Allyn’s Holiday Gift Picks

Our resident storage analyst and military man, Allyn decided to go all solid state this year with his holiday picks.  Read on for his recommendations for affordable SSDs (yes, there is such a thing!).

My picks this year are naturally storage related. I’ll steer clear of HDD’s, as flooding in Thailand has pushed those prices high enough to save those purchases for 2012. That leaves SSD’s. Since they are pricey (and stocking stuffer sized), we’ll keep things on the relatively cheaper side. First up is a rebate running on the Intel 320 Series models:

Intel 320 Series SSD 80 GB – $90 USD (with rebate)

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The rebate may only be good until 20 December, but it will net you an 80GB model for $90 ($50 off, and $1.12/GB)!

Aside from the Intel rebate, there are other SATA 3Gb/sec drives available at a decent cost. Previous generation SandForce-based units are going for a decent cost/GB, even without rebates, like this 120GB Vertex 2 currently priced at $156 ($1.30/GB):

OCZ Vertex 2 (SATA II) 120 GB SSD – $156 USD

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SSD prices are always in a state of flux, especially during the holiday season. If you’re after a particular controller, your best bet is to keep an eye on our SSD Decoder and check for those manufacturers / models you prefer.

PC Perspective SSD Decoder – Free

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Give the best gift of all by giving them a great resource to track down exactly the SSD that your techie loved one wants.

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