Samsung 830 SSD

I bought this bundled software and....it was fine. I had an issue with the partition on my old HDD, which required assistance on the phone from Norton (20mins on hold though..) which was resolved quickly and I'm all sorted !!

Clearly a fresh install will give better performance but I wanted to have a quick solution, and I'm more than happy with the result.

 

What kind of problem did you have? Most of what I am reading on the net suggests that Ghost 15 is a mess. Lots of ppl complaining that it does not play nice with source disks that have multiple partitions. So the 100 MB recovery partition that is found on many Win 7 systems doesn't get cloned to the Samsung. Many others are complaining that the Samsung is unbootable after the copy process and ppl end up having to do a clean install. What issue did you run into and did Symantec charge for support?

 

Indeed it was the partition on the source disk. Basically it was removed and then it was fine. Efectively the source disk was 512gb split into two sections....it didnt like it....the partition was deleted and then the software was happy and the copy was fine.

 

I guess, I will pass on the version of Ghost. I tried another cloning software (Macrium Free) and did a trial run with a spare regular drive and that worked. So once the SSD gets here, I am good to go.

 

Can you quantify? I've never run any controlled definitive battery life tests on my laptop but my almost 5 year old T61p (still on the original battery) has a 128 gig Samsung 830 in it now and I can still get >3 hours w/room to spare while on battery while actively doing work on my machine.

Larger capacity versions of the 830 might have higher power consumption.

 

Is this still one of the best drives out on the market right now?

Is there any other drive I should know about that's gonna be released in the next month or so? Or any that have been released recently that match the 830 in performance?

 

Yes, to the first question.

Even if any are about to come out or were recently released, would you really want it? IMHO, it's not a good idea to be too bleeding edge when it comes to SSDs.

I'd be hesitant about buying a just released SSD, even from a reputable manufacturer. It seems the Crucial C300 (predecessor to the M4) had some initial problems. Crucial, IIRC had some probs w/firmware updates on the M4 earlier. Intel X25-M G2 (back in its heyday) had some trouble w/some of their updates too. IIRC, it was w/an update that finally enabled TRIM. (I bought my X25-M G2 well after that.)

edit: Example of the Intel issues earlier on: Locked out with your SSD out: Intel X25-M G2 firmware bug | Ars Technica and Intel Pulls X25-M G2 TRIM Firmware Update. Intel brings back TRIM support on X25-M G2 SSDs - TechSpot News and DailyTech - Intel Issues Fix for X25-M G2 SSD Firmware were later fixes. In the end, it was finally resolved. I don't remember if these were the final fixes for everything.

 

The Samsung 830 SSD with 512GB capacity can be had right now on Newegg for $569.99.

 

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128B/WW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

the 128GB version of the 830 will be on sale tomorrow (7/30) for $84.99. i'm probably going to, finally, pull the trigger on an SSD. this will be my first SSD, so what do i need to know to fully optimize my 830 for maximum reliability? i'm going with a fresh, clean install for sure. any tweaks and advice would be greatly appreciated.

p.s. - this will be going into my NP8850 (in sig).

 

^ First of all, make sure you buy the correct kit. The Samsung SSD is 7mm in height so determine if you need the kit with the spacer for 9.5mm drive spaces on many notebooks. And with my install the Norton Ghost software included did not work so well so I would find another backup solution if you don't want to do a clean install. I have performed a clean install for the VAIO AW190 and with the VAIO Z, I used the recovery discs that I created with my optimal setup and with the Sony software I felt was useful. I suggest reading the interactive guide included on the Samsung disc. Then, once you install a version of Windows 7 onto your Samsung SSD, make sure you have installed the Samsung Magician software included with your SSD. Make make sure you have the latest firmware. It should be version 3.1. Once updated, perform the OS Optimization from within the Magician software. This will recommend what you should select for optimal performance. This is done once and you leave it as is. Next you will run a performance optimization. It will perform actions that should bring your read and write performance to its out of the box levels. This can be done once a week. It is also recomended to Over Provision your SSD. It will suggest a certain amount. This will be used for the Trim and garbage collection tasks. Again, the Magician software will recommend what is best. And finally, as for doing Performance Benchmarks, only do that no more than once a day. The manual says doing more often can hurt the SSD performance. Now you will need to download the drivers needed and software that you feel you want. Finally, enjoy your new Samsung SSD. It should last you for several years.

 

Does anyone know if this SSD will run on a Latitude E6400. I'll be happy even if it runs slower than the max speed.

My brother is upgrading his Precision M6600 with a 1tb drive and before he ships this to me, I want to know if it will even run on a Latitude E6400.

 

It will run.

 

At least 1.5W higher unless you just let the machine sit, much more if you do anything even remotely disk intensive. I understand power consumption isn't an issue for all, but this machine is pretty good with battery life so it ends up being 30-60min extra battery life. I couldn't tell any difference day to day between the 830 and X25-M, only just during the rare unzipping of large files. I might switch to the 320 since it's just as good on power and has better write speeds for those rare occasions. Newer drives don't seem to be quite as frugal.

 

Yeah, that's a huge difference (1.5W) and even forgetting about extra battery life: I can't see how that extra heat is good for the SSD's components at all (points to a bad (overall) design in my opinion).

Not sure how the 320 series compare with the X25-M (power-wise), but I definitely saw the best battery life from my U30Jc with it (160GB size) - and the performance is nothing to sneeze at either (for a SATA2 SSD...) and easily better than the X25-M series (which I easily noticed, btw...).

 

Just have a look at this. That guy is very thorough, very German. There's also temp under load at the bottom. The most thorough ssd tests I've seen anywhere and a huge database of drives.

Intel 320 Series 300GB 2.5 Inch / 4PC10302, Samsung Serie 830 256GB 2.5 Inch / CXM03B1Q - SSD Comparison - SSD Reviews, Data Sheets and Comparison - ssdreview.com

 

Thanks for the link - interesting to add the Intel 520 Series drive to the compare...

(I'll add rep to you when I can).

 

I built a system for my parents and used a Samsung 830 128 gig. I don't remember it getting warm at all. I can't check on my laptops w/the Samsung 830.

I'd rather have the reliability and performance of the 830 than deal w/what seems like an unresolved Bad Context 13x error on the 320 (last and latest firmware update that was supposed to fix it didn't, apparently).

 

anyone has experience installing WinXP 64-bit on Samsung 830 ssd?
does the samsung magician software work with WinXP 64bit?

I'm thinking getting another ssd for WinXP, since my 3D modelling software still heavily use on WinXP 64bit
I know that Intel's ssd has their "Toolbox" for ssd working with winXP

 

Surprisingly, it seems like it is supported on WinXP x64. With SP3 or above...

See:
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/c.../Magician_Software_User_Manual_Ver.3.1_EN.pdf


(Page 7 of the PDF link above).



As to the actual install:

I would download a Win7 SP1 install ISO, and format the drive with this. Then, simply exit the Win7 installer and use/install XP SP3 x64. This will ensure that the drive is formatted with the latest NTFS version and also properly aligned for SSD use.

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html


Good luck.

 

wow ^^

thanks for your reply ... now I know why I choose Samsung SSD for my first SSD, they will work fine on WinXP and Win7

and now, I should get one more 470/830 for Win XP

 

While almost any SSD works fine - it's the SSD Toolbox that will work on either O/S.

(Intel has that too...).

 

In case anyone is planning on buying one, the 830 512gb is on sale for $499 at newegg today with coupon code EMCNBNG86.

 

any offer on 256GB

 

Runs with SATAII Although don't focus too much on transfer rate but on shorter access times because it will load your programs much faster.

 

Yeah, it looks like the deal runs through the 9th of this month. I'm looking to upgrade my XPS L502x without having to deal with replacing the optical drive with my 750GB current hard drive...I'm going to be really tempted to pick this thing up at this price. Hard to find a 512GB SSD for <$1/GB!

 

^From my experience in dealing with Newegg and the promo codes, especially related to the Samsung SSD's, I had in the past decided to wait until the last day to make a purchase only to have the price sneak back up a day or two before that promo price was to expire. That $499.99 price is great for a very high quality SSD and while it eventually will get lower, it is a price that should not cause any buyers remorse. Heck, I paid $569.99 for two of the 512GB Samsung SSD's (one went into my wife's VAIO SR590) and $300.00 for a 256GB Samsung. By far the best upgrades ever for our VAIO's.

 

I wonder if Samsung and Crucial are getting ready to release new ssd's. The 830 and M4 have been priced very aggressively lately. It's been about a year since the 830 was released and going on a year and half since the M4 release.

 

Just saw this info about the 512GB 830's at Newegg you folks were talking about. Strange the Desktop version is $778.76, Notebook version is $719.99 and Internal is $549.99. Am I correct that with Notebook version, the only difference is the adapter cable and spacer?

 

^And also no Norton Ghost software disc.

 

Correct. Believe me...Norton Ghost isn't worth it...get the bare drive and save $$$

 

Thanks, will look into it. I prefer fresh installs anyways. What are my options for the spacer/s if I need it on the M4600? This would be first SSD laptop install for me.

 

oops, double post.

 

I had tried the Norton Ghost and it didn't even work correctly. Ended up doing clean installs and downloading all the drivers. Better off doing that anyways.
It will be interesting to see what pricepoint any new Samsung SSD's come in at and any improvements to the SSD that come along with them. What do you guys think Samsung should do to improve an already excellent 830 Series SSD?

 

I hope it is okay to compare this to another brand SSD, but the Crucial M4 seems significantly cheaper than the Samsung...is there a major benefit of the Samsung over the Crucial? From what I've read, Crucial is well known for reliability, but the M4 is slower, and is older, than this Samsung 830 series.

 

I first bought a 512GB Samsung 830 Series for my AW190. At the time it was around $110.00 more than the Crucial M4 512GB model. I think the Samsung Magician Software is a nice addition to the SSD. I was still new to SSD's and jumping into the market with Samsung provided me with a good user experience and a better understanding of what the SSD's are doing, and with additional Samsung 830's would deliver consistent performance with all the VAIO's. Uniformity is a good thing for me. As for the Crucial M4, I guess the lack of any type of "tool box" software and having the possibility of burning ISO's to get a firmware update didn't compel me to buy them. From what many say here, they both perform pretty much the same.

 

Samsung needs to improve write power consumption. While idle consumption is good, during any writes it's ludicrous.

Having had Intel drives and the 830 I don't see anything special about the toolbox utilities. TRIM can be run by emptying the recycle bin. Number of free utilities available to check SMART data. Over-provisioning is easily done at or after Windows installation. You can disable superfetch/prefetch and defrag easily.

 

Just thought I'd give an update - I splurged on the Samsung 830 512GB. With the deal on Newegg, it didn't seem too bad of a deal. It is more expensive than the M4, but the significant number of negative reviews on Newegg steered me away from it. I think the power consumption will be more bearable than wondering how long my drive will last! It would be nice to have less power consumption, though. But the idle power is pretty low, and I think when I'll be doing heavy writes, I'll be plugged in anyway.

Will make a nice upgrade to my XPS L502x, and I get to keep my Blu Ray drive in place

 

I recently installed a Samsung 830 in my notebook and I'm hearing a high pitch noise / whine / sqeal whenever the SSD is highly active. Is this something I should be concerned about??

 

Not sure why those sounds are occurring but that does not sound normal and should be cause for concern.
Edit: My post does not imply that the SSD is the problem.

 

This noise is normal &amp; is not of any concern. It happens on my ssd when its reading &amp; writing too. If I put my ear to the bottom of my notebook, when the fan is off, I can hear this noise along with the cpu noise which is very similar.

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk

 

^Hmm....can't say I have heard any high pitched noises, whines, or squeals coming from any of the 3 Samsung SSD's we have installed. Low resonating sounds requiring one to put their ear to the bottom of the notebook in order to hear is perhaps normal but different than the previously described.

 

I am not so sure it is the SSD making the high pitch whine anymore after reading these threads: 1 and 2. It's important to note that I've never had this problem with my old hard drive (manufacturer installed HDD) though. Anyways I contacted a Lenovo rep. and was told he had never heard of this problem before and I am currently exchanging emails with Samsung. I will try the solution in thread 1 though I'm not entirely sure our problems are the same. Updates to follow.

 

I just installed my 512GB 830 in my system today and noticed a high pitch coming from it when installing some software. It was a combination of the SSD and the cpu, but I'm not worried about it -- I've heard these sounds for years with PCs

 

Buddy, I don't know where you are getting the power figures from, but most people can feel that their battery life is improving with the 830 SSD rather than with a spinning HDD.
Also see power usage on StorageReview.com

Samsung SSD 830 Review (256GB) | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews

Those are pretty decent power usage figures.

 

Wait for it...

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk

 

Buddy, I had an 830. How about comparing it to ssd's. Idle consumption is ok, but once you start using it the power consumption is sky high.

In any case there should be a replacement coming out soon with the 830 being so heavily discounted in the last month.

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but when you talk about power consumption, what is the result? Shorter battery life? I can understand that it could lead to higher temperatures, but what else would be a result of higher power consumption?

Thanks

 

Battery capacity (Wh) / power consumption (W) = battery life.

 

I know as far as battery life is concerned it's a non-issue with my AW190. It's an 18.4 inch sized notebook that stays on the desk 99 percent of the time. As for my Z820, maybe the Samsung 830 isn't the most battery conservative SSD compared to others but I have, subjectively I may add, concluded an increase of around 30 minutes with the Samsung 830 versus the previous 7200 RPM hard drive so at least for me all the pluses of this Samsung far outweigh any negatives that may be perceived or statistically documented.

 

Hi everyone, great to see a thread about this SSD,

I recently purchased a laptop with support of SATA 3 and got myself a Samsung 830 256GB. Everything works great except the Magician software. I checked all drivers and SSD F/W and all are up to date. But when I start the performance optimization I get this error :
****************************************************************************
21082012/01:52:35:530: UNKNOWN MAGICIANGUI *************************SAMSUNG SSD MAGICIAN STARTED***********************
21082012/01:53:23:151: ERROR OPTIMIZATION COptInterface::TriggerOpt:1 or more drives not found on Disk S0XZNEAC612973
21082012/01:53:23:697: ERROR OPTIMIZATION Failed to create file on drive.

And when I run the overprovisioning it says some other service is using the drive. I have not installed any additional software beside drivers . Not optimizer or anything.

I am running win7 64 bit home premium
and the laptop is Lenovo ideapad Y580
What could be the issue? Samsung support was not helpful at all.

I appreciate any help