Best 128/240/256gb ssd?

[wabbit_season]

Hey all, so Ive been recently twiddling my thumbs and stroking my 2mm long beard over which ssd to get. ive originally looked at the samsung 830, but im worried about the low write speed. that being said, i've also thought of going with crucial m4 because of its mid-range speeds. i'm still worried about ocz due to their controllers being faulty about a year or so ago and so i'm not quite ready to bite yet, but if someone can tell me that sandforce has for sure fixed their controllers then i'll bite. but i really need some suggestions for 3 drive sizes (128/240/256gb).

 

[RetiredChief]

1) The 128 gig seems to be the sweet spot for a OS + program drive. However both the M4 and the 830 256 gig drives have Often been on sale for $180 which makes them very tempting and allows more space if planning on sticking a number of Games in addition to standard programs.

2) My recommendation still stands - Curcial M4 or Samsung 830 (altho Plextor has a P3 that aught to be OK.
Performance wise - There is VERY little diff in day-to-day operating performance. Most differences are in the syntictic Benchmarks which often do NOT translate to real performance gains. Not a Lover of SF22xx based controllers - have great bench marks for Sequncial read/write when Using data that is readily compressable - BOTH are NOT very important. Sequencial performance (the Most advertised) is the LEAST important. Real data, while it does compress somewhat, it IS not Highly compressable.

You will NOT see much difference (outside of benchmarks) for the M4 or the 830.
So; Of these two Buy the Cheapest one. If same price, I recommend the m4 for laptops, lower power consumption - easier on battery, and the 830 for desktop. Note For OS + program random 4 K reads are the most important parameter.

Yes OCZ has finally ironed out Most of the problems, But still do not recommend. The nwer -4 Versions may be OK, But have NOT been out long enought for my stamp of approval, and then I'm not a lover of the Company.

Have:
3 Ea M4s, 2 128 gig models and one 256 gig M4
3 Ea 830s, 2 128 gig models and one 256 gig 830
(Bought both 256 gig SSDs at 180 bucks from newegg)
2 Ea Agillity IIIs (Ugh)

 

[larkspur]

Sandforce controllers have not yet let me down. I run 3 x OCZ Vertex 2 and a couple months ago I added a 240gb Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe. I've never updated firmware on an SSD because I've never had an issue at all. They say that you won't see much difference between older SSDs and newer SSDs but the Mushkin is just incredible. No kidding - It takes me longer to input my password than Windows takes to boot.

The Crucial M4 and Samsung 830 are great SSDs, giving consistent performance across the board. But like RetiredChief said, random reads and writes are where you will notice the most difference and the Mushkin vastly outperforms them. I don't blame you for being cautious about Sandforce, but the SF-22xx controllers are sitting on mature firmware. And the $199 240gb Mushkin has the same performance and quality of flash of the $400 drives. For me that makes it an obvious choice: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/buy-ssd-recommendation,3255-4.html

 

[RetiredChief]

^ Outside of benchmark, I dought you will see much difference.
Looked at the Tom's articale you linked. Myself would ignore the Quoted benchmarks as Did not reference the program used. If it was ATTO (a HDD benchmark - it's worthless except to verify manuf. claim. Myself I look for a benchmark that simulates real usage.
ie http://www.anandtech.com/show/6074/ocz-vertex-4-review-128gb/7

As too cost for 256 gig, newegg has had the M4 and the 830 onsale for $180 (the plextor version was just on sale for even less

I've Noticed that on anadtech reviews, in the Conclussion, the 830 (for desktops) and the M4 for laptops seems to be their universal drive of choice.

PS Nothing against the Muchkins deluxe, just not my drive of choice - Would not buy there lower end drive (NON-deluxe) as it performs at sata II levels).

 

[larkspur]

Myself I look for a benchmark that simulates real usage.

The Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe is comparable to the Vertex 3 MAX IOPS and the Patriot Wildfire: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4341/ocz-vertex-3-max-iops-patriot-wildfire-ssds-reviewed/6

 

[JackNaylorPE]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/buy-ssd-recommendation,3255-6.html

Tier 1 units - Mushkin Chronos Deluxe, Patriot Wildfire, OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS, Kingston HyperX 3K, OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G, Corsair Force GS (all of which are 240 GB nd have same SF controller), Samsung 830 SSD 256 GB, Plextor M3 Pro 128 GB & 256 GB

Only one of those is < $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226226

Other than the Plextor's, the 120/128GB models start at Tier 3 with each tier representing a drop of 10% performnace.

 

[larkspur]

i'm still worried about ocz due to their controllers being faulty about a year or so ago and so i'm not quite ready to bite yet

You know, when it comes down to it, your peace-of-mind is probably the most important thing when it comes to your data. Since you have some very valid reservations about SF-based SSDs, I'm going to switch it up and go with RetiredChief and say the Samsung 830 256gb for $230 (or like he said for less on sale) is best for you. You should be confident in your SSD right? Anyway, good luck!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147164

 

[RetiredChief]

Jack, do you really think a Typical user will see a 20 percent decrease in performance between the tier 1 on tier 3 SSDs.

I have a lowly SATA II SSD on a SATA II Interface. Clicking on a recent link of a spreedsheet, Excell loads and the Spredsheet is pulled in in less than 200 mSec. 20 pecent (IF REAL) would only change this time by 40 mSec.

My "tier 3" 128 gig M4 in a SB i5-2410M laptop goes from "start loading OS" to opening the first program in 15 Secs I dought my 256 Gig 830 will improve on that by 3 Sec. 3 Sec decrease in Boot time is NOT significant Unless rebooting often.

My thoughts on SSD (at least for tier 1 -> 3 is ignore this and go for Reliability and least user problems.

 

[Guest]

I've dealt with Samsung 830 128Gb and 256GB drives, all have been good on arrival and worked as expected. You can see my speed numbers posted on the Samsung 830 256GB on my Newegg review as "shuffman37".

 

[DarkOutlaw]

The Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe is comparable to the Vertex 3 MAX IOPS and the Patriot Wildfire: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4341/ocz-vertex-3-max-iops-patriot-wildfire-ssds-reviewed/6

I agree with this. Mushkin is really starting to come into the market like a hurricane, and OCZ is established. Both brands are very affordable, 120 seems to be a nice sweet spot, but if you can afford the 256 drives please feel free. It is always better to have a little extra even if you don't need it.