My SSD experience

[fusion509]

So i got an ocz vertex 30gb ssd for Christmas, and it is amazing. I use it as my main boot drive for windows 7. I use my old 160gb hd for installing all my games and other programs. I would have to say that my boot time is between 10-14 seconds. I would definitely recommend this ssd to anyone, and i have had no problems so far(knock on wood). SSD is the way of the future.

Hd tach test

[TF2]

So i got an ocz vertex 30gb ssd for Christmas, and it is amazing. I use it as my main boot drive for windows 7. I use my old 160gb hd for installing all my games and other programs. I would have to say that my boot time is between 10-14 seconds. I would definitely recommend this ssd to anyone, and i have had no problems so far(knock on wood). SSD is the way of the future.

Hd tach test

Thanks, I was wondering what the boot time would be if I bought one of these. Is the turbo version faster? I am probably going to wait still, then I will get 2 60gb Vertex's.

[dejo]

I had 2 60 vertex's and now have 2 80 intels, I would go with the intels everytime as it is right now. the vertex is about as expensive as the intels and have 20gb less space and the 4k writes is where its at. just my 02

[CompuTamer]

What all did you do when you got this drive?
Cause i'm not getting anything near that in ANY software :(

[flopper]

What all did you do when you got this drive?
Cause i'm not getting anything near that in ANY software :(

use ahci in bios.
enable the ssd write cache in windows.
there is a ton of info at ocz how to get the best out of the drives.

[Vengance_01]

the 30GB Vertex can be had for 100$ AMIR and makes a great OS drive. Also it supports trim too. In your day to day, how different does it really feel. I am really thinking hard about a cheap Vertex or that new 40GB Kingston. Then use my 2 640WDs in raid 0 in 3 slices: 1 Games: 2 Data: 3: Vmware stuff. :bday:

[fusion509]

In your day to day, how different does it really feel.

The main thing that i notice is the boot time and shutdown time. Since i have not installed any programs on it i would not know any differences there.

[Luie]

It's fast enough to be slightly noticeable when using programs other than bootup and shutdown.
There is a big noticeable speedup when loading big files like VMs.

[jmdixon85]

Would love to see what difference you see in day to day use when you install your programs and have a few days testing time. I don't have the $$$ to get a large SSD for my games and programs but a small SSD just for Win7 appeals to me somewhat. One thing that concerns me is the dreaded micro-stutter problem.

[Mr Alpha]

The dreaded micro-stutter issue was a problem of the design of the JMicron SSD controller. Modern Intel, Indilinx or Samsung controllers do not have this problem.

[EarthDog]

HDTach does NOT provide accurate, but especially consistent results with SSDs!! Please rebench with ATTO or Crystal Disk Mark or something else that was made for SSDs!

As far as your boot time, try Bootracer. Its free and gives pretty accurate results. I booted in 21 seconds (inlcudes POST) with the setup in sig. I cant imagine you would be significantly less that that...if so, IMPRESSIVE!!!

There is no microstutter issue on non Jmicron controllers.

I swear, there is a ton a of misinformation being propogated about SSD's these days. Heck, our very own Storage CE mentioned some issues but has yet to support it...(still waiting Joe to see what I may have missed).

[jmdixon85]

I didn't think the micro-stutter was specific to Jmicron controllers. Am I right in thinking that any SSD with a write cache should solve the stutter problem?

[EarthDog]

Write cache should be enabled anyway, however I thought it was specific to the controller as well. Though admitedly, I do not recall for certain. I more so thought it was associated with drives with no cache and it would have to write immediately, but again, I do not recall for certain.

[jmdixon85]

Sorry I may not have explained that very well. i don't mean the windows write cache but actually a write buffer on the SSD itself.

[EarthDog]

Maybe thats part of the controllers we mentioned, no idea bud...

[jmdixon85]

I'm just waiting for the OP to write back with his experiance. Might be worth getting a small SSD for the OS only. Will have to do my research on the micro-stutter tho. Don't want to get that, lol.

[EarthDog]

Its non existent really with a quality drive. We are not pulling your chain. I love my SSD. And the boot times and load times are just night and day compared to my raptor.

[jmdixon85]

So whats installed on your SSD Earthdog? I can maybe afford to install Win7 and my main programs on a SSD but theres no way I can afford one big enough for my games aswell.

[EarthDog]

I have a trimmed OS (Vlite) and my W7 install was less than 10GB IIRC, I have two games (COD4+ 1GB of maps and Crysis) and all my programs. I currently sit at 35GB used.

[Mr Alpha]

I didn't think the micro-stutter was specific to Jmicron controllers. Am I right in thinking that any SSD with a write cache should solve the stutter problem?I'm sure if you'd use a flash card or something like that then it would stutter as well, but amongst the SSDs targeted at desktops only the JMicron and earlier controllers had that problem. A write cache on the SSD is one way to deal with the problem, although it is not a complete solution. The controller also needs to be smart with how it deals with cleaning blocks of flash. I believe Indilinx, Intel and Samsung all use some form of write-back cache on the the SSD itself.

[jmdixon85]

I don't think I could fit eveything onto a 60GB SSD, even with a trimmed OS. Along with Win7 & MS office I have the following games installed:

GTA4
Dirt
Grid
star trek legacy

I'm currently using nearly 80GB. :(

[Raptor77]

I don't think I could fit eveything onto a 60GB SSD, even with a trimmed OS.

If you're still looking for opinions, I haven't done any tests so all of my SSD experience is just day to day "feel".

Programs definitely open noticeably faster. Word, Excel etc open in 1-2 seconds for example. I haven't timed my boot and shut down, to be honest that doesn't feel like it changed so much but it was pretty quick anyway.

I have 43GB on my SSD at the moment; W7, Office, all most all of my non-gaming programs, and Crysis Maximum Edition. Games and music etc are elsewhere. I should probably try Crysis out as the SSD should have improved the level load times but I played through both games twice each just before getting my SSD and I haven't felt like opening it since. Will also soon try out some VM stuff, I'm not too familiar with this but it's use is required for uni I'm currently (or should be :sly:) doing.