Samsung 830 128GB vs OCZ Agility 3 240GB?

[thepcphysician]

Hello Everyone,

I am in the market for an SSD, and I'm trying to decide between these two models:

Samsung 830 128GB - $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147134

and

OCZ Agility 3 240GB - $320
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227727

I'm going to run Windows 7, and I want to have room for some games, Office, Photoshop, etc. I think a 128GB drive would probably work OK, but it would definitely be nice to have some extra space. I have heard that Samsung's drives are more reliable than the Sandforce-based OCZs, but with the Agility having 2 times the capacity of the Samsung for only ~90 bucks more, it's very tempting. I know that the Samsung is supposed to be faster with sequential read/write stuff, but I don't know how much of a difference that would make in real-world usage. I also know that 256GB-class drives are typically faster than 128GB-class drives anyway, so...

Basically, which one would you pick and why?

 

[geofelt]

I am using an Intel 120gb SSD. With windows 7 64 bit, 6-8 games, and 4gb of photos, I am using 85gb.
My plan was to wait until I filled it up before doing anything, feeling that SSD prices will drop . So far, It has lasted longer than I thought.
I don't know if I will get a second SSD for overflow, get a second 510 120gb for raid-0, or put the old in a laptop, and get whatever is new.

Intel has had one of the better reliability records, so I would look to them first:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/831-7/components-returns-rates.html
I think samsung would be second.

I am using the 510 series, but I can not tell the difference in performance compared th the earlier gen2 X25-M 80gb drive.
In random access, and low queue rates, all SSD's perform similarly. That is what the os does mostly. Today, I am not planning to chase high synthetic benchmarks.

The Intel 520 series is due to replace the 320 series soon, so there have been some nice rebates on Intel 320 ssd's. Can't find them now.
Regardless, look at the Intel 120gb 320 for $199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167050
Or the 160gb version for $289:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167054

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I would pick the Samsung 830.

The Samsung 830 is the successor to the wildly successful Samsung 470. The 470 has an absolutely stellar track record. There were no major issues or problems. So far it looks like the 830 is going to be just as good as the 470. Both ssd's are Samsung designs with their their own in-house controllers, flash, and components. It looks like Samsung got it right both times.

Here is a link to the ssd database:

http://www.johnnylucky.org/data-storage/ssd-database.html

Scroll down to the Samsung section where you'll find links to actual technical reviews of the 830 including the one published by Tom's Hardware.

 

[thepcphysician]

How about the capacity? Am I going to be super cramped with only 128GB?

 

[geofelt]

How about the capacity? Am I going to be super cramped with only 128GB?

Only you can answer that question.

I was not.

Plan "B" is to get a second drive , or put your overflow on a hard drive.

 

[jReps0l]

^ +1

I have a 120 GB Vertex 3 with Windows 7 Ultimate, Office 10, 8 GB of Adobe CS5 software, Starcraft 2, and other misc small programs and I still have 50 GB left on the SSD.

I'm not sure if I would ever go with (or need) a 240 GB or larger SSD unless I was making a complete SSD machine with no mechanical drives. Personal preference.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

^5 +1 what geofelt said.

You'll have to take a look at your software applications, utilities, and games system requirements to figure out how much driver capacity you will need.

 

[thepcphysician]

Best answer selected by thepcphysician.