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Can someone help me purchase a SSD

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I always wanted to get a SSD in my system after hear so many good things about it.
The only thing hold me back is the price.
However after all the saving I think I can afford a SSD drive now.
I don't know how to choose a SSD, do I just compare the sequential read and write speed?
I was looking at the OCZ Agility 3 which has a very high read and write speed, about 500MB/sec for each, but the review on newegg isn't really good, only 3 eggs.
Another one is the Crucial RealSSD C300 which has 355MB/sec read and 140MB/sec write, but has five eggs.

Last thing is the storage size, should I go with 64GB or higher?
I have a 1TB HDD.

Minor question:
Because I have the P8Z68 V-Pro, should I just spend $120 to purchase a 20GB Intel 311 in order to use the Intel SRT or use one SSD as boot drive.

Thanks for the answer.

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From technical reviews and articles I read, it does not appear that using an Intell 311 as a cache for a hard drive disk will result in the same performance as using a larger capacity ssd as a primary drive. Here are links to the reviews:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1587/1/

The Intel 311 and Intel SRT were a compromise for individuals who could not afford a larger capacity ssd. if you can afford it go for a larger capacity ssd that you can use as a boot drive and a few software applications you use the most. Other applications, data files, and odds and ends can go on your hard disk drive.

Here is a link to a ssd database that also inlcudes links to technical reviews:

http://www.johnnylucky.org/data-storage/ssd-database.ht...

Go for the standalone boot drive, it'll be much faster than the caching setup. 64GB is a good starting point, but if you can afford a larger one it certainly wouldn't hurt. The C300 is a good drive, but don't forget to check out the M4 as well.

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There's nothing wrong with the intel 311. It sounds like it was made for people in your situation. Answer this question. "Would I rather have a small boot drive (c:)  and an hdd for storage?" Remember, a small ssd boot drive requires you to keep it from filling up. An SRT setup allows you to 'forget' about the ssd and just let it speed up most of your regular program and game loading.

Next, look at Tom's ssd buying guide.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-ssd-price-per-...

Basically, my feeling is that a good ssd, like the c300, will perform almost the same as a great ssd, like the vertex 3. Upgrading from a spinning boot disk to an ssd (hdd to ssd) is great. Upgrading from a good ssd to a great ssd is much less great.

Price wise. The intel 320 120gb is on sale for $199 CND at ncix. Also, the agility 3 120gb is on sale for about $220. The c300 128gb is still $244?

Remember that the agility 3 is a sandforce 2281 controller paired with asynchronous nand and, therefore, as it fills up its performance takes a big hit. A new drive will perform similar to a vertex 3! A half full drive can drop to as low as sandforce 1200 speeds. Is that bad? Not for me.

I think i would look at an intel 320 or agility 3! Good luck.

If you are looking for something in the 80 gb range look to the corsair f80. On sale for about 150 canadian
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Based on your budget you could purchase a Crucial M4 SATA 6Gb/s 64GB SSD at newegg.com for $119.99 with free shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

It is a new and improved version of the Crucial 300 which is popular with gamers on a budget. You could definitely fit Windows 7, a few software programs, and a game you play the most on the ssd. Additional games, data files, and other stuff can be stored on your hard disk drive. You can swap games to and from the ssd as needed.

Here's a link to a ssd database that includes the Crucial M4 and links to 9 technical reviews of the M4 series which you can read:

http://www.johnnylucky.org/data-storage/ssd-database.ht...

Gene O - A couple of weeks ago I ordered an ssd from newegg. It was an OEM version without the extras. The ssd was in hard plastic packaging instead of a box. Newegg put it in a heavy duty mailing envelope with the plastic bubble cushioning. I got it without any problems and the ssd works fine. No problem. Maybe the ssd's are built tough?

I order quite a bit from newegg as I build pc's for others. Had an occasional problem with pc products but not newegg. I also have a reference list of about 12 more online vendors. I use them mostly for specialty items.
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