256GB SSD for Laptop
22 January 2012, 01:22 PM
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256GB SSD for Laptop
Looking to get a new laptop and the weak link is the 5400rpm 320GB HDD, which is the lowest spec I can opt for, the higher capacities are still 5400rpm and to spec a 256gb SSD is a £490 option!!
Given I can buy one for around £250 it makes more sense to spec the worst disk for the laptop and buy SSD seperately.
Having already got a Vertex 2 in my PC, I'm aware some of the controllers (like in my OCZ) can be problematic.
Any thoughts on which brands offer the best and most reliable SSD's in that size?
Or better to just go for a 7200rpm normal HDD?
Given I can buy one for around £250 it makes more sense to spec the worst disk for the laptop and buy SSD seperately.
Having already got a Vertex 2 in my PC, I'm aware some of the controllers (like in my OCZ) can be problematic.
Any thoughts on which brands offer the best and most reliable SSD's in that size?
Or better to just go for a 7200rpm normal HDD?
Last edited by ScoobyJawa; 22 January 2012 at 01:23 PM.
22 January 2012, 02:05 PM
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Like above the crucial M4 SSDs are good. I bought one but sold it on as I cannot see the point of an SSD yet. Day to day how much difference is it going to make?
I put one in my HP DM1 with new E350 AMD fusion. Has SATA3 so it would have made the most out of the SSD. A lot of computers/laptops still use sata2 which is slower than some of the SSDs so the bottleneck moves to the cable.
Issues I found:
1. slightly faster boot time but not enough to justify the extra money plus the loss of all the storage. plus i never turn it off, just close the lid and sleep it.
2. day to day apps load slight quicker but once loaded into active memory they were no faster than without the ssd. i typically load apps and leave them loaded so they remain in active memory, running 8GB of active memory (RAM).
3. i require full disk encryption in case the laptop goes missing while out and about or if robbed from house. windows takes minutes to hack without full disk encryption. SSDs are not compatible with full disk encryption unless you use the microsoft encryption. it kills the disks very quickly.
I put one in my HP DM1 with new E350 AMD fusion. Has SATA3 so it would have made the most out of the SSD. A lot of computers/laptops still use sata2 which is slower than some of the SSDs so the bottleneck moves to the cable.
Issues I found:
1. slightly faster boot time but not enough to justify the extra money plus the loss of all the storage. plus i never turn it off, just close the lid and sleep it.
2. day to day apps load slight quicker but once loaded into active memory they were no faster than without the ssd. i typically load apps and leave them loaded so they remain in active memory, running 8GB of active memory (RAM).
3. i require full disk encryption in case the laptop goes missing while out and about or if robbed from house. windows takes minutes to hack without full disk encryption. SSDs are not compatible with full disk encryption unless you use the microsoft encryption. it kills the disks very quickly.
22 January 2012, 04:40 PM
#4
I think the main problem there is the AMD E350 bottlenecking it: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_look...?cpu=AMD+E-350
No point of a fast SSD if the computer its installed in is using a CPU that really belongs in a netbook.
Take a look and have a read here: https://www.scoobynet.com/computer-r...?highlight=ssd
No point of a fast SSD if the computer its installed in is using a CPU that really belongs in a netbook.
Looking to get a new laptop and the weak link is the 5400rpm 320GB HDD, which is the lowest spec I can opt for, the higher capacities are still 5400rpm and to spec a 256gb SSD is a £490 option!!
Given I can buy one for around £250 it makes more sense to spec the worst disk for the laptop and buy SSD seperately.
Having already got a Vertex 2 in my PC, I'm aware some of the controllers (like in my OCZ) can be problematic.
Any thoughts on which brands offer the best and most reliable SSD's in that size?
Or better to just go for a 7200rpm normal HDD?
Given I can buy one for around £250 it makes more sense to spec the worst disk for the laptop and buy SSD seperately.
Having already got a Vertex 2 in my PC, I'm aware some of the controllers (like in my OCZ) can be problematic.
Any thoughts on which brands offer the best and most reliable SSD's in that size?
Or better to just go for a 7200rpm normal HDD?
Last edited by ALi-B; 22 January 2012 at 04:43 PM.
22 January 2012, 06:11 PM
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Well in this case the laptop is a Core i7 (2640M), 8GB RAM so the SSD would help it rip right along.
Looks like around £280 for a 256GB M4, or 2 x 128GB costs roughly the same.....
Looks like around £280 for a 256GB M4, or 2 x 128GB costs roughly the same.....
23 January 2012, 03:07 PM
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Went for a 256GB Crucial M4 in the end. Ordered from Pixmania, £272.50 good price I reckon plus 6% cashback via Quidco 
Just got to wait the 3-4 weeks for the laptop to be built now!
Just got to wait the 3-4 weeks for the laptop to be built now!
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26 January 2012, 12:48 PM
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Taken from bit-tech, it's only for 128Gb SSDs but 256 should be the same;
Anyway, as an ordering (best to worst) for an OS/apps/etc drive for a normal user, the consumer 120/128GB SSDs rank -
1. V3 max iops - 3Xnm nand gives a significant longevity advantage.
2. Corsair F3 GT - very slightly faster than the max iops, but only 2Xnm nand.
3. Corsair Performance Pro - faster writes than the M4 & uses 3Xnm nand - but x amount of the extra longevity of the 3Xnm nand is used up by the additional write speed.
4(a). Crucial M4 - 2Xnm nand & slower writes than the Pro - generally faster than the normal V3 in heavy i/o situations.
4(b). V3 (normal) - 2Xnm - generally faster than the M4 in more normal i/o situations.
5. A3, F3 (normal), etc - slower 2Xnm async nand leads to the worst performance of the bunch - it's only advantage, imho, would be for a cheap R0 setup.
(1, 2, 4(b) & 5 being SFs - whilst 3 & 4(a) are Marvell based).
[NB whilst not an exclusive list, i've ignored the intel 510 (as it's too expensive for what it is for a general consumer choice - it uses 3Xnm nand & a Marvell controller, but is slower than the Pro & M4), the Samsung 830 (as it's a so-so drive... the only advantage being that it appears to be 2nd best for non-trim) & the Octane (as it's a disappointing drive - though the 2nd gen 'might' be interesting).]
1. V3 max iops - 3Xnm nand gives a significant longevity advantage.
2. Corsair F3 GT - very slightly faster than the max iops, but only 2Xnm nand.
3. Corsair Performance Pro - faster writes than the M4 & uses 3Xnm nand - but x amount of the extra longevity of the 3Xnm nand is used up by the additional write speed.
4(a). Crucial M4 - 2Xnm nand & slower writes than the Pro - generally faster than the normal V3 in heavy i/o situations.
4(b). V3 (normal) - 2Xnm - generally faster than the M4 in more normal i/o situations.
5. A3, F3 (normal), etc - slower 2Xnm async nand leads to the worst performance of the bunch - it's only advantage, imho, would be for a cheap R0 setup.
(1, 2, 4(b) & 5 being SFs - whilst 3 & 4(a) are Marvell based).
[NB whilst not an exclusive list, i've ignored the intel 510 (as it's too expensive for what it is for a general consumer choice - it uses 3Xnm nand & a Marvell controller, but is slower than the Pro & M4), the Samsung 830 (as it's a so-so drive... the only advantage being that it appears to be 2nd best for non-trim) & the Octane (as it's a disappointing drive - though the 2nd gen 'might' be interesting).]
30 January 2012, 04:47 PM
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Been doing research on these for ages and the M4 and OCZ Vertex 3 is a pretty good bet at the moment, so I just bought three of the later.
Last edited by Evolution Stu; 30 January 2012 at 04:48 PM.
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