SSDs (Solid state drives)

I have read that you can have a pause of several seconds with them, new Intell one dose not do this but cost more.
 
The actual recall should not lag as it is just like reading a flash drive. However, it is a very new technology in this size so there may be some issues with the recall methods or the transfer of the data, but this should improve over time, and hopefully the price will drop as well.
 
I'm also looking into the SSD techhnology since a while, especially as I'll need to use a notebook due to much travel. Anyway, based on my current research results, here's my personal bottom line so far:

As a main, replacement drive (system and data) there are not many options to go: Most current 'cheap' SSD's are based on MLC type flash modules, which obviously lags in sequential write and read performance. Mostly the controllers seem to limit performance in addition.
First learning: It must be based on SLC technology to really take advantage it seems - 'quite' expensive.

The cheaper MLC SSD may do the Trainz job very well as dedicated, additional drive, as reading data is the main thing here.

I found these reviews useful:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/flash-ssd-hard-drive,review-31258.html

Not included is the newer Intel SSD, which contains a new controller and outperforms the other SSD:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Intel-x25-m-SSD,review-31316-15.html

Unfortunately to expensive to test it on my own, but will keep an eye on it ;)

Regards - Dirk
 
Remember when a processor cost £200 OEM? This is another one of those situations where in 5 or 10 years every new computer will have a SSD in it, as the price will have dropped rapidly, as well as their performance increasing at a perpendicular level, so a graph of price/performance would look like this:
x
Mean what I see? (See what I mean?)
 
I'm still watching closely how things around SSD are developing, so may be a good idea to add some update on this topic after half a year. There are some interesting reviews and findings in between:
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/16979 -> really worth to read to understand some technical gaps and bottle necks the new technology could cause.

Tests and comparison:
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/16848
http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3535
http://hothardware.com/Articles/Four-Way-SSD-Round-Up-Redux-OCZ-Corsair-Kingston-Super-Talent/

German only:
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/hardware/laufwerke/2009/test_hdd_ssd/
http://www.barebonecenter.de/index.php/Festplatten/Intel-X25-M-80-GB.html

My personal bottom line:
It comes down to the controller and cache size that really matters here. Only Intel seems to handle it well in the light of long term reliability, especially when drives enter the 'used' state (which happens quickly if most of the space is used initially already). I personally would avoid JMicron based drives. The Raid0 implementation of 2 Jmicron sounds like a promising workaround for the lack of (write) performance, but I have doubts that this pays off in case of the many very small files Trainz actually brings in. The Indilinx controller looks promising as well, but obviously has it's problems, so to early to recommend it as a solid alternative, I guess.
Currently I'd definitely go for the Intel X25-M / Kingston SSDNow M-Series if prices drop below the EUR 400 mark for the 160GB drive. It seems these drives are still the first choice if long term reliablity and performance are on top of the list. Before bying one, I'll wait for some feedback within the company I'm working for: They just deployed about 500 HP notebooks with the 80GB Intel drive to the sales force. Wondering, what this very critical audience will report ;)

Regards - Dirk
 
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