Intel 750 PCIe SSD = Worst SSD in the world! [Fixed]

I was cheated by the reviews of this SSD. Yes it gives superb benchmark numbers, it would make you drool over them thinking this is the best SSD made ever since sliced bread.


So when I ordered my Origin PC Millennium, I also added the Intel 750 1.2TB PCIe SSD to the configuration. I received my system, everything works great, benchmarks are great, copying large files from one partition to the other on this Intel 750 PCIe SSD is super fast, it makes you think it's like a RAM Cache because of how fast it is, but that's it!!


The boot up/restart time is super slow! Even slower than an HDD for God's sake!


I then saw many users complaining on the Intel Forums, see: Why is the Intel 750 Slow to boot?

I was checking every day like 5 times waiting for a driver or firmware update that would fix this. I've been doing this for a month until last night I lost hope and faith in Intel. The thing is, it's not just the initializing of the NVMe controller, I can deal with that 5 sec delay at startup but even after it does initialize, the Windows loading screen takes ages even with no software or drivers installed. Installing the latest Intel PCI nvme driver doesn't help this at all.


Example:

Windows 7 on a normal SATA SSD = 10-12 seconds boot

Windows 7 on the Intel 750 PCIe SSD = 25 second boot


Windows 10 on a normal SATA SSD = 8 second boot

Windows 10 on the Intel 750 PCIe SSD = 20 second boot






So yesterday I removed this pile of trash SSD and installed my SanDisk Extreme PRO 256GB SSD as the OS drive in addition to my two SanDisk Extreme PRO 960GB SSDs as Data drives and man I felt like I bought a new system!! Now I truly feel the power of my PC! I was crippling my entire experience and performance with this new PC due to this crappy and expensive SSD.

Intel doesn't seem to be the least bothered to fix this problem although this issue should be on their priority list!


The only good thing I think this SSD is for maybe video editors or people who constantly need to copy large data from one partition to the other otherwise this is by far the worst SSD I have ever owned since 5 years. Even my 5 year old LiteOnIT first gen SSD is better than this!


Screw you Intel! Never touching any SSD that has Intel or Samsung on it EVER again! I put it up for sale on a local website here in Dubai hoping I can get back some of the money I wasted on this.


SanDisk/OCZ/Crucial FTW

 

You are entitled to your opinion, but reviews I read mentioned that fact (slow boot) many times.

I would be pissed at this SSD too if all I did with my system was boot and reboot it and compare it to any SATA3 SSD from the last decade.

But for most workflows, time taken booting the computer (especially a desktop) is not part of how it's used or measured for productivity. It certainly isn't for me.

And less than 30 seconds between two O/S' for a normally one time boot up a day is not a deal breaker for the "... everything works great, benchmarks are great, copying large files from one partition to the other on this Intel 750 PCIe SSD is super fast, it makes you think it's like a RAM Cache because of how fast it is..." way you describe it otherwise.

But to each his/her own.

If you think the Ford Mustang HO is out performing a Ferrari, then it is.

 

In this case the Mustang goes 0-60 much faster

 

But imagine this bro, I re-install my OS a lot, switching between 10 and 7 or when a lot of driver updates are out, I reinstall or image back to the point before installing the drivers.

Now I make sure I reboot after every driver installation, that works best, it takes me triple the time installing drivers on this Intel 750 man I could swear to God I am using an HDD not an SSD because of how slow it is. Yes after it's booted it's fast but that ruined the whole snappiness factor which is the number one factor for me.

 

yeah like 5 times faster, even a V6

 

Matrix Leader, after you're done toying with your new PC, you'll soon realize there is no need to turn off desktop, at all. Also, rebooting after every driver installation is a pointless waste of time.

 

Your assumptions are that the 0-60 'score' is what performance is about.

And if you really think a Mustang HO is still better, you're comparing to the wrong Ferrari.

To clarify what performance is for a car: being able to take it to the 10/10 limit and back without losing control.

Ford; good. Ferrari; better.

 

As I indicated already, if that is how you use your systems, then your opinion is valid.

Myself, I've been through the tweaking stages and just need a system with as much uptime and performance as possible which always gets me the most productivity in the long run.

I want fast and faster and the most snappiness possible. But once a certain level of those are reached, stability, dependability, availability and reliability of the system is what combines to make one platform or specific system more productive than another.

Getting better benchmark 'scores' or shaving milliseconds or even minutes off of seldom repeated routines is not helping with the above. Especially as it usually does; it requires a complete rebuild of the system once things go south (and they do...).

Use the most appropriate components you can to match your workflows and expectations.

But the key is to always question/test/compare and evolve your workflows (over time) and adjust your expectations to have the least impact on you overall (time-wise) on each facet of your life.

It is easy to do what you're doing for me because I have many (identical) systems to continue to be productive with while still pursuing the next driver, O/S, or component switch.

But when one has a single system (or main system to do almost everything with), this kind of experimental tweaking has a large toll on one's time and one I quickly outgrew because of life's other demands and the realization that having even a one month old system tweaked to the 99.9999% level is not worth the time investment needed to keep it at that level over time... not when for mere $$$$ I could get real performance/productivity increases by simply buying a new platform, component or once in a while, an O/S.

And in the meantime, I continue receiving the benefits of a stable and fast enough system which takes as little of my daily time as possible.

 

I'm using Intel 730 and Samsung drives and very happy with them, 750 is trash... I tried fit two weeks and gave up sent it back.

 

There hasn't been a good Intel SSD since the 320 series.

 

*X25-E

 

Indeed.

Many a times I find myself just wishing for a 4ooGB version of X-25E...

All jokes aside, it seems that 750 - while looking very interesting specs-wise - was a purchase highly incompatible with OP's needs.

Not to rub salt in anyone's wounds - especially for the fact that the SSD in question is not a $25 throwaway item - but that's what one gets for being an unpaid beta tester for new technologies.

Me? I still reach to unlimber my Kimber when someone recommends a SF-based drive...

 

I wouldn't ever buy another SandForce SSD. I bought one of the first few ones with the "bulletproof" SF-1200 controller. Except small capacity ones filled up quick and became slow as molasses. You get what you paid for, so since 2009/2010, I've only bought Intel, Samsung and Crucial SSDs (with non SF controllers). I paid more for the X25-M, Samsung controllers and Marvell controllers, it's just worth it.

 

+1

Bought a Kingston Hyper-X 480GB a few years back, it showed on the box 550MB/500 Read/Write speed so I thought great! I benchmarked it with ATTO Disk Benchmark and it was right, 550/500MB read write speed!

Then I copied a few large files from one partition to the the other on the same SSD and the speed drops down to 170MB/S! so I researched and found out that is because of the crappy SandForce controller it only excels with compressible data, but most data may not be compressible so we get this horrible performance. Then I ran a test with CrystalDiskMark and it showed how bad the SSD was! Never touch a SandForce SSD Again!

 

Lol.. Never ever buy Kingston SSD's.... I hope you returned it...

 

Yes at first I contacted their support, they gave me a new firmware which didn't solve the issue. Then they gave instructions to the shop to give me my money back.

My argument to them was, you guys have a small print on the box under the benchmark saying "Achieved with ATTO Disk Benchmark" and ATTO Disk Benchmark uses compressible data' hence, why it actually shows the score you claim, you are cheating customers into thinking this is the actual performance of the SSD when in the real world, it doesn't even come close to that! Heck if it gave me 350 MB/S I would be happy but it was not even achieving 30% of the advertised speed in the real world. They were shocked and couldn't say a thing so they just approved the return.

 

I've been reading about SSD's since 2009 and from day 1 was always told Never ever buy Kingston SSD's lol.. Well it's a lesson learnt... Those SSD's are a complete joke... Hmm... I'm thinking of new SSD's... Would you still recommend Extreme Pros or any other new ones out there? What is the best PCIe SSD that can go in laptops? I really need some more storage space...

 

Avoid the Intel 750 like the plague.

I still did not find any SSD better than the EXTREME PROs.......gives me the same great performance every single time.

Heck, you were the one who told me to sell my Samsung 850 PRO and get the snappinness king Extreme Pro........well you and @tilleroftheearth

 

Yet the 850 Pro beats out the Extreme Pro in every review. hmmm.

 

Nah, not every review. Synthetics don't mean squat in the real world.

 

I mean, I've actively searched for the extreme pro vs the 850 PRO and the 850 PRO always beats it. What reviews would you suggest? I even looked at user benchmark and the Samsung scores higher than the Sandisk.

 

You have obviously not looked hard enough.

See:
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6628/samsung-850-pro-512gb-ssd-review/index8.html

They might have been surprised, but I'm not. Samsung SSD's feel laggy to me. They have some snap when they're fresh and new, but even with 50% OP'ing... they are garbage for sustained heavy storage subsystem workloads vs. an SanDisk Extreme Pro w/30% OP'ing.

And not to put too fine a point on this, but the steady state performance lead of the SanDisk Extreme Pro is almost 44% with no OP on either drive. Even the SanDisk Extreme II at over 2 years old is still superior to the latest Samsung offering (that can do no wrong with some...).

See:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/06/05/sandisk_240_gb_extreme_ii_ssd_review/8#.VgNS2WaFNZU


Look at the last graph in the link above. Too bad they don't do this type of testing anymore.

The above are just what you might accept as 'proof' that Samsung SSD's aren't all they are marketed to be... in my own testing, I don't care about any 'score' except the time saved when I test a component in my workflows vs. what I have/had before. Samsung is not on any of my main workstations (mobile or desktop), but I was bamboozled into keeping one in my less stressed notebook (I passed the return period and in any event, I had copied data to the drive - and I've never returned any drive I've put my own (or my clients) data on).

 

@tilleroftheearth

Just updated the firmware and boot time went down from 15 seconds from the moment I see the Windows Loading icon to 8 seconds!!

Instructions to update the firmware using the Intel Data Center Toolbox.

After installing the Intel SSD Data Center Toolbox:

You need to go to the folder where you installed isdct, by default it will be c:\isdct


Then follow the pictures to open an admin command prompt.









When you then have the admin command prompt open and in C:\isdtc> you just need to input the correct command to flash it.


This is the command to list the Intel SSD's connected to your system: isdct show -intelssd


To update the firmware of an eligible SSD type: isdct load -intelssd 0


Updating the SSD with controller index "0" replace "0" with the eligible number shown with the "-list" command previously that should have shown that an update is available.

Reboot once the firmware update has been done.