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    Whats better than Samsung 840 250GB SSD? Please advise

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by awaisuk, Apr 4, 2013.

  1. awaisuk

    awaisuk Notebook Deity

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    Hey,

    Thinking of purchasing SSD (dont know much about them) and this Samsung 840 250GB SSD? seems likeable for the price.

    Is there anything better than this SSD with same/more space that I can buy?

    Only problem is it has to be 7mm to fit in notebook

    Thanks.
     
    awaisuk, Apr 4, 2013
    #1
  2. J.Dre

    J.Dre Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Nothing is better than the 250GB Samsung 840, except maybe the 256GB Samsung 840 Pro. Samsung SSD's are 7mm, so it will fit perfectly.

    Price for performance of the 840 is outstanding, and don't forget about the power consumption, which is great. I recommend you grab one! :thumbsup:
     
    J.Dre, Apr 4, 2013
    #2
  3. Marksman30k

    Marksman30k Notebook Deity

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    Depends on what you mean by "better". Most of the SSDs at the moment have some kind of specific specialization or strong point, often also with weaknesses. There has not been a truly "must get" SSD since the Samsung 830. You really need to break down your usage patterns and analyse which elements are the most important.

    Windows 7 boot times and UI Snappiness: High Random 4k Read performance
    Game and program loading times: High Sequential read performance
    Databases, most enterprise workloads: High Random Write performance, especially at high queue depths, also consider endurance (i.e. TLC vs MLC flash)
    Program installation, scratchdisk: High sequential write performance
    Latency sensitive enterprise workloads: High IOPs consistency
    Usage in Laptops: low idle power consumption with confirmed DIPM implementation
    Reliability: stick to Samsung or Intel purely because of their superb management software and RMA system, I would tentatively consider OCZ only for their Vector drives

    I'll give a basic summary of the most popular drives at the moment

    The Samsung 840 250gb is known to have extremely fast sequential read speeds with competitive random random read. This means that it is good for loading games fast, transferring files from and providing a snappy Windows experience. However, a significant disadvantage is the extremely weak Write speeds. This drive basically assumes you are an average user who mostly installs stuff on the SSD once and leaves it there forever. A nice perk is that this drive has extremely low power consumption at idle and load meaning it could net you about 30-40 minutes of extra battery life.

    Samsung 840pro, real all round performer, strong in almost all areas but especially in Random 4k Read performance. This really shines in laptops since the 4k performance of most SSDs are severely limited to the CPU bottleneck due to EIST. Basically, this means that for a given CPU speed, the 840 pro will give you the best snappiness. I can't honestly say there's a disadvantage to this drive other than cost and the fact that if you have a specific workload, there are other drives that beat this drive.

    OCZ Vector: competitive read performance with the 840 pro but the real ace is the insane Write performance. This is probably the fastest drive when it comes to all round write speeds but the real bonus is that this drive is also virtually immune to write degradation with superb steady state. The biggest drawbacks are cost and the high idle power consumption. I would heartily recommend this drive if it is going in to a desktop over the 840 pro as extremely high Random 4k Read performance isn't needed as much due to the fact desktops don't really use power saving for SSDs so snappiness is already quite maximal while the write performance greatly helps.
     
    Marksman30k, Apr 5, 2013
    #3
  4. awaisuk

    awaisuk Notebook Deity

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    Thank you for your help
     
    awaisuk, Apr 8, 2013
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  5. A1X

    A1X Notebook Consultant

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    A1X, Apr 10, 2013
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  6. coldengrey

    coldengrey Notebook Guru

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    Yes, I've read that the MLC is a potential problem with durability/reliability (Toms Hardware Best SSD's for the money would NOT recommend the Samsung 840 NON pro due to its MLC NAND)

    --> Can anyone explain just how realistic and why the MLC reliability/durability is such a concern???

    --> What about best deals anyone has found on both best for the deal MLC and Non MLC SSD's, which OP inquired about....?
     
    coldengrey, Apr 18, 2013
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  7. MibuWolf

    MibuWolf Notebook Consultant

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    Have no complaints about my Sandisk 120 Extreme! I'm gonna look up a review now to see how it compares lol.
     
    MibuWolf, Apr 22, 2013
    #7