SSD worth it?

[zerrith]

I currently have a rig with a ASUS P6X58D premium mobo, i7 970 cpu, Western Digital Velociraptor 10k rpm HDD, and Win 7 Ultimate x64 and I was wondering I would get any noticeable performance increase by putting in a SSD for my OS and apps. I have heard that the marvel sata controller really sucks and that you can't get full performance out of a SSD using the SATAIII interface.

 

[hell_storm2004]

Yes you would. I have not heard of such complaints about Marvell though. Just get 120GB one and enjoy the speed diff.

 

[zerrith]

Any suggestions on a drive? I remember reading somewhere on here there are issues with drives made with certain controllers.

 

[RetiredChief]

Reliability and compatibility - Intel
Highest performance/bragging rights Sata III Using the Sandforce 2xxx controller.
The High end will provide a noted increase in boot time and program load over the Mid tier SSDs, However the advantage inuse is not significantly higher than the mid-level - with some exceptions.

(1) The is a BIG boost in loading your operating system and loading program, also installs goes faster.
(2) In program performance, not a big boost.

a word of caution on the new SATA III Sandforce controllers - If they work they are great, but there is some problems with the firmware. Corsair is doing a voluntary recall on one of theirs (Both firmware and a hardware problem). OCZ is downplaying the problem. If you look at the Newegg reviews (always take with a grain of salt) the percentage of look scores is much higher than it should be. It is across the board and not limited to a specific brand. Most problems appear to be with the newer MB chipsets (ie SB), and laptops are a real toss up as to even getting the operating system to load.

Hate to say it but I'd go Intel for the newer SATA III SSDs.

 

[zerrith]

Best answer selected by zerrith.

 

[puppeli66]

For X58 yes if your highend gamer or like more reliable media.
But for Z68 its a must.
SSD is the future and will make HDD's oppsolite one day.
And another good point is that the SSD you buy now can be used on your next PC.You would't use a old HDD on new PC like "2011".

 

[puppeli66]

For X58 yes if your highend gamer or like more reliable media.
But for Z68 its a must.
SSD is the future and will make HDD's oppsolite one day.
And another good point is that the SSD you buy now can be used on your next PC.You would't use a old HDD on new PC like "2011".

 

[puppeli66]

One more thought that will help your decision.OCZ vertex3.Read some of the reviews and what you whant it to do now and in future.OPS,games,bluray and running other HDD's of your board in future.120G is a bit small for me at least.You have a kixass system that has lot of life still in it.If I'm right you have SATA III on board so adding SSD on it your reading and writing speeds will double.Just remember that there are SSD's and SSD's.My choice would be OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS SATA III 2.5" SSD 240GB

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Here's my test results on Sandy Bridge build which can select SSD or HD boot from BIOS w/ OS on both drives:

Boot time to desktop off Seagate Barracuda XT = 21.2 seconds
Boot time to desktop off OCZ Vertex 3 = 15.6 seconds

You decide if it's worth $270

Loading my MMO (Saga of Ryzom) produced mixed results averaging about 45 seconds ..... SSD won 2 outta 5, HD won 3 outta 5 .... differences ranged from o.2 to 1.5 seconds.

 

[puppeli66]

It's all in the build and how the data is stored and what you used for dominated by the slowest component in PC.How your PC is set up or how many expansion slots you're using and whitch ones makes all the difference if your speed flys or stolls.It just Isn't that easy to see if it's worth.

In use it can be best noticed how the data is stored and used.HDD is mechanical so it needs to find the points on the disc and no file is at one point but many.Thats why there is ram but sometimes in large and complex programs HDD's just can't keep up.SSD's work differently,their points are stored on the drive so getting to that file takes fraction of the time than HDD Would.Plus in right hardwere it's lot kwicker.Thats the main problem for HDD's to find the points.Z68 and SSD fixes half the problem on new boards using the memory of SSD to help HDD get to the points so you get better performance[SATA III ]