Should I wait to buy 3rd gen SSD?

[faromic]

I just built a new system.

ASUS P6X58D-E
Intel Core i7-950
GSkill 6GB Pi Series DDR3
EVGA GTX 470
1TB WD Black Caviar SATA III

I want to buy a SSD as my boot drive. However, I've been reading a lot the last couple days about new 3rd gen SSD's coming out this month. I'm wondering whether I should wait or just get one now. If I do get one now I'm leaning toward the OCZ Vertex 2. I'm pretty new to SSD's but I've also read you have to "set them up". I'm not really sure what that consists of but I know some are harder than others. Any thoughts?
Thanks

 

[tecmo34]

1) At this point in the game, I see no reason not to wait to see their performance or at best how much they cut the price of Gen 2 one.

2) As for setting up a SSD, the biggest thing is setting your controller to AHCI. After that, it is really about updating your firmware prior to install and "tweaks". Here is an article I wrote on "tweaks" that should help you out... http://www.computing.net/howtos/show/solid-state-drive-ssd-tweaks-for-windows-7/552.html

 

[fullofzen]

Can someone point me to a link explaining the difference between these so-called generations 2 and 3?

 

[LordConrad]

I'd go for the current SSDs because of clearance pricing. If you're willing to pay full price, the new drives will be faster.

 

[faromic]

Which would you suggest? I've been eyeing the Vertex 2. I'm thinking 2...one for OS and one for certain apps. The only reason I thought about waiting was because I read a lot of people talking about how the new sanforce controller is more reliable in terms of losing data. thanks

 

[mark_k]

Well it looks like you have found and read some good stuff.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

^5 +1 what tecmo34 said.

I'm playing the waiting game too. Corsair released their new Performance 3 series of ssd's a few days ago. The rest of the companies will be releasing new drives with new controllers between now and May.

Earlier today while checking other web sites for ssd news and updates I stumbled across an article about the new PCI-e 3.0 standard. The bandwidth is amazing. PCI-e 3.0 based ssd's will make SATA based ssd's obsolete. There is speculation whether Intel will incorporate PCI-e 3.0 in their new stuff to be introduced later this year. They will definitely incorporate it next year.

If you are in the USA, then Monday, February 21st is a national holiday. It's Presidents Day and I'm hoping for a big sale.

 

[LordConrad]

Which would you suggest? I've been eyeing the Vertex 2. I'm thinking 2...one for OS and one for certain apps. The only reason I thought about waiting was because I read a lot of people talking about how the new sanforce controller is more reliable in terms of losing data. thanks

I have a Vertex 2 in my laptop and was amazed at how much faster everything is. I haven't heard about this reliability thing, but I can tell you that OCZ rates it's current SSDs at 2,000,000 hours MTBF. For reference, WD rates their VelociRaptor hard drives at 1,400,000 hours MTBF.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Plextor is getting into the ssd market. Yesterday they released a new series of SATA III (6 Gb/s) ssd's. I do not know if newegg will be selling them.

Intel is definitely releasing their new 510 series ssd's this month. They are already available for pre-order in the United Kingdom. I assume anyone in the European Union could pre-order. No word on release date in the United States.

While checking other forums I found a lot of posters are mixed up about the phrases "generation 2" (G2) and "generation 3" (G3). In addition there is confusion about the specifications for Intel's 310 and 510 ssd's. The 310 series is SATA II (3 Gb/s) capable while the 510's are SATA III (6 Gb/s). Lots of speculation why.