Hi,

 

Over the next few months, I will be making the transition to a full SSD system. I plan on using a 240GB main drive for my OS and programs and using my 120GB ADATA SSD[already own it] for FSX.

 

I am really overwhelmed with the market being flooded with so many choices and so many brands. I really need a bit of an SSD 'compass' on what I need to look for. I would appreciate it if you guys could give me some ideas on what kind of drive I should be looking for.

 

The three things that are most important to me are this:

 

-VERY Reliable [i can't have glitchy firmware...Needs TRIM...Lots of write cycles...etc]

-Speed, I would prefer a newer SATAIII drive, but I am not all about getting the fastest drive. Reliability is much more important for me.

-Storage, as stated above, I am looking for a 240 (or 256GB) SSD

 

All help is greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks everyone!

I'd go for Corsair GS or even wait for Neutron GTX series... I'll probably get one of those in a few months.

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It's a bit like asking who makes the best Oranges really as most of them use the same components and even the best manufacturer will produce a dud one occasionally but having only ever had Kingston and never having had any issues I will have to vote for them.

I've said this before, but right now I would avoid Asynchronous NAND SSD's.

 

Something like a Vertex 4, Samsung 830 or Crucial M4 is what I would go for

but right now I would avoid Asynchronous NAND SSD's.

 

Thanks for the help. I think I'll likely end up on the Crucial M4. - Most reviews that I just read seem to be a bit better than OCZ.

I use OCZs. They've all lasted me for a couple years and just keep getting faster. My intel SSD died after only a few months of use. Also had a G-skill SSD but I sold it cuz I needed the money.

 

I'm not going to vote because performance is all pretty much very similar once you get in the same price ranges. My FSX has less blurries off an SSD which I found funny, but maybe it was just my setup. Have it on a raptor drive now.

I highly recommend a 240-256 GB SSD for FSX if you want to have a decent amount of scenery and aircraft. You will run out of space quick with anything smaller. Take my word, I have had to go through two SSD upgrades due to size limitations. As for your question, I have been very pleased with Crucial.

I highly recommend a 240-256 GB SSD for FSX if you want to have a decent amount of scenery and aircraft. You will run out of space quick with anything smaller. Take my word, I have had to go through two SSD upgrades due to size limitations. As for your question, I have been very pleased with Crucial.

 

I've been using FSX for years and the largest I have ever hit was 120GB. I am not the kind of simmer that installs tons of addons. Typically, I use the NGX, a few GAs, and a few airports.

Isn't Intel one of the best ones these days but their prices are kind of high.

 

For recommendation I think Samung 830 is great. Good stability, speed and price. All the good things an SSD buyer could dream of.:)

I have a Crucial M4. Hasn't missed a beat yet.

 

I wouldn't go near OCZ - they have a terrible track record.

 

Intel are the best, followed by Samsung. My next SSD will be the Samsung 830 series.

I have a Crucial M4. Hasn't missed a beat yet.

 

I wouldn't go near OCZ - they have a terrible track record.

 

Intel are the best, followed by Samsung. My next SSD will be the Samsung 830 series.

 

Don't know where you got that from...

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/373655-ocz-is-a-very-good-company/

I have heard that although relatively slow and more expensive, Intel's drives are very reliable.

I have 3 OCZ SSDs, 1 in each of 3 systems right now. A Vertex 4 512GB in my primary system, an Agility 4 256GB in my wife's laptop, and an Octane 128GB in my secondary machine and they're all very fast. Particularly good price to performance ratio on the Agility line, OCZ has been very aggressive with price cuts of this product family to better align with market expectations. I had an issue with one of the drives but that was swiftly replaced under RMA and have had no issues with it since. The original drive was a Petrol 128GB and it was by far the cheapest drive at the store in its size range. OCZ replaced it with the Octane 128GB which is a much better drive (significantly faster and no widespread issues unlike the Petrol drive).

 

All in all, I'd say OCZ makes pretty good SSDs, at least for this product generation. Samsung would be my next choice as their 830 line is at the top of most benchmark results and doesn't have any major issues that I've heard of. Corsair would probably be my next choice. I've never been impressed with Crucial's SSDs, they sound good on paper but in practice I was underwhelmed with a pair of M4s in a dual Xeon workstation I setup a couple months back. Intel's SSDs this generation are solid, but nowhere near the top of the charts in either price or performance so their value is quite low IMHO, though a recent price drop has at least made them more competitive (still not as good as OCZ on this front though). Plextor's new M5 looks to be good, but it's brand new so no reliability info yet. Kingston actually has some decent offerings as well, but again you'll want to avoid the entry level products here to get decent quality. Patriot and Sandisk are a couple other brands that offer good price to performance, not sure on reliability though.

 

I think that about covers it...

 

Edit: oh yeah, Mushkin, Adata, and Zalman. I'd put Mushkin and Adata right in the middle of the pack with the likes of Kingston and Sandisk. Zalman is really an unknown but their quality overall tends to be good on other products.

This is the frustrating part of SSDs... So many different reviews... So overwhelming lol

 

I still am kind of clueless lf what to get LOL Maybe an OCZ Vertex 4...?