Best 256GB SSD & Best HD for $400?

Go with the Samsung 830 or Intel 520 SSD! A 3.5" desktop HDD will not fit a laptop.

The Samsung 830 or Plextor 256 M3 are both excellent drives. The Samsung comes with a better bundle but the Plextor has a 5 year warranty. I have the Plextor and I'm quite happy. I also bought a 3 TB Segate Barracude from NewEgg that cost me $169 after rebates. In some respects it runs faster than the Plextor.

Worf

Thanks for the timely reply. I understand Samsung is an "OEM" manufacturer for Apple/Dell so it tends to be more reliable. But Intel has a 5 year warranty, is 16GB smaller, and has a $40 premium. Is this tradeoff worth it in lieu of the Samsung reliability, cheaper cost, and bigger space?

How does OCZ, Crucial, Corsair, and others compare to Intel and Samsung?

And yes I understand that the 3.5" HD will not fit inside the laptop. I'm looking for recommendations on the most reliable and efficient/green 5400 HD for both 2.5" and 3.5" sizes. When I last bought a hard drive, Samsung F4 were the kings of the market, but alas Samsung has been bought by Seagate. Moreover, I heard that the reliability of the hard drive brand changes every year due to manufacturing variabilities and cost constraints, so I am unsure what the most reliable HD manufacturer is today.

Once again, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Samsung, Seagate or Western digital for green drives just select on price.

Are the differences in reliability between Samsung, Seagate, and Western Digital significant? I noticed that Samsung used to give 3 year warranty, but Seagate/Samsung now only give 1. Which hard drive brand and model has the longest warranty? 3 years for me would be the minimum. 5 would be ideal.

And what about 2.5" drives?