Samsung 830 vs 840

[flazx]

Microcenter around me has the regular 840 not pro for the same price as the 830, i know the 840 is rather new and somewhat untested and haven't really been able to find much on the regular 840, most of the articles i've found are on the 840 pro. It will be my first SSD, and the things i've read about the 830 are that its one of the most reliable SSD but the newer one is the same price so i came here to ask. Or should i just pony up the extra 30$ and buy a OCZ vertex 4? I'm looking for a 256gb SSD, i will take any reccomendations by the experts ( you guys ). Only thing about the OCZ that has me worried is that it seems like many of them are not so reliable.

Thank you.

 

[flazx]

or should i just wait for cyber monday and try and snag one cheap? I have a feeling SSD's will not drop much for the sale since their recent decline in prices...

 

[DarkSable]

The vertex 4's are reliable - previous ones were built with a different controller that didn't do nearly so well.

The 840 and pro versions are similar - the pro is the version rated for faster speeds.

That being said, I'd wait, and see, and try to pick up an 830 / 840pro, OCZ vertex 4, Crucial m4, or Intel 520, in that order.

 

[flazx]

Thank you i will wait for cyber monday and cross my fingers for a nice sale...

 

[ebalong]

I am in a similar boat. I am also considering a new SSD (my second). I have a Samsung 830 128GB, and it has been flawless so far, no issues. I need something larger though, as I have decided I want all my core apps + OS on one drive, and I would like to have plenty of extra capacity for the next 2-3 years.

I noticed this on NewEgg just now:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147190

Is something wrong with the new 840 Samsung's, for NewEgg to be slashing the prices that much? I did a quick search and it seems like the 840 Pro at least is indicating a higher than normal (for Samsung at least) failure rate. Would I be better off snapping up a 256 or 512 GB 830 series soon, or wait a few months to see if whatever reliability issues the 840 may have are resolved?

 

[flazx]

thats the same question im trying to figure out, seems like the prices are the same everywhere though the 399$ price is the same everysite i went to for the 500gig

 

[ebalong]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2282016

Anandtech has been putting the 840 Pro through its paces the last couple of months, and apparently, two drives (one, and then the replacement) have failed in short order. It seems like no one has a definitive answer yet on what exactly failed (controller, firmware, etc.), or TLC vs MLC (I don't even know what those are). There is also no mention of the "regular" 840 failing, only the Pro, so I don't know why the regular 840 500GB is being sold so dirt cheap right now.

Maybe it's every retailer's loss leader of the day-special or something?

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Both the Samsung 840 and the 840 Pro are brand new drives that were just released a few days ago. Neither series has an established track record yet. As is my custom I always recommend waiting 6 months before purchasing a new drive to see if any problems develop.

A technical review of the 840 Pro ssd was published by AnandTech. During the review the ssd died. A second replacement 840 Pro also died. The cause of desth is not yet known. Here is a link to the review:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6328/samsung-ssd-840-pro-256gb-review

Other technical reviews were very favorable.

In the meantime I recommend the Samsung 830 ssd. It has a stellar track record that is hard to beat. The popular Cucial m4 is another ssd worth considering.

I maintain the ssd database listed in the sticky at the very top of this ssd forum section. Here is the link:

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

Scroll down to the brands and models you are interested in and follow the links to the technical reviews.

 

[mad-max79]

The $399 Newegg offer for the 840 500GB looks pretty good, I think you can go with it. If the 830 is much cheaper for the selected capacity, I would go with 830.

 

[ebalong]

It looks almost too good to be true. Do they have an overstock of that drive already? Did they get rumors of early unreliability and are predicting that those drives are going to be hard to sell unless they mark them down by almost half? Are they just being overly generous?

Maybe I am just being paranoid.

 

[ebalong]

The $399 Newegg offer for the 840 500GB looks pretty good, I think you can go with it. If the 830 is much cheaper for the selected capacity, I would go with 830.

That's the thing - the 830 512GB is not cheaper, it's $100 more at the moment.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147165

 

[oddjobav8r]

I just went with the vanilla 840 for $369 from B&H Photo. They have a much better return policy than Newegg so I can see if the price drops during the holidays. It looks like the performance is similar to the 830 Pro for $100+ less. It differs from the 840 Pro structurally so I'm hoping it doesn't have the failure issues of the pro, but Samsung does offer a 3 year warranty.

 

[Perfectjake]

I have a 256GB Samsung 830 and I have had it 3 months now, and my speeds sequential speeds have dropped by more than 50% and and IOPS is at 10% of its original value. So I don't recommend getting an 830.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Perfectjake - Have you used the Samsung SSD Magician to optimize your 830 recently?

 

[Perfectjake]

Perfectjake - Have you used the Samsung SSD Magician to optimize your 830 recently?

Yup, did it yesterday, also upgraded to the latest magician too