George L. Schmauch Jr.

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[quote=jrandeck]

CompUSA/Tiger Direct now has these for $109 after rebate if someone wanted one and missed the earlier sales.  It seems everyone is getting rid of their stock on these older SSDs.

http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=1068616&sku=O261-6401

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Just to clarify, that’s not the same one as was originally posted.  The one from CompUSA is the Vertex Plus, but the original deal from Newegg was for the Vertex 2.

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Although, if you’re talking about a direct replacement, no.  I’m not going to be running WHS on the SSD, even as a client.  The move to a VM is part of a larger move away from WHS and the drive pool, as well as to virtualize at least one other computer in the house.  In the end, I’ll probably have 3 systems running under VM.

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[quote=Aaron Ledger]

Surely, you can take the drive you are replacing with a system drive out and store it in the closet for a rainy day, right? I know you use WHS so it sounds like you are all set.

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I thought I said that. 

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[quote=Aaron Ledger]

My take on using an SSD (or any system drive) is to back the system up and have a spare drive in the closet that I can put into duty if the system drive fails. This will give enough time to RMA or replace the problem system drive. It’s going to happen sooner or later so best to be prepared for it if the application is critical.

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Easier said than done… when talking about an SSD.  They’re still a bit on the pricey side.  But, that’s part of the reason I won’t be putting this drive into production until it proves itself out for a few months.  I’ll be toying with VMs on my server, while the mechanical HD can quickly be hooked back up to have the server back in production in a matter of minutes.

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[quote=Aaron Ledger]

It sounds like you found it either did/didn’t work 🙂

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By that definition, then mechanical drives work that way, as well.  :-p

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[quote=Aaron Ledger]

It’s just a bunch of NAND chips and a controller. It should either work or it shouldn’t. No crazy mechanical issues to make the water murky 🙂

FWIW, the first drive I received had an issue where disk activity indicator was always on. The 1st RMA had an issue when booting and wouldn’t be recognized by BIOS.

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I reject your utopia and substitute my reality.  😉  I wrote in another thread about my experience with a Patriot Torqx which would work for a time, then would BSOD or suddenly reboot.  Generally, upon reboot, the BIOS would fail to see the drive.  Another reboot and it would usually work again.  This was on the one I purchased, as well as the one I received after an RMA.

Given that an SSD is, as you so rightly put it, just a bunch of NAND chips with a controller, it would seem that something akin to memtest would be all we’d need to test it out completely.

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I decided to order one, in spite of the reviews.  Anyone have suggestions on how to force an SSD to fail (i.e.  stress test) before install?  I’m guessing that standard HDD stress tests aren’t sufficient.

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I find it interesting that no one has listed Cablevision.  I wonder if everyone realized they sucked and went to satellite.

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Again, thanks everyone for the models and success stories.  This has mostly backed up my original thought that I need to wait a little while, if I’m intent on getting a Vertex 3 or similar generation for the server.  However, it also makes me seriously consider getting a Vertex 2 for the interim, testing the server with that and then move it to the HTPC when I finally pick up the Vertex 3 next year.

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[quote=PAPutzback]

Why run backup software. Just shut the virtual machine down and copy the VHD, VDI or whatever off to a spare drive. 

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Because that requires manual intervention.  I like automation with error emails.

@everyone:  I really appreciate all the feedback so far.  You’re definitely giving me some good data and it’s great to hear success stories about SSDs.  It does still seem to be that the folks who are having little or no issues are using drives which are about a generation behind.

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[quote=mikinho]

Depends on your Hypervisor product.   Do you know what you’ll be using?  Windows backup can do guest backups for Hyper-V andor you can take snapshots.

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I haven’t decided yet.  However, based on what I’ve previously read (months ago), Hyper-V has issues with USB devices such as the HD-PVR.  I can certainly do some thorough testing, since I’ll be using a second HDD with a fresh install and can swap back to the stable WHS drive when I’m done “playing” (as the wife calls it).

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For a few reasons:

1.  It’s only 6 months, not a year.  😉
2.  I want SATA3.
3.  The price of these should drop nicely in 6 months.
4.  I’ve waited this long.  What’s another 6 months?

Since I’m moving away from WHS and will be using a new backup solution, I’m not as confident about recovery as I currently am with the HTPC.  Not to threadjack my own post, but, now that I’m thinking about it, how exactly do you back up a VM?  Do you simply run backup software inside each guest OS?

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When my Torqx was working, it was very fast, which is why I’ve wanted one for my server for a very long time.  Primary concern is stability, followed shortly after by speed, but, I can’t justify the cost of an enterprise level SSD.  It sounds like these SSDs take up to a year to get the FW stable.  Since I like the Vertex 3’s speed, maybe I should wait until March 2012 to buy one, since that’s about a year after its release?  The fact that I’m actually saying that makes me sad.

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[quote=SJMaye]

I am running an i7-860 with stock heat sink fan.  It is sort of loud.  You can easily hear it whirring as it goes up and down in speed.  I am looking for a quiet solution. 

I have read of slowing down the stock fan and purchasing new a heatsink and fan.  Can someone here offer some guidance?

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The quietest setups tend to be the tower heatsinks, like the Thermalright Ultra-120.  But, I don’t know what kind of case you’re putting this in, so it may not fit.

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I expect a cancellation email, but it was too good an offer to not give it a shot.

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