SSD Upgrade? 550MB/s vs 250MB/s?
 

wanna upgrade my laptop HD to ssd (thinkpad x201, i5-540, 4GB)
mostly use for work and browsing so I don't need a lot of space (64GB?)

shopping around I notice the newer? SSD are mostly 500-550MB/s, while the older generation are around 250-300MB/s.

Am I going to notice a big difference between the two in actual use? or the speed difference only seems big on paper?

For the same size, the newer/faster SSD are 20-40% more expensive, I don't want to spend the extra money if the difference is only negligible. I am sure even the slower one will be a lot faster than my 5400rpm HD.

You're laptop isn't SATA 6gbps so it won't reach 550mb/s so no you won't notice a difference between the 2. And even if it did the difference is not really noticeable. I think SSD chipset is more of a factor here.

Oh thanks for telling me that!

Is the Kingston v100 64gb a good choice? ($80)
What else should I look at?

First see if 64gb is enough for you. I actually have the exact same drive in my desktop right now that I'm gonna swap out and sell since it's just a tad too small for me. Around $100ish will get you a decently fast 60gb drive like something with Sandforce chipset or Crucial M4 which has a new marvell chip.

I would go for 120GB or larger because 64GB will run out of space pronto.

slight difference for work and browsing.
I just jumped from 180gb Vertex2 25nm to 120gb Vertex3 MaxIOPS 2 weeks ago.
Preferred the larger storage space, the new HD fills up quickly

dont' think i need the larger space that much
I've been using my laptop for almost 2 years..still @ 242GB free out of 287GB
so i'd rather have a faster drive for the same price

after checking some benchmark...it looks like the V100 is quite abit slower than other SSD that are also rated 250-280MB/s?
i guess that's why it is cheapest of the bunch.

Kingston is a bad choice for laptops because it is almost always running at peak power consumption. V100 is also very slow. V+100 is better

Best drive overall right now is the Crucial M4, in terms of price/performance. See how that fits in your budget.

I had an 80GB in my laptop for a long time, and it was OK for me. I upgraded to a 128GB recently though. I have a 128GB in my desktop right now too.

On sale at ME:

OCZ Solid 3 Series 2.5in SATA III Solid State Drive, 60GB at Memory Express Computers

If there is ONE spec to look at that is important, it's the "4K Random Read". Most put this as IOPS, which is MB/s * 1024. Most use single threaded as well, but 4 threaded is more important, so you'll have to look at reviews instead.

A good SATA3 drive should be able to do 15K IOPS read with 4 threads, or 14 MB/s

A good SATA6 drive will be in the 70K - 100K range, sometimes more.

i got the crucial m4

supposed to be the most reliable for price.

Yup that's the one I recommend to everyone, especially with the latest firmware, it got even faster! By quite a bit!

SandForce drivers are fast, and also recently got a firmware update that apparently takes care of the BSOD problems people tend to have. The problem I have with SandForce drives is that performance varies quite a bit based on the type of data being used. With Crucial and Intel drives, you always know what you're getting.

For this reason alone on the uncompressed data speed I'm thinking of returning my unopened OCZ agility 3.

I think SandForce's take on SSD controller is always push speed first and then fix it somewhat.

But it also have some techs about data safety... and it sorta split its line-up into one that focus on speed, another for safety. And then a high-end that have everything.

As far as OS/App launching drive goes, I think Sandforce-based drive are terrific. Everything on my 11' MBP launches within seconds. And that to me, is the future of computing. Everything lagless/seamlessly streamed to you.

sooo....
which one is the better choice here?
1) Crucial M4 60GB ($110)
2) Corsair Force 3 60GB - Sandforce ($110-$20 MIR)
3) OCZ Solid 3 60GB (sandforce?) ($89-$20MIR)

Are these prices good btw?

M4. Ok prices, I guess...

quick question, will I lose TRIM if I use a SATA3 PCI-e card instead of the onboard SATA2 ports? I'm reading that i might lose TRIM, and it might be cause problems booting off a pci-e card. kind of deciding between the M4 and Revodrive x4 ... since i have a sata2 mobo

^

You lose trim on anything with RAID.

is that dependent on if the pci-e card offers raid? i won't be using the raid features ...

so would the Vertex 3 be the better choice if its $80 cheaper than the M4?

OCZ Vertex 3 SATA III 2.5in Solid State Drive, 120GB at Memory Express $150 + $20 mir

the M4 is $210

I'd go for it. After the firmware upgrade, I haven't had a BSOD yet. I used to get one every other day or so on a Sandforce drive. Just be sure to upgrade the firmware!

aw shit i didnt notice its out of stock -_-

why cant they just mail me one from another store -_-

If you are not running raid, trim should stay intact. It's shouldn't be card dependent.

For sure to go vertex3.

Lol. It was sold out the same day. They have a limited quantity that's on sale.

^^ lol i saw it when the sale started but i thought "meh" but now that i decide i want it im like fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu :yuno: