Linux support for X25-M SSDs and reliability

[idata]

I have a computer with a Asus p5e3 deluxe , a Quadcore q6600 and a Nvidia Quadro FX 570 that i use for 3d design, Autodesk Maya , and i want to buy two pair of SSds ( probably Intel X25-M 80 GB G2 or OCZ Vertex II 30 or 60 GB ) for use for the OS (Linux , Centos 5.3 x86_64).

I have some dudes about Intel x25-m ssds , and although i have searched in the forum , i didint came to any conclusion.

I know that in kernel 2.6.28 TRIM is supported , using EXT4 , but will that work for intel SSds ?

It is TRIM command supported for intel SSDs in linux via third part scripts like OCZ wiper , or best using some other application at least a bit proved ?

I don't care to try scripts , or applications , to be able to get a SSD work better , or get better performance once used , but i want a SSD , that once i have used it a bit , will not drop too much its performance , without being able to do anything to fix it.

I am a linux user , and although i am still learning , i have not problems to read,investigate , and try to fix problems if i can , but i want at least a bit of reability and warranty that i will not have to buytwo pair of velociraptors , because my pair of SSDs in raid 0 have problems with trim or other issues.

I have read that SSDs is still a inmature technology , but , how much, because , i am prepared to mess with docs , and investigate , but idon't want to waste my money and time.

What it is the chance of buy two intel x25-m ssds to put in raid 0 and have problems with them (problems that are not easily fixed) ?

I want some reliability , and " warranty " , thats all , i can read , investigate , and work hard to get something work , as linux user i am , but i don't want to have a brick instead of a SSD , or in 8 months see that instead 200 MB/s in read , i have the half , because there are not good Trim implementations for linux yet , or don't work ok.

[idata]

I'm running Ubuntu 9.10 Karma with the ext4 filesystem and i have had no problems with the Intel drives. On direct reads I achieve 250 MB/sec. There are some programs that "trim" the drive, but I'm not using them. One thing people don't understand that Anand pointed out in his article is that the Intel SSD aggressively tries to keep the performance up. How they do it, is not discussed but it is evident by the benchmarks done by Anand.

If i my drive ever gets to the point where it is degraded to the point of being slower than a HDD, then I will do a secure erase.

Also, though Linux recognizes the commands, I don't think any distribution actually implements the trim command by passing to the SSD. At least this is the case in Ubuntu.

I doubt very seriously that the Intel SSD will degrade to < 200 MB/s, not unless you are doing a awful lot of writing. I have linux setup so that the tmp files go to memory since I have enough memory and I also use memory to store cache for my browser.

In my opinion the only real viable ssd that work very well are OCZ and Intel. I like the Intel because reliability. I have 2 gen 1s(80 GB) and 1 gen 2(160 GB). The only drawback to the Intel is cost and max storage. This is where OCZ has Intel beat. OCZ has a lot of scripts/programs that can be run in Linux, which Intel doesn't have. And the other feature OCZ has is "garbage collection" which suppose to work with any OS. GC tries to keep the drive at peak performance. Although Intel doesn't advertise "garbage collection", they must be doing something to keep their drives at peak performance; even without TRIM, they just don't give a name.