We've seen Samsung's 840 Pro priced like a premium product in the past. But under $120, where it sits right now, the drive is easier to recommend. Samsung 840 Pro 128 GB
A Performance 128 GB Drive
Simply, this is the fastest MLC-based 128 GB SSD there is, and it outclasses several high-profile 240/256 GB models as well. Samsung’s proprietary controller, flash, DRAM, and firmware combine to create a potent improvement over 2011’s 830. Not that the 830 wasn’t fast. In fact, it was brutally proficient. The 840 Pro takes storage to the next level, though.
Through a recent update, the EVO now supports TCG Opal 2.0 / eDrive security features as well, putting it on par with Crucial's M500.
Adata partnered with Micron to deliver a platform similar to the M550, but branded by Adata as the SP920. Both the 128 and 256 GB models are a little slower than their M550 equivalents due to higher-density NAND. However, the 512 and 1024 GB versions are more comparable. Adata Premier Pro SP920 128 GB
Budget-Oriented Solid-State Performance
The biggest difference is a lack of eDrive and TCG Opal 2.0 support, which may affect your value equation. But Adata does include a 2.5"-to-3.5" adapter mount, its SSD Toolbox app, and a copy of Acronis True Image HD for cloning and backup.
The baby SP920 weighs in at just 128 GB. Composed of eight Micron 128 Gb die, less parallelism does negatively affect performance. As a result, write speed suffers. Even still, it's hard to go wrong with mainstream speed and a matching price tag.
If your decision comes down to Crucial's 120 GB M500 or Samsung's 120 GB 840 EVO, you might want to flip a coin. You get eDrive and TCG Opal 2.0 support from both, and their overall performance is similar. Samsung 840 EVO 120 GB
120 GB of Turbo-Charged TLC NAND
Otherwise, Crucial enables NAND redundancy and power-loss protection, while Samsung enjoys better write performance and a more compelling software package. With Samsung's RAPID host-caching feature turned on, the 120 GB 840 EVO can rival some of the fastest SSDs on the market, justifying its higher price.
How could I possibly recommend spending more money on a slower drive than Plextor's esteemed M5 Pro, with 8 GB less capacity and a two-year-shorter warranty? Crucial M500 120 GB
Security Over Performance
Although the M5 Pro has its advantages (and the same Marvell controller), Crucial's generation-old M500 counters with a more modern feature set that includes power-loss protection and TCG Opal 2.0 support. If you're using Windows 8 Pro or newer, the M500 allows Microsoft's BitLocker to encrypt the drive in hardware, rather than burning CPU cycles. This is arguably the finest way to keep a storage device secure.
Is that why you don't mention Crucial's MX100 line? With the current pricing on the 256GB and 512GB MX100 drives, it's hard to justify buying anything else at those capacity points.
MX100 256GB is ~$115 and the 512GB is $215. Hard to beat those prices.
Going by the fact that you're still recommending that stick, I'll assume I'm not doing too badly, but an overview of the current state of USB 3.0 would be nice.
b/ the killer factor is access speed vs a HDD - who gives a rats about transfer speed? - huge is huge
given the above, despite the scoffers, i still think raid 1 w/ a ssd primary & a hdd secondary could work well in some apps. none seem to have tried it & benched it meaningfully i can see
most realtime work is done by primary (ssd) drive
fast & cheap always up redundancy
d/ i hear rumors than the sandisk cache thingo has weird firmware - flushes the cache a lot - defeats the purpose? Many say its great.
loved the idea when first heard it, now not so sure
flushes cache? is that bad?
As they say, lottsa ram wins, even if slow.
So what say a big swap file on an ssd?
My 2gb, soon to be replaced, 98xp PC has a 4gb HDD swap file (suggested by windows) & it crawls - u can hear it
swapping
at least the ssd can be re-used - ram upgrades cannot
An entire copy of your system disk on cheap/fast, but niggardly on space, storage - really?
that means being anal with what goes where for ever more - time & hassle & maybe risk?
why not make it their problem?
seagate etc. hybrid 1tb drive - 8 gb cache onboard - $~100
something like sandisk intellicache~? 32gb ~$45 - not a drive - just a cache
maybe a small ssd for known scratch files like win swap etc - $45 64gb - $85 128gb - kingston?
would make a great raid 1 rig
I am told win 8 installs on 128gb can be a struggle - absurd
In theory, only cache what needs caching, not clutter.
Dont quote me if i am wrong (tho i cant see where, if they work ok)
Very fast almost all the time
Time is money - this is KISS