#1: P67 or Z68? #2: SSD question?

[brianosaur]

#1: P67 or Z68? From what I've read so far it doesn't seem like *too much* of an advantage.

Pro's of Z68?

#2: I am considering getting a SSD.

Am I better off getting two 64gb SSD's ($150 ea) and doing a Raid 0 or getting a single 128gb ($260). I am assuming the Raid will always be faster so what would be the pro of a single SSD other then saving $40?

Problem is the SSD wasn't in my original budget game plan, as I was just going to use my existing HDD's.

Is the SSD well worth it? (performance/cost)

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by brianosaur #1: P67 or Z68? From what I've read so far it doesn't seem like *too much* of an advantage. Pro's of Z68? #2: I am considering getting a SSD. Am I better off getting two 64gb SSD's ($150 ea) and doing a Raid 0 or getting a single 128gb ($260). I am assuming the Raid will always be faster so what would be the pro of a single SSD other then saving $40? Problem is the SSD wasn't in my original budget game plan, as I was just going to use my existing HDD's. Is the SSD well worth it? (performance/cost)

The Pro's for the Z68 chipset is that it allows overclocking of the CPU and memory while having the integrated graphics. the H67 chipset allowed for GPU overclocking but didn't let you overclock the CPU and memory. The Z68 also allows for SSD caching or now called Intel Smart Response Technology whereas the P67 chipset does not. According to Intel, "Smart Response Technology takes a page from enterprise storage architecture and lets you use a small SSD as a full read/write cache for a hard drive or RAID array." In terms of performance, based on what I read, you'll still get better overall performance by using a larger SSD (80 -160GB), putting your OS + applications on it, and manually moving all of your large media files to a separate hard drive.

I have no idea if it is an advantage or hype, I have not got my hands on a Z68 board yet. In terms of stability, the P67 is very good. If you are using a discrete video card anyway, then I would opt for the known stability of the P67 Chipset. I can also see the advantage of the Z68 chipset for those users who do not require a discrete graphics card. The added bonus may be the SRT but then again, I have not read any great reviews on the SRT, like it something we have been missing.

There is a speed advantage to SSD but I would stick with the Intel's because of their controllers. Boot times are noticably faster, read and write times are obvious as well. Do they justify the cost? Not for me but I have had a few customers that are willing to pay for it. I have had virtually no problems with the Intel's other than a user bricking the firmware.

[SARGE]

Originally Posted by brianosaur #1: P67 or Z68? From what I've read so far it doesn't seem like *too much* of an advantage. Pro's of Z68? #2: I am considering getting a SSD. Am I better off getting two 64gb SSD's ($150 ea) and doing a Raid 0 or getting a single 128gb ($260). I am assuming the Raid will always be faster so what would be the pro of a single SSD other then saving $40? Problem is the SSD wasn't in my original budget game plan, as I was just going to use my existing HDD's. Is the SSD well worth it? (performance/cost)

For me, yes. For the life of me I can't find the bookmark that compared the 128 to the 64, but it said 128 faster for a particular reason. My bad. I have both and there is a difference in speed between the 2, and when either SSDs compared to my Barracuda XT and WD Caviar, a no brainer. I'll never use a regular hd again.

Newegg.com - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

[glc]

I wouldn't even CONSIDER running SSD's in RAID, ESPECIALLY RAID 0.

[SARGE]

OK. I read he was looking for a single SSD and/or something fast, be it Raid or whatever:

"Am I better off getting two 64gb SSD's ($150 ea) and doing a Raid 0 or getting a single 128gb ($260). I am assuming the Raid will always be faster so what would be the pro of a single SSD other then saving $40?"

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by SARGE OK. I read he was looking for a single SSD and/or something fast, be it Raid or whatever: "Am I better off getting two 64gb SSD's ($150 ea) and doing a Raid 0 or getting a single 128gb ($260). I am assuming the Raid will always be faster so what would be the pro of a single SSD other then saving $40?"

Introduction - Intel Smart Response Technology - SRT | [H]ard|OCP

[Preston]

Originally Posted by brianosaur #1: P67 or Z68? From what I've read so far it doesn't seem like *too much* of an advantage. Pro's of Z68? [B]I am assuming the Raid will always be faster so what would be the pro of a single SSD other then saving $40? Is the SSD well worth it? (performance/cost)

I'm not a fan of RAID 0 with any type of drive...you are basically "halving" your reliability.

I AM a big fan of Intel SSDs (well documented here on the PC Mech Forums). Go with the single bigger drive.

[brianosaur]

Originally Posted by glc I wouldn't even CONSIDER running SSD's in RAID, ESPECIALLY RAID 0.

Putting aside the Raid 0 argument bc of the chance of one day losing data -
I am curious why not? Tom's thinks it's ok

Benchmarks SSD RAID 0 Charts 2011

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/ssd-ra...iew-32151.html

I ran Raid 0 for several years with original Raptors and never had a problem,'
I also image my partitions to a separate hdd anyway, so Im not too concerned about drive failure.

*******************

Nevermind - I thought I could enable trim in RAID with RST 9.6 but I see thats only for drives not actually in the raid. 1 larger SSD it is

[brianosaur]

Originally Posted by SARGE I have both and there is a difference in speed between the 2, and when either SSDs compared to my Barracuda XT and WD Caviar, a no brainer. I'll never use a regular hd again.

So the 128 is faster then then 64 and both are WAY faster then any HDD?

[brianosaur]

Are SSD's able to reach SATA 3 capacities?

Will Sandforce give me real world performance increase?

[glc]

Threads merged.

Crucial has Sata 6.0 SSD's. That's what Sarge has. Long term reliability has not yet been established but they are certainly fast - and expensive.

[jdeb]

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Hard Drives, SSD, Intel, SATA III