Picking an SSD (+HDD)

[Deleted]

Hello everyone.

I'll be able to get myself a new SSD soon, and I'm thinking about getting a new ( bigger ) HDD with that as well.
I have about 250€ to spend ( let's say I received a gift card =] )

I was thinking about getting a OCZ Vertex 2 240GB, but people tell me that the bigger the SSD is, the slower it gets, and that the Vertex 2 has some reliability issues.

Does anyone have experience with a big Vertex 2 SSD? Or can anyone recommend me a better SSD which works with SATA 300 and has a reasonable amount of GIGs?

As for the HDD, I was thinking about a Samsung F2EG 1,5 TB.

[Deleted]

As for SSD I would recommend a Corsair SSD Force Series™ 3, 120GB. It's fast, cheap and you don't really need more then 120GB SSD. With 120 you should be able to fit lots of programs and games aswell as Windows. Your music and movies etc you can store on your HDD.

HDD: Go with a Western Digital Caviar black 1.5TB or 2TB. NEVER buy a ecogreen harddrive as they're very slow.

[Deleted]

As for SSD I would recommend a Corsair SSD Force Series™ 3, 120GB. It's fast, cheap and you don't really need more then 120GB SSD. With 120 you should be able to fit lots of programs and games aswell as Windows. Your music and movies etc you can store on your HDD.

HDD: Go with a Western Digital Caviar black 1.5TB or 2TB. NEVER buy a ecogreen harddrive as they're very slow.

The reason I want such a large SSD is because I'd like to put all my games on there. Windows is 30 gigs, WoW is 30 gigs, Battlefield will be ~25 gigs. It's just a matter of time before it's full .

And didn't corsair had some problems with the Sandforce controllers as well?

The only problem is that I have to spend the €250,- at our personal supplier. They seem to have the Caviar Black;
http://www.misco.nl/Product/959921/W...-2-TB-SATA-300

But not the Corsair SSD: ( Sorted on Corsair / 80-160GB)
http://www.misco.nl/Cat/14154/Solid-...20-%20159%20GB

[Deleted]

The reason I want such a large SSD is because I'd like to put all my games on there. Windows is 30 gigs, WoW is 30 gigs, Battlefield will be ~25 gigs. It's just a matter of time before it's full .

And didn't corsair had some problems with the Sandforce controllers as well?

The only problem is that I have to spend the €250,- at our personal supplier. They seem to have the Caviar Black;
http://www.misco.nl/Product/959921/W...-2-TB-SATA-300

But not the Corsair SSD: ( Sorted on Corsair / 80-160GB)
http://www.misco.nl/Cat/14154/Solid-...20-%20159%20GB

Well you don't really NEED to put all your games in there. Only the ones with many loadingscreens etc. Could you link me to the SSD section on Misco? Only understand small bits on that website ^^

[Deleted]

I was thinking about getting a OCZ Vertex 2 240GB, but people tell me that the bigger the SSD is, the slower it gets, and that the Vertex 2 has some reliability issues.

It's true that an SSD will become slightly slower once it's full, but that a bigger SSD is slower is untrue. In fact the bigger thedrive, the faster it is. Just take a look at this review/benchmark.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...on,2957-5.html

[Deleted]

Well you don't really NEED to put all your games in there. Only the ones with many loadingscreens etc. Could you link me to the SSD section on Misco? Only understand small bits on that website ^^

http://www.misco.nl/Cat/14154/Solid-...pe=list&page=1

There's a menu on the left
"Merken" = brand
You can click open Capaciteit ( Capacity, duh ) and sort on SSD size.
Got about 150€ left if I take the Caviar Black.

[Deleted]

Personally I'd opt for one of the new Samsung SSD 830 series since Samsung has a similar track-record to Intel when it comes to reliability.

Of course, the Crucial M4 series is still an excellent choice if you're on a budget. Especially with the latest Firmware Crucial SSDs perform quite well and are reliable too.

The Samsung SSD 830 series isn't on newegg.com yet but the 128 GB model should be priced around 200 Euro. The current 128 GB Crucial M4 is about 170 Euro.

I'm not sure where you're getting a 240 GB Vertex 2 for less than 230 Euro. The ones on newegg.com sell for well over 300 USD.


As for HDDs, due to support I'd stick with either Western Digital or Seagate. The Cavalier Black is commonly recommended due to it 64 MB cache but the cache is fairly inconsequential for performance as long as you have at least 32 MB. So any other HDD will do the trick as well. Just make sure it's 7200 RPM.

[Noakh]

I'm running a vertex 2. It's not quite so big as 240g, but it has been very reliable through about a year of abuse. Repartitioned multiple times, formatted, installed/uninstalled OSes like they were candy (I'm a code monkey in my day job). I can think of no time when it hasn't exceeded my expectations.

[Deleted]

I would take something like this: http://www.misco.nl/Product/974447/C...0GB-2-5i-Solid or http://www.misco.nl/Product/970666/O...-AGILITY-3-SER for 150 you won't really get anything faster/bigger.

[Bikiniwax]

I was thinking about getting a OCZ Vertex 2 240GB, but people tell me that the bigger the SSD is, the slower it gets, and that the Vertex 2 has some reliability issues.

This is untrue. As a matter of fact, the larger SSD's 240GB+ generally are faster than the 120GB or smaller drives. That said, you won't notice any difference in speed.

If you have a SATA2 motherboard and want to buy a SATA2 SSD, really any SSD is fine.

However if you are planning on purchasing a SATA3 SSD (which does work fine on SATA2), then stay away from anything Sandforce.

IMHO, there are only two reliable SATA3 SSD makes right now - Crucial's M4 C400 and Intel's 510 series. Everything else is sandforce and you would be taking your chances with those SSDs.

I also assume you are using Win7 (or at least Vista ugh) as your OS as WinXP does not support TRIM (a form of automatic garbage collection).

[Deleted]

Personally I'd opt for one of the new Samsung SSD 830 series since Samsung has a similar track-record to Intel when it comes to reliability.

Of course, the Crucial M4 series is still an excellent choice if you're on a budget. Especially with the latest Firmware Crucial SSDs perform quite well and are reliable too.

The Samsung SSD 830 series isn't on newegg.com yet but the 128 GB model should be priced around 200 Euro. The current 128 GB Crucial M4 is about 170 Euro.

They're not selling either of those unfurtonatly.

I'm not sure where you're getting a 240 GB Vertex 2 for less than 230 Euro. The ones on newegg.com sell for well over 300 USD.

http://www.misco.nl/Product/933563/O...ERIES-EXTENDED

As for HDDs, due to support I'd stick with either Western Digital or Seagate. The Cavalier Black is commonly recommended due to it 64 MB cache but the cache is fairly inconsequential for performance as long as you have at least 32 MB. So any other HDD will do the trick as well. Just make sure it's 7200 RPM.

cool!

[kailtas]

Go for the Crucial M4 with a marvell controller.
Or a Samsung using a Samsung controller. Im unsure about the exact name etc, but im pretty sure they make their own controllers.
Or intel, using an intel controller. Still, unsure about exact name etc, But i know they make their own controllers.

Just stay away from sandforce controllers. They have high speed but bad reliability.

[Deleted]

This is untrue. As a matter of fact, the larger SSD's 240GB+ generally are faster than the 120GB or smaller drives. That said, you won't notice any difference in speed.

If you have a SATA2 motherboard and want to buy a SATA2 SSD, really any SSD is fine.

However if you are planning on purchasing a SATA3 SSD (which does work fine on SATA2), then stay away from anything Sandforce.

IMHO, there are only two reliable SATA3 SSD makes right now - Crucial's M4 C400 and Intel's 510 series. Everything else is sandforce and you would be taking your chances with those SSDs.

Sata2 = ATA 300 and Sata3 = ATA 600? Or..?

I also assume you are using Win7 (or at least Vista ugh) as your OS as WinXP does not support TRIM (a form of automatic garbage collection).

Yes I will be using Windows 7 x64

[kailtas]

http://www.misco.nl/Product/933563/O...ERIES-EXTENDED

Are you excluded from paying VAT/BTW?

[Deleted]

Are you excluded from paying VAT/BTW?

Yeah. /10chars

[noremac]

I have always seen the Crucial M4 recommended over anything else. It is just as fast as the Sandforce drives but it actually works. Everyone has told me to stay away from OCZ drives and just any recent Sandforce controller drive in general.

[Deleted]

I have always seen the Crucial M4 recommended over anything else. It is just as fast as the Sandforce drives but it actually works. Everyone has told me to stay away from OCZ drives and just any recent Sandforce controller drive in general.

Yeah but aren't those the new ones only? ATA600/Sata3?
This 240GB one is ATA300/SATA2

[noremac]

Yeah but aren't those the new ones only? ATA600/Sata3?
This 240GB one is ATA300/SATA2

I don't know about the older ones, but just not too long ago when I was doing research on what to buy everyone told me to avoid OCZ like the plague.

I have no idea about the old Sandforce drives though.

[Deleted]

Ok so:
I have a ATA 300 Motherboard.

I have ~ €250,- to spend tax free at our own supplier.
They don't sell Crucial SSD's or the new Samsungs.

The other available brands are Kingston ( http://www.misco.nl/Product/953417/K...100-SATA-2-2-5 )
or Corsair ( which is sata3/600 )

I will get the Caviar Black for 100€.

Then I will be able to pick between these two:
http://www.misco.nl/Product/933562/O...ERIES-EXTENDED
http://www.misco.nl/Product/965023/I...20-GB-SATA-300

Both SATA300 and 120GB.

[Foxytrott]

As for SSD I would recommend a Corsair SSD Force Series™ 3, 120GB. It's fast, cheap and you don't really need more then 120GB SSD. With 120 you should be able to fit lots of programs and games aswell as Windows. Your music and movies etc you can store on your HDD.

HDD: Go with a Western Digital Caviar black 1.5TB or 2TB. NEVER buy a ecogreen harddrive as they're very slow.

Be very aware though that the Force 3 series has had some Firmware issues that they have yet to work out, I have one myself and the firmware issues caused BSOD's and crashes etc.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/08/c...bility-issues/

I had to RMA mine, and I got a new Force 3 one same memory (120gb which is also the only one with the issue) This is only for certain Serial numbers of the Force 3, but it is something to be aware of.
I will point out that I got a new fully functioning Force 3 120gb SSD after RMA'ing. I have had no issues with the new version, and it works like a charm !
Just be aware of this above if you choose to buy one of these.