256GB Samsung 840 Pro vs OCZ vertex 4

[narf90]

I plan on upgrading my 2011 MBP from it's regular boring old 5400 rpm HDD to an SSD and using the HDD as an external. After doing a decent amount of research, I keep seeing OCZs vertex 4, and Samsungs 840 pro competing for top spots in benchmark tests, and random testimonials across the internet, with scattered mentions of Mushkin.

I'm not necessarily opposed to Mushkin, but I think I've narrowed it down to the 840 pro, and the vertex 4. However, it seems like OCZ has kind of a bad track record, and kind of bad customer service. I haven't heard a single negative thing about samsung, except for brief, vague mentions that the 840 pro might not be the best bet for real intensive use, with no explanations whatsoever.

I would love to pay 200 bucks for the OCZ, but I also don't particularly want to risk this guy crashing, even though it's got a 5 year warranty. The 840 pro has the same 5 year warranty, although with no complaints in terms of crashing. The 840 pro is also a solid 270, which is a bit more than I'd like to pay.

I know they both perform pretty similarly, and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to notice real world differences in their performances, I just want a good, reliable drive. So, should I go for the OCZ, or go for Samsung? I'm willing to fork out the extra money, but I want it to be worth it.

thanks!

 

[AMD Radeon]

lol even samsung 840 (non pro) is better choice than vertex because of durability. eventhough loses on bench

840 pro hands down

 

[DarkSable]

First, let me say that "AMD Radeon" is dead wrong. The 840 non-pro uses the wrong form of NAND, and has very bad reliability... so the Vertex 4 is a dead ringer over it. (OCZ used to make unreliable drives - with the 4 series, that's completely reversed; they're second best on the market.)

That being said, I own 128GB drives of both Vertex 4 and 840 pro models. No, you can't notice any difference in the performance of either.

That being said, they're both extremely reliable drives. I have no personal experience with the customer service of either company, but I can tell you that I know a lot of people with the Vertex 4 (the campus IT department ordered a bunch and gave them out amongst us computer science kids), and only one of us had to RMA it - and it went smoothly.

I personally would go for the OCZ if budget is any form of the issue - there's not going to be much * noticeable* difference between the two drives.

 

[narf90]

budget isn't that much of an issue here. obviously i'd like to pay less, but i would gladly pay an extra 60-70 for peace of mind. I don't really want to skimp on parts here, I'm trying to get the best I possibly can within reason. however, I also don't want to spend an extra 60-70 if it isn't needed.

 

[mad-max79]

I would go for the 840 Pro it's a great drive.

 

[abbadon_34]

OCZ's newest drive is the Vector, and beats the 840 in some benches, at a price, not that in the real world you'd notice. And as DarkSable said the OCZ SSD issues are years old. As for Customer Service, I've used OCZ since they were just a high end RAM company, and have always had excellent service. The one RMA I did was completed in one week, from the time I sent the first email to the time I received the replacement (of course I live close enough for ground shipping to be next day).

 

[narf90]

So it sounds like going for the OCZ is a pretty safe bet. This guy isn't gonna crap out on me after 2 weeks? i'll have the 750 GB and put it as an external, so I could use that as a backup if it does, but it seems like that won't be a problem, will it? I'm always down to save 70 bucks.

 

[abbadon_34]

Anything can be DOA, but at this point I don't consider it anymore risky than others. Samsung is great drive, if money was no object I'd be hard pressed to decide between the Samsung 840 the OCZ Vector, but since it's not, I happily bought an OCZ Vertex 4 on black friday.

 

[narf90]

I must have missed the Vector, all of these OCZ ve...'s got me mixed up, but it seems like that's pretty great as well.

Again, money is sort of an issue, but I will gladly pay 270 for the 840 pro or Vector over the Vertex 4 if they are going to be better.

 

[abbadon_34]

The Vector has gotten amazing reviews from everywhere, I have yet to see a bad review, only issue is it's more expensive, and it seems vendors are pricing higher due to these reviews. Why they had to choose such a similar name is beyond me. It's definately faster, but still "noticable real world differences" apply.

 

[narf90]

So between the Vector and the 840 pro, what would be the best bet? I'm gonna be boot camping the drive, filling the windows side up with Autodesk Revit, CAD, and Rhino, then a couple CS6 programs, and Ableton Live on the mac side, if that helps any in the decision. I read some subtle insinuations that Samsung drives slow down a little bit when they're filled up, but that the Vector didn't, which is a pretty good indicator of which one to get then if that is the case.

 

[abbadon_34]

All SSD's slow down when they're filled up, it just newer and "better" ones recover at better rates. You should always leave ~10% free space on an SSD. I'll have to leave the final decision to you.

 

[narf90]

Seems like it, I've done a little more researching since my last post.

I'm gonna go with the 840 pro, found it for 264, which makes it cheaper than the Vector, and I have not heard a single negative thing about Samsung, but have found some things bashing OCZ, and although they may have gotten much better, I'd like to put that trust in Samsung. Plus, they both just seem like really great drives.

Thanks for all your help everyone!

 

[abbadon_34]

Sounds good, enjoy!

 

[narf90]

Best answer selected by narf90.