Thinking of SanDisk SSD 2.5

[Jonathan987]

Hello all, I'm new here...so hello!

I'm building a new desktop and was wondering if you could all give me some info seeing as I have not bought stuff in the last little while....

Was either thinking of just getting one 32gig SSD drive from SanDisk or getting two, maybe three, smaller ones and raiding them together so it's even faster.

link:http://sandisk.com/OEM/ProductCatalog(1321)-SanDisk_SSD_SATA_5000_25.aspx

I have the following questions: does it work with windows XP..meaning does the drive show up as a generic harddrive? Their site only shows vista...etc.
Are there any downsides besides price in using these drives? Anything else I should know?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jonathan

P.S. If there are any other SSD harddrive from brand name companies that I should check out, let me know! I'm in Canada and will be buying from there.

Edit://before I forget: what's the deal with erasing on these.....has this problem, where only so many read/writes/erases can be made, been overcome?

 

[f61]

Right now there are several types of CompactFlash SSD's, or CF's with extraodinary R/W speeds.. like 266x. I would have a look at newegg.com for starters. Essentially there are only reliability issues, meaning MTBF, and how that is getting twisted about. Generally NAND flash does have an ultimate erase limit, but there are schemes to extend the life of blocks. Consider that most el-cheapo 266x flash drives will last 6 years under constant R/W. Size depends on O/S 4gb for 98/Me, 8gb for Xp, and 32gb for Vista. ONE of these can be used as O/S drive in the IDE port [recommended, since the CF spec was originally written as an IDE mass-storage device for 98].

Essentially, the SSD is just an expensive (re: high-reliability!, 50 years) solution that meets a HDD std. Notice that SanDisk and Kingston don't want to bridge this gap, while Transcend and Abit do with their 266x and 300x solutions (x = 150Kb/s Floppy). In short these high-speed CF's by Transcend and Abit can transfer in the 40Mb/s range which certainly makes it tempting to consider these cheaper alternitives. DON'T!, until you see the leaders take a shot at it.

Even after this, consider the price... about $500 for the legit 32Gb SSD. and about $120 for an 8GB 300x CF. nuff said there, if you've been reading this.

Here's a peek at newegg's offerings.

BTW===> Forgot this, Since these SSD's are for the notebook mkt. you will need an adapter for desktop, check the manufacturer's website for accessories. These have a molex power adapter and pinout adapter, just plug both in and go. Look ma, no IDE cables!

Wait 6 month, unless you're bleeding edge.

f61

 

[nigeke]

Hi

With regard to your question about SanDisk SSD's
Please read my experience with SSD replacement
A true field test (semi sponsored )))) by SanDisk)

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/flash-hard-drive,review-2388-4.html

Kind Regards,

Nico Ketel