SSD Are Me!

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

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.

Ah interesting stuff. I didn't know anything about that folder before.

But yeah, before any optimization it really does take up just under 20GB. You can get a lot of that back just by disabling hibernation and restore, and limiting your page file. I'm sure you could trim down the 1GB worth of driver support as well.

But my point remains - if you're trying to cram an OS, games, and videos on a drive, pony up the extra $85 or so and get a 120GB. As an example, at memex today you're paying $1.92/GB for a 60GB Vertex 2 ($115). You're only paying $1.42/GB for the additional 60GB if you go up to the 120GB ($199). 120GB is the sweet spot for SSD value at the moment.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by 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.

Brutal, what happened? Should still be under warranty right?

[FanIn80]

OCZ Vertex 3:

 	Disk Test	431.02	
		Sequential	252.91	
			Uncached Write	399.74	245.43 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	380.76	215.44 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	110.40	32.31 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	613.48	308.33 MB/sec [256K blocks]
		Random	1457.42	
			Uncached Write	2282.50	241.63 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	757.93	242.64 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	2871.78	20.35 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	1565.30	290.45 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Apple (Toshiba) SSD:

	Disk Test	307.62	
		Sequential	215.50	
			Uncached Write	318.62	195.63 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	316.39	179.02 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	103.19	30.20 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	388.93	195.47 MB/sec [256K blocks]
		Random	537.31	
			Uncached Write	423.04	44.78 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	333.28	106.70 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	1865.63	13.22 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	647.58	120.16 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Seagate 7200RPM Storage Drive (internal):

	Disk Test	33.75	
		Sequential	149.48	
			Uncached Write	172.72	106.05 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	172.89	97.82 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	97.99	28.68 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	200.79	100.91 MB/sec [256K blocks]
		Random	19.02	
			Uncached Write	5.51	0.58 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	100.52	32.18 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	82.65	0.59 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	150.07	27.85 MB/sec [256K blocks]

I feel like I should be getting better numbers than that, though...


Edit: Used Xbench http://www.xbench.com

[Hack&Lube]

^ Your MBP doesn't have SATA 3 (6GB/s) though right?

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

^ Your MBP doesn't have SATA 3 (6GB/s) though right?

It does, actually.

Drive info:

[FanIn80]

Hard drive benchmark app I found in the App Store:

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

It does, actually.

Drive info:

Oh cool, I was under the impression you had a really old MBP for some reason from some other SSD thread. I do somewhat regret not getting a Vertex 3 like you did early from NCIX before they were OOS. I am hoping Memory Express will get some Vertex 3's in.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Brutal, what happened? Should still be under warranty right?

Just a bum drive I guess. Turned my laptop off and when I went to power it back on the next day it was asking me to specify a boot device.

I pulled the drive out and tried it in a couple of USB chassis' and nothing. Tried it in another computer and the BIOS didn't detect it.

It better be under warranty. I'm going through the processes right now...which is as slow as the 5400rpm drive I am stuck using until I get a replacement.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

OCZ Vertex 3:

 	Disk Test	431.02	
		Sequential	252.91	
			Uncached Write	399.74	245.43 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	380.76	215.44 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	110.40	32.31 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	613.48	308.33 MB/sec [256K blocks]
		Random	1457.42	
			Uncached Write	2282.50	241.63 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	757.93	242.64 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	2871.78	20.35 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	1565.30	290.45 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Apple (Toshiba) SSD:

	Disk Test	307.62	
		Sequential	215.50	
			Uncached Write	318.62	195.63 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	316.39	179.02 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	103.19	30.20 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	388.93	195.47 MB/sec [256K blocks]
		Random	537.31	
			Uncached Write	423.04	44.78 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	333.28	106.70 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	1865.63	13.22 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	647.58	120.16 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Seagate 7200RPM Storage Drive (internal):

	Disk Test	33.75	
		Sequential	149.48	
			Uncached Write	172.72	106.05 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	172.89	97.82 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	97.99	28.68 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	200.79	100.91 MB/sec [256K blocks]
		Random	19.02	
			Uncached Write	5.51	0.58 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	100.52	32.18 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	82.65	0.59 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	150.07	27.85 MB/sec [256K blocks]

I feel like I should be getting better numbers than that, though...


Edit: Used Xbench http://www.xbench.com

Wonder why the massive discrepancy between XBench and that tool from the App Store.

How real-world noticeable is the speed increase from the stock Apple SSD?

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Wonder why the massive discrepancy between XBench and that tool from the App Store.

How real-world noticeable is the speed increase from the stock Apple SSD?

I have no idea why there is a huge discrepancy... the numbers from the App Store tool seem to fall closer in line with the advertised speeds of the drive, though.

Everything else aside, I do notice a speed increase for sure. That's saying a lot, considering I went from one SSD to another (instead of HDD to SSD). I haven't done any ripping, converting or compiling yet though...

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

But yeah, before any optimization it really does take up just under 20GB. You can get a lot of that back just by disabling hibernation and restore, and limiting your page file. I'm sure you could trim down the 1GB worth of driver support as well.

Yeah, I didn't consider the impact of the hibernation and sys restore files on disk space. If you're rocking 4GB of RAM, that's almost 4% of your 120GB SSD just for hibernation support.

For the Mac guys, on SSD equipped macbooks I generally disable safe sleep, which is the Mac equivalent of the hibernation file. This eliminates a 4GB write to the disk every time you close the lid.

sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0

will do the trick. Or you can wimp out and use Safesleep, which is a GUI that does the same thing

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

I have no idea why there is a huge discrepancy... the numbers from the App Store tool seem to fall closer in line with the advertised speeds of the drive, though.

Probably one test cached read/writes, and the XBench one doesn't. Testing uncached performance is extremely synthetic and doesn't tell you much about how a drive will perform with a real workload.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Probably one test cached read/writes, and the XBench one doesn't. Testing uncached performance is extremely synthetic and doesn't tell you much about how a drive will perform with a real workload.

That makes a lot of sense, actually. Also, it seems that Xbench hasn't been updated since 2003 (if I remember correctly, read it last night).

I got my hands on those disk tools you mentioned earlier in this thread, but I'm not sure which one to run...

[FlamesPuck12]

Just ordered Intel 320 160 GB from newegg. Anyone in here use this SSD?

I think I've read somewhere that I should adjust some BIOS settings when switching from HDD to SSD. So I'm wondering if I have to do this (or possibly other adjustments as well) or if it is easy as just connecting the SSD, installing OS then using it.

[FanIn80]

Figured out how to run that disktester thing...

disktester rs -t 4G -i 20 Macintosh\ HD

------------- Averages for "Macintosh HD" (4GB/4MB, 20 iterations) -------------
 Iteration 	Write MB/sec	Read MB/sec
      1    	     427    	    515    
      2    	     434    	    505    
      3    	     430    	    509    
      4    	     432    	    507    
      5    	     428    	    508    
      6    	     436    	    511    
      7    	     426    	    507    
      8    	     432    	    508    
      9    	     431    	    505    
     10    	     426    	    508    
     11    	     426    	    509    
     12    	     428    	    507    
     13    	     429    	    509    
     14    	     425    	    506    
     15    	     428    	    508    
     16    	     427    	    507    
     17    	     427    	    505    
     18    	     430    	    507    
     19    	     425    	    504    
     20    	     428    	    509    
		
  Slowest  	     425    	    504    
  Fastest  	     436    	    515    
  Average  	     429    	    508    
   Median  	     428    	    508    
   Range   	    10.7    	    10.2   

Command "run-sequential" executed in 361.19 seconds on Monday, April 18

I was even doing a background iTunes update while that was running too.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by FlamesPuck12

Just ordered Intel 320 160 GB from newegg. Anyone in here use this SSD?

I think I've read somewhere that I should adjust some BIOS settings when switching from HDD to SSD. So I'm wondering if I have to do this (or possibly other adjustments as well) or if it is easy as just connecting the SSD, installing OS then using it.

What OS are you installing? Make sure it is on AHCI and not IDE mode.

[FlamesPuck12]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

What OS are you installing? Make sure it is on AHCI and not IDE mode.

Yeah I think that's what I've read. That's adjustable through the bios right?

I'm installing a fresh copy of Windows 7.

[Hack&Lube]

I'm getting very frustrated with the market availability of decent SATA III drives. The only option locally appears to be the Intel 510's at Memory Express.

OCZ Vertex 3's seems to be out of stock everywhere and have been for almost 2 weeks.

The only viable option for me is the Crucial C300 from NCIX or DirectCanada. I can't seem to find the Crucial M4/C400s stocked anywhere in Canada.

The Intel 320 series is SATA II only.

Any recommendations on drives I could look at? Maybe I should just wait a few more months but I feel like I've been waiting for 2 years for a decent SSD now.

[FanIn80]

Newegg.ca is getting some in on the 20th.

[TSXCman]

I've been looking into a 128gb SSD for my laptop and came across this deal:
Imation M-Class 2.5” Solid State Drive SSD 128GB SATA II with Upgrade Kit

for 125$ locally. is this a lower tier SSD? i havent seen them going for 1$/gb yet and wondering what are the main speeds/properties to pay attention to?