SSD Choice

[nikf]

I am looking mainly to install the OS- Win 7.

I figured the 120GB area is a good place as I have around a $200 budget.

What is the difference in Nand, SF-2000 or SF-1200, & does Sata III make a big difference, or what does, so I can differentiate?

Based on very little research this is my scratch pad/shopping list Priced from $1.55 to $2.49 per GB.......on Newegg of course:


Crucial C300 128GB - $199 or approx $1.55/GB

Intel 320 120GB - $229 or approx $1.90/GB

OCZ Vertex3 120GB - $299 or approx $2.49/GB

G. Skills Pheonix Evo 115GB - $209 or approx $1.81/GB


Please advise on which one you'd buy, if any of these, but remember I'm in the $200 price range and $299 is on the very high end for me on this.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

What motherboard do you have? Does your motherboard have SATA II (3 Gb/s) or SATA III (6 Gb/s) ports? The type of SATA ports makes a difference.

Currently the Crucial C300 is probably the best value for the money.

 

[nikf]

Asrock P67 Extreme 4 (B3)

 

[tecmo34]

^+1 to JohnnyLucky...

The C300 is the best value, while the OCZ Vertex 3 is the better all around drive. You can't really go wrong with either drive. They all will provide an nice increase over any mechanical drive (even the worse SSD).

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Your motherboard has two SATA III (6 Gb/s) ports so the Crucial C300 which is SATA III (6 Gb/s) capable is definitely a very good value for the money.

 

[nikf]

Its $254 on Newegg & what is the difference between that and the $269 unit?

I'm sure I've seen this for like $199. Isn't $2/GB kind of high?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348

 

[tecmo34]

The $199 was a sale Newegg did, which looks to be over now. Based on it's current pricing, the OCZ Vertex 3 is the way to go.

 

[nikf]

This is my first build, and by far the SSD had been my hardest decision to make.

I still can't make up my mind, it's the price performance issue that's getting me.

Can someone just chose for me as Newegg has a 10% off coupon today and I'd love to use it.

Thanx

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I just checked the newegg special sales and the regular listings. Both the OCZ Vertex 3 and the Crucial C300 120 GB ssd's are out of stock!

 

[nikf]

Johnny,

Can you provide links to these, for some reason I may not be looking at the same products.

Thanx

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Here is the link to the newegg home page:

http://www.newegg.com/

In the left hand column near the top there is a link to the latest email specials:

http://www.newegg.com/emailpromo/?cm_sp=ShoppingGuide122710_email-_-ShoppingGuide122710-_-http%3a%2f%2fpromotions.newegg.com%2fhomepage%2fblackNov10%2fbnr_homeLinkList_email.png

You can also subscribe to have the email specials sent to you.

On the right, also near the top is a link to the 48 daily deals:

http://www.newegg.com/DailyDeal.aspx?name=DailyDeal

Finally, here is the link to the web page showing all of the SATA III (6 Gb/s) solid state drives that newegg sells:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008120%20600038519&IsNodeId=1&name=SATA%20III

Scroll down to th bottom of that page and you will see that the OCZ Vertex 3 and Crucial C300 120GB ssd's are out of stock.

 

[jockey]

Keep checking stock status daily, Newegg runs out and resupplies SSDs quite often.
Don't be tempted to get the 64 gb Crucial, like I did, if you can afford the 128 gb, write speeds are doubled on the 128.

 

[nikf]

Ok, I'm done racking my brain on SSD's. This question should be much easier for all of you...

My mobo came with 4 sata III cables, are they safe to use on sata II?

Can I use these with sata II like my HDD which is clearly sata II?

Also, what about the dvd is this connected via sata II also?

Thanx

 

[tecmo34]

Yes, SATA III cables are backwards compatible with SATA II devices.

 

[nikf]

These are probably stupid questions, but the fear of frying my mobo is much worse....

I have 4 fans in my tower.

My mobo has 2 chasis fan connections and 1 power fan connection. I'm a little confused on the setup as the mobo book is not very informative.

The 2 front fans are 120mm and seem to have a molex connector, can I jump these 2 together and attach to a power source, or do they need to go to the mobo somehow?

If yes, that leaves the top fan 140mm and the rear fan 120mm. Is this where my 2 fans will connect to the mobo chasiss fan connections? How do I know which one is the power fan?

As a general fan question, is there anything I need to watch out for, or is it safe to connect these together as long as they are the right connections?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147107

Thanx Again

 

[tecmo34]

You can connect the fans to the Molex connector. This is my preferred method over trying to connect to the motherboard. You can connect more than one fan to a single molex connector and be safe.

Here are two links I recommend looking over before your build...
■http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building
■http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-boot-video-problems

 

[pjmoses]

I had a $20 coupon for the Vertex 3 that brought it to under $300, but shipping date is the 14th next month. They are selling them on back order for $309. I think Amazon has them for $299 in stock.

 

[nikf]

I had a $20 coupon for the Vertex 3 that brought it to under $300, but shipping date is the 14th next month. They are selling them on back order for $309. I think Amazon has them for $299 in stock.

I found it on Amazon for $308 ships in 1-3 weeks. I can't wait that long and such a hefty price at $2.56/GB.

I think I'm settling on the Plextor PX-M2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820249010 with a 10% off coupon that's $1.96/GB.

Unless someone wants to talk me out of the Plextor?

 

[jockey]

To add to Techmos' words, I only use the mobo fan pins for components. All of my case fans are connected by molex, which has them running at 100% all of the time. If noise is an issue, I put on some good tunes. Fan controllers are relatively cheap, and a good option for controlling case fan speeds if you feel a need to do so.