What to look for in an SSD

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Dapake

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Apr 2, 2012
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Hey all,

I've recently became interested in acquiring an SSD. I'm a little new to this market, so I wasn't sure what characteristics I should compare between SSDs.

My goal is to have the OS loaded as well as some frequently played games.
What are some traits I should focus on and what do they mean? (Sequential Read/Write, Random read/write etc.)
 
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rex4235
If you're planing on using it for the OS and games, I would suggest one no smaller than 128gb, preferably 180+. I have a 180 which will accommodate Win7 .64, and about 5-7 games at a time. With SSDs, you also want to try and keep empty space for TRIM to properly work (dont completely fill the drive)
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rex4235

rex4235

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If you're planing on using it for the OS and games, I would suggest one no smaller than 128gb, preferably 180+. I have a 180 which will accommodate Win7 .64, and about 5-7 games at a time. With SSDs, you also want to try and keep empty space for TRIM to properly work (dont completely fill the drive)
 
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Dapake

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Thank you for the reply. The first thing I thought about was the size and I want to shoot for around 128 GB ( or higher if the price is right :) )

But what do Sequential (and Random) Read and Write speeds along with IOPS mean for the drive and how it performs for loading the OS and games?
 
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rex4235

rex4235

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By all means, Ive read good things about the 840.

But definitely try and have a second, mechanical drive installed too. That way you have a buck storage drive (which you could move game installations too using SteamMover)
 
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ram1009

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Most people are attracted to SSDs by speed, however this isn't their greatest asset. Reliability is, IMHO. Therefore buy the most reliable such as Crucial, Samsung or Intel. Intel is more money. No surprise there. Unless you routinely handle huge files the differences in speed between different drives won't be noticed. The only time you will notice speed is booting or program launch or level loading. For me, after a week or so I didn't notice the increased speed at all. It became normal. Definitely buy a 256GB if you can afford it.
 
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ram1009

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OCZ has a long history of bad drives. Complaints seem to have tapered off lately but I've heard nothing but bad about their customer support. I have no experience with Sandisk. I own 2 Crucial M4s a Samsung 830 and an 840 and all have been perfect. One of the M4s for over a year and the rest for shorter periods. Personally, I stick with brands that perform for me.
 
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