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Looking for SSD Brand/Model Recommendations

Ok, I did the SSD thing back in Feb-Mar of this year, getting 16Gb Kingston SSD & using it for my operating system and selected music files.

My findings paralleled others... my cMP setup sounded best with just the SSD in the system, no HDD. A very close second was with both the SSD & the HDD connected, but the music file being played on the SSD. And a still very good close third was with the SSD & HDD both connected, but with the music file being played from the HDD.

All of these were significant steps-up from just having an HDD in the system with both the Op Sys and music files on it.

I didn't want to go through the hassle of dynamically moving files from my HDD to my SDD ala 'the Ryeland method'. So I purchased a 128Gb SSD, also Kingston. I copied my Op Sys & 'most-played favorite music' onto it, and put it in the system. After getting the SSD setup, it stopped working. I sent it back and after receiving a replacement, I configured it in the same manner & put it in the system.

But it may be causing a problem, so I may need to replace it. To save those of you who may not want to read all the sordid details about the problem I've been chasing, I've described it in the "PS" to this note.

Since I've already had one 128Gb Kingston go bad and a 2nd that may be causing this problem, I'm looking for feedback on other brands and models of SSDs.

Ryelands posted a note on the main Computer Music Asylum with a link to an article about a guy with tinnitus having problems with an Intel SSD (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1107-page2.html). Even though I don't have tinnitus, I'll cross them off the list.

The other brands listed on Newegg with an affordable 128Gb SSD are:

ADATA
Corsair
Crucial
GSkill
Mushkin
OCZ
Patriot
Plextor
Samsung
Wintec
Zalman

Anyone have experience with any of these and have positive or negative comments?

TIA!

Greg in Mississippi

P.S. The problem I have has to do with my system locking-up and making a squealing sound. From cold, it'll run anywhere from 6-30 hours or so before locking up. After it's warmed up, it may lockup in as little as 2-3 hours, but typically it'll go another 6-10 hours. That it seems to happen more quickly after it warmed up (and that it's pretty warm with all those linear supplies) have me suspecting it's related to heat.

OTOH, it did run ok with the fully linear motherboard supplies over the last 9-10 months, so I don't suspect them.

I had the same symptoms about 1 1/2 years or so ago after implementing my add-on AK4399-based DAC on a Juli@ digital section. Then, the issue appeared to be related to how the Juli@ card was inserted into the PCI slot. Re-seating the Juli@ would normally correct the problem until I changed things again and had to take the Juli@ out and put it back in.

Of course, the interior of the case was not as warm back then, as I hadn't implemented the full linear supply yet... and the problem didn't start happening until after I put in the larger SSD & about the same time, did a couple of other upgrades/experiments on my cMP. These included:

1. Trying a different add-on DAC card based on the ESS9022 DAC as used in the NuForce Icon. I had mounted it to it's own modified Juli@ digital section... but the problem occurs with both the AK4399/Juli@ and this DAC.

2. Restructuring the linear supply for the drives so the SSD & the HDD each have their own separate regulator mounted right on the power plug at the drive.

I looked at a number of potential sources of the problem and tried a number of things to fix it, including these to see if it had to do with something overheating:

1. Ran the system with the top off
2. Put a larger heatsink on the SSD power regulator
3. Swapped power regulators between the HDD & SSD
4. Remounted the SDD for better airflow around it
5. Removed the damping material I added on the Juli@ digital section's chips just in case they were causing the chips to overheat. Since this didn't fix the problem, I put the damping back on as it sounded slightly better with the damping.
6. Examined the motherboard & saw that I had knocked the larger heatsink mounted on the motherboard chips loose, so I re-mounted it securely.
7. To see if having the heatsink not secure to the chip in the motherboard had damaged it, I tried a different motherboard.
8. Used an infrared thermometer to check for hot spots, especially on chips or heatsinks. Most chips/heatsinks were under 120F, a couple of the linear supply chips are around 130F, and the rectifiers for the 5v supply are the hotspots at about 150F. Still, all are fairly cool for electronics, all within specs, and none are hotter than they were before.

To see if it was related to a specific Juli@ digital section, I modified another Juli@ digital section and mounted my AK4399-based DAC card on it. The problem still occurred with either that Juli@/DAC combo or the one with the ES9022 DAC.

None of these steps resolved the problem or even pointed to a possible solution.

Next I'll try going back to my original smaller SSD. If that stops it from locking up, then I'll try a different 128Gb SSD... hence the main part of this post!

Everything matters!


Edits: 08/13/11
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