SSD Are Me!

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

I wouldn't trust a manufacturer with that type of stuff. Chances are they're going to pick the cheapest (read: inferior) SSD they can find, just to say their laptop comes with one.

I'd take the default drive and pick your own SSD. You can typically get a much better quality one for the same price they were going to charge you for the upgrade.

Well typically you get an option to choose both the brand and model of SSD during checkout which is fine for many SSDs. You just can never tell if the "upgrade" cost is actually of any value or if it's a big ripoff.

The biggest issue is you don't get the scrutiny you could get with buying your own drive at retail (such as checking for 24 or 32nm nand in a Vertez 2, getting an X-25M G2 revision, etc.).

[FanIn80]

i was answering the question above your other post, using information typical to common laptop sellers... not those crazy obscure places you shop at. ()

Places like Dell don't allow you to pick a make or model of any component. When it comes to HDs, the only options you get are how much space and whether or not it's an SSD (if you're lucky).

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

i was answering the question above your other post, using information typical to common laptop sellers... not those crazy obscure places you shop at.

Places like Dell don't allow you to pick a make or model of any component. When it comes to HDs, the only options you get are how much space and whether or not it's an SSD (if you're lucky).

The ones from dell are expensive and I am guessing of a cheap variety. My friend swears by his in his Macbook Air and I know everyone here loves them.

I'll probably get a 160 down the road and swap out the optical drive.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

The ones from dell are expensive and I am guessing of a cheap variety. My friend swears by his in his Macbook Air and I know everyone here loves them.

I'll probably get a 160 down the road and swap out the optical drive.

Dell uses Samsung SSDs IIRC (probably the same ones as Apple uses).

I don't believe they're on the level of a Sandforce or Crucial performance-wise but from what I've heard they're about on par with the Intel X-25 G2 with better writes. Which is to say, still blazing fast. But it will probably be cheaper to buy your own at retail.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

By the way, that Trim Enabler patch for Mac OS is working brilliantly so far.

How do you know? Have you benchmarked and seen any improvement in write speeds?

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

How do you know? Have you benchmarked and seen any improvement in write speeds?

I haven't done any benchmarking yet. My new Vertex 3 should be here early next week, and I'll be doing full benchmarks on my current Apple SSD, as well as a before TRIM and after TRIM benchmark with the Vertex 3.

In my earlier post, you can substitue the word "brilliantly" for "neither my old MacBook nor my new Mac mini have had any file system issues whatsoever since enabling TRIM, and I have yet to notice any slowdown issues either."

Hard numbers will come next week though.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

How do you know? Have you benchmarked and seen any improvement in write speeds?

To measure an improvement, would you see something immediately or would you have to benchmark after writing to the entire disk at least once.

As I understood it, the write improvements would be apparent only after the drive is "dirty", and would only be an improvement upon another dirty drive without trim support.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

In my earlier post, you can substitue the word "brilliantly" for "neither my old MacBook nor my new Mac mini have had any file system issues whatsoever since enabling TRIM, and I have yet to notice any slowdown issues either."

Hahaha...this is more along the lines of what I was actually asking.

You might find the Diglloyd tools useful in your testing/conditioning:
http://diglloydtools.com/disktester.html

I tried them on my Apple OEM SSD (Samsung 128GB), and it did improve write speeds.

[Hack&Lube]

I'm frustrated that MemEx doesn't carry the Crucial C300 line and doesn't look like they are going to have any SATA III drives aside from the Intel ones for some time. Hopefully they might get some Vertex 3's soon.

[FanIn80]

Bam!

[sclitheroe]

Nickelback in a screenshot on CP...bold, very bold!

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Bam!

Nice!

I require a full run of before/after benchmarks.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Nickelback in a screenshot on CP...bold, very bold!

Haha, I didn't even realize that. Luckily for me, the Frank Sinatra album in that picture should balance things out.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Haha, I didn't even realize that. Luckily for me, the Frank Sinatra album in that picture should balance things out.

Doesn't make up for the Nickelback, Greenday, and Weezer triumvirate but that's okay. I'm only looking at the Vertex 3. Still unsure if I really want a 120GB Vertex 3. The 240GB ones are much more GB/$ and much higher performing but it's a hefty investment at $500 shipped...

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Nice!

I require a full run of before/after benchmarks.

Benchmarks coming... Had everything up and running, but screwed up my home folder so I'm taking it all back down again and starting over.

[TSXCman]

Whats the minimum size suggested for an SSD in my laptop? I'd like to make the transfer but since they are at ~$1.50/gb still it is hard to justify spending over $100.

Will a 60gb drive support win 7 and have enough room for vids, games, etc?

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

Whats the minimum size suggested for an SSD in my laptop? I'd like to make the transfer but since they are at ~$1.50/gb still it is hard to justify spending over $100.

Will a 60gb drive support win 7 and have enough room for vids, games, etc?

Windows 7 alone takes up nearly 20GB after updates.

Since a lot of games are 10GB+, I'd recommend going at least 120GB. This is all assuming you aren't going to have an extra storage drive.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Windows 7 alone takes up nearly 20GB after updates.

Since a lot of games are 10GB+, I'd recommend going at least 120GB. This is all assuming you aren't going to have an extra storage drive.

Does it really take up 20GB though? It will report that it occupies 20GB, but the WinSxS stuff is reported as space used even though its mostly just links on disk to single copies of system files.

See here for more info: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2...isk-space.aspx , among many other discussions of the impact of SxS on disk utilization.

[Hack&Lube]

There are several Win7 lite installations you can get also, to reduce the Win7 footprint. I'm defintely looking into those when I get an SSD. I'll end installing about 3 different OS's on that one SSD also that need their own segmented partition spaces too so every spare GB is gold.

I was able to reduce WinXP to a functional 500MB back in the day when I had a EeePC with a 4GB SSD.

[J Diddy]

I just lost my 60GB OCZ Vertex 2 after only 6 months of use. RIP. It brought new life to my 6 year old laptop. Waiting for a replacement is going to be painful. I have a SSD in my work PC and I am use to coming home and using an SSD on my home laptop. I'm now using an old 5400rpm drive and it is sloooooowwwwwwwwwwww. There is no going back to old school drives for me.