Gonna throw another SSD into the Mix-Intel 520 Series

Prices are becoming very competitive. Sanforce with Intel firmware. Thoughts on 240 GB vs Samsung 830. Right now, I can get the Intel $50 cheaper...

Anyone have Intel 520?

 

Yes - http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...sd-520-includes-sandforce-25.html#post8306396

 

Thanks...read the whole thread...interesting! I can't get a handle on reliability of this drive. Intel forums are showing some BSOD issues popping up, but the 520 looks like a pretty nice drive and with a five year warranty...who knows. I was pretty well convinced about the Samsung 830 series...but when I saw the difference in price for the Intel 240 GB vs Samsung 256, and the fact that Intel doesn't require OP, since a chip is left unformatted for GC and such...Intel seems to require less maintainance. I currently have the 320 series SSD and love it, BUT, it seems that the 8mb bug is returning, even with the firmware update...and I want to do something before I am hit with the inevitable...I have already cloned the 320 to a 500 GB 7200 rpm hdd...that if my machine should crash...I will swap drives and keep working, until I figure out a resolution.

Thanks again

 

What about a Marvel 88SS9174 based drive?
Cheap: Crucial M4.
With 5 years warranty: Plextor M3.

 

I'd take a look at the M4. Quite happy with the drive, and the only recent issue the M4 series has had was resolved months ago.

 

I was told to shy away, because Marvel has a new controller and that the M4 is soon to be EOL. Not sure if that is true...but I have long been impressed with the M4 and prices continue to drop. Newegg just listed the 512 GB for $599. Also read that there may be some issues with M4 and P67 and HM67 chipsets...looking into that now

 

I have the M4 and it is fantastic.

I installed the intel (240g 520) in a friends PC and it is equally awesome. Can't go wrong with either one. But for the money, i think the M4 is the best deal going right now.

 

I understand that the M4 is a great drive. Found the 520 240 GB for the same price as the M4 256 GB. I know that the M4 track record is pretty pristine...hear that the 520 series is also very good. Some reports of BSOD with the Sandforce...even though Intel has their own firmware running the drive. What I like about M4 and 520 is that they already have provisions done for Over Provisioning, so no need to OP the drive again, which means you get full capacity and no worries. Garbage collection on Intel drives and the M4 seem second to none...

 

If they are the same price, the intel is technically faster. Might be the best buy.. if you dont mind the 16gb smaller space.

 

Doesn't bother me at all. Thought I would clone my 320 / 300 GB to the new SSD...this way I maintain my recovery partition. Then put the new drive in and run recovery and reinstall OS and programs from scratch. That should take care of alignment and clean install. Mind you, the Intel really has 256 GB of space, but they partitioned 16GB out as part of over provisioning. Crucial uses free space on the drive for Garbage collection. This way...the end user gets the whole drive to use. Get the Samsung 256GB and first thing you do after install is create OP. So in essence...you get 238 GB after OP with Samsung...Object is to never fill the drive past 85% and you should maintain speed. Samsung claims that with OP...their drive lasts longer. Then answer why Intel has a five year warranty on the 520 series and Samsung only three...


Then I would wipe the 320 series drive and replace my D drive (750 GB HDD) and have two SSD's in my system. My port 0 is SATA III and port 1 is SATA II...so perfect match. I have HM67 chipset in my Envy, so all should work fine.

My main concern is reliability. Right now, Intel released a firmware to cure the 8mb bug that plagues the 320 series. From what I read on the Intel forums...the bug is back...and just a matter of time before the drive tanks. I have already cloned a 500 GB HDD, that should the bug bite before I get a new drive...I can install the HDD and have it run like normal...slow, but normal. I can still use Intel Data Migration tool to clone that drive to new SSD at that time...

Here's what I am talking about...

Anyone else had a repeat 8mb brick on 320 ssd AFTER firmware update.

This is just one of the threads talking about 320 series issues. There are other threads about 10x longer...this one is an easy read

 

The Crucial M4 and Samsung have a 3 years warranty.
The Intel 520 and Plextor M3 have a 5 years warranty.
So if you don't want to go back to Intel, i would consider Plextor if warranty equals reliability...

 

I was warned off the Intel 520 series from the Intel forums. Seems that the drive suffers from BSOD like typical Sandforce. I really have always liked the Crucial M4 and now, check on the new Plextor M3 Pro series. They took the M4 to the next level and pretty much matched Sandforce speeds with Marvel. It has the same controller as the M4, but for some reason...they tweaked the firmware to get some of the best speeds I have seen to date. Random was like 550/500. 4K exceeded 100 write...pretty awesome stuff. I have always liked Crucial as a company. Their support is right up there with Intel and EVGA. Plextor's support was always pretty good as well

 

I know it is a very hard decision what to get... I heard of issues with almost every SSD or controller out there.
I myself didn't think about Plextor and ended up with the Samsung 830 128GB and loving every GB of it.
My new choice would be the Plextor M3 pro because I really like the idea of having 5 years of warranty, the support is good and the speed is amazing.
Maybe when 128 GB of Sammy is full I transfer it to my little sons Lenovo E520.
Good luck with your choice and keep us informed.

 

Tweak to the Marvel firmware, 24nm toggle flash memory from Toshiba...put it all together and you get probably the fastest SSD to date...check this out:

Plextor M3 Pro 256GB (PX-256M3P) Solid State Drive Review :: TweakTown USA Edition

I think I found my SSD to replace the Intel 320 series as OS drive. Just have to wait a bit for a good deal. Right now...as expensive as the Samsung. I hope for at least a $30 drop in the next month. Once other vendors start carrying it...right now...only Newegg...

 

Great Thread. I was shocked at the 520 talk, i had always thought the Intel drives were bulletproof. I even put a 520 in my buddies 4.3K rig the other day.. Woops

 

Let's hope your buddy is one of the lucky ones. Doesn't seem that the Intel 520 is as prone to BSOD as other brands with Sandforce...However, it still shows signs. Looks like Intel is gonna have to keep working on the firmware. Just as big an issue is the fact that the Intel 320 series is showing signs of the 8mb bug again. Not sure Intel is gonna keep their pristine record that way if they don't start fixing things....

 

Well...this may make me look like a hypocrite, but Newegg put the Samsung 830 series 256 gB SSD on sale today for $309. My local Fry's is matching the price. Don't know how I can turn that deal down. Need to save a few $$$, and as Tom's Hardware says...buy the one you can afford. This option gives me reliability, speed and a very good price. More later

 

Nothing wrong with an Samsung 830 I also really like their toolbox. it makes OP easy and painless.
Samsung 830 Series SATA 3 512GB SSD Review - Amazing Performance and an Unbeatable Toolbox - The SSD Review

 

Just a bit disappointed in the performance. AS SSD and Crystal DiskMark don't seem to jive. Random is slighly off and 4k is really off from benchmarks I have seen. Mind you...I DIDN"T install my OS clean. I used Acronis True Image to clone my Intel SSD to the Samsung. I did it twice, because my recovery partition stopped working altogether...no biggie. However, I did not do a secure erase of the drive before the second clone. Got a bit nervous when I read a question sent to Samsung that secure erase also erased the drive's serial number...Hmmm! Overall...the drive is twice as fast as the Intel 320 for writes. About 75% faster in reads. 320 did 270/205 in random.

 

issue with performance is not drives fault, using notebook computer and overenthusiastic power saving options (both in bios and os) seriously limits ssd speeds and it'll be very hard to get same results like on desktop computers.

therefore, today we all have to search for optimal ssd + notebook model + settings combination as fastest drive might not be any faster than some other cheaper model.

 

There are some tweaks you can apply and see if they make a difference...
But most likely you are just tweaking the benchmark scores and they will have no real life impact.
1. Turn Off Windows Write-Cache Buffer Flushing…Or Not
Taken from The SSD Optimization Guide - The SSD Review Turning it off imporoved my writes somewhat.
2. Change Turn off hard disk after to 0 minutes in the power options.
Taken from The SSD Optimization Guide - The SSD Review
3. Apply JJB's tweak: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...-intel-series-4-5-965-chipsets-jjb-tweak.html
4. Use the tweaks in Samsungs SSD Magician: OS Optimization, Over Provisioning and at last Performance Optimization.
Ideally you should try each individual tweak and benchmark it to see if there is an improvement or not...
Before:

After:


On my SATA II notebook.

 

Set power scheme to High Power and did the tweaks. HP really messes with the settings....No dramatic effect on 4K but everything else

 

Sorry, no more suggestions... just enjoy your fast SSD.

 

Thanks...Actually best scores are achieved with the tweaks done to the HP settings for Power Management. It is a combination of things...but I was on the phone with Samsung for a bit today...just mucking with some settings...then he had me do the high power settings and the suggested tweaks...and my scores actually went down. So back to the "tweaked" HP settings and all is good. My write speeds for random outdo most and I am about 15% off on the 4K writes...I will figure it out...but I can say this...this is a great drive and it outperforms my Intel 320 series by a landslide. Real world...doesn't feel all that different...but with the impending issue with Intel 320 series...I can rest easier. If and when Intel fixes the firmware to totally stop the 8mb bug...I will then put the Intel back in as my D drive. That ought to really rock the Envy.

Thanks for your help...I repped you earlier...you are thoughtful and helpful...

 

Thanks for the rep and kind words, I really enjoyed this thread.
Maybe you can explain in more detail the settings and tweaks you have used to get the best performance?

 

I figured that since I purchased this drive...would be best to do a "clean" install. Installed with my HP recovery disks (contains a lot of licensed programs for 3D in particular)...

Took some tweaking to get here...but looking better. Totally disabled Pagefile on the SSD and moved it to D. Mind you...did this without wiping the drive. Left the machine to idle for a couple of hours last night...get it's garbage collection going. Here are the results this morning...