Mechanical HDD vs. Intel X25-M G2 SSD - Performance noticeable?

[applesupergeek]

I wouldn't touch anything but an Intel - their SSD controller holds up better over time, so the performance drop without TRIM support in OSX isn't that significant. All the other controllers seem to crawl when dealing with well used drives.

That said, I would wait for the G3 drives that should increase capacity and lower costs/GB.

There are other good options besides intel, see anandtech.

Any word on a G3 release date?

Not much, but it's supposed to be around q4 2010, toshi are also on the process shrink train, as announce a couple of weeks ago. Everyone's building more manufacturing plants too, so this will help prices as well.

 

[johnnymg]

Okay I just read somewhere that the Kingston uses the "crappy" JMicron controller that everyone loathes. Intel it is for me then.

Looks like the V+ series uses the Toshiba T6UG1XBG controller.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=393&Itemid=60

I'm leaning toward this V+ drive for my 15" 2009 MBP but would like to get a macheads take on how they handle garbage-collection/cleanup using OSX 10.6.

thanks
JohnG

 

[Jaro65]

Looks like the V+ series uses the Toshiba T6UG1XBG controller.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=393&Itemid=60

I'm leaning toward this V+ drive for my 15" 2009 MBP but would like to get a macheads take on how they handle garbage-collection/cleanup using OSX 10.6.

thanks
JohnG

The V+ does garbage collection, but it remains to be seen how effective it is. Regardless, it is a new drive and so the firmware is going to evolve. Frankly though, it is not going to be a huge deal to take the drive out every six months or so, put it in an enclosure in order to reset it, and then put it back in and do a Time Machine restore. I'm ok with that.

 

[neteng101]

There are other good options besides intel, see anandtech.

Without TRIM, the other drives don't hold up...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2944/5

There are not enough tests of other drives to conclude for sure how they behave when used, but the Intels are a known good quantity... which is why I'd recommend sticking to them, vs. other popular brands.

And random speeds are far more important real-world indicators compared to sequential numbers.