Quick! Recommend me an SSD
AlexDeGruven
Wut?Meechigan Icrontian
in Hardware
It would appear that my 840 EVO has done dirty things involving poop where it sleeps. Since Samsung doesn't do cross-shipping for warranty, this means I'd be out of a computer for however many weeks it takes (too long) to do it, AND I wouldn't be able to get my data back.
Since it appears to be stable enough to use as an external drive for now, I figure I'll just buy a new drive and migrate to it, then ship the bad one back and do something with it later if they swap it for me.
So, my qualifications:
- In stock
- SATA III (obvs)
- >120GB
- >1 year warranty
- Available at MicroCenter in Madison Heights or somewhere similarly along the I75 corridor between Detroit and Flint
- <$200
- Decently usable data migration application.
0
Comments
And I found the one that @Thrax will recommend
http://www.microcenter.com/product/437577/AMD_Radeon_R7_Series_240GB_SATA_III_6Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_RADEON-R7SSD-24
It's actually pretty nice, and if I don't get any bites, I might go for it.
Samsung 850 Evo is quite nice.
EDIT: fixed name. I personally use a Pro for the reason that @PirateNinja cited. I don't think you can get a 512GB under $200 from them though. $250 on Amazon
Just to clarify, I think there are only 850 Pros and 850 Evos. I like the pros because they have longer life and less buggy firmware if the 840 series is any indicator.
The Samsung tool that came with my 850 Pro worked very well. Just clicked a few buttons and away it went.
So I'm waffling between the 240GB AMD R7 and the 256GB 850 Pro.
inb4 "buy my shit(tm)"
I went with the 850, personally. Brilliant drive, and no complaints from anybody I've had install it, either.
He actually upboated the 850 Pro recommendation.
Though, first try w/Samsung and I got bitten, so I dunno.
The 850 Pro is slightly higher on the read IOPS (100k vs 95k), but the same speed on read and a notch slower on write (520MB/s vs 530MB/s on the AMD). Not sure if the extra stuff on the 850 Pro outweighs my penchant for helping out two people with BMS.
I only use Crucial MX SSDs these days. I don't even shop them. Priced right, fast and reliable. They come with migration software. Do it.
Samsung Evo is best.
I picked up the 256GB Evo Pro.
Is that a play on my bad first call?
lol, no. Just a slip. Didn't even realize I did it until you pointed it out.
The Samsung track record is not so great. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2887255/samsung-promises-yet-another-fix-for-slowed-840-evo-ssds.html
Also the Samsung branded cloning software "Magician" that is included with their drives is absolute garbage compared to the True Image HD software included with the Crucial drives. The only thing Samsung has is about a 8% lead on some synthetic benchmarks. I've run several systems with MX200 drives and not a single firmware problem or issue with data migration. There are review numbers, then there is real world experience.
I don't see how the Samsung tool is garbage. It works, has a nice design and came with the drive. I didn't have any permission issues, booting problems or missing files after use.
I have successfully used the Samsung tool with zero issues. It's hardly "garbage"
I also have used the Samsung tools without any issue. The specific issue they had on the 840 Evo series had to do with voltage drift, a potential problem for all TLC drives, and Samsung put together a sloppy but permanent fix for it via firmware after 6ish months.
If you want to avoid the risk of voltage drift you can buy MLC or SLC drives. The Crucial MX200 is a fine price drive for MLC which reduces the odds of voltage drift related issues greatly, but it simply is not as fast as the Samsung 850 drives. With the 3D architecture of the new TLC nand, I think, the odds of voltage drift problems are reduced. Even if a similar firmware is required to do constant write refreshes in the background for old files, the lifespan of the new TLC is absurdly great.
/tldr Samsung is fine, Micron/Crucial is cool too it just isn't as fast. Either way, yay new SSDs.
Reliability is paramount. The Crucial MX200 just works. For my money I don't want fight with a drive that's on modestly more cutting edge tech so I can worry about it not working properly... or at all, like your Samsung 840 EVO... But hey if an extra 8% in a synthetic benchmark trumps reliability for you, be my guest.
Okay, calling Samsung Magician software "garbage" may be unfair. I've used it, it's a pretty boring straight forward drive clone app for noobs...
http://www.acronis.com/en-eu/oem/products/trueimage-hd/ - True Image HD is a tool for Tech heads. Extremely flexible. Multiple uses and applications. It's not just I wanna move this from here to there, it's so much more if you ever desire it. It's far more robust.
I feel that you're forcing an apples to oranges comparison on the software. The software included with the drives is perfect for it's purpose. It's not meant to be an all around tech-head solution, just something simple that any id10t user can work with and creates minimal calls to Samsung support when some advanced option goes sideways.
850pro performs more around 25-150% better than the 200mx depending what you look at. It also costs more. The 840evo ha!d1 problem and it was fixed. The 850evo is unlikely to develop the same problem. All good drive. Just testing Ivan at this point.
So far it's pretty wickedly fast, especially on resume (even though I turn that off because I run 24/7).
As I have only had an 840 Pro 128, the Toshiba m2 in my Ghost and the new 850 Pro 512, I have no comparison for other drives. That said, the Samsung drives are impressively fast. I had said in my Ghost review that I have never experienced a computer waiting on my next input until I got the GS60, and now all my machines operate in a similar "when you click it, it's already open" fashion. I think you made a solid choice in an area where it's hard to go wrong in the suggestions you received.
Intel PCI-E SSD master race.