Decided to get an SSD drive. Please help me find the best option...

[CrunchDude]

Hi everyone...

Alright, I need to consolidate all of my hard drives, and I've decided to get get an SSD!

So, I'd get an SSD (64GB or 128GB) as my main drive, and one 500GB drive for the Ultrabay caddy.

Are any of you operating an SSD drive now. Which is the fastest, problem-free drive? So which brand should I get??

I hear Intel makes the "best" ones, with the Intel X25-M for the 2.5" size, and then there's an "extreme" one in the Intel X25-E. Then someone directed me to buy from here, so I decided to join the forum. Looks like Fusion is, by far at that, the best performing Solid State Disk.

So what kind of performance increases can I expect between the X25-M, ,25-E, or one from Fusion??

Cost is not necessarily a problem, but I love a deal. :D Where do you guys with SSD's buy yours? It's simply getting the best one that suits my needs and compatible with my T60p.

Thank you all very much! :)

EDIT: Alright, after reading through the WEALTH of information here, it's obvious I came to the right place.

Alright, I understand that the benefits of whatever SSD's I buy are solely determined by the manufacturer!?? The person who referred me here, "aaa" on another forum, said Mtron and Samsung were amongst the better ones. What say you, guys??

I would like to order one or two ASAP, so that I can see about which one is best to buy in bulk. Looks like it'll be a SATA for me. I read that SATA II is nothing more than a few more instructions, so I'm not sure as to whether or not I have SATA I or II. Does it really not matter??? And again, which brand??

Thank you!!! This place is exactly what I was looking for!! :)

[riffraff]

Hello and welcome,

MOO, unless you just have to have the fastest it doesn't really matter. Assuming you are not going to try a RAID array(lots of people are haveing trouble RAIDing SSD's) get the most Gigs for the buck that is going to be compatable with your system. Boot and shut down will be much quicker and application launches will be quicker, everything will be quicker. Just remember that on boot the BIOS will not be faster but once the op system starts it's load, it's like greased lightening.

I recomend you do a fresh instal of your op system and other software onto the SSD. Don't try to cut corners if you want the SSD to be your boot disk. Do it right the first time. Good Luck and let us know how everything works out.

Just talk to the folks at DVNation to make sure the disk you want is going to be compatable with your computer.

Garak

[freakwave]

Hi CrunchDude,

I have the same machine as you have T60p and I am using the Memoright GT2 since 5 months now. I can just tell you this is insane. I got one of the first drives, I think in March or so, that worked only for 1 month than I could not boot anymore. I guess it was a buggy firmware. Memoright shipped a replacement and since then the drive works flawlessly. Speed is insane. Booting the machine takes no time at all. You see one scroll of the Windows boot screen then you have to log in. After login, all your programs start in no time.
Just perfect. The worst were the 3 weeks where I had the drive shipped back to Memoright. I had to use the 7K200 drive again. This is like comparing a Porsche with a Truck.
For installation, I just took a image of my windows installation on the harddrive and copied it to the SSD. No problem at all.

I am just eagerly awaiting the next generation from Memoright. I think the actual SSD's are great as a system drive, but I still have a 7K200 drive in the ultrabay where I have all my vmwares with all the oracle/websphere ... development stuff installed.
I tried using the SSD drive for this purpose, but there is not too much performance gain. You hardly see any difference when there are a lot of IO writes performed. So that is not worth it. I hope the next generation will be much faster.

Kind regards,

Wolfgang

[CrunchDude]

Awesome guys!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the replies! I'm trying to find the Intel X25-M, as the reviews have been nothing short of STUNNING!! It seems to be in a class of its own, even amongst SSD drives. This is obviously the MLC version, but it supposedly, except for some write speeds obviously, blows away most SLC ones.

I contacted DVNation about the drive, and was told it was not available. Not a surprise, as it literally JUST started shipping a few weeks ago. So now, I'm trying to pre-order it from somewhere.

I found a few online retailers in Germany and Austria, and it's funny, as I happen to be IN Germany right now. lol...None of them have them available, though, and the ETA is 1-3 weeks, which won't work with my current trip. I'm leaving to go back to Los Angeles in a few days.

On ALL the other forums that I've posted essentially the same thing, I get nothing but nay-sayers, etc. It's great to find some folks who are saying, if I'm inferring correctly, to GO FOR IT!!! Which I will do anyway haha...

So what do you guys think? Wait and get the 80GB X25-M from Intel?? Like I said, I've gone through multiple reviews and benchmark tests, and every subtitle to each shot of all the benchmark tests end in "it blows the competition away", "it's in a class of its own", "if you're going to get an SSD, this IS IT!!".

I definitely will install Vista from scratch, and not do a mirror of my current drive. That way, I think I'll maximize performance, and minimize potential problems.

So again...get the Intel one, or get one from DVNation NOW?? Mtron and Samsung seem to be the way to go, according to the person who said to check this place out. However, if it's only going to be a few more weeks, and since supposedly, the Intel drive is "better" by leaps and bounds, should I wait??

After all, anticipation is half the fun! :D

To Wolfgang: It's nice to see a fellow Thinkpadder. ;) Which type and model do you have? I've done a lot of modifying, in large part, because I want to hold on to my INCREDIBLE IPS Flexview screen! I even got lucky and got an FFS (Frag Field Shielding) IPS display. I can watch Bluway movies on this thing, and my wallpaper looks like you're part of the environment it represents. It's incredible. Plus, it's very easy on the eyes, and since I work on my Thinkpad all day, that's another big plus!

Take care everyone. SSD, here I come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :)

[riffraff]

For some more good information, check the November issue of Maximum PC.

IMO, unless you just have to have the latest and greatest and money is not an issue, get a drive that is readily available and you will not be dissapointed. Do check the article on SSD's in Maximum PC. Some drives are much better than others.

Garak

[CrunchDude]

For some more good information, check the November issue of Maximum PC.

IMO, unless you just have to have the latest and greatest and money is not an issue, get a drive that is readily available and you will not be dissapointed. Do check the article on SSD's in Maximum PC. Some drives are much better than others.

Garak

Hey Garak,

Thanks for the heads-up! I'll check to see if that article is online. Hopefully, it is. I've gone through a LOT of research, read through tons of benchmark tests and independent reviews. That's how I came to the conclusion that the X25-M from Intel is it for me.

I've read what you said in many places that SSD does not equal SSD, and that there are VAST differences in quality. I have actually found a great source for the X25-M from a small business owner who is right up my alley, conceptually speaking. ;)

I'm actually getting two other items from him as well. And the good part is that the Intel SSD is readily available from him. :D

Is $635 with no tax a good deal? I thought the MSRP was $595 "up to 1,000 units". Not a huge difference, but still...a lot of online retailers want upwards of $750 for it.

Thanks again! :)

EDIT: One more thing: Do I need any kind of special drivers to run Windows Vista on it?? I run Vista 64-bit, by the way. I plan an doing a fresh install of Vista x64, and then re-install all of my apps, instead of doing a mirror of my current drive.

[freakwave]

Hi CurnchDude,

I have also exchanged the processor a while back to T7600. But now it is time to say good bye to my T60p, ordered a 2.8GHz T500. Main reason is the memory. The 4Gig (3 Gig available) in the T60p is just not enough. I have already 2 x 4GByte DDR3 so-dimms on my desk. They are just waiting for the new machine.

Kind regards,

Wolfgang

[CrunchDude]

Hi CurnchDude,

I have also exchanged the processor a while back to T7600. But now it is time to say good bye to my T60p, ordered a 2.8GHz T500. Main reason is the memory. The 4Gig (3 Gig available) in the T60p is just not enough. I have already 2 x 4GByte DDR3 so-dimms on my desk. They are just waiting for the new machine.

Kind regards,

Wolfgang

Oh nice! Don't you miss your IPS Flexview panel? lol...That's the ONLY reason why I've upgraded this thing, and am about to do so again with a new N card, as well as, of course, the SSD drive. :D

Let me know when you get the T500. If it only had a Flexview screen, I'd be all over it. DDR3 RAM is nice! I hope you get a screen manufacturered by LG, and not Samsung. They're a lot better, according to a lot of people who own Thinkpads. Plus, less risk for dead pixels. Let me know how you make out with the T500. Congrats on your new baby! Is the T60p for sale at all?

Take it easy dude!