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I bought this drive (after a lot of thought) as a replacement for the 320GB drive that came with my low-end laptop. I struggled with the idea of 'downsizing' my drive so drastically -- but the results have been fantastic! The Windows boot-up time has been cut down to about 20-25 seconds. This one benefit has made the drive worth the investment because I cut my laptop on and off frequently and 'hate the wait' that comes with system startup. As other reviewers have commented, it is pricey compared to a traditional hard drive. This 80GB drive would not do, either, for a gamer, graphic designer, or other person using lots of disk space to store media files. However, I doubt that gamers, graphic designers, or heavy media users would buy my $400 laptop either. This drive gives me the illusion that I am using a faster machine, which is OK by me. The only issue I had with the drive is that there was a bad sector on it that kept the drive from loading Windows successfully. I finally tried loading Linux in desperation so that I could use the laptop and the Linux installation program isolated the bad sector. I was then able to erase the Linux OS and install Windows 7 with no problem. With Windows 7, my programs, and my files loaded I still have over 50GB of space on the drive -- so I think that this drive will serve the purpose for awhile. The only reason I wouldn't rate it 'excellent' is that, at $125 for an 80GB drive, it is still pricey enough to make you weigh the pros and cons carefully before buying.Read full review
I have had a WD Raptor 10,000RPM hard drive for a couple of years now. The Intel X25-M replaced it and the difference is amazing. Not only does my system boot up in about 15 seconds (as opposed to 90 seconds or so), I am able to launch programs almost instantly once the desktop is displayed. Opening multiple programs at once sees no slowdowns at all and everything is just crisper from the start. Another bonus is the lack of platter-chatter from paging (which I turned off for the X25-M) and the 8-10 degree reduction of overall heat in my case. I like this hard drive so much I bought a 160GB one and put this 80GB unit in my laptop. My laptop is like new again even with all my junk on it. It boots to ready in 12.6 seconds! If I could eliminate POST it would be even faster but alas, it's not to be! With TRIM support I don't need to worry about speed loss when the drive gets full but even then it would still be faster and there are 3rd party programs designed to handle the garbage collection on partially used blocks. This is only an issue on a full drive and mine are never more than 60-70% used. Overall, I would recommend this drive to everyone who wants a snappier response time running well...everything. SSD drives are the best thing to happen to PC's since the advent of the optical drive. My only warning is to get the 2nd generation of this particular SSD identified by the symbols G2 near the end of the model number. G1 SSD's will not have TRIM support. This only applies to Intel SSD's as other makers have different firmware. Also TRIM support is built into Windows 7 but not Vista. There may be a patch or registry tweak at some point but I can't say if or when this will happen. I know I can install the Windows 7 calculator on Vista and Vista'a Dreamscene on any version of Vista (not just ultimate) and Windows 7 so anything is possible! Go out and buy one of these drives, install it, and put padding on the floor for when your chin drops!Read full review
Extremely fast. Specs are slower on paper than some of the high performance drives out there (uses an Intel controller, not a Sandforce), but in operation it feels almost as snappy as the OCZ Vertex 2 I have in my desktop. Installed in a Dell E6400 - getting rid of the noise and vibration of a hard drive makes the computing experience so much more pleasant. Also eliminated a lot of extra heat. The reason I chose this SSD over any other brand is the power consumption. When active (reading/writing), the unit uses only 150mW (0.15W), which is the same as the old 7.2K RPM Western Digital Black hard drive used IN SLEEP MODE (it used 2.5W for read/write). The OCZ's and G.Skills use 2W when active, and some other brands use 4+ Watts.
This is hands down the best SSD aimed for the enthusiast market. I spent over 4 months scavenging the net through average user reviews and expert reviews. Intel makes the most reliable, TRIM Supported solid state drives on the market. Read times are amazing. Write times not so much. Best boot drive on the market. For the novice TRIM is the equivalent of Disk Defragment for Solid State Drives. Make sure the SSD you purchase supports this feature otherwise you will loose performance indefinitely. Boots windows 7 under 30 seconds and rates at 7.4 in Windows Experience Index.
SSD is the missing link that completes a high-end system that an enthusiast drools for. Trust me, Solid State Drives would be your most sensible investment you could make in your system! Boot up time will be cut in half; hibernation boots will take seconds and your games will load much, MUCH faster. I play Left 4 Dead 2, and my load times have been cut down to 6-8 seconds, compared to an average of 15 seconds without using my SSD drive! You have a fast cpu, gpu, ram...might as well get a fast drive! Specs: Phenom II x4 955 OC at 3.8ghz (stable) on MSI 790FX-GD70 Cooled by Zalman CNPS-9900 Antec Earthwatts 750w PSU 2x 2GB Kingston Hyper-X DDR3 1600 @ 8-8-8-20 ASUS EAH5870 / Radeon 5870 OC @ 900mhz core & 1300mhz Mem All in a breezy CoolerMaster Storm Sniper Black Case; fans @ 75%
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