X25-E G1 SLC SSD question

[idata]

Hi, just bought this SSD drive for home use and then i realized the potential problem with it.

I know that the G1 SLC is different from G2 MLC.

It has more spare-area and capacity...but we still have to pay the piper at some point.

For now, it doesn't seem to be a problem for me.

I have only installed intel chipset software during Windows 7 64 bit installation.

And I have followed the Intel SSD FAQ and did some optimization.

Disabling defragmentation and superfetch.

My question is...if i want to re-install Windows 7 or restore from backup image.

Do i need a secure erase kind of program first?

Thanks

[idata]

The X25-E is currently only available as a G1 drive and it uses SLC. It is designed for enterprise use, but if you write a lot it will still degrade just like MLC. As it is a G1 drive you don't have TRIM support from Intel, so a secure erase is the only way to get degraded performance back. I used to have a couple of X25-E's and would run a secure erase whenever I did a fresh install or re-image, which was about once every three months or so.

You don't need to do this however. Only do it if performance is dropping badly.

A secure erase should be done with Hdderase.

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=669&type=expert&pid=6 http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=669&type=expert&pid=6

[idata]

Thank for the response.

In hindsight...i didn't do my homework when shopping for a home use SSD.

At the time...i thought enterprise class and expensive...it must be good.

Hopefully, the degrading performance will not happen as often since this is for home use.

Thanks again

[idata]

I don't think you should worry about degrading performence.

The E's doesn't degrade that much, it does depend on your usage though.

I've been using E's both in servers and as boot drives and there hasn't been any reason to clean them yet.

For home use, the G2 would be a better option though. (TRIM, more space, cheaper)