1xSSD or 2xSSD

[miXer]

Pretty much the tittle says it all, however I'll explain it better.

Currently I've ordered the following SSD OCZ Technology 80GB Vertex 2 for £130:
80GB SDD
That SSD will be used for a boot drive + a few applications and games

However I was wondering, why don't I get 2x40GB SSD for £160:
40GB SSD

What do you think guys worth the extra £30?

[ik9000]

No way, not worth it by miles.

1) you don't get the full 40GB, a chunk is taken up for over provisioning and file structures etc. Not sure quite how much exactly but it's usually of the order of 5-10GB. Do that over 2 disks and you're not getting as much capacity.

2) they are quick enough as it is, do you really need to RAID them? And that is the only time I'd use 2 smaller drives, unless you're planning to dual boot and have one OS on each. 40GB HDD is about the min I'd put an OS on - but I'd def move the user files off the SSD and onto a HDD in this case. I'd def do it anyway come to that. (Details here: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/how...ia_storage_ssd)

3) chances are with the vertex 2 you're getting 34nm flash still. Not sure what's in the 40GB you're looking at as link went to the 80GB model, but the vertex 2E is likely to have 25nm - and require even more overprovisioning and not be as durable in use. (Less free capacity available for you to use).

see this link: http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...-capacity.html

Get the vertex 2 80GB is my advice

(Or if you want to pay a bit more, get the vertex 2 120GB)

Edit: Depending on what HDD you're running that £30 could be much better spent on a Samsung F3 Spinpoint

[r_j_k_p]

don't forget vertex 3 will be coming in april 1st, so this may drive prices down to somewhere near £1 a Gb.

[miXer]

No way, not worth it by miles.

1) you don't get the full 40GB, a chunk is taken up for over provisioning and file structures etc. Not sure quite how much exactly but it's usually of the order of 5-10GB. Do that over 2 disks and you're not getting as much capacity.

2) they are quick enough as it is, do you really need to RAID them? And that is the only time I'd use 2 smaller drives, unless you're planning to dual boot and have one OS on each. 40GB HDD is about the min I'd put an OS on - but I'd def move the user files off the SSD and onto a HDD in this case. I'd def do it anyway come to that. (Details here: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/how...ia_storage_ssd)

3) chances are with the vertex 2 you're getting 34nm flash still. Not sure what's in the 40GB you're looking at as link went to the 80GB model, but the vertex 2E is likely to have 25nm - and require even more overprovisioning and not be as durable in use. (Less free capacity available for you to use).

see this link: http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...-capacity.html

Get the vertex 2 80GB is my advice

(Or if you want to pay a bit more, get the vertex 2 120GB)

Edit: Depending on what HDD you're running that £30 could be much better spent on a Samsung F3 Spinpoint

First of all thanks for the reply and the useful tips/links.
I've edited the 2nd link and this is the 40GB SSD I was on about. 40GB SSD

Jeez, loosing 5-10GB is a killer man! I guess it's not worth loosing that much haha :]

I'm getting the "1TB Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 64MB Cache, 8 ms" as my HD you think thats better than the Samsung F3?

[miXer]

don't forget vertex 3 will be coming in april 1st, so this may drive prices down to somewhere near £1 a Gb.

What going to be new about the vertex 3?

[yaiko304]

if u won't running Raid, save the £30.

If u check Scan, 60G OCZ just 89.52£. And save you for more. Link Here

I would go to 60G instead of 80G to save my pocket to buy more stuff. Honestly SSD will be my next upgrade, but i am waiting for the next Gen controller model come out to get the older model those on sales.

UPDATE for upper quest: Sandforce 3 will running SATA 6Gb/s with writing speed maximum speed 525 MB/s, reading about 550 MB/sec.

[jim]

I'm getting the "1TB Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 64MB Cache, 8 ms" as my HD you think thats better than the Samsung F3?

No, it's virtually the same.

And get a bigger SSD rather than 2 smaller ones, far better plan long-term.

[miXer]

if u won't running Raid, save the £30.

If u check Scan, 60G OCZ just 89.52£. And save you for more. Link Here

I would go to 60G instead of 80G to save my pocket to buy more stuff. Honestly SSD will be my next upgrade, but i am waiting for the next Gen controller model come out to get the older model those on sales.

I suppose your right there but aren't Vertex 2 better then Vertex 2e?

Plus I wanted 2xSSD's so on one I could install my OS and few applications, whereas my other SSD I wanted to install games on it

[miXer]

No, it's virtually the same.

And get a bigger SSD rather than 2 smaller ones, far better plan long-term.

For £10 more shall I get the:

OCZ Technology Vertex 2 100Gb MLC-Flash, 2.5" SSD Sandforce Controller, Read 285MB/s, Write 275MB/s?

[yaiko304]

I suppose your right there but aren't Vertex 2 better then Vertex 2e?

Plus I wanted 2xSSD's so on one I could install my OS and few applications, whereas my other SSD I wanted to install games on it

Controller is the same, the performance would not a big different.
But you get more storage space in 2E(~13% spare space) version than the original 2(~28% spare space). Those i read on the net, but i will check more.

Here a page for a serie of SSD test, check it.

[ik9000]

isn't it the other way round? more space in the vertex 2? Or actually, more space in the 34nm versions than the 25nm versions since they need less over provisioning.

My 60GB vertex 2 has 55.5GB of useable space it's a 34nm version. A 25nm version has roughly 50GB of useable space. And it's not supposed to be quite as quick. The loss of useable space is due to the increased overprovisioning required to keep it working. 25nm flash is not as durable, so more likely to fail, so more needs to be set aside to keep the drive running normally. At least that's my understanding.

[jim]

For £10 more shall I get the:

OCZ Technology Vertex 2 100Gb MLC-Flash, 2.5" SSD Sandforce Controller, Read 285MB/s, Write 275MB/s?

Personally, I would. £10 for 20GB is great value in the SSD world.

[miXer]

Cheers for all your help guys :]

I've decided to go for the:
OCZ Technology Vertex 2 100Gb MLC-Flash, 2.5" SSD Sandforce Controller, Read 285MB/s, Write 275MB/s
This will be used for my OS + applications and a few games

And I'll be using the:
1TB Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 64MB Cache, 8 ms
For general stuff i.e. more games + applications, music, movie etc

[ik9000]

for a little more than the price of the WD HDD you can get 2 samsung F3 spinpoint 1TB drives. I think I'm right in saying Sata 6Gb/s is really not necessary for a HDD - they can't saturate that much bandwidth. Even sata II (3Gb/s) is too much for them. SSD - now sata III makes a difference there, but not with HDD so far as I understand.

Unless you can find reviews telling you that the WD is 100% quicker than the F3 and quieter and more reliable, and it'll make your tea and father your children sataIII (6Gb/s) is overkill for HDD. Either save yourself £30 and get one F3 or get 2x1TB for roughly the same money.

[jim]

Spot on

[miXer]

for a little more than the price of the WD HDD you can get 2 samsung F3 spinpoint 1TB drives. I think I'm right in saying Sata 6Gb/s is really not necessary for a HDD - they can't saturate that much bandwidth. Even sata II (3Gb/s) is too much for them. SSD - now sata III makes a difference there, but not with HDD so far as I understand.

Unless you can find reviews telling you that the WD is 100% quicker than the F3 and quieter and more reliable, and it'll make your tea and father your children sataIII (6Gb/s) is overkill for HDD. Either save yourself £30 and get one F3 or get 2x1TB for roughly the same money.

Yea I've seen some forums were people have been saying that the Samsung 1Tb Spinpoint F3 Hard Drive - HDD is way better than WD.

So the question is shall I get one F3 hd or 2?