SSD without TRIM support and Windows 7

[kent_kurt]

Hi,

I'm "adopting" and old but nice small Dell Latitude X1 laptop for travelling. It has a single 1.8HDD.
I'd like to swap the 1.8"HDD for an 1.8"SSD, and have found an inexpensive SSD from Kingspec (yes, I live in China) that would fit the odd 50-pin connection inside the X1 and my budget. I'd be installing win7 on it.

My big concern is that it doesn't support TRIM. Would degradation be a big issue? If so, are there any periodic maintenance/workaround I can do to prevent severe performance loss over time?

Cheers,
Ted

 

[djsprinkle]

I believe there is software than can restore the drive to like new condition but it will wipe everything on the drive. So if you don't mind backing everything up, there's always a way to start from scratch.

Apparently CCCleaner can work on some drives but I don't know about yours, here is a thread discussing it http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=22055

 

[sub mesa]

If it doesn't support TRIM then you got bigger problems; it may not have a real NAND controller and as such be very slow when performing small file operations, common on your system drive. This can cause lower than HDD performance; as was apparent with the first generation of 'controller-less' NAND. The first 'real' controllers were Indilinx, JMicron, Intel and Samsung; if you got something before that generation then this could be slower than HDD.

Try some benchmarks like CrystalDiskMark (don't run it too often though); to see how the random read and random write performance is. If that is acceptable (>10MB/s) then it would make a good system disk.

 

[RetiredChief]

^+1
Also if that Kingston SSD is the "V" for value (V is not for Very fast) it has very poor 4K random performance, Fresh "out of the Box" only about 2x faster than a good HDD, which will only go down with out trim support.

 

[kent_kurt]

Hi All,

Thanks for your replies, very helpful and much appreciated.
I guess that there might be serious drawbacks with the KingSpec disk. I need an 1.8" so I'm a bit limited in my selection. The disk below is easy for me to find here in China and quite affordable too (less than 800rmb, US$120). One would expect electronics to be cheaper here but that is not always the case due to steep import duties etc.
http://www.kingspec.com/solid-state-disk-products/ssd-18cf-mlcj.htm
Do you think this one is a waste of money? What would my budget 1.8" 64GB options be?

Cheers,

 

[RetiredChief]

(1) Could not find any reviews regaurding performance.
(2) Looks like it uses the LOW end Jmicron controller.
(3) Looking at the Specs - Confirms it is at the Low end for SSds. May equate to about 2 X HDD performance, But tha's a wag on my part.
... Acess time is way better than HDD @ only 0.2 mSec.
(4) has internal wear leveling, But could not confirm that it supports trim, or since it is a PATA drive that it will work under AHCI. I did buy a 8 gig PATA SLC drive for work.
(5) One Plus, Low power, Active = 1 Watt.

Do I recommend, Thats a very diff question since performance after 6 months of use is very up-in-the air. I might start out with a boost in performance and then 6 monthes latter bog down like a hog stuck in a mud puddle. Cost rather high on a gamble - Are you a gambling man, if so go for it - Me I'd probably pass.

 

[kent_kurt]

Thank you all again,
The people at KingSpec confirmed that the controller the SSD I'm looking at is called "JMF601" What does that tell you guys? Stay away?
Which 1.8" SSD would have decent performance without breaking the bank?

Cheers,

 

[kent_kurt]

Best answer selected by kent_kurt.