Well if you want to spend the money nobody can stop you, but since the most important thing for game loads ARE sequential reads, some modern 7.2k rpm drives in Raid0 would probably be not noticeably worse, while being cheaper and larger..
Not that I don't love my 160gb Intel G2, but it's rather expensive for storage when comparing the alternatives.
I agree, SSD is the best gaming upgrade I had in years... it makes unplayable games playable (unplayable due to excessive load times ruining the mood and immersion... ex neverwinter nights 2)
I was checking prices and found 512GB SSDs. A bit pricey yet for use as a main drive at $1500+, but in 2.5" form factor it would make a nice replacement for my laptop's 120GB HDD :)
It's my understanding that the 601 and 602 were *not* 'eventually fixed', there were some workarounds put into place that only very marginally helped the terrible, inexcusable random write performance. Everyone stopped using those chips because they were unfixable; if they could be fixed, we'd still see them in use.
You can say that the 612 is better, but I personally would never buy any SSD with a JMicron controller in it, 612 or otherwise.
the JMF 602 had stuttering issues, the JMF 602b was a revision that majorly fixed the issue due to having twice the cache (the JMF 602b still occasionally had problems but less so).
It is so hard to keep track of all these models...sigh...thanks for the correction.
Yes, but you should be thinking of using this more as a drive for the external OS.
Reusing that horrible controller is a good move in this case; using it for sequential reads/writes is all that's needed. It should also help keep the cost down.
Things like this are why Intel needs to figure out how to get USB3 into their Sandy Bridge chipsets. USB3 devices probably won't be widespread at launch, but in 3 years they certainly will be, there is too much extra performance to ignore.
Hey Anand as you said the SF-1200 is the most advanced SSD controller out there, and you recommend it though you warned about possible issues when going with a not tried and true platform.
Well, I bought a Corsair Force 60GB drive last month only to discover that the drive suddenly disappear when the PC is idling, causing Windows crash, and it's not detected from the BIOS until you cycle power off and on.
There is a 26-page topic on Corsair forums about this, it would be great if you investigate a little bit on this issue. Is it Corsair only related? Does it happen on all modes (like TRIM on or off, AHCI or IDE mode etc...)?
When you say that TRIM is not supported, is that a limitation of this particular device?
Or is this a limitation of the USB3 mass storage interface? (Because, god knows, after all the problems that arise when other ATA commands can't be transferred over USB, eg SMART, or command queuing, I guess it was a bit much to hope that this be fixed for USB3. I mean, they've only had, what, 6 years to work on this.)
Why on earth would oe want to go SATA->USB3->USB3->PCIE when he can go just SATA->Southbridge ?
USB is a very good thing for the future but they screwed up on 2 things: 1) mixing 2 TOTALLY different topologies on a single cable (read bulky cables) 2) still insufficient power envelope (at least Power eSATA got this right)
USB3 for (even SSD class) sticks ? Great. USB3 for SSD connectivity via cable? eSATA is faster, cheaper, uses less power (controllers) and has bigger power envelope.
"Why on earth would oe want to go SATA->USB3->USB3->PCIE when he can go just SATA->Southbridge ?"
Uhh --- because not every person in the world has a box that they can easily open to get at the SATA ports? What about if you have a portable or an iMac-style computer. Just because SSDs are expensive and low capacity now doesn't mean they are going to stay that way forever.
1. I have good experience with OCZ Throttle 32 GB (USB 2 + eSATA ports). It cost me about 90 USD and it is speedy -- 90/35 MB/s in eSATA mode and about 32/32 MB/s is USB 2.0 mode (I never saw faster drive in this class).
2. What about new SuperTalent USB 3.0/2.0 drives? I would like see some comparison with competitors.
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18 Comments
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Mithan - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
I own 3 SSD's (2 in my desktop and 1 in a laptop) and plan on getting a 120-160gb for my Steam install drive at some point.I know most people here say "it isn't worth it for gaming" but I love the reduced load times.
Voo - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
Well if you want to spend the money nobody can stop you, but since the most important thing for game loads ARE sequential reads, some modern 7.2k rpm drives in Raid0 would probably be not noticeably worse, while being cheaper and larger..Not that I don't love my 160gb Intel G2, but it's rather expensive for storage when comparing the alternatives.
taltamir - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
I agree, SSD is the best gaming upgrade I had in years... it makes unplayable games playable (unplayable due to excessive load times ruining the mood and immersion... ex neverwinter nights 2)Fritzr - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
I was checking prices and found 512GB SSDs. A bit pricey yet for use as a main drive at $1500+, but in 2.5" form factor it would make a nice replacement for my laptop's 120GB HDD :)Voo - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
The new Intel toolbox manual has allegedly some screenshots of 600gb G3s in it. Seems believeable and could be interesting.vol7ron - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
if only it would hit the $1/GiB, or lessRoland00 - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
The kingston use the jmicron 612 controller or the jmicron 612b controller (the one with the reduced stuttering?)OneArmedScissorB - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
The 601 and 602 controllers from about two years ago were the ones that had the stuttering issue, and even those were eventually fixed.The 612 is way beyond that era.
bji - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
Citation please?It's my understanding that the 601 and 602 were *not* 'eventually fixed', there were some workarounds put into place that only very marginally helped the terrible, inexcusable random write performance. Everyone stopped using those chips because they were unfixable; if they could be fixed, we'd still see them in use.
You can say that the 612 is better, but I personally would never buy any SSD with a JMicron controller in it, 612 or otherwise.
Roland00 - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
the JMF 602 had stuttering issues, the JMF 602b was a revision that majorly fixed the issue due to having twice the cache (the JMF 602b still occasionally had problems but less so).It is so hard to keep track of all these models...sigh...thanks for the correction.
vol7ron - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
Yes, but you should be thinking of using this more as a drive for the external OS.Reusing that horrible controller is a good move in this case; using it for sequential reads/writes is all that's needed. It should also help keep the cost down.
7Enigma - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
Anand,I'm guessing based on your text that the 2nd and 3rd graphs are reversed?
strikeback03 - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
Things like this are why Intel needs to figure out how to get USB3 into their Sandy Bridge chipsets. USB3 devices probably won't be widespread at launch, but in 3 years they certainly will be, there is too much extra performance to ignore.theagentsmith - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
Hey Anandas you said the SF-1200 is the most advanced SSD controller out there, and you recommend it though you warned about possible issues when going with a not tried and true platform.
Well, I bought a Corsair Force 60GB drive last month only to discover that the drive suddenly disappear when the PC is idling, causing Windows crash, and it's not detected from the BIOS until you cycle power off and on.
There is a 26-page topic on Corsair forums about this, it would be great if you investigate a little bit on this issue. Is it Corsair only related? Does it happen on all modes (like TRIM on or off, AHCI or IDE mode etc...)?
http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=88341
name99 - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
When you say that TRIM is not supported, is that a limitation of this particular device?Or is this a limitation of the USB3 mass storage interface? (Because, god knows, after all the problems that arise when other ATA commands can't be transferred over USB, eg SMART, or command queuing, I guess it was a bit much to hope that this be fixed for USB3. I mean, they've only had, what, 6 years to work on this.)
mino - Wednesday, September 15, 2010 - link
Why on earth would oe want to go SATA->USB3->USB3->PCIE when he can go just SATA->Southbridge ?USB is a very good thing for the future but they screwed up on 2 things:
1) mixing 2 TOTALLY different topologies on a single cable (read bulky cables)
2) still insufficient power envelope (at least Power eSATA got this right)
USB3 for (even SSD class) sticks ? Great.
USB3 for SSD connectivity via cable? eSATA is faster, cheaper, uses less power (controllers) and has bigger power envelope.
name99 - Wednesday, September 15, 2010 - link
"Why on earth would oe want to go SATA->USB3->USB3->PCIE when he can go just SATA->Southbridge ?"Uhh --- because not every person in the world has a box that they can easily open to get at the SATA ports? What about if you have a portable or an iMac-style computer. Just because SSDs are expensive and low capacity now doesn't mean they are going to stay that way forever.
kvoz123 - Thursday, September 16, 2010 - link
1. I have good experience with OCZ Throttle 32 GB (USB 2 + eSATA ports). It cost me about 90 USD and it is speedy -- 90/35 MB/s in eSATA mode and about 32/32 MB/s is USB 2.0 mode (I never saw faster drive in this class).2. What about new SuperTalent USB 3.0/2.0 drives? I would like see some comparison with competitors.