SSD Raid Confusion

[trikki77]

I have the Ocz vertex 2 60Gb which runs the OS.As of now,its getting backed up.I was thinking of getting another 60Gb for raid purposes.The raid will only run the OS.Since all the new vertex 3,agility3 etc.. containing this controversial Sandforce 2281 controller.I dont want to start flashing firmwares or anything like that,assuming its no good.The Vertex 2 has performed nicely no errors of any kind.Do i just get another Vertex 2 like ssd,different manufacturer? Or maybe get 1 bigger ssd?

 

[RealBeast]

I would not recommend buying another SSD for RAID, you lose TRIM and you don't really gain noticeable performance, you would only get more space that you shouldn't need for the OS and key program files. If anything I would get one larger SSD -- and don't worry about the SF2281 issues, most are fairly well resolved and only affect a small minority of users.

The OCZ Vertex 2 had higher return rates that the newer drives: http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-7/components-returns-rates-5.html

 

[Soda-88]

intel will be releasing new RST drivers with TRIM support for raid sometime soon:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Intel-RST-SSD-TRIM-RAID,14048.html

and yes, you would get a noticable performance boost as you can see from this vertex 3 raid0 benchmark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efBj4b0qa7k

 

[larkspur]

The OCZ Vertex 2 had higher return rates that the newer drives: http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-7/components-returns-rates-5.html

Many of those would have been because the Vertex 2 was designed for 34nm flash. When 25nm flash became available OCZ didn't bother telling anyone they were now using cheaper, poorly optimized, shorter-life-span 25nm flash in the same model drives. Big mistake.

Those stats are based on returns. When word got out I'll bet a lot of people got upset and found a way to return their drive - see http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ocz-vertex-2-25nm-ssd,2867.html

 

[RealBeast]

intel will be releasing new RST drivers with TRIM support for raid sometime soon:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Intel-RST-SSD-TRIM-RAID,14048.html

and yes, you would get a noticable performance boost as you can see from this vertex 3 raid0 benchmark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efBj4b0qa7k

Benchmarks are a poor substitute for real world testing. I've raided 240gb Vertex 3 Max IOPS and while benchmarks are superior, the actual perceived performance is not.

While that is my opinion based on having used and tested dozens of various SSDs, it also seems to be the opinion of this Tom's article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sata-6gbps-performance-sata-3gbps,3110-8.html

 

[Soda-88]

Benchmarks are a poor substitute for real world testing. I've raided 240gb Vertex 3 Max IOPS and while benchmarks are superior, the actual perceived performance is not.

While that is my opinion based on having used and tested dozens of various SSDs, it also seems to be the opinion of this Tom's article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sata-6gbps-performance-sata-3gbps,3110-8.html

As OP said, he owns Vertex 2 which has ~285MB/s seq. read speed, so adding cheapest 3rd gen 60GB SSD would net roughly the same performance of a single 120GB 3rd gen SSD in raid0 setup which would only prove the point of that article you linked (buy what you can afford, not the fastest).

 

[trikki77]

Benchmarks are a poor substitute for real world testing. I've raided 240gb Vertex 3 Max IOPS and while benchmarks are superior, the actual perceived performance is not.

While that is my opinion based on having used and tested dozens of various SSDs, it also seems to be the opinion of this Tom's article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sata-6gbps-performance-sata-3gbps,3110-8.html

This is the why i posted this.Test results always looks good in paper.So maybe i´ll buy 1 120Gb.Any good suggestion? Pref. under 200euros.

 

[RealBeast]

This is the why i posted this.Test results always looks good in paper.So maybe i´ll buy 1 120Gb.Any good suggestion? Pref. under 200euros.

Unless you can find a Vertex 3/Crucial M4 on a good sale, a Vertex 2 120 would be a good choice. I have two that have been running 24/7 for over 2 years without issues. I do also like any Intel, but only if they can be bought at the same cost per gb as the others.