Solid State Drives for Gigabyte laptop

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martin

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It seems my laptop's hard disk is on the verge of giving up the ghost. Any recommendations on reasonably priced SSD's? Not looking for anything too large, 120GB is more than enough for my needs.

Recommendations on online/offline retailers, brands and current bargains would be appreciated.
 
i.got~issues said:
Here ... > 240GB SSD still available, great price;

http://www.takealot.com/computers/transcend-ssd340-2-5-inch-solid-state-drive-256gb,30695705

Transcend SSD340 2.5 Inch Solid State Drive - 256GB

TS256GSSD340
R 1,598 Free Delivery Available
Was R 1,805
eB15 980
In Stock
Click to expand...

Thanks man! That's unfortunately outside my budget. I'm hoping to get away for under R900 if I go for a smaller drive. Just not very clued up on what passes as quality in SSD's these days.
 
martin said:
Thanks man! That's unfortunately outside my budget. I'm hoping to get away for under R900 if I go for a smaller drive. Just not very clued up on what passes as quality in SSD's these days.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm ... smaller SSDs are always filling up so quickly.

That 256GB is the best bang for buck at the moment... new, with 3 year warranty for the price of a 128GB.

Under R900 will only get a 64GB or less, perhaps a 128GB promotion or special offer might net one below R900.

As for brands, I would say anything with > 3 year warranty should be fine, except OCZ drives.
 
i.got~issues said:
Hmmmm ... smaller SSDs are always filling up so quickly.

That 256GB is the best bang for buck at the moment... new, with 3 year warranty for the price of a 128GB.

Under R900 will only get a 64GB or less, perhaps a 128GB promotion or special offer might net one below R900.

As for brands, I would say anything with > 3 year warranty should be fine, except OCZ drives.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Laptop is only used for work. I barely use 80GB as it is and could easily prune it down to half that so I'm not too concerned when it comes to HD size.
 
256gb or you're wasting your time.
You have no idea how fast it fills up.

i bought a 256gb liteon drive for R1300.
 
Electric said:
256gb or you're wasting your time.
You have no idea how fast it fills up.

i bought a 256gb liteon drive for R1300.
Click to expand...
I've had this laptop for two years now without coming close to 100GB. Buying a new hard disk will not change that. I have a 3TB multimedia server at home which I use for all my entertainment needs. Trust me, the laptop is only used for work.
 
martin said:
I've had this laptop for two years now without coming close to 100GB. Buying a new hard disk will not change that. I have a 3TB multimedia server at home which I use for all my entertainment needs. Trust me, the laptop is only used for work.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I replied after you without seeing your post.
 
martin said:
I've had this laptop for two years now without coming close to 100GB. Buying a new hard disk will not change that. I have a 3TB multimedia server at home which I use for all my entertainment needs. Trust me, the laptop is only used for work.
Click to expand...

Maybe keep an eye on 2nd hand sales on Carbonite and such, peeps are often upgrading and selling their 128GBs and such for around R900.
You might even find some OEM drives as well there, new drives but with 6 months warranty only. Check iTrader ratings and whatnot tho' before paying cash there.

Methinks the only 128GB SSD drive for under R900 will have to be a special offer or promotion, OEM or 2nd hand one alas.
 
i.got~issues said:
Maybe keep an eye on 2nd hand sales on Carbonite and such, peeps are often upgrading and selling their 128GBs and such for around R900.
You might even find some OEM drives as well there, new drives but with 6 months warranty only. Check iTrader ratings and whatnot tho' before paying cash there.

Methinks the only 128GB SSD drive for under R900 will have to be a special offer or promotion, OEM or 2nd hand one alas.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 
SSHD hybrid drives are fantastic too, benefit of hard drive storage with SSD speed. Seagate 500GB + 8GB SSD cache for around R950.
 
PostmanPot said:
SSHD hybrid drives are fantastic too, benefit of hard drive storage with SSD speed. Seagate 500GB + 8GB SSD cache for around R950.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm ... I had one, sold it. My 7200 Scorpio was faster in the long run in daily use.
Boot times improved with that Seagate hybrid, but alas, 5400rpm and only an 8GB SSD cache, made any gains short lived my side.
Perhaps again I did not use it long enough for the cache algorithms to learn my usage behaviour and adjust accordingly.
Aaand again, my old SATA II notebook probably did it a disservice and SATAIII would make a difference.

I was just SSD hybrid, OOoh, Aaaah... uhmmmm... Okay... meh.

5400rpm... pffffft.
 
Just a warning, the transcend SSDs linked in this thread has a JMicron controller. My suggestion - stay away. They had countless issues in the past. Rather invest in an OCZ ssd which use the indilinx controller or the new mx series from crucial which use the Marvell chips. Sandforce alternatives are good as well ( like the corsair Force series ) or the neutron series with the LAMD controller ( personal favorite ). Intel/Samsung manufacture their own NAND/controllers , they are reliable as well.

As others have suggested, rather look for a bargain deal on carb. I got a brand new Intel SSD 520 a while back for half the price. The new crucial mx100 256GB retails for around 1.5k, which is a bargain.
 
i.got~issues said:
Hmmmm ... I had one, sold it. My 7200 Scorpio was faster in the long run in daily use.
Boot times improved with that Seagate hybrid, but alas, 5400rpm and only an 8GB SSD cache, made any gains short lived my side.
Perhaps again I did not use it long enough for the cache algorithms to learn my usage behaviour and adjust accordingly.
Aaand again, my old SATA II notebook probably did it a disservice and SATAIII would make a difference.

I was just SSD hybrid, OOoh, Aaaah... uhmmmm... Okay... meh.

5400rpm... pffffft.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, power user. :D
 
Hmmmmm.... the OCZ's I encountered all just died. Sudden death. No warning. Warrantied and sold, not sure where OCZ bankruptcy leaves support now in South Africa.

Transcends have been fine, even in Hakintoshes (TM) in my experience. You still get what you pay for. Entry level OK affordable drives that outlast their warranty.
You want the good stuff in Samsung and the like, then be prepared to pay a lot more than R900 for a 128GB drive.

The Crucial 256GB for 1.5K was a good bargain... sold out tho' it seems... but still, not a sub R900 drive.

HDS said:
Just a warning, the transcend SSDs linked in this thread has a JMicron controller. My suggestion - stay away. They had countless issues in the past. Rather invest in an OCZ ssd which use the indilinx controller or the new mx series from crucial which use the Marvell chips. Sandforce alternatives are good as well ( like the corsair Force series ) or the neutron series with the LAMD controller ( personal favorite ). Intel/Samsung manufacture their own NAND/controllers , they are reliable as well.

As others have suggested, rather look for a bargain deal on carb. I got a brand new Intel SSD 520 a while back for half the price. The new crucial mx100 256GB retails for around 1.5k, which is a bargain.
Click to expand...

Power user... heheheheheh... was expecting Audi performance and ended up with a Scirocco... :whistle:

PostmanPot said:
Fair enough, power user. :D
Click to expand...
 
When did you use the OCZ SSDs?

The new ones ( after 2011 ) use the indilinx chip, the issue was with the previous controllers.
 
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