Just won 250$, need an SSD!!

[thinkbig12]

Hey guys, I just won 250$ on a forum.. It was the admin giving away some money and choosing a winner with randomizer! God I got lucky!

I need an SSD! With my little research on SSDs, I heard u must get the newest ones with TRIM so it doesn't deteriorate with time?

Also, I heard intel ones are the best! What can I get for my recently purchase macbook pro alum? which ones do u recommend?

Also, is it easy to open the macbook?

Thanks!

 

[ayeying]

OSX don't support TRIM, so it wouldn't matter.

Furthermore, SSDs will degrade over time since they have a limited write cycle. That's for ALL SSDs btw.

 

[thinkbig12]

OSX don't support TRIM, so it wouldn't matter.

Furthermore, SSDs will degrade over time since they have a limited write cycle. That's for ALL SSDs btw.

really? but what's the TRIM thing?

and do they degrade fast?

 

[HLdan]

Here's a wiki on Trim.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIM

 

[rgarjr]

An Intel X-25M G2 80GB is your bet bet.

 

[thinkbig12]

An Intel X-25M G2 80GB is your bet bet.

Ye,thanks, I think I'll get that one. but what about the trim? How fast does the SSD deteriorate without trim?

EDIT: But it came out like a year ago? Isn't there something better?

I saw the OCZ Agilty, I think it's newer but more expensive

 

[seepel]

I did a lot of research into which SSD I should buy, almost everything I have learned can be found in this long article

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3631

Here's the Readers' Digest version of what I took away from the article (Others can correct me if they disagree). For the best cost to benefit ratio I was only considering OCZ Vertex (just my preferred Indilinx controller), or Intel X-25M G2. The OCZ blows the Intel out of the water on Sequential Read/Write, while the Intel blows the OCZ out of the water on Random Read/Write (Particularly 4K Write). I also believe that the OCZ vertex does a bit better as it ages, but maybe not by all that much, and testing this seems to be quite a crap shoot anyway.

Another thing to think about, is how much data you think you will be using the drive. You'll see performance hits once you fill the drive, so it seems like a good idea to buy a larger drive than you need so that you can spread the data around a bit.

For what it's worth, I'm currently using an OCZ Vertex 120GB in my Macbook 2,1 (perhaps stupid as I am probably saturating the SATA 1.5 controller in some cases) and I've been happy with it. I just ordered a Macbook Pro and an Intel X-25M 160GB to put in it. I decided to go this new route because it seems to be a bit better balanced across the sequential/random, small/large, read/write spectrum. Also I was looking to get something bigger than 120GB and the OCZ Vertex 250GB drive was a bit pricey for my tastes.

Ultimately I think you'd do well with either of these drives, and in the real world I imagine you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. You could also go with one of the other brands that uses the Indilinx controller (OCZ Agility, Patriot Torqx, Supertalent Ultradrive, and I think there might be one or two more that don't come to mind).

Hope that was fairly clear and helpful. Post back about what you get and how like it.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that there are nice benchmark scores on pages 21 and 22 of the linked article if you want to skip all the stuff explaining how SSDs work and etc. Although I found it quite interesting.

 

[thinkbig12]

I did a lot of research into which SSD I should buy, almost everything I have learned can be found in this long article

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3631

Here's the Readers' Digest version of what I took away from the article (Others can correct me if they disagree). For the best cost to benefit ratio I was only considering OCZ Vertex (just my preferred Indilinx controller), or Intel X-25M G2. The OCZ blows the Intel out of the water on Sequential Read/Write, while the Intel blows the OCZ out of the water on Random Read/Write (Particularly 4K Write). I also believe that the OCZ vertex does a bit better as it ages, but maybe not by all that much, and testing this seems to be quite a crap shoot anyway.

Another thing to think about, is how much data you think you will be using the drive. You'll see performance hits once you fill the drive, so it seems like a good idea to buy a larger drive than you need so that you can spread the data around a bit.

For what it's worth, I'm currently using an OCZ Vertex 120GB in my Macbook 2,1 (perhaps stupid as I am probably saturating the SATA 1.5 controller in some cases) and I've been happy with it. I just ordered a Macbook Pro and an Intel X-25M 160GB to put in it. I decided to go this new route because it seems to be a bit better balanced across the sequential/random, small/large, read/write spectrum. Also I was looking to get something bigger than 120GB and the OCZ Vertex 250GB drive was a bit pricey for my tastes.

Ultimately I think you'd do well with either of these drives, and in the real world I imagine you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. You could also go with one of the other brands that uses the Indilinx controller (OCZ Agility, Patriot Torqx, Supertalent Ultradrive, and I think there might be one or two more that don't come to mind).

Hope that was fairly clear and helpful. Post back about what you get and how like it.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that there are nice benchmark scores on pages 21 and 22 of the linked article if you want to skip all the stuff explaining how SSDs work and etc. Although I found it quite interesting.

thanks for that great post!

But, someone just told me that it would be better if I wait.

Prices are high now, and also, I won't pay big bucks for it to deteriorate!!! I'll wait another 6 months or year when everything will be a little more stable than what it is now.

I hope I take the good decision cuz I really wanted one! Also, I won 250$ so it wouldn't cost me nothing but anyways, I can have a better use for it

 

[seepel]

thanks for that great post!

But, someone just told me that it would be better if I wait.

Prices are high now, and also, I won't pay big bucks for it to deteriorate!!! I'll wait another 6 months or year when everything will be a little more stable than what it is now.

I hope I take the good decision cuz I really wanted one! Also, I won 250$ so it wouldn't cost me nothing but anyways, I can have a better use for it

That's fair, prices are high. I can say that now that I have gone SSD I don't plan on ever going back. And as far as the deterioration, don't be scared away, it's just the nature of the beast. It's not that the drive will die quickly or anything. Most of them are rated at 5 years assuming some 100GB of writes per day (off the top of my head, don't quote me but it is along those lines). The OCZs come with 3 year warranty, I'm not sure on the Intel, and there is another one out there with a 10 year warranty. The only thing is, once you have written to each cell once (or to a certain degree a majority of the cells), you'll see some degraded performance. Although even with the degraded performance they will still blow away a traditional drive without question.

 

[coast1ja]

Yes, the prices are high, but they have been for a long time and there isn't any particular reason they will fall any time soon. The chips are still expensive to manufacture, therefore prices are still high.

I would definitely recommend the OCZ... I had a 120gb OCZ Vertex in a 13" MBP and was sooo fast.

Don't worry about degradation, as they will 'wear out' long after you have replaced the drive. I have heard many estimates, but most of them say they will last over 10 years of normal usage... double that for SLC drives.

I would suggest getting one now if you want/need it. You won't be disappointed by either the intel or OCZ.

 

[thinkbig12]

thanks guys! I'm hesitating now!..

What are the main differences of the Vertex and the intel one.

The vertex one is just too expensive 400$!!

 

[seepel]

I wouldn't sweat it. I'm just guessing, as I haven't compared the two, but I imagine in the real world under normal circumstances you'd have a hard time noticing the differences.

 

[milton.sheaf]

Why do you think you need an SSD? What I/O intensive tasks are you performing? And what is the nature of these I/O patterns? SSD is still immature technology and is not the answer for everyone. Price is not of concern to me and yet I use a traditional HDD. IMO SSD's just aren't ready for mainstream yet.

 

[GoCubsGo]

OSX don't support TRIM, so it wouldn't matter.

It matters if OS X starts to support it. It just doesn't matter now.

Furthermore, SSDs will degrade over time since they have a limited write cycle. That's for ALL SSDs btw.

Where are you reading because by the time you come close to this number I'd almost think you'd be upgrading/updating anyway. Unless you somehow think the number is easily obtainable.