27 replies to this topic

[primexx]

So now that Intel is using Sandforce controllers, are there any updated benchmarks for SSD reliability? I've only been able to find performance benchmarks on Google. What is the current most reliable SSD?

[Ambroos]

My intuition tells me Crucial m4. Fast and a great Marvell controller.

[+abysal]

Personally I haven't had any issues with Samsung 830 512gb or Crucial M4 256gb / 512gb, but I've also only been on SSDs for about 6 months. Now two of my friends had 128gb OCZ drives that died within a similar time frame, although many others had lots of positive experience with OCZ. I think the technology has matured enough that all manufacturers are probably decent. I looked at MTBF numbers and warranty when choosing my SSDs.

[Mindovermaster]

Samsung 830 128GB here. Love it.

Though my OCZ Vertex 30GB and Vertex 2 60GB is still kicking since ~2011

[LogicalApex]

Ironically, my OCZ drive in my laptop just died a few moments ago. About the 6 month mark... It only makes a high pitched whine and won't actually boot or show up as a drive.

My experience isn't anything more than anecdotal evidence, but there you have it.

[UseLess]

Regardless of "reliable" or not, every SSD can and will brick eventually. Imagine what happens if you lost the data on it...if you can't handle losing it, then back it up! Buy a standard WD Green and back it up! Use any tool you want - Windows Backup does a great job.

TLDR: Back it up!!

Oh, most 'brand name' (Crucial, OCZ, Samsung, Intel, Corsair) SSDs are good. Some may be a little better, but they all have a reasonable chance to brick on you.

[+Shikaka]

My gut feeling tells me it is a toss up between the Crucial M4 and Samsung 830,

I have a Crucial M4 128GB, it is my first SSD so i dont really have anything to compare it to, and im not going to say its better than the Samsung because that would be biased!

Its just given me no problems, and i know Crucial are very good with their support should anything go wrong.

[primexx]

UseLess, on 10 November 2012 - 10:44, said:

Regardless of "reliable" or not, every SSD can and will brick eventually. Imagine what happens if you lost the data on it...if you can't handle losing it, then back it up! Buy a standard WD Green and back it up! Use any tool you want - Windows Backup does a great job.

TLDR: Back it up!!

Oh, most 'brand name' (Crucial, OCZ, Samsung, Intel, Corsair) SSDs are good. Some may be a little better, but they all have a reasonable chance to brick on you.

well, yea, obviously. but it's still a PITA when you have to reinstall everything because the OS disk failed. And although every major brand is good, I'm wondering if there's a clear winner anymore. The old Intel controllers were less than 1 percentage point better than the next best but it was still the undisputed champion in reliability. Is there still someone like that anymore with everyone using either Marvell or Sandforce?

Shikaka, on 10 November 2012 - 13:00, said:

My gut feeling tells me it is a toss up between the Crucial M4 and Samsung 830,

I have a Crucial M4 128GB, it is my first SSD so i dont really have anything to compare it to, and im not going to say its better than the Samsung because that would be biased!

Its just given me no problems, and i know Crucial are very good with their support should anything go wrong.

A couple of people have mentioned Samsung, weren't they pretty bad a while ago? Is the current generation much better?

[The King of GnG]

SSDs and other Flash-based storage devices are on the other side of the "reliability" universe: when they die, they die with a sudden bang and you will never, ever be able to extract a single bit from them.

If you want "reliability", you just need to purchase a server-grade hard disk drive. At least, when the end will come for the drive, you will be able to recover something before (and even after) the drive's demise....

[Javik]

The problems with Sandforce controllers have been fixed now.

[+remixedcat]

Samsung 840 pro.

[+TruckWEB]

Intel.... But they tend to cost more....

[primexx]

TruckWEB, on 11 November 2012 - 03:47, said:

Intel.... But they tend to cost more....

I would get a 320 but they're expensive as hell now. Had I known that Intel would discontinue it so quickly I'd have grabbed two when I bought my first one.

[+abysal]

The King of GnG, on 11 November 2012 - 01:18, said:

SSDs and other Flash-based storage devices are on the other side of the "reliability" universe: when they die, they die with a sudden bang and you will never, ever be able to extract a single bit from them.

If you want "reliability", you just need to purchase a server-grade hard disk drive. At least, when the end will come for the drive, you will be able to recover something before (and even after) the drive's demise....

I would tend to agree, but the performance you get from the SSD is worth the risk of it dying on you. So to protect my self I run an image of my boot / OS drive 3 times a week to an external USB hard drive. My other two machines with SSDs are imaged manually once in a while; but their contents are mostly static so I don't need a weekly backup. Either-way, whether you go with a SSD or a spindle / mechanical drive, you want to have a backup in place if you have important data or just want to save time during recovery.

[tsupersonic]

LogicalApex, on 10 November 2012 - 01:50, said:

Ironically, my OCZ drive in my laptop just died a few moments ago. About the 6 month mark... It only makes a high pitched whine and won't actually boot or show up as a drive.

My experience isn't anything more than anecdotal evidence, but there you have it.

Yep, my OCZ drive lived very shortly, and I've had friend's with failed OCZ drives. Some people have good luck with them, and others don't. I can't recommend them at all. My choice is between the Samsung 830 (or newly released 840, although don't know how reliable they are since it's a new model), Crucial M4, and I've had good luck with Intel 320 series. In any case, the lesson is backup all your data, regardless of the brand.