SSD deals????

[spmiz12]

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Anyone know of any great deals on SSD drives now???? I am looking in the 240GB range....

Also, is there any good pricing comparison sites for SSD?? Like what appleinsider have for mac's, but toward SSD's only??

 

[Hellhammer]

I would wait, Intel is supposed to release new SSDs early next year and significant price cuts are expected.

 

[trigonometry]

I think you missed the boat. Ever heard of Cyber Monday or Black Friday? Your best bet would be to wait on the Intel drives like Hellhammer said. You can comparison shop on Newegg. Might be some after Xmas deals but I noticed the prices of the SSD's started to climb to normal as we got closer to Christmas.

 

[spmiz12]

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I think you missed the boat. Ever heard of Cyber Monday or Black Friday? Your best bet would be to wait on the Intel drives like Hellhammer said. You can comparison shop on Newegg. Might be some after Xmas deals but I noticed the prices of the SSD's started to climb to normal as we got closer to Christmas.

I knew about black Friday and all that... Truthfully, I had other expenses so close to Christmas.... I knew prices will drop , at least on the 240gb..

 

[RaceTripper]

OWC 240 GB Mercury Extreme Pro bundled with a USB enclosure for your retired drive is $494 with Amazon Payments checkout. Just got one a week ago.

 

[Richard1028]

So where to you guys think the prices will be say... next April-ish? (to coincide with a possible MBP update).

I won't hold you to any numbers. Just curious if all size SSD's will be cut commensurately or perhaps just the 120-250GB range.

I really need at least 500gb+ but as of now OWC is $1500.

Each person has his/her price. For me to forego a sub $100 conventional 1TB drive in favor of say, a 512gb SSD I'd probably pay around $500.

I'm probably dreaming though.

 

[trigonometry]

So where to you guys think the prices will be say... next April-ish? (to coincide with a possible MBP update).

I won't hold you to any numbers. Just curious if all size SSD's will be cut commensurately or perhaps just the 120-250GB range.

I really need at least 500gb+ but as of now OWC is $1500.

Each person has his/her price. For me to forego a sub $100 conventional 1TB drive in favor of say, a 512gb SSD I'd probably pay around $500.

I'm probably dreaming though.

With Intel all the prices are suppose to drop by half. So I'd guess a sub $1000 price tag on the new 600GB drive. But $500 for 500GB is probably a few years off. Haven't heard anything on the Sandforce drives dropping prices or any new hardware so prices should remain about the same unless they drop to compete with the Intel drives. Which they should or Intel will run away with the mainstream market.

 

[adnoh]

So will intel double the storage at the same price point of will they halve the price of current storage?

i.e. in the UK the 80gb X25M can be had for ~£130. So will i pay that for 160GB or will i get it for ~£65.

Also any info on release date? e.g. early 2011?

Also, what do sandforce have planned? Any exclusive firmware deals again? Any price drops on the horizon (to match intel or get rid of previous gen drives?)

 

[baypharm]

I would wait a few years and then SSD's will be in the range affordable to most consumers. And then we will have larger capacities beyond 512gb. But don't get too wrapped up into even SSD's. There are technologies being developed now from IBM that will render HD and even SSD's as we know them as dinosaurs. So I am saying for now, just buy the cheapest HD you can get away with. A computer and peripherals are like cars - they depreciate rapidly. And they are constantly being updated with newer technology every year. Put your money into other areas of computerization that will allow yourself to grow with technology.

 

[adnoh]

I would wait a few years and then SSD's will be in the range affordable to most consumers. And then we will have larger capacities beyond 512gb. But don't get too wrapped up into even SSD's. There are technologies being developed now from IBM that will render HD and even SSD's as we know them as dinosaurs. So I am saying for now, just buy the cheapest HD you can get away with. A computer and peripherals are like cars - they depreciate rapidly. And they are constantly being updated with newer technology every year. Put your money into other areas of computerization that will allow yourself to grow with technology.

So what you're saying is not to advance with technology?

If that were the case then we'd still be on petium 1's still.

 

[BigMoo]

So what you're saying is not to advance with technology?

If that were the case then we'd still be on petium 1's still.

I think what hes saying is to upgrade the things that you need little by little rather than just going out and upgrading everything all at once to the most expensive things on the market.

 

[bwrairen]

I think recommending buying the cheapest hard drive you can get because there will be new technology in a few years is some pretty lame advice.

Sure these drives you buy now will depreciate....but do I want my computer to run faster and save me time over the next few years while I am waiting on that new technology?? You bet I do. And I am willing to pay for it.

 

[NickZac]

If you are gonna do a SSD, do it right and do it NOW. Why?

-The quality SSD's should last at least 10 years. Many are rated at 10 million plus hours of MTBF and some are guaranteed for 10 years.
-You get a ton of immediate benefits with minimal drawbacks
-You can use it in every laptop you ever get for probably the next decade or more
-The degradation is grossly overstated and you will likely replace the drive years before, especially with the SandForce and new Intel controllers
-Current flagship SSD's have maxed out SATA2 @ about 300mb/s so they won't get much faster (at least until SATA3 and SATA3 is far from mainstream) and with SATA2, you will not get any performance difference once you have maxed it out
-Many SSD's are SATA3 compliant (6.0GBPS) so you won't lose out when it upgrades in years
-The HDD will NEVER be as fast as a SSD...heck they will never even be even close
-Critical-data for most organizations does use flash based memory, and has used flash based memory for years; it is not a 'new' technology

Intel's current X-25 is a DINOSAUR. If they put them on 50% clearance, you may want to consider it as it is still a kickass drive and well proven to deliver.

If you want more than 120/8 GB's, buying 2 drives of a smaller size can save you a ton of money and the MBP can be made to run to hard drive's

 

[scupking]

I think I'm going to pick one up next year after intel comes out with the new ones. I would love a 512GB drive for around $500.

 

[baypharm]

I think recommending buying the cheapest hard drive you can get because there will be new technology in a few years is some pretty lame advice.

Sure these drives you buy now will depreciate....but do I want my computer to run faster and save me time over the next few years while I am waiting on that new technology?? You bet I do. And I am willing to pay for it.

Kudos to you my friend. Glad you are so wealthy that buying a 512gb SSD for a grand is chicken feed to you. You go right ahead and spend your money - for me my stock 500gb HD is plenty big and fast. I will spend my money in other areas of technology that will grow with me rather than depreciate and leave me in the dust.

 

[Kyffin]

So will intel double the storage at the same price point of will they halve the price of current storage?

i.e. in the UK the 80gb X25M can be had for ~£130. So will i pay that for 160GB or will i get it for ~£65.

Also any info on release date? e.g. early 2011?

Also, what do sandforce have planned? Any exclusive firmware deals again? Any price drops on the horizon (to match intel or get rid of previous gen drives?)

The roadmap that's been leaked suggests that you'll be getting twice as much storage for your money (rather than the same amount for half the price); been very quiet recently as to when it might be out but still think its worth waiting to see what does actually happen.

 

[deeddawg]

[...] you'll be getting twice as much storage for your money (rather than the same amount for half the price)

Okay, someone's going to have to clarify for me just exactly how these two statements are different. If pricing for 120-250GB SSD's is in the $2 per GB range and it drops to $1 per GB or if you get 2Gb for your $2 is there any real difference?

 

[Kyffin]

Okay, someone's going to have to clarify for me just exactly how these two statements are different. If pricing for 120-250GB SSD's is in the $2 per GB range and it drops to $1 per GB or if you get 2Gb for your $2 is there any real difference?

This is true; the difference lies in what will be available for you to spend that (theoretical) $1/GB on- if the roadmap I posted a picture of above hold true then the new sizes available on the X18-M will start at 300GB rather than 160GB. (Although the pricing hasn't been confirmed as this drastic- my guess is that it'll not halve this soon). Hope this helps clarify my statement anyway.

 

[JKK photography]

Intel's current SSDs should see a pretty drastic price cut when the newer ones are announced, which are also supposed to be significantly cheaper.

I'd wait a month or two, and see what's happening then. SSDs are amazing, but still extremely expensive because they are so new. Once Intel starts shipping their newer SSDs, that should put pressure on others to bring out a competing product at a similar price, something that is good for all of the consumers.

 

[peapody]

Intel's current SSDs should see a pretty drastic price cut when the newer ones are announced, which are also supposed to be significantly cheaper.

I'd wait a month or two, and see what's happening then. SSDs are amazing, but still extremely expensive because they are so new. Once Intel starts shipping their newer SSDs, that should put pressure on others to bring out a competing product at a similar price, something that is good for all of the consumers.

I am in the market fora 240gb range ssd as well...just would rather get rid of my intel G2 and get something in the mean time while I wait for prices to decrease! Right now I am between the OWC and the Ocz vertex 2.

 

[adnoh]

I am in the market fora 240gb range ssd as well...just would rather get rid of my intel G2 and get something in the mean time while I wait for prices to decrease! Right now I am between the OWC and the Ocz vertex 2.

What's your opinion of the vertex 2? Do you have the problem with hibernation?

 

[deeddawg]

This is true; the difference lies in what will be available for you to spend that (theoretical) $1/GB on

Fair enough. Generally speaking it seems that the statements are likely interchangeable for the middle of the lineup capacities; where it would make a difference is at the low and high end of the price/capacity spectrum.

$1/GB in the 200-300GB capacity range coupled with a definitive fix for the Sandforce controller sleep/hibernation issue will likely be the point at which I'll pull the trigger.

 

[peapody]

What's your opinion of the vertex 2? Do you have the problem with hibernation?

Don't have an opinion, because I don't have either yet. Right now I have an intel with the hibernation issue, but it does not bother me because I simply put the machine to sleep or turn it off. It isnot a factor in my decision.

 

[Kyffin]

@deeddawg: Yes, I'm more interested in the Sandforce controlled drives (and at far less capacity than 300GB), but am waiting to see what impact the new Intels will have on the price of these.

 

[NickZac]

If you are going for SandForce 1200, you may want to go with the OWC (IMO hands down) as it's the only SSD that has a support system for Mac users. Benchmark testing also shows it maxes out SATA2 for sustained read and write speeds.