Intel's SSD 530 represents the best implementation of SandForce's technology you can find. At a high level, it looks like any other SF-2281-powered drive. But dig deep, and Intel demonstrates its strengths in multiple ways. Intel SSD 530 180 GB M.2
A Great Choice For Mobile Productivity Laptops
Efficiency and convenience are the real reasons to tap the M.2 version of Intel's mainstream SSD 530. We measure just 4 mW of power consumption in DevSlp mode, and just 350 mW at active idle.
Given how few options there are in the M.2 form factor, Intel's design stands out even more prominently. If your system can handle an 80 mm-long module, the SSD 530 belongs on your laptop's short list.
Crucial's M.2-based 480 GB M500 is a beast. It's not that the drive is exceedingly fast. Rather, we like its combination of capacity and pricing most of all. Now that the M.2 form factor is becoming more popular, this drive makes a lot of sense for enthusiasts upgrading newer laptops. Crucial M500 480 GB M.2
Impressive Value In The M.2 Format
Support for eDrive and TCG Opal 2.0 are particularly important in the mobile space, and newer Ultrabooks can additionally benefit from DevSlp mode, which the M500 support.
The only downside we can see is that some laptops only accommodate shorter M.2-based devices, and the M500 is only available in the 2280 format.
Plextor's M6M is more expensive than the M5M it replaces, and isn't much faster, either. But what it lacks in additional speed, it makes up for with features catering to more modern mobile systems. Plextor M6M 256 GB
New Flash, New Controller, Decent Performance
That means you get DevSlp support, primarily. The M6M is quick to enter and exit, and it doesn't use much power along the way. Despite moving to Toshiba's new A19 flash in 128 Gb die, the drive is still plenty fast. Good, honest performance and power efficiency make this a reasonable choice for laptops and other mSATA-based applications.
Take everything awesome about the 840 EVO, the only SSD to garner an award last year, and melt it down into the mSATA form factor. Add DevSlp, and you get an even more compelling offering for the mobile space. Naturally, eDrive/TCG Opal 2.0 is part of the package as well. Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB mSATA
Economy, Efficiency, And Performance
The three-bit-per-cell flash is bolstered by Samsung's Turbo Write technology, which helps get write performance in line with the drive's read performance (already among the best out there). If you aren't spooked by TLC's inherent shortcomings, you could do a lot worse.
Samsung's 840 EVO mSATA comes armed with the power and capacity of the SATA-based 1000 GB EVO, but shoehorns the whole package into a double-sided mSATA form factor. All of the full-sized drive's advantages are there. But instead of living in a 2.5" chassis, mSATA slides into a special slot on some desktop motherboards and notebooks.
Samsung 840 EVO 1 TB mSATA
A First-of-its-Kind 1 TB mSATA SSD
Do you need a lot of capacity in a diminutive package? There aren't many options at this price level, and the Mushkin offers a compelling SF-2281 solution for prospective mSATA buyers. Mushkin Atlas Deluxe 480 GB mSATA
SandForce-Based And mSATA-Equipped
Based on the stalwart SandForce 2281 controller, Mushkin’s big drive isn't at its best beyond 256 GB, but it’s still powerful enough to get almost any storage performance-sensitive application kicked into high gear. The only downside is a price commensurate with its rarity. In a 2.5" form factor, Crucial and Samsung both offer 1 TB-class offerings for roughly the same price. But specificity is often more expensive, and if you need half of a terabyte in the mSATA form factor, there just aren't many choices out there.
Is that why you don't mention Crucial's MX100 line? With the current pricing on the 256GB and 512GB MX100 drives, it's hard to justify buying anything else at those capacity points.
MX100 256GB is ~$115 and the 512GB is $215. Hard to beat those prices.
Going by the fact that you're still recommending that stick, I'll assume I'm not doing too badly, but an overview of the current state of USB 3.0 would be nice.
b/ the killer factor is access speed vs a HDD - who gives a rats about transfer speed? - huge is huge
given the above, despite the scoffers, i still think raid 1 w/ a ssd primary & a hdd secondary could work well in some apps. none seem to have tried it & benched it meaningfully i can see
most realtime work is done by primary (ssd) drive
fast & cheap always up redundancy
d/ i hear rumors than the sandisk cache thingo has weird firmware - flushes the cache a lot - defeats the purpose? Many say its great.
loved the idea when first heard it, now not so sure
flushes cache? is that bad?
As they say, lottsa ram wins, even if slow.
So what say a big swap file on an ssd?
My 2gb, soon to be replaced, 98xp PC has a 4gb HDD swap file (suggested by windows) & it crawls - u can hear it
swapping
at least the ssd can be re-used - ram upgrades cannot
An entire copy of your system disk on cheap/fast, but niggardly on space, storage - really?
that means being anal with what goes where for ever more - time & hassle & maybe risk?
why not make it their problem?
seagate etc. hybrid 1tb drive - 8 gb cache onboard - $~100
something like sandisk intellicache~? 32gb ~$45 - not a drive - just a cache
maybe a small ssd for known scratch files like win swap etc - $45 64gb - $85 128gb - kingston?
would make a great raid 1 rig
I am told win 8 installs on 128gb can be a struggle - absurd
In theory, only cache what needs caching, not clutter.
Dont quote me if i am wrong (tho i cant see where, if they work ok)
Very fast almost all the time
Time is money - this is KISS