SSD choices and questions about setup

[compgranny]

I am running windows XP 32 bit on my system, and sort of narrowed down my ssd choices to 2 64 gb drives
but I have no idea if they will work on XP 32 bit

Newegg.com - Corsair Nova Series CSSD-V64GB2-BRKT 2.5" 64GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Newegg.com - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Are there better ssd drives in this price range? ( i don't want to go over 150 dollars)

If they do work under xp then what will the setup involve if on my motherboard I would install it on an add on pci-e x1 card *which is necessary to upgrade to sata 6gb/s on my mobo
*mobo is a p35 neo 2 chipset by gigabyte

 

[PP Mguire]

Get this SSD instead
Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

And the Crucial is not really worth the money since it lacks horribly in write speeds.

The PCI-E add in card is not necessary for SATA2 based SSDs.

 

[Slaymate]

Both of these are excellent drives that you can purchase from Newegg.

OCZ Agility 2 60GB SSD

G.Skill Phoenix Pro 60GB SSD

And here's a guide to help you get your new SSD running properly.

SSD Tweak Guide

 

[PP Mguire]

The Vertex is better than the Agility due to IOPs being alot higher.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Those drives will work with XP but it will hardly be an optimal experience. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium since it will save you a ton of hassle and deliver the best performance.

 

[compgranny]

Thanks everyone.
I hear that some drives *intel specifically-which are slow so I didnt consider buying these* do not work under xp, or well, one would have to do some really technical things to make them work.

So, out the box the recommended drives can have xp installed without major problems? Many of those state that TRIM support depends on the OS which makes me think that perhaps win xp is not compatible.

Does write performance matter for gaming?

 

[PP Mguire]

If write performance didnt matter then why bother with an SSD

Trim is not directly related to XP and wont deliver a problem with installment. Ive never actually had a problem running an SSD in XP myself.

 

[compgranny]

Is there a way to either disable or re-locate the TypedURL registry key. That probably writes quite a bit to the drive.

I found a bunch of tweaks mentioned here on ocz forums:
Making XP pro SSD friendly

These overlap with the guide in most parts but are written for xp users.

So I see now how bad the ssd tech is. Drives just deteriorate with use. Is that the case with SLC drives as well?

 

[Puddle Jumper]

So I see now how bad the ssd tech is. Drives just deteriorate with use. Is that the case with SLC drives as well?

The performance doesn't significantly degrade if you are using an os that supports TRIM like Windows 7 or Linux. Most drives also have built in garbage collection that also tries to maintain the drives performance but it's much more effective when used in conjunction with TRIM.

XP also has problems properly formatting SSDs which can hurt performance as well.

 

[PP Mguire]

Is there a way to either disable or re-locate the TypedURL registry key. That probably writes quite a bit to the drive.

I found a bunch of tweaks mentioned here on ocz forums:
Making XP pro SSD friendly

These overlap with the guide in most parts but are written for xp users.

So I see now how bad the ssd tech is. Drives just deteriorate with use. Is that the case with SLC drives as well?

I honestly think the deterioration is overly exaggerated myself. I have a first gen SSD thats still pumpin after alot of abuse before i learned how to properly set up an SSD. As long as you do what most guides say to do it should last a long time still.