(Used w/ 2 year warranty) Intel X25-M 160GB at $195 shipped

Intel X25-M Gen2 SSDSA2M160G2GC 160GB SATA 34nm SSD! | eBay

EBay, but seller looks legit. Only 6 left

 

I'm surprised by the lack of interest on this. I guess that legendary Intel reliability doesn't count for much? And nevermind that sequential writes are 100MB/sec and not the 70MB/sec for tiny 80GB version. Nevermind that sequential speeds don't matter anyway, and that random reads and writes are the true metric. And in random reads/writes, this drive slays all others in SATA II. Never mind that. It comes with a two year warranty. Newegg and Amazon are both selling the drive for around $400 aka double price. Nevermind that this drive has almost zero performance degradation.

Nothing to see. Move along.

 

This is because the drive is used, hence you can't really compare the price to brand new ones sold on Amazon and Newegg. All used SSDSA2M160G2GC SSDs have sold for around that price on eBay.

Also, lots of people in the market for SSDs are considering the Crucial C300 since their performance is top-notch and has stolen the spotlight from Intel.

 

Hmm. About one or two have sold around this price on ebay, and this is still the cheapest. The others that sold around this price were G1. This is G2, which has TRIM and no performance degradation over time.

Assuming you're in SATA III, sure, the C300 makes a lot more sense. Anyone with a 2010 MacBook and older will be limited to SATA II. This slays all others in random reads/writes.

Your point is taken though. If you're shopping SATA III, ignore this. But if you're in SATA II, price and capacity make this compelling. Used is a problem, but there's a warranty for TWO years. Doubt it'll stay in your system that long.

Completed ebay prices

Anything under $225 is Gen 1
$225 - $260 are all also used
$260 is the first possibly legit "new."

Not saying this is the deal of the century. Just surprised there's zero interest, versus the C300. I dunno, maybe everyone's already on SATA III already.

 

I would say it's an okay deal. The same used G2 model has sold for as low as $182.49 on eBay but the price is hovering at around the $200 mark. In fact, if you compare this to 256GB SSDs w/ TRIM on eBay, the $/GB is actually a better value for the 256GB SSDs. Not saying this is a bad deal, but it's certainly not a drop-dead-awesome deal either.

 

Makes me more nervous that you are pushing for it sugarkang like you had a vested interest in pushing sales.

 

^^Nono, I would hope not, as I think that is not allowed?

 

If you look at the purchase history, you'll see that I just purchased one.
Don't buy it if it's not a good deal to you.

 

Completely different deals. That guy wanted $15 for shipping and that was the absolute lowest sold price at $197. But let's just assume for a moment that you're right. Let's say they're all sold at or around $200. They are sold by individuals who are not offering a warranty.

The ones I've pointed to come with manufacturer's warranty. TWO years. Normally, I wouldn't buy used stuff, but if it's got the original warranty on it, then heck yes, I'm going to take the extra GB.

If you don't like used stuff, I understand. Some people won't get over the fact that someone else touched the hardware. If it didn't have a warranty, I'd have to pay a significant discount to take the risk. Here, I don't really see a downside as SSDs only hold OS data for me.

In the end, nobody is paying me, so I don't care if anyone buys or not.

 

Just as a note, by the standard Intel warranty, the seller is incorrect. These drives have no warranty. Intel warranties are only to the original purchaser or OEM. So unless the seller is an OEM, then no, you have no warranty. And the fact that he claims no warranty himself means that technically, no, you are not covered by Intel's warranty. Now, you might get lucky and Intel will go ahead and cover your drive anyway (wouldn't be the first time). However, by the strict legal definition of the terms of Intel's warranty, you are not covered.

 

buying used SSD is quite risky , you won't know how much data has been written into the SSD unless the seller states the age of the product .
if the SSD has been abused you risk yourself getting a low performed SSD
its not worth the hassle dealing with the RMA and Warranty

 

I emailed seller, who then told me that I just need to call Intel and read them my serial number. Seller also says that prior customers have claimed warranty service without problems. Once my drive arrives, I'll post details about possible warranty issues with Intel. If there's no warranty, I'm demanding a refund.

As far as wear issues on the SSD, Anandtech has already addressed this. I forget exact numbers, but it was something to the effect of having to write 7GB of data to your drive everyday for 30 years.

Remember, the only issue we have had with SSD tech so far is TRIM, before TRIM existed. And now that we have it and GC and whatever, things have been a non-issue. I'm more afraid of mechanical drives failing TBH. And besides, at $1.22 per gig, it's low enough to take the gamble.

All the drives were sold yesterday. If anyone bought a drive, either PM me or post here about any warranty issues with Intel, if any exist at all.

 

Yeah I wouldn't buy a used SSD unless I knew for certain the amount of data written. With Intel it's especially easy because tools like CrystalDiskInfo will report total data written, which the seller should supply without even being asked. In either case. It is a good deal if the writes are low.

Example (click spoiler button to expand):

Spoiler

 

The best warranty is the one you never have to use, especially with a primary disk drive.

 

Opinions are duly noted. I've given my rebuttals long ago. Intel's failure rates are 0.5% vs. Sandforce at 3%. You keep on tooting that "used" horn.

 

It's not about failure rates but about performance degradation and failure due to excessive writes to the cells.

My point was just that the seller should provide total writes to the drive which at least is some good info as to how it was being used.

 

I've done the research. I've accepted to deal with the greater risk because it's the best performance and cost per GB than anything else. I'm glad you like new items. This is my last reply.

 

I never criticized your purchase decision, just a recommendation to ask for total writes made to the drive before buying. But since you already bought the drive it's a moot point. I think Intel's are by far the most reliable and solid SSD's around, which is why I own three of them.

 

Does the intel warranty count if you buy it new on ebay or does it have to be from an official vendor like newegg?

 

If you look at Intel's "official policy," you'll see that they put a lot of restrictions on how to claim warranty service. You have to show the original receipt and proof that it was purchased from an authorized vendor.

But in reality, they may let you slide, like a lot of companies, just to avoid angering their customers. So, when I get my drive on Wednesday, I'll contact Intel and ask them if I get warranty coverage. If my used drive is covered, it's likely that your new, unauthorized vendor drive is also covered (though not 100% certain).

 

Yes, just call to confirm. Usually it's all based on S/N. I've never had to provide a receipt for any PC component, only the S/N which shows it's warranted from the manufacture date. Usually they will extend the date based on the purchase date if you provide a receipt. I can't imagine they'd care who owned it or where it was purchased as long as it shows no signs of abuse.

 

Personally, in the case of these particular drives, what would worry me more is that there's no mention of where they came from. If these were actually pulls from another system (making them OEM drives), then there's every chance that Intel will tell you that you would have to go through the OEM vendor, which means you'd be going back to the seller, finding out who the OEM manufacturer is/was, and then trying to go back through them. Hard to say, though, since there's no details on where they actually came from.

 

Well, I got my drive today.
Stats look troubling indeed.

 

wow thats got lots of hours on it

are you going to return it?

 

You know, I think I'm gonna have to take the risk and keep it.

 

I dunno. They just go by the manufacture date and never ask for a sales receipt or anything.

 

Hey, you were right. Thank God nobody got hurt except me.

 

On a optimistic note, my own 160GB G2 has 3.33TB host writes and it still runs like a champ. I only have 393 POHs, but writes are what eventually degrade an SSD, not time, right?

 

Yeah, the write cycles are probably the biggest concern amongst SSD buyers. From the stats, it has signs of being a server of some sort based on high number of hours vs. low number of power off/on cycles. 3000 hours divided by 24 = 125 days on. It looks like whatever business this was, it lasted for no more than 6 months.

The non-transferable warranty is the only thing that I regret. If not for that, I would've bought a few more.

 

1TB of data isn't too bad. Power on hours isn't critical.

Did you call or email Intel to ask about the warranty? I've heard many people had no issue with Intel warranty because they only check the serial number for manufacture date and that's it.

 

Its not great to get a used SSD with that much on it but its not bad.

Mine had like 100GB written but having it just for a week now I have already doubled that to 200GB and my PoH has jumped up to 149 hours since I never turn my computer off.

My writes should level off now though since I got my fresh win 7 install done, most of my programs and the 2 games I plan to play the most (SC2 & Portal 2)

 

Yes, I called. They said that they would not honor the warranty unless I provided the original receipt. You were right. I was wrong. Congratulations. I'm still keeping the drive and I'm sure it'll be fine.

 

Wait, what? I was right or wrong about what? I was wrong about warranty apparently. Good info for future buyers. That really sucks. I don't know of other drive mfr's that care about receipt, but only mfr date. Makes me rethink Intel for future purchases. Drops resale value significantly.

 

Well, I apologize if I misinterpreted your two comments as snark. I called Intel and they said that OEM drives (the one I have) are not covered. The rep gave me the impression that they would be more lenient if the drive was a retail purchase, but one should not depend on that.

I emailed the original seller, who then apologized and offered a partial refund. If the drive can just last one year, I'll be fine.

 

Ah, ok. It IS an OEM drive.

Yeah, I looked into buying a used OEM drive before and Intel said only retail drives will be covered by Intel, otherwise it has to go back to the OEM for the machine that it was installed in.

 

Here's a good deal
Intel SSDSA2M160G2HP 2.5" SATA SSD 160 GB Hard Drive | eBay

Mine should arrive tomorrow. I'm assuming it's not exactly 100% brand new since they're pulled from new systems, but new enough. And as mentioned in this thread, it's OEM so you'll have to accept that it has no warranty. However, with a less than 1% failure rate and the seller's good feedback, I'm not too worried.

 

If that's the real picture, then your drive is older than mine. Firmware O2HD is the newest that is printed on the white label. Of course, if there isn't much data written on it, then it's still better than mine because "date" age doesn't matter as much as "write" age.

That's just something to be aware of. You'll be able to see everything in the Intel app.

 

Here's an update, since I've been getting PMs to confirm the condition of the SSD.



This is after I installed Windows 7, drivers, and a few programs. So, it probably had about 60-70gb written on it and 14 of power-on hours. The date or firmware doesn't bother me one bit, since this isn't Corsair or OCZ Sandforce SSD... I was able to update to the latest firmware without any problems.
The seller shipped in less than 24 hours of receiving payment, but I do wish he had packaged the driver better. He used plastic wrap in a folded bubble envelope. Also, the drive has some markings on the sticker, but not a big deal and I think he actually mentioned this in the listing.

 

Those are excellent numbers. A little too excellent IMO for a drive that's older than a year. If it's not possible to easily erase those stats to new, then I'd say you won the SSD lottery.

 

How do you know how old is a SSD to be exactly?

 

Well I know his SSD is older than a year, but I don't know how old exactly. The firmware printed on the white label is the old version. But if it hasn't been written on, then it's just as good as new as long as there aren't defects.