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    Intel 320 vs any other SSD

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Ferrari353, Dec 20, 2011.

  1. Ferrari353

    Ferrari353 Notebook Evangelist

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    I currently have a 120gb Intel 320 series SSD that I got a great deal on during Black Friday and I'm planning on using it as a boot drive with a secondary HDD in the m17xr3 I'm getting, so I was wondering if I should sell my Intel 320 and get a better SSD and if so, which one?

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    Ferrari353, Dec 20, 2011
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  2. Bobmitch

    Bobmitch Notebook Virtuoso

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    If your machine has the HM65 or HM67 chipset...you can get a SATA III drive, which is about twice as fast. I have the Intel 300 GB 320 series that came in my HP Envy 17 and it runs at SATA II speeds vs If I had a SATA III drive. My random read / write speeds are 270/215, where with a SATA III I could probably achieve 500 / 350. If you want to look into SATA III drives...best bets for reliability and speed are:

    1. Crucial M4
    2. Kingston HyperX
    3. Samsung 830 series

    Kingston uses the Sandforce controller, which has been problematic with other brands like OCZ and Corsair...but somehow Kingston knows something that they are not sharing...because they are not plagued by the BSOD issue that even after firmware upgrade that Sandforce released...still exists. Crucial uses Marvel, which is a proven, stable, winner and Samsung is doing well, like Kingston. Price points...Crucial and Samsung are best priced
     
    Bobmitch, Dec 20, 2011
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  3. Ferrari353

    Ferrari353 Notebook Evangelist

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    Idk the chipset, but it's an m17xr3

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    Ferrari353, Dec 20, 2011
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  4. aintz

    aintz Notebook Evangelist

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    theres honestly no reason to sell it unless you need faster writes. but if do go for a crucial m4.
     
    aintz, Dec 20, 2011
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  5. Ferrari353

    Ferrari353 Notebook Evangelist

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    Well I was just thinking maybe I should take advantage of the sata 3 capability in the m17xr3 but I'd only do it if I could get a sata 3 ssd without spending more than I could sell the Intel 320 for.

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    Ferrari353, Dec 20, 2011
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  6. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Which isn't going to happen...
     
    sgogeta4, Dec 21, 2011
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  7. Ferrari353

    Ferrari353 Notebook Evangelist

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    Okay well how much could I sell the 320 for? The ssd is still sealed in the plastic but the box is open and stuff

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    Ferrari353, Dec 21, 2011
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  8. sniper_sung

    sniper_sung Notebook Evangelist

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    You wouldn't feel any difference (between SATA II and SATA III) in real-world applications (on laptops), unless benchmark is your favourite sports.

    The Intel 320 Series may be vulnerable of the 8MB bug: Anyone else had a repeat 8mb brick on 320 ssd AFTER firmware update. It looks like the 13x error code (due to power loss) has been fixed; however other rare 8MB error codes still occur. This is a known issue for all the Intel SSDs, including the enterprise X25-E and 710 Series.

    The Crucial M4 is a good choice if you pick up the 128GB version. The 256GB/512GB models are using 8k page size and tend to be less stable from what I observe (I have three (3) M4 512GB from different batches running on three different computers and two of them already died). Also, M4 isn't doing a lot better than the SandForce controllers causing the 0xF4 BSOD. (Don't believe it? See the Crucial forums yourself)

    The Samsung 830 Series looks good. I somehow have some trust in Samsung because ThinkPad and VAIO business laptops used lots of Samsung SSDs and they were quite reliable. For the current 830 Series, the downside for laptops is perhaps the high power consumption and heat dissipation. Also the performance recovery looks less than perfect, if the SSD is stressed to equilibrium state. (Laptop users shouldn't worry about this)

    SandForce controller based SSDs: avoid them.
     
    sniper_sung, Dec 21, 2011
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  9. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    You can ask in the marketplace to get an accurate price check on the Intel 320. If it's still sealed, it should be an easy guess though ;).
     
    tijo, Dec 21, 2011
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