Someone give me a quick low-down on SSDs?

[JrFreak]

I have $1800 worth of components sitting here just waiting for me to put together. I did not buy an SSD though. I was planning on installing me OS on my Raptor 10k HDD. I figured it would be plenty fast enough. I've been reading up on SSDs, but I don't really don't know the pros/cons of using one. I heard that many install just the OS in it, and install most other apps on an HDD.

Can someone give me a quick low-down on SDDs? In the mean time I'm still searching...

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Here is a link to several guides that should prove helpful:

http://thessdreview.com/category/ssd-guides/

 

[duxducis]

Fast fast and fast, Just get one it is great boot drive it would put Raptor 10k HDD to shame
Most people use 64gb (or 128GB) SSD for example to boot and regular HDD for storage, But looking at your budget you might be able to get big SSD (240GB or 256GB) its just mater of $$ at that point

 

[JrFreak]

Thanks. Do they degrade over time? I read something about you don't want files to continuously write to a SSD.

 

[duxducis]

Yes SSD have limited writes but that number is huge, also they smart and regulate themselves.
Most likely you will go out and buy new one before old one fails.
Just fallow SSD guide after getting one, to minimize "Degrade" effect
My SSD for example has 5000gb data read and only 1000gb written from 2 years of nonstop use

 

[jitpublisher]

After owning my first SSD, I will never buy another spindle drive again, and when my spindle based 1TB drive shows signs of failure, I will replace it with an SSD.

 

[JrFreak]

Thanks for the info. This SSD look good?

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

 

[duxducis]

that sounds like good SSD with 500mb read and sata III
my old Adata 64gb sata II with 280mb/s read-write still feels like speed demon lol but it is aged
I wanted to link "SSD round up 2011" but can't find it for some reason only 2010 comes up (they tested all the SSD's)
the drive specs looks good thou

this might me even better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147137 was eyeballing it to buy in near future lol

 

[bliq]

that is one of the most common and best regarded drives out there. really optimized for read performance which is what most users do most.

Just some basics- SSD perfomance usually varies between sizes even for the same make and model. so a 256GB SSD usually has better paper specs than a 64GB version. This has to do with the number of controllers in use since each size uses a different number of memory chips and "pipelines" to come up with the capacity.

Different controllers also play a difference in performance and features. the current common ones are from Sandforce and Micron.

also, make sure that both the SSD and your motherboard have SATA 3.0 (6Gb). Make sure to use those ports. These new drives are bottlenecked by SATA 2.0 and some can saturate SATA 3.0

some other common drives are the Vertex 3, Agility 3 (using sandforce 2200 controller, probably the most common), and Intel 510, 320, and 520 (using Micron I think).

Intel is usually considered most reliable but expensive. Vertex 3 is usually considered the fastest at least on paper, especially the Max IOPs version.

 

[JrFreak]

this might me even better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147137 was eyeballing it to buy in near future lol

That looks like a notebook SSD.

I have a ASUS P8Z68 Pro/Gen3 mobo. I'm good there.

 

[JrFreak]

I broke down and ordered this...

Samsung 830 256gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147135

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Good choice. Samsung has a proven track record with no major issues.