Comparing 2nd Gen Samsung SSD performance in the real world
Picture: Dell Latitude E4200 running Samsung’s 64gb 2nd Generation Ultra Performance SSD
There is lots of information out there with SSD benchmarks but I was more interested in looking at how this latest SSD compares with the other equipment I use to help put the speed benefits into some practical perspective.
| Form | Type | Average Transfer rate | Access Time |
| Business Laptop | Samsung 64gb SSD | 112.0mb/sec | 0.2ms |
| Business Desktop | Samsung 500gb 7200 rpm | 65.3mb/sec | 16.3ms |
| Media Laptop | WD 320gb 5400 rpm | 48.3mb/sec | 17.1ms |
As you can see the Samsung SSD is streets ahead of any of the more traditional hard disk technologies I use.
Even better news is I know there is even more performance to come from the likes of the Intel’s X-25M with it’s blistering 234mb/sec transfer rate. So I guess I am saying it looks like SSD is coming of age.
So how does the Samsung 2nd Gen SSD compare to a typical desktop PC
Picture: 500gb 7200rpm Samsung.
This PC has a relatively modern Samsung HD501LJ 500gb Sata 300 drive and would be fairly typical of a hard disk in a desktop PC of today.
As you can see the average transfer rate and access times don’t compare favourably with the SSD.
One thing I would love to see is fast SSD drives being an option on Desktop PC’s. It just makes sense to me to have a fast boot drive then a large capacity 2nd drive for the data. Sounds like the best of both worlds to me.
Next up 5400rpm Laptop Hard Disk
In this performance comparison the more traditional 320gb 5400 rpm drive was annihilated by the ultra performance SSD. That said the high capacity 320gb is something that’s just simply not possible with the limited storage capacity of today’s available SSD’s.
So for a media laptop with high storage capacity (256gb+) and performance SSD = nirvana.
Thoughts
I think ultra performance SSD is going to be a game changer and for the first time in a very long time in technology I get a glimpse of what computer’s will be capable of just a few years down the road. In a world post Windows Vista, post hard disks that have to rotate and spin.
Sometimes I find something in technology that’s just so impressive I say to myself “I’m never buying one of these without that again”. Examples from the past would be:-
Laptops with a DVD drive
Laptops with a Wireless Network Card.
And now a Laptop with Performance SSD joins that list.
I’m glad I waited out the first generation SSD and have jumped into the water at the right time just as the performance took a great forward and the SSD’s of tomorrow look even better.
