SSD war, which witch to buy :P

I cant really decide what to buy here.

I would like to have 100 gigs because i have a partition for linux and oen for windows.

here is the list what to buy and the prices in euros.

OCZ Vertex 3 Series 120GB, 205 euros
Corsair Force GT 120GB, 215 euros
Corsair Force GT 90Gb, 150 euros from 215

I usually need about 50 gigs for programs both linux and windows. the things that i use at university to study and blla blla other things.

an option is alo this one
OCZ AGILITY3 120GB ,160 euros from 220.

i jsut saw this one
OCZ Vertex 2 Series 120GB SSD 170 euros.

and i have only sata 2.

 

I think all of those drives all use a Sandforce controller.

You might want to look at other SSDs from Intel and/or Crucial before going that route as there were some problems w/ Sandforce based drives going bad. I don't know if that was ever corrected, but searching around on the internet should give you some indication if this is still a problem.

For example,
SSD problems with SandForce controller - Windows 7 Forums

 

Since you only have SATA II, I think you should look primarily at the Intel 320 series or the Samsung 470 series. Those are normally a bit cheaper than their newer SATA III counterparts. Unless you find a killer price on a good, non-Sandforce SATA III (like a Crucial M4, Intel 520, or Samsung 830) I would stick to the cheaper SATA II ones.

 

Intel 320, Intel X25-M, Intel 510, Crucial M4, Samsung 470, Samsung 830. Either one of them. Just because you have SATA II doesn`t mean you can`t put that SSD inside a new computer if you decide to buy one with SATA III later

Have no idea if SandForce have fixed the SSD problems with the newest firmware, but OCZ and co. say so. I would pick either one of the above. They are all safe and without SF.

 

OK so i found the
INTEL 320 SERIES 120 for 180 euros.

I was reading this HARDOCP - Introduction - NAND Flash Faces Off - Synchronous vs. Asynchronous and i thought getting a synchronous SSD is going to be better. but Intel always made good ssd and i have a friend he has a vertex 2 and 3 and agility 3 and he sad that i never had problems. but i guess its better going the safe way.

The only thing that i dont like a bit for intel is the write speeds but i guess i will order it this week. its seems good and fast. i dont need anything more just to have a stable system because i will also use Gentoo and i dont want to stay there for days messing up with SSD and compiling kernels.

 

I doubt there's much practical difference between Synchronous and Asynchronous.

 

I dont know but i really want that Vertex 3, i dont know why and it seems to have a lot of problems if you dont have TRIM as i saw :S

Intel is good and they say it has a smaller failure rate compared to other SSD.

I will think untill Monday and read more.

 

for now have narrowed down to vertex 3 and intel 320 both 120 gigs.

 

Crucial m4 has sync. Same as OCZ Vertex3.
Agility and Solid have async.
Now when recall their speeds do you see a practical difference?

Lum-X, Don't be naive thinking that you are the luckiest on the Earth. Buy with confidence Crucial M4 or Samsung. Or slower Intel. Anyway it is much safer than OCZ.

 

I have used both the Crucial M4 and the Samsung 830 SSDs. No problems yet with both. Really good performers. Both have no issues with SATA 2. I have no experience with Sandforce. From my usage, both these drives are top notch and are consistent performers.

 

What is your opinion Samsung 830 is better than Crucial m4 or vice versa?
Did you do any benches?

 

I have the 64GB M4(0009 FW) on the SL410 and the 64GB 830 on the X220. I have played with both of them on both laptops.

The ones in brackets are on the SATA 2
M4 503(255)/113(107) The SATA 3 was tested on an Acer 4830TG which is owned by a buddy of mine.
830 510(260)/155(152)

These are only averages of read and write.

Boots on Win 7 on bot laptops under 15sec. SD is in 6 sec. I have made no modifications to the OS.

The Samsung is a beautiful piece of hardware that you will never see. I recommend the Samsung. If you have a 9.5mm bay, buy the Notebook upgrade bundle like I did. It comes with an adapter. But the prices are expensive in Europe. It costs €100 for the drive. The Crucial on the other hand was bought for €83 and I have had it a lot longer. No hiccups with both. Windows installs on the Samsung are in 10 minutes and slightly longer on the M4.

I am sorry, I cannot remember the 4K benches on the laptops. I now retain the SL and the X220 was grabbed away.

If the SSD is for a desktop, there is a Desktop upgrade bundle available for about €180 for the 128GB version. It comes with a pretty anodized steel tray, screws and the required cables. The packages are freaking gorgeous.

 

Thank you.
I had Crucial m4 64GB and on SATA2 it booted for 24 seconds no matter what. Stable 24 seconds always. So I sold it. Now I think to buy SSD again and it is either M4 or Samsung. I wish I knew 4K reads of Samsung.

P.S. What do you mean Notebook upgrade bundle? Shouldn't it fit the same in OEM kit of laptop like usual 9mm?

 

The Samsung is a 7mm drive. If you donot have the pad, it is going to rattle in the drive bay during transit. The X220 takes only 7mm drives with out any modification. But the SL410 has a 9.5mm drive bay.

P:S If you give some time, I will come back with the SATA 3 numbers on the Samsung 830.

 

Sure, we are living in a free world, we are people not an animals, and it is US forum after all! So of course I give you some time. 3 minutes? So in 180 seconds you are to give me all info I want or ever may start to want! 179 seconds left

 

any thoughts about the Corsair Force GT ???

 

@James D Hardy har har
Samsung 830 64GB AS SSD
498 - 158
17 - 49
258 - 59
0.117 -0.069

Total score 601

 

It uses a Sandforce controller, not as stable and reliable as Marvell, Intel or Samsung.

Speedwise I don't believe anyone would notice the difference.

Power consumption on the M4 is slightly lower as far as I know.

 

im going for samsung i believe or you think m4 is better.

i will probably order it today or on Monday

 

Yes, As I saw in review Samsung takes much bigger wattage than officialy stated! Liars?

Hmm... 17 MB/sec 4K reads are very small... Looks like M4 is better???!

 

yes and because of power comsumption.

these ssd are just weird.

I will post the benches when i get the M4. Anyway i hope i will because my laptop is broken and lets see if i can fix it

 

No Samsung 128GB beats the Crucial M4 slightly, the link is on the previous page. Judging an SSD on its 4K reads is too limited.

Power consumption Crucial wins.

Storagereview has detailed power consumption measurements on M4 and 830.

 

This is how I feel after using both. The samsung is extremely easy to maintain. Updates are done using the software(no updates yet for the 830) and the drive is fast.

The crucial M4 is also a great drive. You jump through hoops to upgrade the firmware(and the hoops I mean is making a bootable image of the firmware using Ultraiso and this statement might be an exaggeration to many).

I bought the Samsung specifically for the X220i. It has a great battery, and the drive is freaking efficient compared to the HDD. So the extra watts of power drain makes very little difference in the improvement on the overall runtime of the system compared to using a Crucial M4 with the mods.

Is it worth the extra that I paid over the crucial? No. But it is the best after market Sata 3 7mm drive on the planet at the moment.

The crucial fits into a 9.5mm bay without any hassles. And I would recommend that you not try to downsize the thickness by removing the spacer on it to fit it into thinner drive bays.

The stock HDD takes about 4-7 watts. The SSD is definitely an improvement over this. And you have to remember that as capacity increases, the power consumption also increases in an SSD.

Both play well with SATA 2.

 

everyone is saying Samsung because its more reliable and it has better tools that others.

 

I were about to buy Corsair drive, but got suggested the Cructial M4 by our dear friend Phil and gave it a go. I can say that, I couldn't be any more happy with my choise.

 

This is what I believe that makes the Samsung so reliable.

Every part inside the Samsung 830 is made by Samsung (from the NAND chips to the weird triple core controller). So, I believe they have a better control over the product quality and testing.

The Crucial M4 has memory made by Micron(parent company, suppliers to Intel) and the controller made by Marvell. They are also reliable.

But Samsung supplies to OEMs. They have passed all stringent testing methods thrown at them. Reliability is what the PC manufacturers look at.

 

Samsung is sad to be the most reliable SSD. it offers you a very robust software to maintain the SSD with a lot of features and the SSD itself is great.

Still thinking between Samsung and M4 but i guess i will get Samsung no OCZ even though friends of mine have them and they never had problems but in the internet everyone is complaining for them failing a lot.

 

What is the bottom line price difference between the two? I think you won't go wrong with either choice, so let the cost of the drive figure into your decision.

In regards to your friend's OCZ SSDs, it's all about percentages. I don't believe ALL Sandforce drives fail and the non-Sandforce based SSDs do not fail at all. Rather, it seems like a higher percentage of the Sandforce drives fail.

So, even though your friends have not have had any problems, the chances of YOU having a problem are higher when using either drive. I guess were all saying be aware that you have a higher chance of a problem with those kinds of drives.

 

I will see the prices but i found an offer at amazon.de
both Crucial m4 and Samsung 830 are about 175 euros for 120 gig version.

 

Not sure who said that but Samsung 830 is brand new, no one really knows how reliable it is. Crucial M4 has a proven track record. Samsung 470 had a great track record too.

Tools: I'm not sure how good the Samsung tools currently are but I'm pretty sure Intel has the best. Personally I don't want tools, I just want a working SSD.

 

for 10-20 euros more i will get Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 before intel if i consider the price.

Yes for software it does not really matter as long as you do basic optimisations. for me that's all you need for an SSD to work except for linux and me that i use Gentoo i will have to do a lot more work.

 

At equal prices I'd probably take the Samsung 128GB if I don't need battery life.

If I did need battery life I'd take the Crucial.

 

i was thinking for Samsung also and i will probably go for it and order it on Monday.

 

I think it is great time to talk about Seagate Momentus XT with 8Gb SSD inside. So you could order it on Monday

 

nope now its Samsung all the way. i know i changed my mind like 100 times because i just sad i will buy one without planing and this is the great thing

 

Actually that's not a bad idea

I just managed to get my hands on a 500GB XT for the old price. It's still my drive of choice.

 

i have the WD Scorpio black and its just awesome compared to the blue one. i have no idea for Momentus xt thought

 

These 2 reviews compare SSDs vs. Momentus XT vs. Scorpio Black.

SSD shootout: Real World Performance

SSD vs Hard Drives: A Beginner's Guide to SSD Upgrades

 

Ooooh you shouldn't do it Phil

Sellers has just lost their buyer till Monday 2013 year at least

 

I have a Samsung 470 Series Sata II,,64GB,,250/170 Mb/s consistently,,its a year old ,early January,,470 has a dual controller,,830 Sata III has a Tri controller..... No problems with the drive,,I even sold my Seagate Momentus HDD 320Gb w 16mb cache in about,,,a few minutes to few hours after it posted on craigslist,470 Series has 3 models 64Gb , 128Gb, 256Gb,,,read /write on 128-256 is 250/220 Mb/s.

Keep in Touch

Cheers
3Fees

 

we will see

 

I ordered the M4 i will get sometime next week.

 

Excellent choice! The m4 has been the most trouble free ssd i have owned

 

Welcome to the club

 

cant wait to get it and im happy that i went for M4 instead Samsung 830

 

Why?
10 char

 

Time for a SSD price check folks!

For anyone looking for a M4 128GB, this is the best price I've seen from a reputable retailer.

Crucial M4 - 128GB - $197 shipped
Crucial Technology 128GB m4 SSD 2.5" Solid CT128M4SSD2 B&H

And also, the 128GB Samsung 830s with free Batman Arkham City are back in stock at Newegg.

Samsung 830 - 128GB - $200 shipped
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128N/AM 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Notebook Upgrade Kit

 

Both are very good drives, if i recall correctly, the 830 is a tad faster, but consumes more power, while it goes the other way for the M4. Still, you can't go wrong with either.

 

I have had my samsung 470 for over a year now and I haven't had any problems with it.

 

cant wait 3 more days until i get it and another day installing windows and gentoo from scratch