Help with New SSD Purchase

[grahamcs]

Recently my SSD was failing and causing me BSOD everytime I tried to boot. Finally i replaced the SSD with an old harddrive.

I feel like everything I do on the computer is now slower. I only had the SSD for around 7 months when it died. I had a Vertex II.

I want to replace the harddrive i am using now because it's slow but I am really nervous about the stability and reliability of SSD's now.

My question is do you recommend going back to SSD's? Maybe a Crucial M4 or Samsung 830? I read that the M4's were getting errors now to after about 5,000 hours of usage. Was this recently fixed?

If my nervousness about receiving a longer lasting SSD can't be possible. What HD's do you recommend? Should I just buy a Velociraptor? They are around the same price as a 120/128 gig SSD.

Between the two options what do you view as the best option? Any help would be appreciated, Thanks!

 

[1foxracing]

Isn't the Vertex still under warranty, why don't you RMA it?

 

[grahamcs]

When I bought the Vertex 2 it only had a limited return policy up to 60 days. I contacted support and they said basically nothing can be done

 

[kajabla]

The most reliable SSD around is anything from Intel. The 520s are out, and they're fast and expensive. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167093
You could probably save $20 with an 830, though, and it'd have 8 more gigs into the bargain: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147134

 

[EhDude]

I don't think I could go back to a hard drive. I've had 2 Intel X-25M's in Raid 0 for a boot drive on Sata 3 that have performed amazingly for over 2 years now (except for one self induced issued). I still back-up once in a while because I'm still a little cautious however.

I've heard good things about the Samsung 830 and would go for that as an option. Also consider the Intel 520's that are coming out. Tom's recently did a review on the 520's but I'm not sure what the pricing is like compared to the 830.

Intel 520 Review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-520-sandforce-review-benchmark,3124.html

As an FYI, I'd try working with OCZ on replacement option for the Vertex 2 a little more. If this was a Vertex 2 with 34 nm NAND flash you might have a good reason for them to work with you....see the following:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ocz-vertex-2-25nm-ssd,2867.html

http://www.gadgetpolice.com/reviews/ocz-vertex-2-ssd-huge-issues-causing-boot-failure-leading-to-an-rma-disk-replacement.php

Good luck in your decision.

 

[jacko789]

Here's a good resource if you're looking for the best value for money SSD:
http://www.ssdtracker.com

This website tracks the daily prices of SSDs to find the best value for money drives.

Here's a 120 GB OCZ SSD for $137.67 / $1.15 per gigabyte.

Hope that helps.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Here is my standard recommendation:

If reliability and stability is a major concern, then I recommend Samsung. Samsung was awarded contracts to supply Dell, Sony, Lenovo, Apple and other off the shelf brands with OEM versions of their 470 Series SATA 2 3Gb/s ssd's. Eventually the 470's were released for retail sale to consumers. There have been no major issues reported. The 470 has an absolutely stellar record.

Then Samsung released their 830 Series SATA 3 6Gb/s ssd's as successors to the 470. The first ones were OEM versions for Dell and the other off the shelf brands followed by release of retail versions for consumers. The ssd's are Samsung's own design with their own components and firmware. It looks like Samsung got it right again.

Here is a link to the ssd database:

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

Just scroll down to the brands you are interested in and follow the links to the reviews.

kajabla - The Intel 520 is a brand new ssd that was released just a few days ago. Despite Intel's reputation for quality and reliability I recommend waiting until the 520 has a proven track record.

jacko789 - The OCZ Vertex Plus you linked to is an enterprise class ssd designed for use in an enterprise class server. OCZ did not design it for use in a consumer desktop pc.

 

[cadder]

Samsung, or maybe Intel or Crucial.

OCZ has the absolute worst reliability record in SSD's. Even the average SSD from other manufacturers is much better, and the Samsung/Intel/Crucial are much better than those.

For the record, I have purchased 1 OCZ and it is still running over 2 years later, I also have purchased 1 Intel and 1 Samsung, no trouble with either of those.

 

[grahamcs]

Thank you guys for all of your support and help! The only reason I didn't want another OCZ was because 1 ) i had a bad experience and 2 ) After reading other forums and such I noticed a lot of people complaining about them.

I will definitely check out the Samsung 830's. Thank you very much!