> -----Original Message----- > From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware- > boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Bino Gopal > Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 5:54 PM > To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com > Subject: Re: [H] SSD Time............. > > To Anthony's comment, I was pretty set on getting a 80 or 160GB Intel > G2 of > the X-25M version (which is 2.5" MLC). > > http://techreport.com/articles.x/17269 > > But as I read more reviews, I saw the write speeds on the X-25E (which > is > 2.5" SLC) are significantly higher, though the cost is of course > correspondingly higher too... > > http://techreport.com/articles.x/15931
The X25-E has a substantially higher sequential write rate, yes, but that doesn't really translate very well to real-world speeds for end-user scenarios. The G2 isn't in that chart, either. For the record, the G2 MLC drive delivers better 4k random write IOPS than the SLC X25-E--which is far more important than sequential performance. > > > What're people's opinions on whether the X-25E is worth the premium > over the > X-25M? SLC is supposed to last longer...I don't see anything about > TRIM > support for the E line though; is that b/c it doesn't need it? > TRIM still provides benefit for SLC drives, but it is indeed less of an impact. However, the reason why the X25-E doesn't have it has nothing to do with need, and everything to do with the fact that the X25-E has not been moved to their new 34nm flash and updated controller. Intel has chosen to abandon early adopters and only provide TRIM support for those of us on their 34nm platform (G2). SLC can indeed nominally sustain 10 times more write cycles, but frankly, it's pretty irrelevant for end-user usage. If you were running SQL Server and a moderately heavy transactional application hitting it, sure, but for end-user use? Not worth the expense IMO. By the time it does wear out (and it has a 3-year warranty from Intel, btw), you'll want to move to something far better anyway. On a side note, I generally love Tech Report, but I've found any review where they've analyzed SSDs to be...sub-par.
