120gb Vertex3 vs 2 x 60gb Vertex 2 (in raid 0)

[denisx]

Hello,
As you've probably deduced from the title, I would like to know which scenario would be the best?

I'm thinking to buy a SSD and can't figure out which would be the best.

1 x OCZ 120GB Vertex 3 SATA III
or
2 x OCZ 60GB Vertex 2 SATA II in raid.

One more thing is that according to some reviews the SATA III controller on my motherboard is not the best (it is the Marvel SE9128).

Setup:
CPU: Core i7 950 3.2GHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R rev. 2.0
Memory: 3x2GB 1600MHz Corsair (triple channel)

 

[Rusting In Peace]

Please clarify what you mean by "best". I'm guessing you mean performance but you could also mean in terms of cost and reliability.

 

[denisx]

Please clarify what you mean by "best". I'm guessing you mean performance but you could also mean in terms of cost and reliability.

Yeah, sorry about that.
I guess I should have made myself more clear.

I meant performance wise.
As far as price goes, according to Amazon, the two set-ups would cost roughly the same.

 

[WyomingKnott]

In general, larger SSDs are faster than smaller ones in the same product line. This is because the manufacturer takes the larger number of storage chips and puts them in a larger number of channels. Essentially, they implement the RAID0 internally to the drive.

Putting an SSD into a RAID configuration disables the TRIM command, so the drive has to depend on the less-rapid garbage configuration process to inventory and pre-erase free space.

I would buy the larger drive. Oh wait, I did. My SSD is 128 GB.

 

[Rusting In Peace]

I meant performance wise.

Ok then.

Frankly I'm unsure of the actual performance difference between the two. I'd just be Googling for a benchmark!

WyomingKnot is spot on to raise the trim issue under raid 0.

What I would say however is that, personally, I would not accept the added risk of raid 0 for what's probably going to be a marginal performance boost if any. I'd recommend keeping it simple with the one drive to reduce complexity!

 

[denisx]

In general, larger SSDs are faster than smaller ones in the same product line. This is because the manufacturer takes the larger number of storage chips and puts them in a larger number of channels. Essentially, they implement the RAID0 internally to the drive.

Putting an SSD into a RAID configuration disables the TRIM command, so the drive has to depend on the less-rapid garbage configuration process to inventory and pre-erase free space.

I would buy the larger drive. Oh wait, I did. My SSD is 128 GB.

Well, I almost placed an order for the 120gb vertex 3.
My biggest concern is related to the Marvel SATA III controller.
I've read some opinions that SE9128 is not of very high quality and that even though the SSD itself can reach high speed it is caped by the controller.

This is why I asked. I kind of thought that a RAID array could go around this problem by using the Intel SATA II controller.