First SSD purchase, advice needed.

I'm considering first upgrade for my Alienware17, SSD before the GPU & my first foray into SSD space..
Open to any suggestion regarding the reliability & price to perf ratio, RAID efficiency (future scenarios), firmware, windows/linux compatibility, Longevity, OEM support.....

OEMs to consider based off MLC, Controllers and rep - Crucial MX200 1TB doesn't seem to be sold by Newegg so no price slash, 850Pros - Sammy firmware screwing up , How does Intel 730 stand - heard it's good with the power loss protection & speeds but gets heated up with higher watts consumption plus doesn't have a 1TB option, Just considering all options for a 2.5" SSD for now. So thinking about the Sandisk Extreme Pros, heard these are the best consumer SSDs in the market & NBRs favorite but why it is 960GB instead of 1TB (is it because of OP- extra space for extending performance / life ) ? and How much does end user get ?

Coming to pricing - Newegg is giving a flat $90 off on SanDisk Extreme Pro 960GB SSD @ $329.99, Sammy 850 Pros 1TB @$429 from $499 (price match guarantee), Intel 730 480GB (I presume again because of the OP, thus lower space) on the other hand is more expensive to the ~500GB counterparts of Crucial / Sammy / Sandisk, retailing at $299 (price match guarantee) vs 850 Pros @ $219 from $259.99 vs Crucial MX200 500GB cheapest of all @ $169.99 from $189.99.

Thinking about the 2TB M9T ($99 from $139)+ Extreme pros totalling of $429.98+32.25 shipped (heard, the black friday week deals are the best, they are not refurbs by any chance rt ?)



P.s - Sorry for so many questions, many thanks for your patience !!

 

Seems like you're looking into good SSDs. Performance is going to vary slightly between them depending on your workload, but if this is your first SSD, you'll be satisfied with any of them. I'd recommend getting the highest-capacity SSD you can afford, since higher-capacity generally means better performance.

The difference between 960GB and 1000GB is based on how each SSD company arranges and packages their NAND, as well as which controller they use. For best performance, it's recommended to leave some free space for overprovisioning anyway (anywhere between 10-30% of drive space, depending on the source of the recommendation), so it's unlikely the 40GB difference between those totals will significantly impact the available drive space. For instance, with the highest amount of overprovisioning recommended (30%), a 960GB drive would have 625GB of usable space, and a 1TB drive would have 651GB usable space. If that difference in capacity is important to you, then you should probably look at 2TB drives to ensure you don't run out of space.

For pricing, I'd pay less attention to the advertised savings and pay more attention to the actual price.

 

Recommendations from me are:
M600 1TB (ebay, relatively inexpensive)
Sandisk Extreme Pro 960GB
Intel 730 480GB

you really can't go wrong with any of those options.

 

go with what ur budget allows, all listed models are great another point to consider: warranty and TBW values inside warranty, in that regard the 850 pros and sandisk extreme pros give u the most at 10 years

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850 Pro and Sandisk extreme are good choices. Mlc nand is preferable and you get good warranty from both brand. I have 850 Pro and are satisfied but several other prefer Sandisk. Depends on which of these you can buy at a favorable price. The price you have to pay determines is my opinion. Have always had ssd's with Slc/Mlc nand and will not change this. There really is not much difference in speeds of the different SSD's you buy today. But stick to one of these and I think you will be satisfied. Intel 730 is also a good ssd. But if you purchase one Intel 730 now but will buy another one later so don'ot select this SSD. Produce too much heat when you fill up both slots in your laptop. If you can avoid it; Don't buy an Hdd. Fit best in a Nas . But as I said; Buy what you can afford to. Bigger is better. A larger ssd is more useful in the future than if you purchase an ssd now with a bit too little space. You may not want to use the same small ssd in your next PC/Laptop.

 

I'm a fan of the Sandisk Extreme Pro... The 850 has firmware issues and some users report coil whine... No such issues with Extreme Pro.. uses same firmware from Day 1 and works perfectly...

 

Thankyou guys for your valuable input !!

Heard Intel's reliability is highest, 730s with the dna of the enterprise SSDs plus the FIF powerloss protection seems very good, But the heat + power consumption and no 1TB option is a bummer !! Even checked those DC-S3xxx series which use HET MLC (High Endurance tech @ 1.1PB to a whopping 20PB+ of write !!) but the price is way off plus they consume high power at higher capacities work state...

I've found the MX200 offer only 3Yr warranty vs the others, To mention the Sandisk Extreme Pros have total >80TBW while the sammys boast 300TBW with a bad history of firmware update (plus 840 evo disaster) / RMA ssds / Refurbs as replacements .

Ok then, the winner is clear - The SanDisk Extreme Pro and the 850 Pro as runner up !

Edit : Now that WD plans to buy SanDisk, I hope they stick to the consumer oriented strategy and not deviate like Dell..

 

Here in the UK I'd get the 850 Evo 500GB, because it's not expensive - actually the cheapest 500GB drive on amazon uk (cheaper than BX100!)! It also performs really well, especially for normal light loads. Not as fast as say an 850 Pro for sustained abuse though, but then who really abuses it that much!

 

didnt the WD buyoff already go through? i thought i read smth like that...but yeah, consumer-oriented ftw! im sporting the sandisk extreme pro 128gb as my usb stick with lifetime warranty, so i naturally have a vested interest in sandisk's continued survival @Robbo99999 yeah, thats the ssd i got my gf for her little dell vostro laptop, she basically dropped off her chair when seeing how much faster her system got now shes complaining about how slooooooow her pc is at work @hdd

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I think this news made it to headlines only once So my guess was It's still going on..no idea what's the stance of SanDisk now..
On the other hand I was also into buying these high capacity thumbdrives, Corsair GTX 128GB but I'll pass this for now

@Robbo99999, I actually thought of getting myself a cheap entry level SSD but the firmware updates, SSD quality / data integrity, controllers, TLC lifespan all combined with OEM warranty, strategies made me think again...

 

Don't buy cheap quality ssd. You already made good choices in previous post.

 

I don't think it would have been a problem though, by the time it wears out you'll be about 100 years old! Fair enough though, Sandisk Extreme Pro is good.

 

Okay !!
Bit the bullet and got a SanDisk Extreme Pro 960GB.

I missed the newegg's blackfriday coupon which could have fetched me $75 discount, was out and even missed the newegg purchase as well (out of stock), Instead bought from Amazon with Prime free 1 day, arrived today via Ontrac carrier.


Apart from the drive, I found there's no tape on the package, instead as-usual seal with a bit of glue. check this unboxing video, its regular flap open type and mine's like the flap which cannot be used again once opened & the ssd spacer didn't come in a package like in the video as well, delving into details the backside where the barcode is visible, its placed with the wrapper side while it usually should be plastic casing side I guess..again from the video.

@TomJGX should I keep it or order from Newegg, since they are back now (heard newegg is best for computer parts) !? Plus I had returned a Nexus 6 from amazon a couple of months back since it felt refurbished kinda used type...heard IE80's from Amazon ended being fakes due to mixing of the stock with other sellers (head-fi)...

Being perfectionist is my weakness, as this is my first ssd, expensive as well. So being too smart heh..

thanks !!

I'll be reading some few things about the SSDs, will install it soon and join the Pro-SSD club soon !!

 

Return it.. Sounds like a used one... I would go with Newegg.. Only problem is their returns usually involve a restocking fee so check this out before ordering..

 

check the drive with crystaldiskinfo first and see how many TB it has already written. also check the operation time, it should give u a good indicator of how "used" it is, if at all. just keep in mind that u urself have already used it as well
in general its not a biggie, it wont give u any performance hit if its slightly used. i would, however, try and get a partial refund since u were basically promised a new drive (if it indeed turns out to be used)

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Okay got the drive from Newegg, the package is same to my suprise...returned the other drive to amazon. I think SanDisk changed the packing of the drives, still this doesn't change the opinion on amazon for me.

Will install this drive soon & post my results and experience.

 

Initiated drive as MBR instead of GPT (no IRST since I don't use raid or ssd caching atm), I won't be installing UEFI bootup anytime (no need of 980M for me, I'd go with 780M instead in this beast, will get a clevo later if I need. Can't just break my love towards Win7), with WinX a mess bricking LCD panels. Win8.x being inferior to Win7. I'm happy with MBR + Legacy Boot Win7, If needed then I'd secure erase it

Benches,

HDTune (full accurate and 8MB block size)

Spoiler: HDTune Bench 1 no OP or Partitioning

http://postimg.org/image/56otnd4a7/

Spoiler: HDTune Bench 2 after OP of 30%

http://s18.postimg.org/n0z2k7c3d/bench2.jpg

Spoiler: CrystalDiskMark after OP and partitioning

http://s16.postimg.org/m9jyzw44l/CDM.jpg

Spoiler: AS SSD

http://s14.postimg.org/wx4zdaewh/error.jpg
Note- that error that AS SSD gives me with the access time
What's causing that idk.

http://s13.postimg.org/lm85qixzr/ASSSD.jpg

Left the 29% of 894.25GB to unallocated space / OP . Using as a single partition for my games / etc while the LiteonIT mSATA 80GB serves as a Boot drive.

Still going through these threads - one, two, three & NBR's own- all @Matrix Leader

Spoiler: src :p

[email protected]

I know these silicon are afterall like humans, each ssd is different

Please let me know your thoughts on the above figures & that AS SSD error..
Thanks !!

EDIT: Idle temp 40C

 

make sure to install the latest IRST driver nevertheless, it replaces the standard microsoft sata controller drivers and will improve your ssd performance maybe thatll also take care of your as ssd error....? havent seen that one before tbh...

 

Installed the IRST and disabled superfetch / prefetch, turned off write-cache buffer flushing during the benches, on now. And now temp is ~35C.



Error stays there (People who have the same error have some programs that conflict like battery monitor, a mouse driver what not seems like I can live with it as far as the drive works properly..as the CDM and HDtune acc. time test work properly)

The drive is still virgin gotta test and install some content , busy with academic work these days can't even keep up with NBR threads....

 

nice improvement in temps, although even 40C is nothing to worry about

 

@Ashtrix I still recommend older IRST version 12.8.0.1016. Test it.

 

Oh, I'm curious about what happened to the new release ?
Now Intel also started screwing up with driver releases like nVidia ?

 

The whole computer industry + M$ screwing up thing nowadays . Think also this old IRST driver worked best for @Matrix Leader and his Aw18. On both Win 7 and 8.1. New is not the same as better . Dell use also this version for AW17 + Win 10, LOL

 

ah well, when it comes to IRST performance there are just a few % differences at best, so im not bothering to compare different versions got the current 14.7.0.1000 installed and my ssd performance is well on par with officially listed specs and/or exceeding those by a small amount, so yeah, im good

 

You can say that again! OS's, monitors, games..

 

alienwares!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

So your opinion is that everything gets better? LOL. For example; The new colored tile trash Win X He? Nice . With better snooping and less control over what you can do with an os? New and thinner gaming laptops with BGA. Hooked up with a big G / A? Even less portable but better? Thanks. Newer means better. Thank you. Finally, I learned something new .

 

i think castlbravo meant the exact opposite, so no worries, hes on our side papusan

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Thanks bro . Began to be alarmed. It has never been bigger restrictions on hardware/software than now. BGA, Crippled software and you name it .

 

Wouldn't recommend anyone to update SSD software nor drivers unless you've got a good reason to do so.

Gone so wrong so many times now lol

 

Drivers is fine, be careful with Firmware... With Sandisk SSD's, I've never seen a firmware update unlike Samsung ones... Which get updated and instead get nerfed like the 850 pro

 

omg, i felt SO LUCKY when i updated the firmware on my 850 pro "real quick" while i was at work and a day later read about all the troubles with data loss other users had with exactly that firmware update

if anything like that would have happened to me....ugh

 

Woopsie.

I meant firmware... um yes, whatever, point still stands.

 

Update -

SanDisk SSD for gaming is super smooth, first my Dota2 exp on mSATA (Liteonit) vs now SanDisk, I can see the smoothness during heavy battle scenarios too

Here SSD firmware shows updated btw.

 

hmmm does dota2 load so much data off the storage continously ingame?

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Good.

As soon as the price goes back down I'll be getting mine.

 

Don't know that much but I can say this - as the engine was upgraded to source 2 recently, the game just shines compared against the old engine, so maybe the texture packs change when needed as the game is MOBA & FPS varies when huge ganks happen, atleast with my puny GPU. So my UX was different with Dota2 on the mSATA and now on the SanDisk (same tabs opened in chrome, drivers), so thought to post it

Next upgrade is GPU & 120Hz, either a 780M (a decent GPU for me I guess) just to escape all the hassle with full UEFI boot and leaving my beloved Win7 or punch into the high end with 980M

If It's the former case then I'll join the Clevo club too, but that'll be later & I'll keep this machine as well

 

Got a Sandisk Ultra II 480 ssd.
Will be installing WinXPro-32 and Zorin9_Lite.

Here's my setup:

HDD:
WD Everyday Storage
500gb
5400rpm

SSD:
Sandisk Ultra II
480gb (am I only supposed to use 50-70% of that? :S)

Question:

Original plan was on using the WD strictly for storage of all my stuff, files, isos, etc.. And the SSD for the OS's and for installed programs(games, etc.). Zorin9Lite is pretty much just for web-browsing, and I can use XP for anything else.

How do you recomend I approach installation/partitioning?

A. HDD with a single partition (storage); SSD with two (XP/Zorin)
B. HDD with two partitions (storage/Zorin); SSD with one or two (XP/whatever)

I like option "A", but I wonder if keeping the OS's on seperate drives would avoid problems.

OR I could just put Zorin on a USB drive, but I thought it might be more convieniant to put it on the internal drive

Thanks again.

 

I don't see an advantage to partioning the ssd.

You have a non uefi obviously. Ya out Linux on the hdd option b

 

1. Installed SSD drive..
2. Used GParted to create partition on SSD drive.. (made sure things were divisible by 2048 for alignment)
3. Installed XP from CD.. (can't connect to internet as most hardware unsupported. No sign of the WD HDD)
4. Running Zorin off CD.. (No sign of WD HDD there either)
5. Attempting to get drivers off internet and onto SSD in Zorin.. (Need Service pack, can't find it)

BTW, whenever anything is happening on screen (cd running, zorin booting, programs loading), my HDD/SSD light is blinking steadily since I put in SSD. In zorin, it shows as unmounted in the file manager.

 

Update:

HDD now has two partitions (ext4-10gb/ntfs-490gb). Zorin is installed to first.

Zorin sees the SSD as "free space" in the disk manager, and the SSD is excluded in the BIOS and won't allow it to be placed in the included list above it so I can't boot up XP.

 

Alright, now Zorin won't boot: It get's to the pulsating "Z" symbol and then goes to black prompt/terminal-like screen with error that looks like this: http://askubuntu.com/questions/2862...p-waiting-for-root-device-initramfs-dev-mappe

I've been at this for 48hrrs!! All I wanted to do was install a new drive and be done with tit!!!

 

@CastlBravo Well I don't know anything about Zorin mate but OPing SSD is a good practice, you'll get 2 things - Life, Performance.
Partitioning HDD is equally good but make sure you store the stuff you access most on the first partition, the spindle needs less time to grab the data from the closest spots on the magnetic disk.

Thanks to you , I came to know about a new distro.