OldBuzzard

FINALLY got the new system up and running. I've only been buying parts since just before Christmas

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All I can say is DAMUMMMMM...this puppy is FAST!

I mean my last system wasn't exactly a slug...PhII X4 940/8GB RAM/2x 4870s in Crossfire, but this makes that rascal seem slooooooowwwwwww.

This is without reinstalling my OSs, but just letting 7 "adjust' to the new components. I think I may wipe everything and start from scratch, as I am getting an occasional system freeze, requiring a hard reset when I'm in my general purpose partition**.

No pics since my camera seems to have lost it's flash. I loaned it to someone who I really SHOULDN'T have, so she could take pics of her newly born granddaughter. I guess that was a 'good thing', but I really liked that old Canon X720

Anyway, just to get it running and make sure that it was working before I installed my current HDDs, I used an OCZ 32GB SSD that I have here for installing into a lappy. I put a copy of Vista 64 on it and that REALLY got my attention! Very quick to install and boot. Now I didn't put much on it, so I don't know how much it would slow down once all of the drivers, etc. were installed, but it was fast enough that now I'm giving serious consideration to getting an SSD for my gaming partition.

I was originally going to use a Vista 64 install for my gaming partition, since it is more aggressive with Superfetch, and games load faster in Vista than in 7 once Superfetch gets a handle on you usage.

Now I'm thinking that an SSD would be even better than a Vista Superfetch optimized install on an HDD,

My current gaming partition is 116GB, and I have 44GB free. This is with IL2:1946, Far Cry 2, and Fallout:NV installed. I would still like to re-install Fallout 2, and maybe HL2 as well. I'm thinking that a 128GB SSD may fill the ticket.

That being said, what would you folks recommend as the best 128GB SSD with a HARD BUDGET of $250.00?

** Note that when I say partition, I mean a separate independent install of an OS. See HyperOS for an explanation of how I do this.
HyperOs Systems

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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Kizo

Congrats, OB..
I assume it's the one in your sig...

blibbax

Gratz OldB.

Wouldn't an SSD make more sense for your main boot drive, or is that not possible with your current configuration?

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OldBuzzard

With HOS there really isn't a "main boot drive".

When you power your system down, or do a re-boot, it will boot to the last system that you used.

It only boots to another system if/when you tell it to by using the MOC (HOS UI interface), or select a different system when the boot menu comes up during the boot process.

I don't see that an SSD would be a big benefit for my surfing/general purpose partition, as none of the apps take all that much time to load, as opposed to games which load a lot of data, and in a lot of cases, load more during the game.

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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

blibbax

I was thinking more of boot times.

For gaming it really depends what games you play. I'd live to have Steam and my Steam games (especially Source engine ones) on an SSD, as those really do spend a lot of time waiting for the disk. A lot of games spend more time decompressing data than transferring it, however. For example, I'd see no point in putting CoD 4 on an SSD.

Having said all that, I have of course never used an SSD, so disregard my expertise

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Tyrsonswood

Congrats on the build!

You may want a larger SSD if you go that route, as they tend to slow down when they get around 70%-80% full.

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synthesis204

Remember to disable superfetch if you're running on an SSD.

Sounds great OldB, can't wait for pics

A great option would be the Crucial C300 SATAIII -- it comes in at $255 (sorry!) but it has unbelievably fast read times (and decent write times).

Newegg.com - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Otherwise, go for a 285/275 drive from your favorite manufacturer (I'm preferential to GSkill/Intel):

Newegg.com - 120GB SSD

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mkk

It's aliiiive!
I hope to get there too by late summer or so. Might end up getting an 120/128GB SSD before then and right now I'm waiting to see where the Crucial M4 ends up. Probably above $250 though, so an Intel 320 120GB would not be a bad choice right now. They may not have the sexiest controller but the performance is still good and the price is uncharacteristically competitive.

I think it's also wise to get a relatively large drive of these 25nm Nand drives, as unused space will have bearing on lifetime and I don't really believe that they can fully adjust for the shorter memory lifetime inherent of the 25nm process. Not that I'm really worried about SSD lifetime in general. I fully expect any kind of drive to die off a little now and then.

OldBuzzard

Win 7 does that automatically, and also disables de-fragging when it detects an SSD.

Looks like I may have to give a second thought to my budget as well, dangit.

Looking at the advertised vs ACTUAL capacities, I'll have to go to a 160GB drive.

At the EGG it seems like about the only choice at any decent price is this one:
Newegg.com - OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGT160G 2.5" 160GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Every other 160GB drive is 299.00 and up.

If I have to end up going to go as high as 299.00, then this looks like it would be the better option since it's a 180GB drive:
Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE180G 2.5" 180GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

synthesis204

I never understood anyone's fascination with OCZ drives, but they both look good

And I'm not so sure about that. There are a number of changes that make an SSD run better -- could've sworn superfetch is NOT disabled by default, but I could be wrong (since i also run HDD drives).

The SSD Optimization Guide | The SSD Review

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Veridian3

The fascination with OCZ drives is the excellent support forum, staff and firmware update process. They work far better with the drive manufacturers than anyone else, use knowledgeable people in the user community to help them test firmwares in the wild, get them out fast and actively respond to help requests on their forum.

I'd go for the 160gb Vertex 2 which is $269 after rebates based on your budget... though Crucial and Intel do have excellent alternatives when price isnt considered.

synthesis204

To be fair, I've never had to wait more than a day for support from GSkill, and their forums are just as good (if not better, honestly) than OCZ's. But typically, I don't see most people purchasing OCZ drives for the support, it just tends to be an instinct purchases (sort of like OldB buying Corsair PSUs).

And I agree, the $269 Vertex 2 looks quite good.

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Judas

i'm still waiting on the newer sata 3.0 rev 2nd gen SSDs from corsair/ocz and intel to meet head to head for testing here on hardware heaven before i finally splurge.

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