems people had initially with them have been fixed.

[jonny888]

Well you won't get the full speed out of the M4 if you're on SATA-II, but on the other hand if it's £10 cheaper, then I don't see why you wouldn't get it. At least that way if you get a motherboard/laptop with SATA-III further down the line you'll be ale to take advantage of higher speeds, whereas you'd always be stuck with SATA-II speeds if you got the C300. Reliability wise I couldn't say, but it's mostly Sandforce drives that have been having issues lately, and the M4 uses a Marvell controller (I believe it's the same one the Intel 510 uses). So in theory there's no reason it shouldn't be reliable.

[Skelly]

I would definitely go with the M4. Even though you don't have SATA3 on your mobo, you shouldn't see much of a real world difference. I was looking at a new SSD for myself a few days ago, and I think I decided on the M4.. Or was it the Patriot inferno.. hmm I have a terrible memory.

[OhpUldum]

Go with the M4 SSD, the initial problems people had have been fixed. New hardware there is always hiccups.

You can also check scan.co.uk for prices.

[Deleted]

This is the SSD you want.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1624/1/ OCZ Vertex 3 120GB

Fastest SSD out.

If you want to start your computer within 15-20 seconds then go for a SSD, you wont regret it.

No HDD can do that.

[Skelly]

This is the SSD you want.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1624/1/ OCZ Vertex 3 120GB

Fastest SSD out.

If you want to start your computer within 15-20 seconds then go for a SSD, you wont regret it.

No HDD can do that.

That is not the fastest SSD out, though it is fast. Reliability is another question entirely.

[Asera]

So, I bought 2 640GB Samsung Spinpoint drives a couple years ago, one died in 2 months, RMA'd, replacement works fine now. The other just died a few weeks ago.

I know the Spinpoint drives are nice and fast... but I seriously question their reliability against WD drives. Especially with their HDD division being sold to Seagate.

If you opt for the Cav Black, do keep in mind that the 640GB Blacks are a bit faster than the single TB's.

[Deleted]

You know this hdd is just as fast right?

<Removed>

Source: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/sto...3-1tb-review/8

Edit: I'll take that back. The gain from going with a WD Black is minimal for what you pay for. It's also interesting to note that while a Black will outperform a F3 in benchmarks, the F3 will be faster in your average day-to-day work.

Also, while only individual drives being compared (small sample size) it could be interesting to check this out: http://forum.novatech.co.uk/showthre...320GB&p=197140

[vesseblah]

Edit: I'll take that back. The gain from going with a WD Black is minimal for what you pay for. It's also interesting to note that while a Black will outperform a F3 in benchmarks, the F3 will be faster in your average day-to-day work.

Spinpoint F3 has bit higher average transfer rate, while Caviar Black has better seek times.

In file copy tests and normal tasks like loading WoW Spinpoint is faster by few seconds, on the other hand if you frequently compile 100 megabyte projects Caviar Black's seek time will win there clearly and can shave minute off from half hour project.

Because average gamers do not need faster seek times and Caviar Black is significantly more expensive, Spinpoint F3 is better choice in 9 times out of 10.

[Dazzlefraz]

I went Cav Black. Only because Newegg had them on shell shocker for $20 off. Gonna pair it with an Ocz Agility sata3 60gig using Smart Response and see what it says.

[vesseblah]

I went Cav Black. Only because Newegg had them on shell shocker for $20 off. Gonna pair it with an Ocz Agility sata3 60gig using Smart Response and see what it says.

Rather get 120GB SSD and forget SRT. Better speed and no hassles to set it up.

[Dazzlefraz]

120 gig SSD is almost double the price of the 60. And SRT is easy to setup now thanks to new software from Gigabyte. No more reformatting to setup RAID0 if you add the SSD at a later time.

Never know what the future holds tho. I'll prolly switch over to straight SSD once the prices come down a bit more and the reliability issues get worked on further and further...

[Deleted]

Never know what the future holds tho.

Actually, since Intel announced their new 710 and 720 SSDs (well, I'd call the 720 a RAM disk based on what we know...) we do have a clue what the future has to offer: cheaper SSDs with more reliable write/read speeds with a longer lifespan.
I'm personally holding off for the 710 to be released, hoping that it will be cheap enough or that it brings down the prices of the last generation SSDs making them more affordable.

[Skelly]

Actually, since Intel announced their new 710 and 720 SSDs (well, I'd call the 720 a RAM disk based on what we know...) we do have a clue what the future has to offer: cheaper SSDs with more reliable write/read speeds with a longer lifespan.
I'm personally holding off for the 710 to be released, hoping that it will be cheap enough or that it brings down the prices of the last generation SSDs making them more affordable.

The 710 and 720 are enterprise drives and won't offer anything in terms of speed, but rather reliability and data integrity. The 520 is supposed to come out in Q4 though.