Why did Supertalent release half baked SSD onto market!

After 11 months of owning my 120 GB supertalent MLC SSD it failed. Now the replacement just 6 months or so later has terrible stuttering issues so that I can't even stream a video without it stopping and starting and can't even run 2 browsers at once without it locking up.

I really feel coned that I invested upwards of $600 dollars in this piece of crap. Does anyone else have such an experience with early SSD's!

I really wanted to support what I thought was an amazing new technology that brought notable improvements over HDD technology but now feel the opposite due to my experience. Don't get me wrong I bet the new SSD's are absolutely brilliant however!

Yup I am about to RMA this piece of rubbish once again and hopefully Supertalent will give me something better...

 

the early ssd were crap. I don't have any problems with my g.skill falcon 128gb ssd. SSDs are great except for the price/space.

 

That sucks, man. What model did you purchase and did you get the same for your replacement? Do you know what controller was used?

 

Jmicron controller based SSDs = poor file writes leading to stuttering. Indlinix, Intel or Samsung controller based SSDs have no such problem. Supertalet Ultradrive ME uses the Indilinx controller, MasterDrive SX uses the Samsung RB controller. Why not request one of those?

 

The model is the FTM20GK25H MLC 120GB drive 120mb/read and 40/write. Although i have to say those figures are bull.

My 8 year old 60 GB maxtor desktop drive in my 2002 p4 computer is quicker!
Yup it is the rubbish Jmicron controller.

I feel like a complete fool for putting so much money in such a poor product but really don't understand why I should be punished for doing so as I helped fund the development of this technology and should be benefitting from it.

oh yeah it also has this wonderful little quirk where it locks up the entire computer after windows is booted up for anywhere between 30secs and a minute while it thinks about something (thinking light permantely on) cannot open apps and do anything during that time...

 

They sent me the same one just under a year after purchase now about 18 months after purchase what are chances they won't do same thing and send me another dud. If that happens I will just have to sell it on ebay and use the proceeds to buy the 7k500 travelstar if I get that much for it from some poor sod

Which supertalent drive do you suggest I ask for nando? I have already acquired my RMA number but haven't demanded a particular different drive yet

 

Why did early adopters clamor so loudly for half-baked SSD product so that manufacturers were willing to sell them that way?

If no one bought them, the makers wouldn't make them.

 

Hang on a sec. You trying to say I was asking for a half baked product when i bought it. Mate that is a nonsense comment. I got it as I thought I would get increased performance over the 160GB HDD I had at the time, I was hardly clamoring for a half baked SSD to replace it with as I don't like to throw my money in the bin.

 

You have to understand that the crux of this problem can be related to the title of your thread: market. Technology moves at a blistering pace, and in order to stay relevant and obtain market share, technology companies must jump on the bandwagon and begin offering their own technology solutions or be left behind.

In the case of SuperTalent, I'm not sure what their market strategy is or was with their SSD line. It is not too far fetched an idea that companies like OCZ, Intel, Patriot, Kingston, Crucial, etc. know that it is more important to introduce an SSD (really, any SSD as long as they have one to offer) into the market than to not introduce one at all. And if the SSD they introduce is a bit lacking some areas, that's what marketing and tech refreshes are for.

That's not to say that releasing any kind of SSD (like the one you purchased) is more important than releasing a quality SSD, but you'd probably be hard pressed to prove otherwise.

 

"early adopters" is the key.

If you don't want to take a chance on buying half-baked technology (or any product, really) then don't be one.

let other people beta test new technology.

 

You've hit the nail on the head on that one. I've always avoided first gen technology like the plague. Until that technology has matured, the bugs worked out, issues resolved, I won't invest a dime in it. Doing so usually saves you a money in the long run (after all, you're not buying bleeding edge technology), and a lot of headache when it comes to problems with the technology.

 

Supertalet Ultradrive ME uses the Indilinx controller, MasterDrive SX uses the Samsung RB controller.

You could still make use of your Jmicron SSD by:

- using flashfire (aka zflashpoint). It buffers small file writes to cache then dumps them in one hit. Used to eilimate the stuttering you describe.
- Ensure your SSD partition is aligned to a 1MB boundary. If you install Win7 from CD it will automatically align your newly created partitions. Ensures your 4kb read/writes occur with a single NAND page, rather than across 2.

 

Thanks nando I never knew there were fixes to these problems. I shall still RMA the drive and hope I get a new one and possibly a better one first. If I decide to keep the replacement if it is the same I shall do what you describe +rep

 

it's no longer the Ultradrive ME, it's now GX model.
There is a firmware around from clevo, i believe, that is the one that Kingston V Series uses. That one doesn't stutter though it uses the jmicron controller.

 

Let this be a warning to everyone looking to buy an SSD. You really have to do the research on them before buying. The controllers can result in all kinds of strange performance issues, and the type of controller used on a specific SSD is almost never advertised.

 

+1. A great compilation SSD "which controller?" list has done much of the hard work for buyers.

 

I'm still waiting for the RX 512GB price to come down from the stratospheric level where they set it.

 

From the time frame and specs (r120/w40mbs) i don't think the drive is using the same Jmicron controller as the kingston Vseries. So i don't think i would flash that firmware...

 

Is that still the old crappy Jmicron controller??? Don't get it! Capacity should be second behind which controller is used. It doesn't have to be intel but it can't be an earlier Jmicron!

 

Have Jmicron done anything "good" in the computer market lol?

 

They've made other companies design good SSD controllers...

 

When in doubt..... BUY INTEL

 

When in doubt, read the reviews.

Even Intel didn't get their SSD crap together until yesterday evening. Almost 6 months after the hardware was released for sale.

 

whos to say they got it right two days ago, the firmware hasn't even been out for a week...

 

The firmware has been in enterprise customers hands for a month.......

 

Flash cards reader controllers? Though I get faster speeds using an usb based one...

 

and after two days in consumers hands, Intel has pulled the firmware update for more 'baking'.