Home | Recent Posts New Topic
WinMonster2
WinMonster2
Join Date 02/2006
+53

Solid State Hard Drives

Any Suggestions?

January 28, 2014 7:19:19 PM from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I am upgrading and want to use a solid state hard drive in the new system.

 

Is any one Brand better than the rest?

 

 

Locked Post
Search this post
Advanced Search
Subscription Options
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
Jafo
Join Date 03/2001
+1727 sdemployee
Reply #1 January 28, 2014 7:43:00 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

There'll be a squillion sites benchmarking/comparing SSDs...

I have 2 ...one's a 60gig OCZ....some people have had issues with OCZ...but I haven't.

The other is a Sandisk... 240gig...again no issues.

 

As with pretty much anything.....price can be a good guide...

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
RedneckDude
Join Date 04/2009
+2197
Reply #2 January 28, 2014 8:00:31 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I have a 256 GB OCZ Vertex 4 and a Kingston 120 GB, and a Samsung840 120 GB....love them all! 

 

I had issues with a 256 GB OCZ Agility 4, but the Vertex 4 has been great.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
kryo
Join Date 05/2003
+456
Reply #3 January 28, 2014 10:59:16 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Quoting Jafo,
reply 1
price can be a good guide...

Indeed. OCZ drives are cheap in more ways than one... there's a reason they went bankrupt, and if you've not had any problems with their drives you should count yourself lucky. I don't know how quickly things might be expected to change since Toshiba bought what was left, but I certainly won't be first in line to find out (not a fan of them these days either).

I've got a Crucial currently myself and haven't had any problems with it. Intel's drives are generally regarded as pretty good but you'll pay a premium for them.

 

 

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
Leo the Lion
Join Date 05/2003
+100
Reply #4 January 29, 2014 12:00:16 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Shop on Amazon...........you'll find some steals on there...........Like this Crucial 240GB.........

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ8RM1A/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p147_d8_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=090MP9RZJS4EPQMVV94R&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

 

 

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
kkunderwood
Join Date 10/2003
+10
Reply #5 January 29, 2014 12:19:00 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I replaced the pair of 750GB (raid0) in my MSi GT6780DXR gaming laptop with a pair of Seagate 1TB (raid1) solid state hybrid hard drives.

1TB HDD

8GB SSD

64MB RAM

SSHD provides high capacity with high speed for files that are frequently accessed. Since this laptop comes with 16GB of RAM, I locked system files and drivers in memory and turned off paging.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
starkers
Join Date 05/2004
+1153
Reply #6 January 29, 2014 4:23:25 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I have been using Samsung 840 Series SSDs for a while now and find them to be excellent, reliable and super quick... and usually they're very competitively priced, depending on where you shop.

I'm currently running a 256gb Samsung 840 Series Pro after running an 240gb OCZ Vertex III  in my main rig, and there is a noticable difference with the Samsung being somewhat faster..  However, I think some of that is due the the bundled software, which not only sets the best hardware settings for the drive but also tweaks Windows to achieve maximum performance from the drive.

Samsung also do a 840 Series EVO range which is a little cheaper but still quite good.  I have one of those in my 2nd rig and it too performs better than the OCZ Vertex drive I'd used in it previously.

Quoting kku,
reply 5
I replaced the pair of 750GB (raid0) in my MSi GT6780DXR gaming laptop with a pair of Seagate 1TB (raid1) solid state hybrid hard drives.

While reviews and testimonials can be helpful in determining a product's viability, often the best information is derived from forums such as this, where 'real world' users share their experiences, so it would be interesting [not to mention appreciated] if you could post your thoughts on the performance and reliability of yours after some 'real world' usage. 

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
Crastiloowa
Join Date 08/2013
+27
Reply #7 January 29, 2014 9:37:30 AM
from Elemental ForumsElemental Forums

Otherwise, StorageReview does side-by-side comparisons of the vast majority of storage options out there.  Been around for years, highly respected, etc.  See their leaderboard:

http://www.storagereview.com/best_drives

...for their recommendations, or else do side by side comparisons of reviews for individual drives.

You might also be interested in this article; they've done endurance comparisons of various manufacturers' SSDs

http://techreport.com/review/25681/the-ssd-endurance-experiment-testing-data-retention-at-300tb

 

Spoiler alert: you shouldn't be too concerned about SSD endurance for typical consumer scenarios.

 

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
LightStar
Join Date 12/2002
+1422
Reply #8 January 29, 2014 10:09:14 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I run dual Intel 160GB's, but they are SATA II drives. They both run great and no issues at all.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
MadDeez
Join Date 11/2001
+147
Reply #9 January 29, 2014 10:14:14 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Corsair or Samsung. I have a Samsung840 pro drive now and it's fantastic. The Corsair drives I had before were great also and their customer service is second to none. I've yet to call Samsung about anything so I can't comment on theirs. BTW, there were no issues with a Corsair drive when I called them. That call was to determine what drive they suggested I purchase when I was completely miffed with OCZ about the Vortex drive I was using at the time. OCZ customer service is horrible. Corsair actually helped me diagnose and correct the issue I was having with an OCZ drive. Based on that, the OCZ was trashed and a Corsair drive purchased. I only purchased the Samsung because I was wanting more capacity and the Samsung was on sale while the Corsair I was thinking about was not.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
starkers
Join Date 05/2004
+1153
Reply #10 January 29, 2014 1:31:44 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Quoting MadDeez,
reply 9
I've yet to call Samsung about anything so I can't comment on theirs.

I had an issue with my 840 Pro when I could not activate the 'Over Provisioning' feature in the software suite.  Every time I tried it kept displaying an error saying there was insufficient space.  I thought "WTF?"  "It's a 256 Gb drive with only 36 gigs used, how can there be insufficient space?"

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I contacted Samsung Support and the issue was resolve 3 minutes into the call.  Turns out a firmware update borked and just needed reapplying.

As for Samsung 840 Series prices, my 256 gig Pro drive cost me AUD$209.00 [they can retail up to AUD$300 in some outlets] a 240 gig EVO cost me AUD$!89, and my 840 Series 120 gig standard SSD was just AUD$89.00, so they're very competitively priced as well as being of great quality.

I've just been to the online store I use these days and they have a 1TB Samsung 840 EVO Series Sata III for AUD$680.  Given that many 500gb SSD's are around AUD$600ish, that is very interesting indeed.  It's currently out of my price range due to the cost of my new Intel i7 4770K build [using a 512gb 840 Pro for that @ AUD$469.00], but a 1TB EVO is on my radar for a future upgrade, and by then they may be even cheaper again.

Oh, @ Crastiloowa... thanks for the links, they're gonna be quite useful.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
WinMonster2
Join Date 02/2006
+53
Reply #11 January 30, 2014 5:00:23 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Thanks for all the info and the useful links I will read through the posts and review the different options you guys rock.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
GeomanNL
Join Date 05/2013
+5
Reply #12 January 31, 2014 6:46:24 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

I have a Samsung SSD (about 250 GB) and it works well. It also had software which transferred my operating system to the SSD, without problems.

Check the speed on the SSD package. Originally I intended to buy a 120 GB SSD, but I read on the package that a 250 GB version is twice as fast. So I bought the 250 GB instead.

 

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
starkers
Join Date 05/2004
+1153
Reply #13 January 31, 2014 1:13:12 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Quoting GeomanNL,
reply 12
Check the speed on the SSD package. Originally I intended to buy a 120 GB SSD, but I read on the package that a 250 GB version is twice as fast. So I bought the 250 GB instead.

Given that logic, that larger SSds are faster, doubly so, even, my next one has to be the 1TB Samsung 840 EVO Series. 

Shoot!  Who knows, a 2TB might even be available by the time I get around to affording one.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
alaknebs
Join Date 08/2010
+12
Reply #14 January 31, 2014 1:30:10 PM
from Elemental ForumsElemental Forums

i was reading some sites (anand tech? tom?) and they say the evo mentioned above are good.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
starkers
Join Date 05/2004
+1153
Reply #15 January 31, 2014 1:40:31 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Quoting alaknebs,
reply 14

i was reading some sites (anand tech? tom?) and they say the evo mentioned above are good.

Yes, they're very good.   I have one and a couple of 840 PROs and I have had no real trouble at all with any of them.  I did have a minor issue with over-provisioning [reserving empty disk space to help prolong disc life] but the Samsung people had it resolved for me in just a few minutes.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
benmanns
Join Date 12/2005
+93
Reply #16 January 31, 2014 2:04:59 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

SSD drives i have tested so Far in 2,5z
Corsair Force Series 
Crucial M500 Series
Intel 530 Series
ADATA Pro

I cant recommend OCZ since they have a terrible customer support... 

Samsung 830 but the newer ones are yet to be tested ( im running a Samsung 830 on my home system ) Since they dont use the SandForce controller
they use Samsung MDX and they have decent read write speeds
Samsung 840 series is the newest to my knowledge -read 530/write 390 they work as promised

Best one i have tested so far is the ADATA Premier Pro line (read 550/write 520) Amazing price with high performance ... can only recommend it
And Corsair (read / 560 ..write 530) with a decent price 

PCIe ( if you are crazy enough and willing to invest some serious cash )
Super Talent RAIDDrive II - this thing costs a Fortune but its seriously BADASS read 2,8GB/write 2,4Gig comes in two sizes 480gigs and 2 TB
We installed this beast on our University-it is Hardcore  

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
Crastiloowa
Join Date 08/2013
+27
Reply #17 January 31, 2014 4:08:27 PM
from Elemental ForumsElemental Forums

Quoting starkers,
reply 13
Quoting GeomanNL, reply 12
Check the speed on the SSD package. Originally I intended to buy a 120 GB SSD, but I read on the package that a 250 GB version is twice as fast. So I bought the 250 GB instead.
Given that logic, that larger SSds are faster, doubly so, even, my next one has to be the 1TB Samsung 840 EVO Series. 

Shoot!  Who knows, a 2TB might even be available by the time I get around to affording one.

Hope I'm explaining this correctly, as I'm not really a hardware guy anymore...

The reason that ~250 GB SSDs are faster than ones half their size has to do with the controller technology and the size of the flash banks being accessed.  For the current generation, it works out that ~250 GB is where you start having enough capacity to maximize the bandwidth of the controller.  It's somewhat analogous to the different in performance when you run your RAM in paired banks vs. just a single stick (which would be the 120 GB SSD in this analogy.)

If you get larger than that, you start getting (tiny) decreases in performance because it takes longer to address the larger capacity (this is kind of analogous the longer seek times for traditional spinning disks as their capacities increase.)  This, however, is a very much smaller, almost negligible effect, and the overall benefit of having more space on your SSD vs. spinning disks totally swamps it.

For some empirical comparisons, see these (slightly old now) articles on TechReport:

http://techreport.com/review/22358/ssd-performance-scaling-across-the-spectrum

http://techreport.com/review/21843/ssd-scaling-outside-the-sweet-spot

 

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
WinMonster2
starkers
Join Date 05/2004
+1153
Reply #18 February 1, 2014 6:35:10 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Quoting Crastiloowa,
reply 17
ope I'm explaining this correctly, as I'm not really a hardware guy anymore...

Yes, you explained it correctly.  Thing is, I was already aware of this and was sort of having a bit of a lend... "given that logic", but obviously a 512Gb SSD isn't going to be twice as fast as a 256Gb.  In fact, the 512Gb 840 EVO I have ordered for my new rig has the same read/write speeds as the 250GB one I have.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
Stardock Forums v        Server Load Time:   Page Render Time: