Samsung 830 or Crucial M4

[meeklo062704]

I've narrowed it down to these 2 in a 256gb capacity. I liked the speed of the Vertex 4, but hearing OCZ warnings over and over seems to be a good indicator since I've never heard anyone warn against Crucial or Samsung. I'm just trying to figure out if there's a big advantage to either. I'm not worried about the price difference because it's not that big. So I'm just looking for any advice either way on it. Is there going to be a major difference between migrating my OS from my HDD to the SSD, and a fresh install? I'm trying to stick with migrating because I don't have a copy of the OS as I bought my setup from a private builder on an amazing deal, so I couldn't really complain about it.

Also, if sometime down the road I decide to add another ssd as a standalone drive, will there be a performance drop on the non OS drive? I don't want to try and setup a RAID with a brand new drive and one that has a year or 2 on it. Oh yeah, specs....

Gigabyte MoBo GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3
i5-2500k
8gb 1600mhz ram

 

[Wamphryi]

It is more than likely you have pirated software thus enabling you to get such an amazing deal. Migrating to different architecture can be fraught and I cannot advise you due to the question mark over your OS.

The Crucial M4 will serve you well. I have two and no problems. Just make sure firmware is up to date.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Compared to a mechanical hard drive either will be amazing. Of the 2 the Samsung is a bit faster but the M4 is usually a bit cheaper. My advice is to get the best one you can with your budget.

If you check around for a bit on newegg and sites like slickdeals.net you can find a Samsung 256GB for~$200 or less.

I still have my 2 year old Vertex 2 and have hade no real reason to upgrade yet except space. I have to uninstall games I'm not actively playing to install new ones but that's no big deal with Steam. Windows still boots in around 15 seconds with my ancient drive.

Tom's SSD hierarchy chart.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-benchmark-review,3237-6.html

My Vertex 2 is tier 10. The M4 is tier 3 and the 830 is tier 1.

If I was buying new today it would be the Samsung drive.

A clean install of Windows is always best.

Don't RAID SSDs. You lose TRIM and see no real gains anywhere but in synthetic benchmarks.

You may very well have a pirated version of Windows.

 

[tomatthe]

Just personal preference, but I would go with the Samsung drive.

Fairly sure he doesn't to care if he's using a pirated OS based off the description he gave.

 

[meeklo062704]

I have no doubt that it is pirated. but for i5-2500k, 8gb 1600mhz ram, usb 3.0 MoBo, Win7 Ultimate, and everything set up up and running with brand new parts boxes included for $500.... it was a no brainer. I've been leaning heavily towards the M4, but the Samsung is only $40 more. If I save money and go Crucial, I won't remember what I did with that $40 a month from now. So I might as well. The wife is going to roll her eyes whether I spend $200 or $250, so I might as well get the most out of my eye roll. I'll probably end up finding a good deal online, then going down to have Frys match it. It's always nice to have a store to go back to if I need to.

My other thought is this. If I choose the ssd as the boot drive, can I leave my OS on my hdd in case I ever need it again without conflicting with the ssd OS?

 

[dingo07]

...My other thought is this. If I choose the ssd as the boot drive, can I leave my OS on my hdd in case I ever need it again without conflicting with the ssd OS?

Yes that would be the normal way to do it. But again, you would have to buy a new Win 7 software to do a fresh install on the new SSD. I suggest you buy a legal copy that you will be able to install forver.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

By admitting you have a pirated OS you are violating the forum rules and we can't help you anymore.

 

[meeklo062704]

By admitting you have a pirated OS you are violating the forum rules and we can't help you anymore.

Considering I didn't do the install, I can say I have no doubt, but that doesn't mean that it is an absolute fact. So despite the finger wagging, if it'll make your day a little brighter, I'll go ask someone else. Even though I already got the answer I was looking for. Thanks everyone else for the help. I'm going to look into buying a copy now, I just never thought about whether or not the install was genuine as I've never had a problem with it, and it updates with no problems or copyright warnings. At any rate, I appreciate the help.

 

[meeklo062704]

Best answer selected by meeklo062704.

 

[rubix_1011]

This topic has been closed by Rubix_1011