Samsung 830 vs. Crucial M4 &*About to Order new Build

[hopz]

Hey guys, I am just about to order my new build when the price of the M4 went up from $200 to $220. And I saw a package deal with the Samsung 830. And now I can't choose which, I don't know much about the 830.

Here's the new package deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.951849

Here's my build.
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=19187772

Or I could get the HDD right now for $150 ($20 off if I order today)

Thanks for the help!

 

[ubercake]

The Samsung has higher speeds but is relatively new to the consumer SSD market.

Crucial is pretty well proven as a solid, reliable product.

They both have the same warranty. As long as you keep a backup image of your SSD, I'd take what I consider a chance on the Samsung.

 

[hopz]

Whats a backup image exactly? And so you think it's worth the extra $20 to get the Samsung?

 

[ubercake]

The image would be a snapshot of the entire drive at a point in time by which you could completely restore the contents to the same drive or another drive in the case of some type of failure.

It has quite a bit better sequential write performance and faster random reads. It's just faster all around. I think the random read is where you'd benefit if this is your OS drive. On the other hand, at these speeds, you may not even notice.

If you're looking to save $20 somewhere in the build, get the M4. If not, get the Samsung.

The only reason I consider the Samsung a chance is I do not have personal experience with the brand as a hard drive manufacturer. I've only used their monitors.

I do have an M4 in my work laptop and it scores a 7.2 (WEI) on a (slower than) SATA II connection. The M4 is reliable and provides good performance.

But I would try the Samsung since it is faster.

 

[hopz]

Is it basically like a restore point then?

I'm not trying to save money on every corner, more trying to get the best value out of my money. I am planning on putting my OS/Office/A couple games/some apps/programs on it.

 

[ubercake]

A restore point restores system files to a point in time. It leaves installed apps alone. A disk image will have you covered in the case of a total drive failure as it is a complete backup of the drive saved to another internal or external drive. This image can be re-written in its entirety (OS/apps/any other data) to the old drive in case of data corruption or written to an entirely new drive in the case of a hardware failure or a drive upgrade.

I really don't think you could go wrong with either the Crucial or the Samsung drive. I'd put the $20 on the additional speed though.

 

[eddieroolz]

I personally highly value data security and integrity. This after being burned about 4-5 times by hard drive failures in my 12 years of using a computer regularly.

As such, I chose the M4 myself. It's exceptionally reliable and it's very fast.

 

[hopz]

Ubercake:
How do you go about a disk image? Could I create one on the HDD of the system?

Eddieroolz:
Have you heard of the Samsung not being reliable, on newegg it has better reviews. (I know it's not good to base everything on newegg reviews, but just a note)

 

[eddieroolz]

The way I take it about reviews is that it gives users an opportunity to rave about tangible things. Things like speed, packaging, benchmark numbers are all tangible and it's immediate - in the sense that you can observe it right away.

However, the less tangible things are what often matters most to me. Things like reliability cannot be measured outright. But to many people that's what is really important. Your mileage may vary however.

Essentially, I am not aware of any Samsung reliability issues, but as ubercake has noted they are in fact new to the SSD market. Therefore, they must prove their worth before I consider.

 

[ubercake]

You could. Most people prefer to put the image on something not on the system because if you get a virus, it could wipe your image if it's on the infected system. What I do is install an internal disk just for the purpose of creating the image, create the image on the disk, then remove the disk with the image.

Acronis Home is a decent tool for this purpose. Also, Apricorn has a kit where you can take an internal drive, hook it to a USB port (essentially using it like an external drive) with an adapter cable that's part of the kit, then use their EZ Gig software to create the image. The kit runs around $30. Over USB, the write time is increased, but you don't have to open your case to do it.

 

[hopz]

Eddieroolz:
That makes sense. I would rather wait the extra second and not have it crash on me. I'll look into it a little more and see if I see anyone having any issues with the Samsung or anything.

Ubercake:
You make a good point, wouldn't want to put in on the HDD then. And I'll look into those programs. Thanks, I would never have thought of an disk image on my own.

 

[ubercake]

The way I take it about reviews is that it gives users an opportunity to rave about tangible things. Things like speed, packaging, benchmark numbers are all tangible and it's immediate.

However, the less tangible things are what often matters most to me. Your mileage may vary however. Things like reliability cannot be measured outright. But to many people that's what is really important.

Essentially, I am not aware of any Samsung reliability issues, but as ubercake has noted they are in fact new to the SSD market and so to me, they must prove their worth before I consider.

Reliability is pretty much why I pay the premium for the Intel drives.

Samsung really hasn't proven itself yet in the SSD market other than like you said... benchmarks.

If you take the proper precautions (ie periodic imaging and backups), you can ensure your data will be safe.

 

[hopz]

Haha now I'm stuck again between the two once again...

 

[ubercake]

But now you're informed!

 

[hopz]

I am, and I appreciate that, learned quite a lot actually.

 

[hopz]

Best answer selected by Hopz.

 

[monkeymonk]

I haven't read any of the above posts but I noticed the m4 is 180 dollars today with a promo code on newegg 24HRSALE606D.

 

[hopz]

Oh wow thanks. That settles it for me then lol

 

[ubercake]

The samsung is $200 on the egg today.

 

[hopz]

I just tried to order from newegg, but I'm currently in Australia studying but will be back in the US in a weeks. But newegg doesn't let you put in international orders, it voids it right after the confirmation. Would you suggest any other sites?