What SSD Should I buy?

[Digikid]

The X25-M is decent....but if you want faster then go with the Vertex series or the G.Skill Falcon 2 series. Those are the top notch ones.

[AkG]

Even though the Falcon 2 has 34nm NAND, it is slower than a Falcon 1 i.e. it is GSkill's version of the OCZ Agility. The "eco" controller it sports is just marketing PR bollocks. It is just a newer revision of the Barefoot controller (IIRC so that it can handle 34nm NAND). Once agian expect 10 -15% hit to performance.

Vertex/Falcon 1/Torqx vs Intel X25-M gen 2....is like comparing Ford vs Chevy and saying one is better than the other. Each have their own strengths and weakness, but the end result is a kick ass drive. Some will prefer the merits of one over the other. Neither side is wrong (or right) in their choice. BOTH are great choices and you cant go wrong with either.

[Digikid]

Just going from Reviews that I have read from here and from other reliable sources. ;)

[BT!]

anyone know whats the difference between these 2?
NCIX.com - Buy Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive - SSDSA2MH080G2C1 In Canada.
and
NCIX.com - Buy Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive Retail Box - SSDSA2MH080G2R5Single In Canada.

[Olorin]

How much difference would there be between let's say, the Kingston 128gb V unit (entry-level) compared to the top-end Intel or OCZ unit in terms of boot times and loading times for games/apps ? I'm not talking about data transfer rates, just pure boot and load speed ?

I've also heard that connecting more than one SSD unit in a raid configuration can improve data transfer rates. But does that include boot/load times too, or is only for transfering more data quicker ? Would 2 64 gb units in raid outperform a 128gb of the same brand...or is not worthwhile to get two... ?

[AkG]

Originally Posted by BT!

anyone know whats the difference between these 2?
NCIX.com - Buy Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive - SSDSA2MH080G2C1 In Canada.
and
NCIX.com - Buy Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive Retail Box - SSDSA2MH080G2R5Single In Canada.

None. Intel does different sku's depending on how many are in a container, whether or not its oem or retail....even dif heights etc. In the above case...they are the same drive BUT the second one was sold to them in pkg's of five (the R5 in the 2nd sku) but they have split them up into single units. ;)

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by Olorin

How much difference would there be between let's say, the Kingston 128gb V unit (entry-level) compared to the top-end Intel or OCZ unit in terms of boot times and loading times for games/apps ? I'm not talking about data transfer rates, just pure boot and load speed ?

I've also heard that connecting more than one SSD unit in a raid configuration can improve data transfer rates. But does that include boot/load times too, or is only for transfering more data quicker ? Would 2 64 gb units in raid outperform a 128gb of the same brand...or is not worthwhile to get two... ?

The Kingston V series SSDs are all crap besides the 40GB. Don't even look at them. RAID0 will pretty much double transfer rates. But that doesn't transfer in to faster game/OS/application performance ATM.

[BT!]

Originally Posted by AkG

None. Intel does different sku's depending on how many are in a container, whether or not its oem or retail....even dif heights etc. In the above case...they are the same drive BUT the second one was sold to them in pkg's of five (the R5 in the 2nd sku) but they have split them up into single units. ;)

cool, cause i bought the cheaper one just after x-mas and it was shipped friday. :)

[Olorin]

Originally Posted by lowfat

The Kingston V series SSDs are all crap besides the 40GB. Don't even look at them.

Seriously ? I knew based on benchmark results that transfer rates were not on par with the more expensive SSD's but I at least thought that the boot up/loading speeds would be much, much quicker than let's say, the WD 1 tb harddrive.

I'm curious as to why you say they're crap. They are priced a lot cheaper than all the other offerings...

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by Olorin

Seriously ? I knew based on benchmark results that transfer rates were not on par with the more expensive SSD's but I at least thought that the boot up/loading speeds would be much, much quicker than let's say, the WD 1 tb harddrive.

I'm curious as to why you say they're crap. They are priced a lot cheaper than all the other offerings...

There is a reason for that. They are all based off the Jmicron JM602 controller which have horrendous random read/write speeds. Which will cause stuttering in almost all cases.