Most reliable SSD?

[Clegane]

I do not need speed.

I do not really need that much capacity. 50 GB would do it.

I need long term reliability. Preliminary research indicates Intel and Samsung are the brands to look at? What about Western Digital?

OCZ is right out.

I do require 2.5" SATA.

I just found out - a drive and an operating system that supports "TRIM" is essential. I see that Windows 7 will support TRIM. But will Windows XP?

I hypothetically found what would be the perfect product for me:

http://www.g-technology.com/products/g-drive-mini-ssd.cfm

but now I informed enough not to trust SSD.

 

[Kougar]

Hi Clegane,

If you have already ruled out OCZ then this makes the selection process pretty easy. The only two SSD controllers I would recommend (for performance) would be Intel's controller and Indilinx controller SSD's at the present time. For the best reliability, I would only recommend Intel's SSD's.

Going by Intel's specification docs and their unique "write combining" feature I think it's a safe bet Intel drives will outlast the majority, if not all, competitors SSD's. These drives don't need to transfer data around while they are idle to increase their performance, so that should also help the lifespan.

I would suggest you take a look at the new Intel X25-M "G2" 80GB SSD. The exact model is: SSDSA2MH080G2C1 because Intel has recently updated their original drives and the old ones are still on the market.

At this time only Windows 7 (maybe Vista?) will receive TRIM support. As best I can tell Windows XP will not receive support for TRIM. Intel has made note that XP users will be given some kind of end user tool to adjust their SSD for performance for XP use, but I do not know any specifics on it.

That Hitachi SSD is one I have never heard of, but judging by the performance number I wouldn't suggest it as it would be very slow by SSD standards. Intel's SSD's offer the same 3 year warranty.