Want to buy SSD, what should I consider?

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SOLUTION

Tapan Pattanaik

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Natty Greg

Since my lappy has two slots I use my SSD for Os and Programs cause it just boot up way faster, and use my regular hard disk for file storage, call me paranoid but SSD is the new kid on the block hasn't earn its stripes yet.

Plus what Tapan said

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noxcho

I am using Samsung 180GB SSD drives 840EVO and I am pretty satisfied with the performance they provide. For Windows system drive I do not need bigger SSD, For data drive use standard HDD drives.

ASKER

Hello Experts,
Thanks for the support.
@Josef, thanks for the specific model, read my findings about it at the end of my comment.
@Joe, so much information :-) I'm overwhelmed, thanks.

@Tapan, had I known the specs I wouldn't have posted here to ask Experts. :-D Just kidding. Based on your suggestions I did my research, what I found, will share at the end to know the opinion of the experts. Thanks for the specific model numbers.

@nobus, I've dual boot, Windows 7 Ultimate with Ubutnu 12.04. I work mostly on Ubuntu as I'm afraid of Windows for being the most vulnerable OS, can't trust this at all.

@Noxcho, please read below carefully as you are using Samsung 840 Evo, you must check this.

I shortlisted Samsung SSD EVO 840 but I found a certified buyer posted that AnandTech has found a bug and DO Not buy Samsung EVO 840. Here is the comment:

Samsung 840 EVO's have been diagnosed with a defect recently. The read speed of files that are older than a month have been found to be extremely low(~ 50 Mb/s & less in place of the advertised 500+ Mb/s)

I Googled and found about the Read Performance Bug

Personally, I do not like Samsung for poor after sales service, almost 0, they just want to rob you, real bastards. I need experts opinion on this, should I buy this and trust Samsung for the firmware update? And once released, apply it.

I also liked Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 but not sure if I should buy this over Samsung Evo 840? Need experts help?

So guys please help me finalizing between Crucial MX100 and EVO 840

Regards.

noxcho

If the defect was officially admitted by Samsung then they will provide the uodate soon. But frankly speaking I did not notice yet any problem with my two drives. Using them almost a year now.
About robbing, not going to advocate Samsung but this poor service is the negative side of all big companies nowadays.

SOLUTION

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Hi practitioner,

Thanks for posting that link to the AnandTech article. I was unaware of the problem. I followed a link in the article to this follow-up article:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8550/samsung-acknowledges-the-ssd-840-evo-read-performance-bug-fix-is-on-the-way

After reading all 11 pages of comments, I'm certainly concerned about the situation, since I've recently installed two 250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSDs — one a week ago and one three months ago. On the other hand, stuff like this can happen with any device/manufacturer, as I found out with my first Crucial m4 512GB SSD. I wrote an article here at EE about it — Computer Unresponsive - Crucial m4 SSD is the Culprit. A firmware update fixed the problem with the Crucial m4 and I hope that a firmware update will fix the Samsung EVO. In the meantime, you may want to go with the 256GB Crucial MX100 or the 240GB Intel 530, although nothing is immune from problems. Regards, Joe

ASKER

Hi Experts,
Thanks again,

On Anand Tech I found these two reviews and it seems EVO is faster than Intel
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7438/intel-ssd-530-240gb-review
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7173/samsung-ssd-840-evo-review-120gb-250gb-500gb-750gb-1tb-models-tested
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8066/crucial-mx100-256gb-512gb-review

But Crucial MX 100 is very close and considering your advice, I'll go with Crucial MX100.

Thanks again guys.

So this is solved, I'll close the post and assign the points for your great help.

I just checked that mine is a SATA II :-( Any final comment on this? And then let's close it :-)

Regards

most newer ones will be sata II

It's fine if your Dell Vostro 1014 has SATA II. The SATA III SSDs (6 Gbps) will operate on SATA II (3 Gbps). I installed a 512GB Micron C400 (which is the same as a Crucial m4, just different branding) on a 4-year-old laptop with SATA II and it made a big difference in performance compared to the 320GB HDD that was in it. If you want some performance comparisons with gory details on running a SATA III-capable drive on a SATA II system, check out this article:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sata-6gbps-performance-sata-3gbps,3110.html

Regards, Joe

ASKER

Hey Guys,
I bought Crucial MX100 250 GB SSD. I've allocated the points and I hope it's fair.

For users like me, stuck at which Brand and Model, must compare at the bench marking and tech sites. I mentioned AnandTech.com and experts pointed to great resources in the response to my post. I discarded Samsung Evo 840 because I came to know that there is a bug and Samsung is bad at after sales, and Crucial was very close in terms of performance without bug (I posted links).

It was a great interaction with you experts. Thanks again.

tx for feedback - and enjoy!

I think you made a good choice. Even though the question is closed, please post back here to let us know how it goes with the Crucial MX100. Regards, Joe