Buying a new SSD, need recommendations! [ Edited ]

[JibbsIsMe]

OK, so I've just about scraped up all the money I need from inside my couch and under my carpets, so I'm trying to decide which SSD to get.

I would like:
SATA III (my laptop can only do SATA II) and 2.5" with about 120GB of space.

I found the OCZ Vertex 3 120GB, and it looked good to me. 
I'm looking for something as top-of-the-line I can get for under 300. Speed and reliability are more important than cost.

So, what are your recommendations? Do you think this SSD is good? Thanks in advance!

--Jeremy

[pepe999]

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JibbsIsMe wrote:

OK, so I've just about scraped up all the money I need from inside my couch and under my carpets, so I'm trying to decide which SSD to get.

I would like:
SATA III (my laptop can only do SATA II) and 2.5" with about 120GB of space.

I found the OCZ Vertex 3 120GB, and it looked good to me. 
I'm looking for something as top-of-the-line I can get for under 300. Speed and reliability are more important than cost.

So, what are your recommendations? Do you think this SSD is good? Thanks in advance!

--Jeremy

---

Hi,

I have got the PM, mate. I was thinking about the same thing, buy a SATA III to my SATA II laptop but the difference in performance is not as high as when you have a SATA III computer. I would stick with a SATA II SSD instead of a SATA III one for a SATA II laptop. I haven't got any experience with OCZ but they have good reviews so an OCZ 120GB SATA II SSD should be a good deal. I prefer Corsair SSDs, faster read/write than Intel ones and the same reliability (have both memory modules from them as well).

In case that you will prefer the SATA III drive, could you provide some benchmarks for us, please? I would like to compare against my Corsair F160. Use ATTO benchmark utility, it's free and recommended by SSD users..

[JibbsIsMe]

OK, so I spend a few hours narrowing down my choices. I'm leaning more towards SATA II now, since it looks like those SSD's are at the max possible preformance for my computer, but I might upgrade computers eventually, so I kept a category for both. For SATAII, the Muskkin got good reviews, but the OCZ was quite popular. For SATAIII, the OCZ was popular too. Also, the Corsairs are always cheaper. Why is that? Are they poor quality?

SATA II

OCZ - $170

OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC

http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-vertex-2-sata-ii-2-5-ssd.html

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551

CORSAIR - $160

Corsair Force CSSD-F115GB2-BRKT-A 2.5" 115GB SATA II MLC

http://www.corsair.com/ssd/force-series-ssd/force-series-f115-solid-state-hard-drive.html

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233160

MUSHKIN - $169

Mushkin Enhanced Callisto DX2 Series MKNSSDCL115GB-DX2 2.5" 115GB SATA II MLC

http://www.mushkin.com/Digital-Storage/SSDs/MKNSSDCL115GB-DX2.aspx

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226206

SATA III

OCZ - $220

OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC

http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-vertex-3-sata-iii-2-5-ssd.html

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

CORSAIR - $214

Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III

http://www.corsair.com/ssd/force-series-gt-ssd/force-series-gt-120gb-sata-3-6gbps-solid-state-hard-d...

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233191

MUSHKIN - $220

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe MKNSSDCR120GB-DX 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC

http://www.mushkin.com/Digital-Storage/SSDs/MKNSSDCR120GB.aspx

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226225

--Jeremy

[pepe999]

I have never heard of Mushkin before so for myself Corsair or OCZ would be the first choice. I can't tell you why Corsair is cheap but they have top quality products. I have bought two PC3-10600 SODIMM modules of 4GB, less than £30 for each one. Make sure that the ssd you are going to buy has an upgradable firmware. Corsair Force Series has it and the latest version is 2.0.

One interesting thing about my Corsair F160. It seems that the size of the drive is 160GB (advertised) but it's actually 180GB. I have sent an email about it to the shop I have got it from and they had no idea about that..

[JibbsIsMe]

OK, I think I decided on this:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233160

That will work with my HP DV7-4260ca, right? I will be buying this too:

http://www.newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=345

And these are my specs:

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2115088

Do they sell the F160 anymore? I don't see it on their website. And where did you buy yours?

Thanks,

--Jeremy

[pepe999]

Yes, these drives should work well. I have bought mine from Amazon but the UK version..

See this: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/samsung-470-sandforce-best-ssd,review-32045-4.html

It says F160 but now they sell it as F180..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004DTOJY2/ref=asc_df_B004DTOJY25392977?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=pr-electr...

When I bought the ssd, Corsair didn't have any F180..

I can't believe it, I paid £180 for mine approx 8 months ago and now it's approx £300 for the same drive renamed to F180..

Read this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B004DTOJY2/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

I know that hard drives are more expensive because of the floods in Thailand but SSDs should be ok..

[lvrcracer]

Kingston Hyper X $160 after rebate. Excellent performance at the right price right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-139-601&nm_mc=EMCPB-112011&cm_mmc=EMCPB-112011-_-...

[pepe999]

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lvrcracer wrote:

Kingston Hyper X $160 after rebate. Excellent performance at the right price right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-139-601&nm_mc=EMCPB-112011&cm_mmc=EMCPB-112011-_-...

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This one looks well but it's a SATA III and it won't work at the full performance on a SATA II laptop..

[JibbsIsMe]

Thanks, but I already bought this:

http://www.corsair.com/ssd/force-series-3-ssd/force-series-3-120gb-sata-3-6gbps-solid-state-hard-dri...

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233206

and I live in Canada, so that sale doesn't apply to me. Thanks for the suggestion though! And yes, I know I won't get the speeds that are advertised. (I have SATA II)

--Jeremy

[alalged]

lots of my friends recommend me brand Renice SSD on http://www.b2cit.com, it official Renice reseller in China, keep good relationship with Renice Tech China manufactory, Renice Tech use Standforce Tech, good quality with nice price on www.b2ct.com,

recently i get a nice one

Renice K3E 1.8" 40pin PATA ZIF SSD 120GB for Macbook Air for my laptop, it's great!