Mushkin vs. Intel SSD ?

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josejones

josejones

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Mushkin vs. Intel SSD ?

I've never had an SSD before and it's time for me to sus out which SSD is best for me and my new build. I'm looking for speed, of course, but, even more importantly reliability and long life-span.

This SSD is just for programs so, I figure all I really needed was a 120g, which is more than enough. I was going to use a regular HD for the rest. Wondering if this is the best set-up for what I need it for?

I was planning on the Intel 520, 120G "Cherryville" but, in the new: Best SSDs For The Money: May 2012
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-review,3194.html

Mushkin prices have really dropped and I'm still unclear which is the better SSD. Those low Mushkin prices could change soon too.

I will be getting an Ivy CPU: i7 3770 and most likely the Gigabyte z77 UD5 and I've been under the impression that only Intel SSD's take advantage of the SSD cache thingy?

We use Adobe CS, Word, Photo Shop, Office, XSite Pro and more almost everyday. We have to build our own websites create our own product description videos and HD documentary DVD's and do fairly large uploads to our manufacturer.

Here's my new build thread for more info:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/333702-31-bridge-work-build
 
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The difference between that setup and that setup without the SSD will be in your OS and program load times. I can't say I've experienced it myself yet, but I hear the difference there is a decent one.

At the same time, we are talking about a difference of around 30 seconds (if I remember right from the TH benchmarks) in startup times. SSDs cut the OS load time to around 15 seconds, so you can expect something similar in loading your other programs. I doubt we are talking about something like a change from a 3 minute load to a 20 second load, but I suppose that is possible if the program is large enough.

Bottom line in my experience: Computers feel 'slow' when I'm waiting on something to load. SSDs shorten that time, so I plan on putting one in my next build. It is worth the cost to me. You just have to make a similar analysis and decision for yourself.
 
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i guarantee that you will not get regret getting a ssd. i can restart my computer in 20 seconds and thats really nice when installing stuff.
 
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I see, so I should still get the SSD - at least it would have my operating system and all my programs on there, which would be speedy in opening programs and quick boot-up and re-start times - which are very important to me. Anything that speeds up boot-up & re-start and opening programs or anything else is a benefit to me as a small business because time is money. It's not just about a minute or two - it's about all those minutes adding up at the end of the day that might add up to an hour or two.
 
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]
you will not regret it trust me.

also im always the first into a map in bf3 so thats a plus.
 
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Please just get a current SATAIII SSD and carry on. Waiting is futile. Any SSD, especially a newer one, will destroy a HDD.

As far as capacities, here is a clip from Tom's new article today on hybrid drives:
"Bottom line: SSDs are expected to remain a premium technology until they're eventually phased out. They'll never match the cost per gigabyte of hard drives, and they'll never catch the growing capacities of hard drives. Very low access times make SSDs ideal for installing an operating system and performance-sensitive applications. But their high cost makes them unsuitable for user data, like music and movie libraries."
 
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The "MX" line is Mushkin's most recently created line of SSDs. Last time I checked, they only make a 120GB version. Here is how the Mushkin lineup breaks down:

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos: This is Mushkin's least expensive line. It uses Asynchronous (the slowest type of) NAND Flash memory chips.

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe MX: As noted above, this is Mushkins newest line of SSDs. It utilizes the faster Synchronous NAND Flash memory chips. These models are designated by a -MX at the end of the model name.

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe: This is Mushkin's most expensive line of SSDs. It has been around longer than the MX line and uses the fastest type of flash memory chips (Toggle NAND). SSDs in this line are designated by a -DX at the end of the model name.


I'm not sure why Mushkin has kept the price of their 120GB -DX model so high, but, since they have, the 240GB -DX model is absolutely the best buy for any Mushkin SSD right now.
 
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^ Thanks for those details. I was unaware.

So, the DX model is faster than the MX model. The DX models are more expensive because they use the "fastest type of flash memory chips (Toggle NAND)."

Is the reliability and life-span about the same or no?
 
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I maintain the ssd database listed in the sticky at the very top of this forum section.

Here is the link to the ssd database:

http://www.johnnylucky.org/data-storage/ssd-database.html

Scroll down to the Mushkin section where you will find 4 current SATA III 6Gb/s models. Follow the links to the technical reviews for the model you are interested in.

Note - A lot of advertising uses the word "Enhanced". There is also some advertising that does not use the word "Enhanced". If you click on the links to the Mushkin product pages you will see that Mushkin does not use the word "Enhanced". Since Mushkin did not use it on their own web site I didn't use it either.
 
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To answer your last question first: The drive comes with a 3 year manufacturer warranty. I've also been told Mushkin (or at least their customer service center) is operated out of Colorado.

Check out the most recent 5 Egg rating (dated 5/15/12 and quoted below):

Pros: Guys, this is the real deal! This is the same as Vertex 3 MaxIOPS, contains 32 nm Toggle mode Nand from Toshiba and it gets similar performance to the Vertex 3 MaxIOPS, all that for half the price of the Vertex!!!! Check-out the latest review from xbitlabs.

I got mine when it was 260$. Now I'm looking to buy another one to make a RAID array.

Cons: Sandforce controllers have some issues with certain hardware.

Other Thoughts: Be sure to put the latest firmware for the SSD when you get it. It's 5.02. You can install it later, the firmware updater allows you to update the firmware even if you are running the OS from the SSD.
Click to expand...
That review is from a guy who had already owned the drive for a while (over a month, which is longer than most who reported problems). What caught my eye is the section I underlined. Here's why: I read each of the 1 egg reviews, and I noticed many of them had one thing in common; they were installing the drive into a pre-existing, store bought system (translation: old internal hardware) or were custom built with old hardware, specifically the motherboard. The Sandforce 22xx (usually 2281) is used in the majority of current model SSDs, and is Sandforce's latest controller. Given that the SSD controller is the part of the SSD that actually interfaces with the motherboard (and therefore the rest of the system), I could see it not working well with older hardware because that hardware might not be able to handle something so advanced. I also noticed that the vast majority of those 1 star reviews came in April and May of this year. There were only three 1 Egg reviews from March or earlier.

Whenever I see a large number of 1 Egg/Star product reviews on a website, I always try to determine the context in which they were written. I have been doing professional IT work in an office setting for over 5 years, so I can honestly say I believe myself to have a very high level of tech experience. Many of those reviewers claim the highest level of tech experience, but I have a hard time believing that with how they were written. They sound to me more like they were written by an average consumer who got the drive and threw up their hands at the first sign of difficulty then went off to write an angry review. When I read a negative review that obviously comes from a level-headed frame of mind and includes information about how and why the product they purchased was the actual problem, then I'm inclined to give that review a lot more weight. When I see a bunch of "angry" reviews like this, I tend to look at them as more of something to note or possibly research a little more before buying, but they won't often keep me from purchasing that product.

The other important thing I noticed about those reviews is that there were a lot of responses from the manufacturer, even when the person already said they were working on an RMA with the company. That right there is a huge redeeming factor for me. It tells me that this manufacturer actually stands by their product and truly wants to provide good customer service.


I'll close with one more tidbit about myself: I don't (yet) personally own any computers running solid state drives at this moment. So I am not claiming to have any first-hand experience with this, or any other model of SSD. I wish I did, and I have been making plans for the past 6 months to build a current computer. As a result, I have been doing a lot of research and staying up to date on changes in current PC components. I can say with relative confidence that my research points to this Mushkin line and the Samsung 830 series as the top of the line SSDs in quality and performance. Right behind them (I believe) would come the Crucial m4 Series (great quality but uses Asynchronous memory if I remember right) and the Patriot Wildfire line (Uses Toggle NAND memory, but I haven't read a lot either way regarding their dependability). When I do get the money to build, I am hoping to be able to use one of these Mushkin drives myself. So take everything I say with a grain of salt, knowing that I don't yet have any first-hand experience installing or troubleshooting a Solid State Drive.
 
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^ Personally, I never look at "tech Knowledge" as it is very subjective - ie compared to whom. And in what area, IT, Electronics, boiling water. Building a Computer has boiled down to putting together a Kit and does not imply the "Builder" has a High level of understanding the electronics. Unfortunately, I'd probably rate many ETs as only somewhat knowledgeable, and a few that I've met as LOW.

While you are correct about some of the 1&2 reviews are the Individual, and NOT the product - Being generous on the word "some" If I take SSD A with say 100 reviews and compare to SSD B with a 100 reviews, It safe to say that The percentage of Individual caused problems should be close to the same. If SSD A has 20% 1/2 ratings and SSD B has only 10%, then Mostly SSD B would be the better bet. Hard to factor in but If SSD A has a Much Lower price that will attract less Knowledgeable Buyer, hence higher percentage of 1/2 ratings. Generally there is a reason for large price differences. IE compare the price of the Agility III vs say Samsung 830.

As to performance, many base performance on ATTO Bench mark - Totally worthless as a Judge of real life performance. There is Not enough performance difference between most of the upper end SSDs to warrant using performance as a main criteria - should be reliability.
 
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Yeah, thanks for all the helpful information.

So, if reliability and long life-span are most important to me, as far as Mushkin goes, I should get the Mushkin DX SSD rather than the cheaper MX version.
 
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yeah get the DX and the 240 gb version of it as well. thats what id get.
 
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I'm about to begin ordering for this build so, I need some last minute thoughts on this Mushkin SSD, is the DX version really that much better than the MX - it's just soooo much more expensive? If so, I might just get the 240g but it almost doubles the cost:

$114 MX 120g: "Mushkins newest line of SSDs. It utilizes the faster Synchronous NAND Flash"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226318

$185 DX 120g: "been around longer than the MX line and uses the fastest type of flash memory chips (Toggle NAND)"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226225

$199 DX 240g
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226226

I really need to cut back on some costs though but, I don't want to regret it later.
 
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I'm in a bit of a pickle with my new Ivy Bridge i7 build and could use some thoughts from those who actually have SSD's. I'm trying to cut some costs and the only way I can see doing that is to cut the SSD and stick with a HD - at least for now. I'm considering a PCIe 3.0 SSD card in the future.

My choices are:

a) Get a 120g SSD and have to re-use our already 2 year old (warranty is over) Caviar Blue 500g 16 cache SATA 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

b) Lose the SSD for now and go with a new Caviar Black 1T Sata 3 (6g/ps) 64 cache with a 5 year warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

c) Go over budget and get both the SSD and the new 1T HD. Is the Caviar Black really worth the extra money - it does come with a 5 year warranty?

d) Wait for improved and cheaper SSD's in the near future or wait for a PCIe 3.0 SSD card at 12 or 16 g/ps?
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/280390-32-sata-satae

What would you do?

If I wait on an SSD now and get one say at Xmas time will it make more work for me by having to re-format the HD - or will it be as easy as just adding the new SSD? What all would be involved?
 
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