SSD Thread (Benchmarks, Brands, News, and Advice)

problem is how can i install the latest firmware(if required) if the OS is not installed?

 

Obviously you install the ssd before you do anything else to the other hhd and upgrade the firmware then install the os on the ssd if your computer doesn't have two hard drive bays then sucks don't it

Sent From My Rooted EVO 3D

 

as i mentioned, i only have 1 ssd awaiting for new laptop and i don't have other computers to install the latest firmware(except work's computer) hmmm

 

You dont require another HDD or anything to update SSD firmware. You download the firmware and burn the .iso image to a cd, normally. You can do this BEFORE you install your new drive using your existing machine (or other any other machine with internet access).

You would then physically install the SSD and then boot from the .iso image on the cd you made - that would update your drives firmware.

Then proceed as normal. Install OS and relevant drivers etc etc

 

Is it safe to guess that the new laptop will have a hard disk drive and that an operating system will be installed on it?

If so, do what everyone else has indicated. If not, you'll want to find your favorite nerd, present a box of Twinkies and a 12 pack of Mountain Dew before you request his/her assistance.

No, seriously though... If the laptop isn't bootable when it arrives, use a desktop computer (yours or otherwise) to make a bootable disk that you can use on the laptop. If the laptop is a netbook without an optical drive, you will need a bootable USB stick. If you don't have that, then buy a cheap USB stick. If that won't work, attach the SSD to the laptop and install your operating system but DO NOT ACTIVATE it. Then get the firmware, flash the SSD, install your operating system fresh and ACTIVATE it if you wish.

Keep in mind, if you look at the label and the firmware is current, simply attach the SSD appropriately and install your operating system. You may be worrying too much already. Did you look at the sticker on the SSD? Is it up-to-date?

 

Oh ok I see how that is more convent haha thanks for correcting me

Sent From My Rooted EVO 3D

 

SSD due to arrive this week together with new laptop and no, there is no HDD and OS in the new laptop(self-supplied)

If I was right, I just need to boot the new laptop from iso(cd) that i've made and it will update the firmware right?

 

I just ran CrystalDiskMark on my SanDisk Extreme (Sandforce-2281) 240Gb SSD:



I'm pretty impressed tbh

 

I just got my Crucial M4 128GB installed. Upgraded the firmware to the latest and then I cloned my HDD to my SSD using Acronis. My laptop is SATA II, so I think this is what I should expect...

 

just received crucial 256gb and the firmware is 000F. do i need to upgrade the firmware?

 

Nope

/10

 

Just bought a Crucial M4 256GB to replace my Intel 160GB G2. How much of a performance increase should I expect? Anything noticeable at all? I primarily upgraded because I needed more capacity and needed a HDD of some sorts for my new HTPC build.

 

In my experience, An Intel 160GB G2 performed near(er) HDD levels, a 256GB M4 partitioned to the same 160GB capacity as the G2 would finally perform at 'ssd' levels - and continue to perform at that same level given Win7, AHCI and IRST drivers installed.

 

i just received my M4 256gb from the recent buy.com deal

just as vicvelcro says, the firmware is printed on the sticker. mine says 000F, which, according to this page seems to be the latest

 

000F is the most current, as of 06-20-2012.

I finally figured out what to do with the one I bought... It benches a bit faster than my smaller capacity Samsung 830 in some ways but slower in other ways. All in all, about the same.

 

Is that mail it to my house ;D


Sent From My Rooted EVO 3D

 

Crucial M4 512GB in a Clevo P150EM:

 

just slapped a Corsair Force 3 240 into my XPS 17... theese look ok?


ATTO_CFORCE3 by homer_habs, on Flickr


CDM_CFORCE3 by homer_habs, on Flickr

 

Various models of mSATA SSDs:

MKNSSDAT120GB-DX - Mushkin Enhanced

Solid State Drive, SSD, Military, Aerospace, Marine, Industrial, Embedded, Enterprise

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=T....,cf.osb&fp=1deb3a27a4d9b1ab&biw=1138&bih=533

XPG SX300 SATA 6Gb/s mSATA Solid State Drive, Description, SX300, XPG, Solid State Drive, Welcome to ADATA

mSATA SSD | Super Talent Technology - SSD | Solid State Drives

 

I have a Lenovo x230 in the mail and I need to start looking around for a SSD for it. Since it uses 7mm height drives, I need one that will fit. I see that the SAMSUNG 830 should work as it's really thin. Any other suggestions that would work?

 

The M4 will work if you remove the spacer.

 

Thanks. It turns out the Samsung 830 will fit in a 7mm drive.

 

Hi.. I don't understand.. I have a Viao VPCEB37FD with an i-5 series 1 core and 8 GB RAM and a Crucial M4 256, and it is running at about half of what it should run on a PC. I did some research and found that this is NORMAL for laptops running the Intel Series 5 chipsets..

I don't want to make this mistake when I upgrade next year.. I've wasted hours searching for anwers to which chipset on a laptop is best for an SSD and I can't find any answers... What's the point of only get 222 when I could be get 460.... So. which chipsets on a laptop are designed for max perfomance of an SSD?

 

Each CPU generation has it's own set of chipsets.

Arrandale: Series 5
Sandy Bridge: Series 6
Ivy Bridge: Series 7

The new chipsets don't suffer from the same problems as Series 5. Also note that even with the "slow" chipset, your SSD still outperforms a HDD by a ridiculously large margin.

 

edit/ too many questions, will just start a thread

 

SSD installed in my Acer Aspire 5942g.
I cloned my HDD with acronis true image home and then i restarted using for the first time ssd as my main drive.
The thing is that i got a read error no matter how many times i tried to reboot, repair disk etc.
After a while i gave up, i put my old hdd in and started working.
When i had time i plugged in the ssd again with the intention of installing windows 8, as i was sure that a fresh install is going to be needed in order for my ssd to work.
Unfortunately there was a problem again as during the installation i was asked for a serial for windows 8.
When downloading i didnt notice any serials mentioned and the one from my windows 7 install didnt work.
Anyway, i tried repair disk from windows 8 cd and for once more i got the message that it can not be fixed.
So i rebooted and for no reason it started normaly booting the cloned windows 7 installation.
No idea what changed.
Do you have any?

The speed is good and im happy with performance.
My windows index fro hdd drive went up from 5.9 to 7.7
Also, ssd life gave me the life expectancy of the photo.
Is it normal?

 

Normal?

No.

If you depend on this notebook as your mail/only system - I would not be happy with these incidents.

I would SE the drive and do a Clean Win7 install (forget about Win8 for now - it has issues of its own).

If it can get through that without a hiccup - then I might be tempted to keep this drive - if it continued to give flakey results - I would be returning it ASAP.

 

I was asking if the life expectancy that ssd life is giving me is normal.

Regarding the read error, i think that it was not alligned properly and because i changed the hdds one time something happened that made my ssd work.
I dont know if that makes any sense but it gave me the impression that my ssd couldnt be recognized as my C drive.
The thing is that after the first installation, i did not have any other problem, it was just the first start.
Now there are no problems at all and its pretty steady no matter what.

 

I use acronis too. if I remember corectly, we have to use Disk Management (in Windows) after cloning and assign a drive letter (any alphabet will do). Then it will boot nicely to the new image that we just cloned.

 

I didnt do that.
Maybe that was done somehow by swapping the drives again.

 

SSD Life is nothing I would trust and those 'hiccups' you experienced were not resolved by switching drives.

I would not be trusting this install for any serious work if I were in your shoes...

 

Then i will get an image with acronis just in case and i will have my old hdd just in case.
But it has never reappeared as a problem..
Thanks for your answers.

 

You have (much) more faith than I do.

Good luck.

 

Hey guys,

I'm going to be buying a laptop in the next week or so, and I want to get a SSD to plug into it. I've heard good things about Crucial, but they seem to be a little more expensive than some other brands (OCZ, etc).

Do you have any recommendations on brands? I'm probably going to settle into the 240-256GB range.

 

Yeah, wait for a good/great deal on an M4.

More expensive than (anything) OCZ, but a much more stable and mature product too - definitely worth the few dollars extra for the piece of mind.

Good luck.

 

Cool. After doing some more reading, I'm seeing that the Samsungs are pretty solid too. But those are even MORE than the Crucials. I will however stay away from OCZ/Mushkin/etc.

 

Not sure on your location but the UK has some good deals (comparatively speaking, of course) on both M4 and 830 (256gb models) - going for around £150gbp mark....or $230usd.

 

I'm from Canada eh. I think the M4 is on sale here for.. About $214 CAD? $224? I can't remember. Somewhere around there. The 830 is still going for close to $300.

 

Yeah, can't even find the 830 here (Canada)...

M4 256GB:

See:
Crucial CT256M4SSD2 M4 2.5 Inch Solid State Drive | Crucial CT256M4SSD2 | Computer Storage & Hard Drives | Solid State Drives | Sale Discount Deal - Canada Post Comparison Shopper

 

Oh no way.. That's awesome. I might actually purchase that today.. +1'd

 

If you're a little more patient and get Memory Express to offer the drive at their regular price (and have it in stock...), you could also save an additional 25% of the difference.

See:
Memory Express - Price Protection


Right now they're out of stock there - and even with the savings you would only save an additional $1.25... but still something to keep in mind for a future purchase.

See:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX33418


and do note on the previous post's link that the M4's have dipped to $179.99 recently - with the above discount (at the ME full price of $239.99) that would mean a 256GB M4 for $164.99 - not too bad for Canada, eh?

 

m4s are like $50 cheaper than 830s. I've read the 830s are a little better though, so should I buy the 830s?

 

$50 is around 25% less - you will not get that kind of performance increase from an 830.

 

The problem was found while i was changing ram...it was the casing of the hdd that is screwed on the laptops chassis. It is holded only from one screw and the hdd was not very well connected with the sata connector, even if the back case of my laptop was screwed, was not enough to hold the disk in place.
I put a second screw on the other side and it is just fine now.
Thankfully i did not return my ssd, there was nothing wrong with it.

 

Ah, a mechanical problem then?

Glad you tracked it down.

 

Yep, it was...
Found out by luck because the back cover of the ram and hdd was not fully closed by mistake and i got a read error again...then i opened it and pressed with my finger the sata connector and worked fine....with the two screws the problem was gone.
Thanks for the replies!

 

128GB Samsung 830 Series 2.5" SATA III 6Gb/s Internal Solid State Drive SSD (MZ-7PC128B/WW) $89.99 + Free Shipping - Slickdeals.net

Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" SATA III SSD for $89.99 ***Live Now*** - Slickdeals.net

Hi, Which one of these is better? and also is crucial m4 better than these?

Thanks in advance

 

My scores with Liteon SSD 128*2 raid0+tweaks:

 

This is what I'm getting from my Envy 17 (Ivy Bridge) from my mSATA Crucial m4 256GB.

My Samsung PM830 gets similar numbers:



Both are on SATA3 ports with the 11.0 Intel RST driver.

 

Advice please, should I grab Crucial C300 for $160 or M4 for $224 or Samsung 830 for $230? Those are the best price I could get here for 256GB.
Will install it inside Dell SXPS 16 (SATA2), currently using 40GB Intel X25-V.