UCZ SSD drive differences

[Phillie14586]

I am considering an SSD for my new MacPro. I was looking at the OCZ drives. What is the differences in the Vertex 2, Agility 2 and the Colossus drives? My daughter was in charge of the smilies.

 

[dissolve]

Go with the Vertex 2 series. They use the Sandforce controller that will (long story short) really help retain the speeds over the life of the drive. Agility is their lower tier line and Colossus is their line of 3.5" large capacity drives. I'm not sure of the controller used in these drives.

 

[ZenErik]

Vertex 2 are great. Also consider most any other SSD with a SandForce controller. I would check out benchmarks but also consider warranty and value. Micro Center has a great deal on their own SSD right now. It's a rebranded A-DATA SSD with a SandForce controller. $100 for 60 GB.

 

[rtrt]

a

 

[Phillie14586]

THanks for the info. The other question I forgot to ask is what is a reasonable size for a boot disk?

 

[ZenErik]

THanks for the info. The other question I forgot to ask is what is a reasonable size for a boot disk?

Depends. What kind of apps are you looking to put on there?

60 GB should be more than enough for most. I only use about 30 GB on my 120 GB SSD with basic needs, Logic Studio 9, Reason 5, and Diablo II. It would probably be slightly more, but I do not have iLife installed, and I delete most of the software that comes with OS X that I will never use. I am also a user of XSlimmer, which may save a me 1 GB or so.

It's your call, depending on what kind of work you are doing. I would think that many users could get away with a 30 - 40 GB SSD. But 60 GB+ is a bit safer, just in case.

 

[silby101]

THanks for the info. The other question I forgot to ask is what is a reasonable size for a boot disk?

I agree with ZenErik, I'm only using less than 26 Gb out of the 120 on my Vertex 2 SSD. I did move my Users folder to a different drive as per this tutorial since it was too large. I wanted to keep my iPhoto Library on the SSD to speed up iPhoto, but it was too large [but with the new iPhoto update, it responds much quicker even though it's on the original 1Tb drive that shipped with my hex].

 

[rtrt]

a

 

[Einz]

I agree with ZenErik, I'm only using less than 26 Gb out of the 120 on my Vertex 2 SSD. I did move my Users folder to a different drive as per this tutorial since it was too large. I wanted to keep my iPhoto Library on the SSD to speed up iPhoto, but it was too large [but with the new iPhoto update, it responds much quicker even though it's on the original 1Tb drive that shipped with my hex].

Don't need to move the user folder. Only iTune and iPhoto libraries that take up most of the space. One can specific which drive iTune and iPhoto can store their data within the app. My photo library is small so I kept it on the SSD for lighting fast access.

 

[johnnymg]

THanks for the info. The other question I forgot to ask is what is a reasonable size for a boot disk?

I'd recommend a 120 GB as a minimum for a MP. Don't scrimp, you'll be happy later. And YES, a smaller SSD will work but it would be like driving a Porsche with 4 cylinders.

cheers
JohnG

 

[silby101]

Don't need to move the user folder. Only iTune and iPhoto libraries that take up most of the space. One can specific which drive iTune and iPhoto can store their data within the app. My photo library is small so I kept it on the SSD for lighting fast access.

I did consider that as well, but I found a few advantages to moving the whole Users directory. One, I didn't have to tell other people who were using the computer about the change, since it's transparent to anyone using the computer about where files are saved. And two, temporary files that are created by programs don't clutter up the SSD and thus don't reduce the life of the SSD.

 

[Transporteur]

I'd recommend at 120GB as well.

For some users 60GB may be fine, but you have to keep in mind that swap files, as well as application caches get stored on the boot drive as well.
How big those files are, depends on your amount of RAM, respectively application types.

I've heard that Adobe CS applications store pretty large cache files.

My Pro uses a 160GB boot drive and I never had any problems with if filling up during a week of work or so.

 

[vogelhausdesign]

Are those 60g microcenter SSD's sandforce? And is their any advantage to achieving 120g via 60g softraid 0 over a single drive?

 

[ZenErik]

Are those 60g microcenter SSD's sandforce? And is their any advantage to achieving 120g via 60g softraid 0 over a single drive?

Yes. They are the ADATA S599 drives rebranded. As far as a RAID 0 with 2 of them, I imagine there would be a performance increase, but I have yet to use a RAID of any sort.

 

[Garen]

Vertex 2 and at least 120 GB is my recommendation.

Garen