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    Samsung 830 SSD

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Tomy B., Sep 24, 2011.

  1. s2odin

    s2odin Merrica!

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    Are you referring to this image?
    [​IMG]

    Look, it has 0% free.
    Any SSD or HDD will be slow if it has 0% free...
     
  2. boukyaku

    boukyaku Notebook Consultant

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    Right, but he later mentioned that secure formatting, amongst others, did not recover the read speeds.

    Another guy at this thread Huge issues with SSD's and my needs. - [H]ard|Forum had the same issue and clearly wasn't writing as much data as Christopher.
     
  3. cwerdna

    cwerdna Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks for a pointer to that thread. I had no idea there were people who were engaged w/torturing SSDs by writing to them to death.

    Is there a cliff notes version of what the heck happened with Samsung 830 64 gig drive in the end? I skimmed many pages of the post and was just overwhelmed. Holy cow. I don't have time to read all that, esp. w/results from random drives thrown in. The 1st page doesn't seem to have a summary for the 830s yet.

    I'd be interested to know what the apparent write amplification is for the 830. If it's like the 470, that sounds bad for long term longevity.
    I dunno, that guy seems like he's not the most competent w/computers. Perhaps something else is wrong w/his machine?
     
  4. ivan_cro

    ivan_cro Notebook Consultant

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    Another thing to notice about that image and post where it was posted is that the drive should have been long dead before that happened according to specification.

    Unless you plan to write it like crazy that's just not going to happen, I bet my money and left leg on it.

    And in case you need a drive for insane amounts of write, no ssd is good for that.
     
  5. cwerdna

    cwerdna Notebook Consultant

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    ^^^
    Yep, those guys are intentionally writing insane amounts of data to quickly kill drives.

    My oldest SSD (which still works great and has never had any trouble) is my Intel X25-M G2 that went into service ~ 2 years ago. It's in my main PC (a desktop) as the boot and programs drive. I've only written 5.09 TB to it so far, per Intel's SSD Toolbox.
     
  6. boukyaku

    boukyaku Notebook Consultant

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    I ended up ordering the drive in the end :p.

    I just don't want to deal with a SF controller, especially since they don't deal well with incompressible data.

    I think another user, Ao1, ended up buying the same model and size of the Samsung. He had good results and fixed many problems by updating the firmware to the latest version at the time. He never encountered the low read speed problem. Christopher eventually wrote off the Samsung 830 64 GB and went ahead and started testing the 256 GB version which performed beautifully, and never showed the low read speed behavior. Of course, it was also updated to the latest firmware.
     
  7. Vladimir Sirin

    Vladimir Sirin Notebook Enthusiast

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    SSD Magician says when I want to update my firmware: "Warning: There is a risk of complete data loss when updating firmware".

    Is this true? I'm currently not experiencing any performance issues (I have a 830 128gb that is less than a month old), so if there's any risk I'd rather not update the firmware.
     
  8. bluke424

    bluke424 Notebook Geek

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    You should backup all your data before upgrading the firmware just as a precaution. I never had such issues but nevertheless, I always backup my data.
     
  9. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Yes you should always be backing up your data, whether updating firmware or not. There is ALWAYS a risk it can brick your SSD, which would mean bye-bye to your data. Samsung would cover it under warranty, but doesn't cover data recovery.
     
  10. boukyaku

    boukyaku Notebook Consultant

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    Just installed the SSD last night, here's my benchmark. I won't perform the writing benchmark cause it's destructive to the device.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. laptop_newbie87

    laptop_newbie87 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I am considering to buy either Samsung 830 256GB or Crucial M4 256GB and wonder which one is more reliable? Please help me guys.
     
  12. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Failure rates are low for all SSDs. Whether yours has an issue probably depends more on plain old dumb luck more than anything else, but it's still very unlikely. Personally, I'd buy on price.
     
  13. s2odin

    s2odin Merrica!

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  14. boukyaku

    boukyaku Notebook Consultant

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    And I just bought this drive for $160 two weeks ago :(.
     
  15. Hookerlips

    Hookerlips Notebook Evangelist

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    Loving my Samsung 830 msata and 256gb sata3 so much I broke down and ordered a second 830 drive and am going to put them in raid 0.
     
  16. s2odin

    s2odin Merrica!

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  17. boukyaku

    boukyaku Notebook Consultant

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    There's no TRIM support in a RAID setup.
     
  18. GTRagnarok

    GTRagnarok Notebook Evangelist

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  19. Rachel

    Rachel Busy Bee

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    ..........................
     
  20. noobzpro

    noobzpro Notebook Geek

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    Hey guys any of u know if the warranty is international?
     
  21. januszzbych

    januszzbych Notebook Consultant

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  22. Jarhead

    Jarhead 恋の♡アカサタナ

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    Quick question:

    Since the 830 is a 7mm drive, how would you go about fitting it in the main bay of a W520 (9.5mm)? Does the OEM verion (going for $225 @ 256GB) come with a spacer of sorts?
     
  23. cwerdna

    cwerdna Notebook Consultant

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    I think only the notebook kits come w/a spacer. I bought one of those and used the spacer in my Lenovo T61p. It needed it. The T61 would need it too. However, one could fashion one out of cardboard or paper, in those laptops.

    Later, my dad (originally intended for his T61) and I ordered Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128B/WW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (just the drive, no kit) but at a much better price than what's there. There was no spacer, just as the picture shows none. I wrote to Samsung tech support asking if they could send us one, given that we now had 3 of these drives. The answer was no. :/

    I ended up not needing a spacer to put it in my Lenovo X100e (due to the way it mounts) and my dad's drive ended up going in a desktop computer I put together for him, so none needed either.
     
  24. shiin

    shiin Notebook Guru

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    I've been experiencing some problems with my SAMSUNG 830. I hope anybody here can help me with those issues:

    When using the SAMSUNG SSD Magician software, I cannot and trying to use the Performance Optimization tool, the procedure stops immediately and looking into the log files it says that it couldn't get a handle nor create some files. Similarly the Overprovisioning cannot be run. It tells me that the shrink operation failed because the drive is in use.
    Then, trying to secure erase the the disk with an USB boot device first failed. After putting the controller into IDE mode and disconnecting the SSD shortly to prevent a frozen state, the secure erase began to run but stopped, saying it couldn't change the password - I have no password set.
    Are these known issues or how can I work around them?

    My setup is an MSI Z77A-GD65 board with Ivy Bridge chipset, a SAMSUNG 830 256GB in AHCI mode. Windows 7 64 is installed with UEFI. Intel Rapid Storage drivers are used.
     
  25. Bobmitch

    Bobmitch Notebook Virtuoso

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    Sounds like something funky with the drive. I did a lot of reading after getting one, especially about secure erase. Haven't had to do one yet, but this person obviously had some issues...Intel resolved it for him

    [H]ard|Forum - View Single Post - About to go ballistic - secure erase my Intel SSD - not working
     
  26. ChrisYeates

    ChrisYeates Notebook Guru

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    What kind of boot speed are you guys getting with this?
     
  27. januszzbych

    januszzbych Notebook Consultant

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    I have for my W7 64 bit, 19 seconds so I think not so bad :)
     
  28. ChrisYeates

    ChrisYeates Notebook Guru

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    Nice! I think I'm around 16-17. It's soooooo nice!
     
  29. boukyaku

    boukyaku Notebook Consultant

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    7 seconds.
     
  30. ChrisYeates

    ChrisYeates Notebook Guru

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    Whaaaaaaaat!!!! How?!?!
     
  31. Jarhead

    Jarhead 恋の♡アカサタナ

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    7 seconds? Unless the BIOS settings have been messed with a lot, I don't know how that's possible. I can only get to 18 seconds on my Intel 330, and 11 of those seconds come from the BIOS and POST, which I can't speed up.
     
  32. boukyaku

    boukyaku Notebook Consultant

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    I'm using Linux. Once the BIOS screen is done it loads quite quickly. I'm assuming we're talking about the time it takes to arrive at login.
     
  33. Jarhead

    Jarhead 恋の♡アカサタナ

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    Ah, haven't tried Linux on mine (using W7P). 11 seconds to login screen for me, but just to login I think 7 seconds is reasonable (very nice).
     
  34. ChrisYeates

    ChrisYeates Notebook Guru

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    My buddy has this in his HP DV6 and his windows boot logo dissapears when the dots join together, I have the same SSD in mine (same laptop) and mine continues with the windows boot logo till its complete. How is his faster. Is it because his processor is .3 ghz than mine?
     
  35. Jarhead

    Jarhead 恋の♡アカサタナ

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    Drivers and other minor hardware/software differences, likely. The CPU might have a minor role to play as well.

    Type in "msconfig" in the Start menu, Enter, go to the Boot tab, and check "No GUI Boot". You'll just have a blank screen instead of the Windows logo boot sequence, but your boot times will be a bit faster.
     
  36. ChrisYeates

    ChrisYeates Notebook Guru

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    Oh okay. We both did a minimal install. I shouldn't have anything to worry about though right? It's not a bad install or a faulty SSD?
     
  37. Jarhead

    Jarhead 恋の♡アカサタナ

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    So long as your boots are within expected SATAIII ranges (< 25 seconds or so), the drive is working as normal. Any extra time shaved can be attributed to user settings.
     
  38. ChrisYeates

    ChrisYeates Notebook Guru

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    alright cool. one last thing, when the dots appear for the windows 7 boot logo they seem to stutter for a second (like freeze) than continue their flying in animation. Am I the only one getting this? Could it be from a corrupt minimal install?
     
  39. Jarhead

    Jarhead 恋の♡アカサタナ

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    Not sure; hadn't used the animation in awhile. Might be normal, since if you installed Windows and then trimmed it later, you shouldn't have any corrupted OS files. Now, if you use a program to roll a custom ISO from Win7, then it could be a possible reason.
     
  40. ehosey2

    ehosey2 Notebook Evangelist

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    I just bought another Samsung 830 SSD 512GB with the notebook upgrade kit from Newegg for $559.99. They sent an email with a 20% off code. This one is going into my VAIO AW190. So excited.
     
  41. cwerdna

    cwerdna Notebook Consultant

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    Per Samsung 830 Series 128GB SATA 6Gbps Internal SSD for $90 + free shipping - MZ-7PC128B/WW
    Crazy to see this drive that low!

    For those who are asking, this looks like the bare drive w/no spacer (if you need one). And no, Samsung won't send one you either. :(

    For those on the lookout for SSDs, be sure to set a dealnews.com alert for yourself.
     
  42. ellalan

    ellalan Notebook Deity

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  43. omnivor

    omnivor Notebook Consultant

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    Hi guys, I'm getting ready to clone my new Windows 7 laptop from my existing 750GB HDD to my Samsung 830 256GB, and was planning to follow this guide:

    How To Migrate Windows 7 to a Solid State Drive - How-To Geek

    Is there anything else I should be aware of, maybe things unique to the 830, or maybe some things the guide didn't cover?

    Thanks!
     
  44. Sputnick69

    Sputnick69 Notebook Guru

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    Any others experiencing compatibility problems with the Magician Software using Windows 8 Release Preview?
     
  45. Gandalf_The_Grey

    Gandalf_The_Grey Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes, it is not compatible with Win 8.
    You can install it in Win 7 compatibility mode but not all the features work.
    I asked Samsung on Twitter:
    They answered:
    That was on 03-20-2012 and I'm still waiting on an answer :rolleyes:
     
  46. Sputnick69

    Sputnick69 Notebook Guru

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    Thank you for your reply Gandalf_The_Grey, it corresponds to my experiences. But besides from the OS Optimization feature doesn't Trim carry out all necessary tasks?
     
  47. Gandalf_The_Grey

    Gandalf_The_Grey Notebook Evangelist

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    OS Optimization works when installed in win 7 compatibility mode, but is not really necessaty when you perform a clean install.
    Trim does indeed carry out all that is necessary and if you go to defrag win 8 recognizes that it is a SSD and can performs a manual Trim for you.
    After posing the question again on twitter a got another response 1 hour ago:
     
  48. Illini Boy

    Illini Boy Notebook Enthusiast

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    [​IMG]

    Any idea's why I have such a low write score? I have an Alienware 14x R1. Could it just be a loose connection?

    [​IMG]

    I also have this error.
     
  49. kimterran

    kimterran Notebook Guru

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    Just got these off the deal the other day! Anything I should know about? Haven't dealt with an SSD before.
     
  50. ehosey2

    ehosey2 Notebook Evangelist

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    ^
    Read the Samsung manual. It's very informative and it's not too long. It's on the included disk.
     
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