I bought one of these things. After $AU230 it was useless. I used as USB external hard drive. It had really fast reading. But the writing to it was killing me. I spent two days installing windows xp on it lol. Yes on a laptop. I was thinking after i installed the drivers it would be ok. Then i put my 5400rpm laptop drive back and noticed how fast it was compared to the SSD. Its faster. Ok when i read the SSD its instantenous, but when i write to it the computer hangs itself and waits around. With the 5400 rpm drive its ok. But the SSD is a joke.
Except the Seagate Momentus is a screaming fast SATA notebook drive. The Transcend is not SATA which makes the comparison about as meaningful as adding the desktop drive.
Why not compare it to something it's actually likely to replace, such as the very popular Samsung Spinpoint, Momentus 5400.3, or WD Scorpio series?
An interesting article, but I would just like to point out that data on a hard disk is only meant to last around 10 years, similar to SSD. This is due to gradual natural degradation of the magnetisation of a data bit over time. Hence I always re-write old data from time to time :o).
I suppose we will continue to read about these SSDs that few if any can afford.
I currently support a small business program that allows a "clock-in" station networked to a server. I built it using a mini-itx board and a laptop hdd but it seems a good fit for an SSD with XP Embedded. Both, however, are just too darn expensive. Once the price drops on an SSD that will hold XP then I will buy it. XP Embedded? Yah, when pigs fly.
Tomshardware did have a guide, albeit very poor one; of testing 1 setup where a PCI IDE RAID card is coupled with 3 8GB Trancend Compact Flash cards in RAID 0. But it had the implications.
The result was quite astonishing because of the fact that the performance of 3 such CF card RAIDed, although could not match MTRON's SSD drive in terms of transfer rate; could at least match 75MB/s transfer rate of a HDD.
3 CF cards and with RAID capable motherboard w/ ICD-CF or SATA-CF adaptors comes round to be about 300 USD. This is much more affordable than buying 1 SSD which would result in much poorer performance.
I personally think if an operating system and not critical data is stored on such a setup on a home enviornment, I don't mind losing realibility in form of RAID 0 as Windows/other OS can be reinstalled pretty quickly itself or with Ghost or Acronis True Image.
Indeed. I wish Anandtech did something similar but with more testing.
I plan on building such a setup with SATA adaptors and motherboard RAID instead of using a PCI channel.
It'd be much more affordable for such a performance for my next PC set-up. ($300 24GB ultra fast SSD anyone?)
Someone can even have 4*16GB CF cards for ultra fast 64GB RAIDing. It may even match a 64GB MTRON at quarter the price.
Actually, this is the best and the most brilliant avenue for anandtech reviews! Hey Anand and Co - drop this PSU stuff, that's boring - give us at least some regular reviews of this CF RAID stuff. Looks like the tech is ripe and people are doing it already. Time to wake up, Anand! Give us a regular monthly column with updates and fresh links/info of the best cost effective way to build our own cheap and darn fast RAIDed SSD clones!
It doesn't seem like the CF + RAID approach is really very affordable either. Top quality 266X CF cards cost as much as these SSDs. For example, here's the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">IDE Super Talent 16GB that costs $290. Or there's the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">32GB IDE Super Talent for $489 - not even twice as much anymore! So we're down to a price of only $15.28 per GB.
Looking for fast 266X CF cards, they currently top out at 8GB sizes, which start at around $120. $30 for an adapter makes it $150, and you'll need two for 16GB which brings you back to $300. Two 8GB CF 266X cards in RAID 0 would indeed be faster than the single 16GB Transcend/Super Talent SSD, but then two 8GB SSDs cost around $170 and would also be in the same performance range.
The Raptor 150GB in contrast is a whopping $1.20 per GB, or you can pick up something silly like the 750GB Hitachi for $0.27 per GB - not that anyone could possibly fill 750GB, right? (And yes, there's some sarcasm in those statements.) While these are desktop drives, RAID and SSD basically means using a desktop in most cases as well.
The one oddity right now is that the SATA SSDs seem to cost about twice as much as the IDE SSDs, probably a supply/demand thing. (Or a "milking the bleeding edge" thing - which is just another facet of supply/demand.) None of the various flash drive options are even remotely affordable, however. That will likely change over time, and when we can get 64-128GB SSDs with something in the realm of 100-150 MB/s transfer rates for under $100, I can see them being nice for people that don't need lots of storage. With Vista sucking down 15GB or so, though, and increasing application sizes, 32GB would be a bare minimum I think.
The fact that SATA SSDs are much more expensive than IDE counterparts is not mainly down to the interface. The link to the IDE SSD you posted are generally quite old intermsof flash I/O tech and performance in ranges of 20-30 MB/s; 25% slower than a 266x CF card.
Therefore, CF cards are still more cost effective if you want to match HDD in terns of transfer rate with a RAID setup than buying either IDE/SATA SSDs. (you need to RAID three slow IDE SSDsfor same performance as two 266x CF cards.)
Guys, I can't believe you haven't put two and four of these cheaper 8GB transcends in RAID0 and tested them.
Holy creepers, I can't even imagine how FOUR such drives would work in RAID 0.
Arghhhh... you guys just were afraid to do this, that's be just toooo damn good to show us, huh?
Just kiddin'
I'm sure four such transcends would kill any raptor or anything. 90 megabytes/sec sustained transfer and 1 ms seek - gosh I need me some lucky lottery ticket!
[salivating violently and dreaming about raid 0 with these babies]
I have a netbook which utilizes the new solid state drive and I have to admit that although I prefer the regular sata and ide hard drives that these new drives do have a lot of good options going for them.
For one thing there is not really the space for conventional hard drives in these new netbooks which are so small and I have found the performance to be really great. It really exceeded my expectations because I didn't really see it performing any where near the performance I received.
The only thing that I really regret so far is the fact that it is hard to get the size memory that I would like to have but for what I use my netbook for it hasn't really been a problem yet. Overall I must say that I am impressed with the performance and well satisfied fr now.
For those people that aren't happy with these drives then just spend the few extra bucks and get a full fledged laptop and be done with it.
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robojocks - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - link
I bought one of these things. After $AU230 it was useless. I used as USB external hard drive. It had really fast reading. But the writing to it was killing me. I spent two days installing windows xp on it lol. Yes on a laptop. I was thinking after i installed the drivers it would be ok. Then i put my 5400rpm laptop drive back and noticed how fast it was compared to the SSD. Its faster. Ok when i read the SSD its instantenous, but when i write to it the computer hangs itself and waits around. With the 5400 rpm drive its ok. But the SSD is a joke.thomaspurves - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
Notebooks people. thin and light notebooks are where these are going to be used. When was the last time you saw a WDRAPTOR in a 3 lb ultraportable?
Please Anand, how do these compare to 7200rpm and 5400rpm notebook drives?
JarredWalton - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
That's what the Seagate Momentus is meant to represent.StickyC - Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - link
Except the Seagate Momentus is a screaming fast SATA notebook drive. The Transcend is not SATA which makes the comparison about as meaningful as adding the desktop drive.Why not compare it to something it's actually likely to replace, such as the very popular Samsung Spinpoint, Momentus 5400.3, or WD Scorpio series?
memphist0 - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
It's amazing that people have come up with a product that makes a Raptor look affordable and spacious.yyrkoon - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
http://www.addonics.com/products/flash_memory_read...">http://www.addonics.com/products/flash_memory_read...Buy a fast UDMA4 capable CF card, and go to town . . .
rfle500 - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
An interesting article, but I would just like to point out that data on a hard disk is only meant to last around 10 years, similar to SSD. This is due to gradual natural degradation of the magnetisation of a data bit over time. Hence I always re-write old data from time to time :o).bupkus - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
I suppose we will continue to read about these SSDs that few if any can afford.I currently support a small business program that allows a "clock-in" station networked to a server. I built it using a mini-itx board and a laptop hdd but it seems a good fit for an SSD with XP Embedded. Both, however, are just too darn expensive. Once the price drops on an SSD that will hold XP then I will buy it. XP Embedded? Yah, when pigs fly.
AssBall - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
You should definately put a 32gbx2 raid 0 SSD in that rig, and one of those 1200W PSUs. Clearly....AnnihilatorX - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
Tomshardware did have a guide, albeit very poor one; of testing 1 setup where a PCI IDE RAID card is coupled with 3 8GB Trancend Compact Flash cards in RAID 0. But it had the implications.The result was quite astonishing because of the fact that the performance of 3 such CF card RAIDed, although could not match MTRON's SSD drive in terms of transfer rate; could at least match 75MB/s transfer rate of a HDD.
3 CF cards and with RAID capable motherboard w/ ICD-CF or SATA-CF adaptors comes round to be about 300 USD. This is much more affordable than buying 1 SSD which would result in much poorer performance.
I personally think if an operating system and not critical data is stored on such a setup on a home enviornment, I don't mind losing realibility in form of RAID 0 as Windows/other OS can be reinstalled pretty quickly itself or with Ghost or Acronis True Image.
Pirks - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
Everybody read this! -> http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/RAID-Flash-SSD,revie...">http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/RAID-Flash-SSD,revie...This is what I would like to see from anandtech
Raid them guys, RAID 'em
mmmm! [salivating again]
AnnihilatorX - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
Indeed. I wish Anandtech did something similar but with more testing.I plan on building such a setup with SATA adaptors and motherboard RAID instead of using a PCI channel.
It'd be much more affordable for such a performance for my next PC set-up. ($300 24GB ultra fast SSD anyone?)
Someone can even have 4*16GB CF cards for ultra fast 64GB RAIDing. It may even match a 64GB MTRON at quarter the price.
Pirks - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
Actually, this is the best and the most brilliant avenue for anandtech reviews! Hey Anand and Co - drop this PSU stuff, that's boring - give us at least some regular reviews of this CF RAID stuff. Looks like the tech is ripe and people are doing it already. Time to wake up, Anand! Give us a regular monthly column with updates and fresh links/info of the best cost effective way to build our own cheap and darn fast RAIDed SSD clones!Everybody cheer with me! Woohoo!
We need Anand to do this ASAP!
JarredWalton - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
It doesn't seem like the CF + RAID approach is really very affordable either. Top quality 266X CF cards cost as much as these SSDs. For example, here's the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">IDE Super Talent 16GB that costs $290. Or there's the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">32GB IDE Super Talent for $489 - not even twice as much anymore! So we're down to a price of only $15.28 per GB.Looking for fast 266X CF cards, they currently top out at 8GB sizes, which start at around $120. $30 for an adapter makes it $150, and you'll need two for 16GB which brings you back to $300. Two 8GB CF 266X cards in RAID 0 would indeed be faster than the single 16GB Transcend/Super Talent SSD, but then two 8GB SSDs cost around $170 and would also be in the same performance range.
The Raptor 150GB in contrast is a whopping $1.20 per GB, or you can pick up something silly like the 750GB Hitachi for $0.27 per GB - not that anyone could possibly fill 750GB, right? (And yes, there's some sarcasm in those statements.) While these are desktop drives, RAID and SSD basically means using a desktop in most cases as well.
The one oddity right now is that the SATA SSDs seem to cost about twice as much as the IDE SSDs, probably a supply/demand thing. (Or a "milking the bleeding edge" thing - which is just another facet of supply/demand.) None of the various flash drive options are even remotely affordable, however. That will likely change over time, and when we can get 64-128GB SSDs with something in the realm of 100-150 MB/s transfer rates for under $100, I can see them being nice for people that don't need lots of storage. With Vista sucking down 15GB or so, though, and increasing application sizes, 32GB would be a bare minimum I think.
AnnihilatorX - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
The fact that SATA SSDs are much more expensive than IDE counterparts is not mainly down to the interface. The link to the IDE SSD you posted are generally quite old intermsof flash I/O tech and performance in ranges of 20-30 MB/s; 25% slower than a 266x CF card.Therefore, CF cards are still more cost effective if you want to match HDD in terns of transfer rate with a RAID setup than buying either IDE/SATA SSDs. (you need to RAID three slow IDE SSDsfor same performance as two 266x CF cards.)
Pirks - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
Guys, I can't believe you haven't put two and four of these cheaper 8GB transcends in RAID0 and tested them.Holy creepers, I can't even imagine how FOUR such drives would work in RAID 0.
Arghhhh... you guys just were afraid to do this, that's be just toooo damn good to show us, huh?
Just kiddin'
I'm sure four such transcends would kill any raptor or anything. 90 megabytes/sec sustained transfer and 1 ms seek - gosh I need me some lucky lottery ticket!
[salivating violently and dreaming about raid 0 with these babies]
cableman67 - Friday, July 22, 2011 - link
I have a netbook which utilizes the new solid state drive and I have to admit that although I prefer the regular sata and ide hard drives that these new drives do have a lot of good options going for them.For one thing there is not really the space for conventional hard drives in these new netbooks which are so small and I have found the performance to be really great. It really exceeded my expectations because I didn't really see it performing any where near the performance I received.
The only thing that I really regret so far is the fact that it is hard to get the size memory that I would like to have but for what I use my netbook for it hasn't really been a problem yet. Overall I must say that I am impressed with the performance and well satisfied fr now.
For those people that aren't happy with these drives then just spend the few extra bucks and get a full fledged laptop and be done with it.
oletagust - Wednesday, June 15, 2022 - link
The task of the introduction is to capture the reader's attention: to ask an exciting question, to confront him with a paradox, a contradiction. The introduction https://en.writingapaper.net/coursework-writing-se... should intrigue the reader so that he or she cannot resist reading the rest of the text. The thesis is the author's main idea, expressed in one or more sentences. A thesis statement is a statement of the main idea of a text that is consistent with the question posed or the theme set.