what ssd to buy


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Hello guys, i am a little confused, i did a lot of research because it and tech is what i study and i still don't know what ssd i should choose between these four:

120gb Samsung 840 basic series, with the tlc nand memory

120gb Intel 330 series

120gb Kingston v300 series

120gb Kingston hyperx 3k

I am kinda low on budget that's why those are my available options, i would have preferred the Samsung 830 but it's not available anymore in my country.

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I would go with the Intel, i have seen better success with them, I have no experience with a samsung SSD and do not know anyone who has owned one and all 4 of the Kingston drives i have used did not last more than 8 months or so.

That Samsung uses a slower and cheaper NAND, so I'd stay away from that one.

Out of those 4, I'd recommend the Intel. It's the most reliable, but it's also the most expensive.

Other options would be the OCZ Agility 4, Corsair Crucial M4. (thanks tsupersonic :rofl:) The M4 is a very very good SSD and it's cheap, so if you can get that one, I'd recommend it.

Other options would be the OCZ Agility 4, Corsair M4. The M4 is a very very good SSD and it's cheap, so if you can get that one, I'd recommend it.

Crucial M4, not Corsair. I agree, Crucial M4 is also a great inexpensive drive.

Doesn't the 840 Pro versions use a different chip?

The only difference between the Pro and non-Pro is that the non-Pro uses TLC (triple level cell) NAND, which is slower and cheaper than the MLC NAND which the Pro uses.

More info: http://reviews.cnet.com/internal-hard-drives/samsung-840-120gb-ssd/4505-9998_7-35507727.html

The immediate downside is that it uses a SandForce controller, which is always iffy in terms of reliability. OCZ seemed to have solved it's problems with that controller via firmware, but I can't say for sure if Corsair had the same issues and remedies.

The other downside is that it uses Asynchronous NAND, which is quite a bit slower than Synchronous NAND.

It's a decent budget SSD, but you might as well spend the extra 10 quid and get that Crucial M4 which doesn't have either of those problems.

Anandtech says the TLC should be made up for with the MDX controller in the Samsung 840. I went with an 840 Pro anyways just to be on the safe side. The problem with Intel these days is that they're all using SandForce controllers too, even though it is customized, but we don't know exactly how much customized it really is.

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