AnandTech: 2011 Midrange SSD Roundup

[JR1993]

Submitted today, a useful comparison of SSD's

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4421/the-2011-midrange-ssd-roundup/1

Hope people find this useful, answers some questions.

 

[snapper64]

Submitted today, a useful comparison of SSD's

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4421/the-2011-midrange-ssd-roundup/1

Hope people find this useful, answers some questions.

Thank you

 

[JR1993]

Thank you

No problem.

Actually, i saw you just bought your mbp, and wondered why you went for the 2.2 over the 2.0, do you have particular needs for it or do you just think it is worth the upgrade?

 

[snapper64]

No problem.

Actually, i saw you just bought your mbp, and wondered why you went for the 2.2 over the 2.0, do you have particular needs for it or do you just think it is worth the upgrade?

I spend a lot of time in Photoshop so the improved performance is useful. The upgraded graphics card with the 2.2GHz was also near the top on my list.

I'm still debating which SSD to buy though. I'm leaning towards the Vertex 3 at the minute, as despite the potential issues, the performance and 3yr warranty look really good.

I'll be running an optibay setup and plan to create a clone partition on my HD of the SSD boot drive. That way if the SSD does fail I can just boot from the HD and carry on as normal until the SSD is replaced. With that in mind SSD reliability isn't as much of a concern for me.

 

[JR1993]

I spend a lot of time in Photoshop so the improved performance is useful. The upgraded graphics card with the 2.2GHz was also near the top on my list.

I'm still debating which SSD to buy though. I'm leaning towards the Vertex 3 at the minute, as despite the potential issues, the performance and 3yr warranty look really good.

I'll be running an optibay setup and plan to create a clone partition on my HD of the SSD boot drive. That way if the SSD does fail I can just boot from the HD and carry on as normal until the SSD is replaced. With that in mind SSD reliability isn't as much of a concern for me.

Ok. I will be using the HDD in an enclosure as a backup/media drive, then if something goes wrong I can swap it back in.

However, being able to update the firmware of the intel while in OS X is a plus, and performance doesnt seem to be too different.

Im currently debating 2.0 or 2.2. I dont do much intensive, but as I wish to keep for about 4 years or more, wondering if it is worth it. As im in UK, assuming a 4 year life, the 2.2 processor and better GPU is £0.20 per day. Hmmm, might have a play in the apple store, see if I notice a difference.

 

[snapper64]

Ok. I will be using the HDD in an enclosure as a backup/media drive, then if something goes wrong I can swap it back in.

However, being able to update the firmware of the intel while in OS X is a plus, and performance doesnt seem to be too different.

Im currently debating 2.0 or 2.2. I dont do much intensive, but as I wish to keep for about 4 years or more, wondering if it is worth it. As im in UK, assuming a 4 year life, the 2.2 processor and better GPU is £0.20 per day. Hmmm, might have a play in the apple store, see if I notice a difference.

If you're planning to keep for that length of time and can afford the upgrade, I'd go for it.

 

[JR1993]

If you're planning to keep for that length of time and can afford the upgrade, I'd go for it.

I will see how much I have in my bank once my birthday money has cleared

 

[johnnyturbouk]

why no OWC 6G 120GB

 

[DustinT]

OWC drives are far from the mainstream. Plus, the Vertex 3 120's number would be almost identical.

I'm a Vertex 3 user and I love mine. No issues at all and performance is staggering sometimes.

 

[JR1993]

OWC drives are far from the mainstream. Plus, the Vertex 3 120's number would be almost identical.

I'm a Vertex 3 user and I love mine. No issues at all and performance is staggering sometimes.

Did you need to update firmware for that? (Im deciding between vertex 3 and intel 510)

Also, side question, Your 2.0GHz MBP has 1600mhz ram, when I looked at the specs of the processor, I thought it only took 1333mhz, and the 2.2 took 1600mhz???

 

[Hellhammer]

However, being able to update the firmware of the intel while in OS X is a plus, and performance doesnt seem to be too different.

Intel's install media is a an .ISO that you burn to a disc and then boot from that. You can't update the FW when in OS X if we are accurate, plus the FW upgrade wipes the SSD IIRC.

OCZ's SSDs can now be updated in Linux as well so that makes it pretty easy too.

 

[JR1993]

Intel's install media is a an .ISO that you burn to a disc and then boot from that. You can't update the FW when in OS X if we are accurate, plus the FW upgrade wipes the SSD IIRC.

OCZ's SSDs can now be updated in Linux as well so that makes it pretty easy too.

Ok I maybe got that wrong...

I think it will probably be intel for me, just seems like from what ive heard, they are very reliable. I probably wouldnt even notice the difference between SATA II and III for my uses.

 

[Hellhammer]

Ok I maybe got that wrong...

I think it will probably be intel for me, just seems like from what ive heard, they are very reliable. I probably wouldnt even notice the difference between SATA II and III for my uses.

Intels are great, I didn't mean they aren't If I had to buy an SSD now, I would go with Intel 320 Series, even if I had SATA 6Gb/s port. Unbeatable reliability and fairly fast random speeds. I think people are too concerned about these benchmarks, in real world you won't notice much, if any, difference.

 

[JR1993]

Intels are great, I didn't mean they aren't If I had to buy an SSD now, I would go with Intel 320 Series, even if I had SATA 6Gb/s port. Unbeatable reliability and fairly fast random speeds. I think people are too concerned about these benchmarks, in real world you won't notice much, if any, difference.

Yeah I have looked at the 320. I dont know, I have a 6G port, why buy a 3G SSD when I can have a 6G SSD. It isnt THAT much more expensive.

I plan to run my macbook pro for about 2/3 weeks anyway to see what HDD space I use. Then I will get a SSD to match that, so 120GB if I can live with it, or the 160GB 320 if I need that. However on my windows pc now with 70GB used, I think 120GB will be fine with an external HDD for media anyway.