Some questions with SSDs.

I was wondering if there are still reliability issues with Sandforce SSDs? I read that the latest firmware update 'makes Sandforce SSDs as reliable as Marvel SSDs, but Sandforce SSDs reputation has already been ruined'. Are Sandforce SSDs reliable now?

 

I have used a lot of SSD's pretty much every brand. OCZ Agility 3's have given me blue screens . I been useing a pair of Kingston HyperX 3k's in RAID0 now for a month with no issues at all. A friend has been useing a set since launch with no issues.

If your worried about reliability go with a Intel or a Samsung 830. But i used Muskin, Kingston, Crucial and never had any issues with them at all.

 

Not in my experience. Tried a SanDisk and Mushkin and both had issues. Never again.

 

I have used three Agility 3 drives, two 360GB and a 180GB, in the past couple of months with no problems.

 

We've reached the point where almost all SSD's are almost equally reliable, although the only difference is firmware, speed and programs that come with the SSD's.

Pick one you favorite the most

 

^^^
I disagree w/the above assertion. I continue to be amazed by how cheap some lesser SSDs are (e.g. random OCZ drives) but no thanks. I'd rather pay a bit more to have less frustration and time wasted down the road.

 

my itenl 520 240 gig rocks.. not 1 problem so far other than im a noob and still have to pass the learning curve when it comes to ssds.

 

Yes indeed, I agree, you still tend to have some preferences, but yeah basically they are all the same

 

Last time I checked, the older Sandforce-based drives (non-SF-2281) had a failure rate of about 6% on average, meaning that 94% of drives have no issues that warranty a return or repair. Compared to Intel/Samsung/Crucial at 0.5% failure rate, it's still not horribly bad (relatively-speaking). What you need to look out for are companies that have good customer servie, if anything goes wrong. Don't look for OCZ to give you great customer support whatsoever. While I've not bought their SSDs, I've dealt with Mushkin and SanDisk products and whenever I needed to talk to someone, they were quick and friendly with support (so I assume that they are the same with their SSD products).

That said, my Intel 330 (Sandforce SF-2281) has had no issue so far since I bought it in early June-ish.

 

While hunting for some deals in the weekly fry's ad, I checked online and found that they are currently selling a 256gb Corsair Force 3 Series for $139.99. I'm planning to jump the gun on it, suggestions?

 

If you but Sandforce, don't cheap out. agility drives have whatever flash is cheapest for OCZ to buy at the time and thus you don't know what you're getting. Buying agility is like buying a $170 lotto ticket.

 

Corsair Force 3 series are mainstream and value type but i don't like the ASynchronous type of SSDs. Crucial M4 128GB is probably the best choice of reliability, performance vs price for new SSD users.