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bbadalucco

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 4, 2009
459
0
Curious as to everyone's thoughts on the New Vertex EX vs. the Intel X25-E

Access Time?
IOPS? - not sure what this is, but it sounds like people care about it.
Overall?

The new OCZ Vertex EX or the Intel X25-E

I may have to put one in a MBP?

Necessary - not at all, but still tempting

I've looked on google already and didn't find much, so please don't use that card Mikes70Mustang
 

alphaod

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
No you don't have to, but I'd choose the Intel X25-E over the Vertex EX any day.

Of course 64GB isn't enough for me, so the next best option is the X25-M. :)
 

bbadalucco

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 4, 2009
459
0
No you don't have to, but I'd choose the Intel X25-E over the Vertex EX any day.

Of course 64GB isn't enough for me, so the next best option is the X25-M. :)

Does anyone know if the Intel X25-E suffers from the same problems the X25-M did? Has there been a firmware update for the X25-E?
 

Thiol

macrumors 6502a
Jan 26, 2008
693
0

softweyr

macrumors newbie
Dec 6, 2007
12
0
San Diego
Learn a bit more about SSDs before buying

The slowdown when nearly full on SSDs is cause by the write-levelling algorithm, which attempts to spread writes across the available cells on the disk so you don't wear out a single spot on the disk. If you keep your disk 80-90% full, you should probably buy a bigger SSD to give the write-leveller some space to work in. Or just burn a few of those movies and ISOs to optical media and get them off your drive, a perpetual problem for me.

You'll also want to explore the differences between Single Layer Cell and Multi Layer Cell (SLC, MLC) construction of SSDs and decide which meets your needs. The simple summary is MLCs cost a LOT less, while SLCs will probably sustain higher write speeds. The latest generation of SLCs like the OCZ Vertex have done a pretty good job of fixing the write speed problems, but SLC drives will still be faster on write. OCZ makes an SLC drive, the Vertex EX line, that compares to the Intel X25-E. OCZ also makes a mac-specific version of the Vertex line, I understand it handles the disk powerdown used by OSX better than the regular line, and they're only a few dollars more.

If you bought something, please post back with what you got and how much you like it.
 

Lounge Deluxe

macrumors regular
Jun 1, 2009
152
20
Amsterdam
Something to consider if you plan to use either of these ssds in a MBP is the fact that the X25-E draws up a lot more power than the X25-M. This makes the X25-E less preferable if you care about maximum battery capacity. This might possibly be the case too with the Vertex EX compared to the regular Vertex.
 

bbadalucco

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 4, 2009
459
0
The slowdown when nearly full on SSDs is cause by the write-levelling algorithm, which attempts to spread writes across the available cells on the disk so you don't wear out a single spot on the disk. If you keep your disk 80-90% full, you should probably buy a bigger SSD to give the write-leveller some space to work in. Or just burn a few of those movies and ISOs to optical media and get them off your drive, a perpetual problem for me.

You'll also want to explore the differences between Single Layer Cell and Multi Layer Cell (SLC, MLC) construction of SSDs and decide which meets your needs. The simple summary is MLCs cost a LOT less, while SLCs will probably sustain higher write speeds. The latest generation of SLCs like the OCZ Vertex have done a pretty good job of fixing the write speed problems, but SLC drives will still be faster on write. OCZ makes an SLC drive, the Vertex EX line, that compares to the Intel X25-E. OCZ also makes a mac-specific version of the Vertex line, I understand it handles the disk powerdown used by OSX better than the regular line, and they're only a few dollars more.

If you bought something, please post back with what you got and how much you like it.


I got the Intel X25 E - 64gb. I love it. I still have 40gb free as well, I have a server and store all media on that...I also have a expresscard SSD i use when traveling.

I used my 17" UMBP for over 7 hours yesterdya and still had around 18% battery left so I don't think the X25-E drains the battery much more than the X25-M...not enough to bother me anyway.
 
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