Switching my Notebook to Win7 x64 Ultimate, SSD recommendations?

[AERo]

General specs:
13.3" LED screen, 2.5GHz C2D, 4GB DDR2-667 CL4, 8600m GS

Currently on a Kingston V-series 128GB, HORRIBLE.
It was ok initially, not great. Reduced the boot time greatly, but
showed stuttering during games, and as time passed by, loading
programs and multitasking took longer and longer.

I'm thinking of putting Win7 x64 ult on the notebook now, so I want
to jump to a SSD that has some sort of circumvention for performance
drops on SSDs as time passes; also something that has TRIM.


Budget is around $400 CAD.

[gingerbee]

intel gen 2 NCIX.com - Buy Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive - SSDSA2MH080G2C1 In Canada.

[sswilson]

Before you even consider going that route, verify that there are drivers for your motherboard/chipset.... ;)

[AkG]

Yeah those JMicrons need a lot of care and feeding to get the "best" from them.

For your budget you got 3 good options.
1) 120/128 Torqx/Falcon/Vertex. TRIM firmware is out. So is 2nd gen ITGC for even more speed (but harder on the cells)
2) 80GB Intel X25m Gen 2. Firmware is a mess right now
3) 60GB Agility EX. SLC beast. I use one in my old laptop. I prefer the ITGC/NL firmware (1.4.1) to the Trim(1.4)...but that's just personal preference.

How much space do you need?
Lots: go for the Vertex
Moderate amt: Intel
Not Much: Agility EX

On the firmware front you cant beat OCZ. Best going right now (non destructive firmware, with EARLY release of firmware updates). with a kick ass forum.

EDIT.
Though if you can hold off till after CES 2010....the prices of the Sata 2 gen 2s should drop (the sata 3s will be coming out)

[AERo]

Originally Posted by sswilson

Before you even consider going that route, verify that there are drivers for your motherboard/chipset.... ;)

I have Vista drivers for my notebook, so I believe it'll be fine.


On another note, AKG, do you know whats up with the G.Skill Falcon II with the ECO controller?

Can't find the Vertex and can't find the first Falcon.
The Eco Falcon seems to have the best availability and price.

[AkG]

I still dont have one in my hands, but it is my understanding that the Falcon 2 is G.Skill's answer to the OCZ Agility. I'll know more if / when I get one to take apart. But I cant see Indilinx wasting too much time on a Sata 2 only controller. (Jetstream is their next big one) so most likely it is just a refinement / new revision of the bigfoot controller. Prolly less power hungry paired to slower MLC NAND.

[AERo]

How bout the Corsair P128?

Good price, Samsung Controller with 128MB cache.
From what I read it does extremely well in real world benchmarks, but weird in synthetic.

[AkG]

P128 is a decent choice IF you can get a good deal on it. It SHOULD come with ITGC enabled firmware and Samsung has promised a new TRIM enabled firmware "real soon now".
The reason it does good in real world is the beefy 128MB cache, while synthetics tend to pierce the veil (so to speak) and show the Samsung controller for its lack lustre power. That being said....real world is more important and it will be a peppy ssd for a long long while. Let the system idle for a few hours every so often and keep your trash bin empty and you should be very happy with the results. :)

[AERo]

For about $30 difference would you go with the Corsair P128 (the cheaper) or the Falcon/Vertex?

[Linus]

AKG, I have a Corsair P128. Are we expecting end users to be able to flash to the new firmware?