Good SSD for virtual machines?

[blizeH]

Hi all,

I'm finally going to invest in an SSD I think. I have 5 VMs split over 3 hard drives at the moment, and am hoping to move at least three of them onto a single SSD, so it'd look something like:

1x1TB hard drive with my windows install, also has a partition for data and one VM
1x2TB hard drive for storage, has one VM
1xSSD purely for VMs

each VM is around 15GB, so I think 80GB would be fine (I could run 4 then simultaneously, if possible) but 120GB may be better.

Also, would my regular SATA lead work? And are SSDs the same size as older style hard drives?

Thank you!

[Saracen]

.... And are SSDs the same size as older style hard drives?[/B]

They come in various shapes and sizes, including PCI cards, but the general answer to that is .... yes, and no. The most common form factor is 2.5" drives, so they are about the same size as laptop hard drives, but a lot smaller than the conventional 3.5" desktop HDs. You can get adapter kits for a few quid, or alternatively, bodge something together.

[blizeH]

I'm looking at the choices at the moment and it's confusing to be honest, I'm guessing 2.5" is the smaller size drive, so I'd want either one of those and an adapter, or a 3.5"? Silly question, but my computer only has 2 HDD slots (stupid Dell, lol) so maybe I could get a smaller one and not screw it in properly? Or is that a terrible idea?

Looking at this one maybe: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120gb...-write-270mb-s

Or maybe this 3.5 one? http://www.scan.co.uk/products/90gb-...b-s-50000-iops

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would look at the Crucial M4 or Intel 320 series as these are probably the most reliable of the current SSDs.

[blizeH]

They come in various shapes and sizes, including PCI cards, but the general answer to that is .... yes, and no. The most common form factor is 2.5" drives, so they are about the same size as laptop hard drives, but a lot smaller than the conventional 3.5" desktop HDs. You can get adapter kits for a few quid, or alternatively, bodge something together.

Huge thanks for this, and sorry I posted my reply before managing to read this!

I'm tempted to order it and try to bodge something together, if it works, great, since it'll free up some space in my case anyway (my third hard drive is precariously screwed into the media port right now) but if it doesn't work out, I can order a case at a later date, I guess?

[blizeH]

I would look at the Crucial M4 or Intel 320 series as these are probably the most reliable of the current SSDs.

Many thanks, the Intel 320 seems to be slower than another couple I'm looking at, so will maybe go with the M4?

I was wondering, which would be best from the Corsair Force Series 3 (£128.54) and Crucial M4 (£147.74, out of stock!)? Is the M4 worth the extra £20 or so for the reliability? The write speeds on the two are very similar, but the Corsair actually has a much faster read speed, as well as being cheaper.

Thanks again

[blizeH]

Having read some reviews, it seems the M4 is definitely the way to go, will check on the scan forum now to see when it's back in stock

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Many thanks, the Intel 320 seems to be slower than another couple I'm looking at, so will maybe go with the M4?

I was wondering, which would be best from the Corsair Force Series 3 (£128.54) and Crucial M4 (£147.74, out of stock!)? Is the M4 worth the extra £20 or so for the reliability? The write speeds on the two are very similar, but the Corsair actually has a much faster read speed, as well as being cheaper.

Thanks again

The M4 uses synchronous NAND whereas the Force3 uses asynchronous NAND so the figures are not entirely accurate. On top of this the M4 with the latest 009 firmware has decent speed improvements. On Xtremesystems someone has tested the long term reliability of many SSDs by extended writing tests. So far the 64GB M4 has survived 171TB of data being written to it!!

The Force3 and similar drives have had issues unlike the M4. The Force3 even had a recall soon after launch although the latest firmware is meant to improve the issues it has.

[blizeH]

Wow! That's fantastic, thank you. Seems like the M4 is definitely the way to go then.

I'm going to just order it, and hope the connectors on the PSU I'm going to order with it (Antec TruePower 650w) work just fine, as well as the SATA connector I have going into my drive. With regards to the size, it may actually be a better fit than what I have at the moment, assuming the screw positions are similar to how a media adapter would be.

Also with regards to how many VMs I can run, I'll just try it and see - maybe I can run 3, maybe I can run all 5. 128GB would give me that option, should they all run nicely at once.

[Saracen]

Another possibility might be the Kingston 96GB V+100.

It's not as fast as the M4 but is still an SSD and still fast compared to HD. Last time I looked (a couple of weeks ago but prices seem all over the place at the moment), they were around £80 for the bare drive, and £95 including the 3.5" adapter, external case and TrueImage (of some version).

It's a lot of capacity for the money, in SSD terms. So if you're hesitating between 64GB and 128GB, it might be a good half-way house. It depends on whether performance is the absolute priority, or if value for money is.

[blizeH]

Many thanks, that looks to be a fantastic drive and as you said, a great price!

That's really thrown a spanner in the works, since it's essentially less than a third of the price of the M4, although it is only half as fast.

If it's reliable etc, it may be a good option, but if I'm potentially running 5 virtual machines at the same time, the extra speed could come in handy? /confused.

(edit) the regular drive is £90 or so, and the bundle just over £110 btw.

[Saracen]

....

That's really thrown a spanner in the works, ....

Sorry.

To be honest, I did hesitate before posting for exactly that reason. But then, in your shoes, I'd hate to be told about that just after I ordered.

....bundle just over £110 btw.

It seems to yo-yo.

I've been watching Amazon, and had it in my basket for about a month.

First, it was about £94. Then £110, then back to £95, then just over £100. Yesterday (*), it was £127. Today, £125. Oh, and I mean as supplied by Amazon, not by someone else, though them.

Tomorrow? Who the hell knows.

Put it this way, it's oscillated between £95 and £125-ish at least three times in about as many weeks. So it might go back down, or that might have been special offers that have gone, never to return. Or it might be that it's end-of-line and Kingston were depleting stocks.





(*) I have one in my basket, and looked at the basket yesterday, but not at that. Today, I get notification of the price drop, so have both figures.

[blizeH]

Ah I see, thank you! It sounds like a great drive, so I appreciate the heads up - if it were actually £95 for the full bundle, of £80 for the drive, I think I'd go for that one without hesitation, but as it stands, when I'm running 5 VMs and want maximum performance, I do wonder if it's worth spending a little extra and getting the M4. Hm, decisions decisions!

[blizeH]

By the way, my PC is this one: http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell...ad-core-625260 but with more RAM, new GPU and different PSU.

What's the likelehood it even supports the faster SSD? Hmm.

[Saracen]

By the way, my PC is this one: http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell...ad-core-625260 but with more RAM, new GPU and different PSU.

What's the likelehood it even supports the faster SSD? Hmm.

I'd be stunned if it didn't support it. They're SATA SSDs and that machine uses SATA HDs, so I'd say there's no doubt it supports it. Whether it maximises the benefit is another matter, the later SSDs being SATA 3. Can't help there, I'm afraid as I'm still on SATA-2.

Two things, just in case you aren't aware. First, SATA3 drives are backward-compatible, meaning you can use them on SATA-2. Second, how much real world difference it'll make with a late-model drive on SATA-2 compared to SATA-3 needs testing with benchmarks and/or real-world data to tell, but it might well not be as much as you might think. I;m sure someone round here can tell you, though, havging either done it or at least studied tests of those that have.

[blizeH]

Many thanks! I'll take the plunge then, and if my motherboard only supports SATA-2 then it shouldn't hurt due to the backwards compatibility, then if I do invest in a new PC at any point I'll really start to reap the benefits

Still undecided on which drive, tempted to spend a little extra for (potentially) double the speed, and the extra capacity could come in handy, I think each VM I have uses around 16GB, so it'd be a squeeze to get 5 of them onto the 96GB drive, maybe. But it's still £50 more expensive!