Advice for SSD

By compl3x
in Hardware Hangout

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

compl3x

Posted
Posted

Here's the skinny, Neowinians

I've decided to bite the bullet and buy an SSD for my laptop and I was hoping for some input on quality brands and models. I think I'll only need about 120GBs and I'm not willing to **** away too much money on a bigger drive for my laptop.

I have a few models which seem to be in a reasonable price range. I've heard good things about the Samsung model but I was hoping for some advice on the OCZ and Sandisk. I am not really familiar with OCZ. The Plextor is 8 Gigs larger and only a few dollars more, so also some input on that brand model, if you'd be so kind.

Thanks folks.

OCZ Agility 4 128GB SSD

SanDisk Extreme Solid State Drive 120GB

Samsung 840 Series 120GB SSD Retail Box

Plextor PX-128M5S 128GB SSD

This is where I am purchasing from:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=210_902_909&vk_sort=1

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1133136-advice-for-ssd/
Share on other sites
Mentor

Gary2MBz

Posted
Posted

I have a Crucial m4 in my system and from POST to Start Screen it takes literally under 10 seconds! It is also one of the more reliable SSDs as well (been out for a while).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

Enthusiast

Aletheia

Posted
Posted

If you are budget conscious, then consider these two:

Kingston SSD Now V+200

http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Digital-2-5-Inch-SV300S37A-120G/dp/B00A1ZTZOG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1359270669&sr=8-8&keywords=kingston+v%2B200+120gb

or

SK Hynix 128 GB

http://www.walmart.com/ip/SK-hynix-128GB-Solid-State-Drive/21983578

[Not many know about Hynix, but in Asian market, they are really well known]

I have 2 Kingston (60GB and 120GB) and I bought them cheap, and I am very happy with them. Using 60GB for my 4 year old netbook (eee 1000HA) and it flies! I am using the netbook again.

Grand Master

chconline Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Don't get the Agility 4. I have one and the performance is relatively terrible. The Vertex 4 is a very good choice. I own like 10 OCZ drives and they all work brilliantly. The Kingston V+200 is also a very good drive. I have 2 running in RAID in my server, it performs as expected (For a Sandforce drive anyway), and no issues with reliability at all.

SanDisk has the new Ultra Plus which replaces the Extreme. I actually have one but haven't opened it yet so can't comment :p

Grand Master

goretsky Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

Hello,

Plextor is an old optical disc drive manufacturer that entered the SSD business a year or two ago. Their CD and DVD drives were always top-notch, but I have never used an SSD from them.

One thing I would suggest, regardless of which brand and model you go with, is to get a unit that is 7mm high, as opposed to the more common 9.5mm high SSD. This is so you can re-use the SSD in the future in a laptop that only has a 7mm high drive bay. There's no extra cost associated with 7mm high SSDs, since the actual SSD is just a circuit board?the only difference is in the casing surrounding it. Some SSDs, like Intel's, are all 7mm high with a 2.5mm spacer screwed on to the top, while others come in separate packaging.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Mentor

ajua

Posted
Posted

I have a SanDisk Extreme SSD 240GB since August running 24/4 and the performance is great. The price was great too.

My most recent buy was a Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB for a new Windows 8 laptop I bought. The performance is really on par with the SanDisk Extreme.

I would advice any of these and I would choose the cheaper. If price is the same I would go with SanDisk, only because Kingston software for its SSD's is really crappy. SanDisk on the other hand is well laid out and lets you check for firmware updates as well. With Kingston you need a separate app that looks like it came back from the 90's.

Choose the cheapest of the one you listed. I believe we have reached a point that all of them will work great and the reliability should be the same between brands.

Grand Master

Boz

Posted
Posted

Definitely go for Samsung 840.. so far they've been proven to be good SSDs.. the other guys mostly outsource their SSD production. OCZ Vertex 4 is a solid SSD but Agility is not since it's their lower end model. One good thing again for OCZ is that they do inhouse controllers. So OCZ Vertex 4 is their excellent SSD utilizing this new controller stuff they have.

Out of the 3rd party OEMs who just put the SSDs together or order them from others Corsair is the only one that's relatively good. I have been using their Force 3 SSD for a long time and it still runs great but their GT series is solid too.

But it's really 2 companies you want to buy SSDs from at this point if you want to buy quality.. OCZ and Samsung. Intel is good but they are always overpriced.

  • Muessig and Aergan
  • Like 2
Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

Posted
Posted

I would stay away from the Samsung 840. Get the 840 Pro or the 830. The regular 840 uses inferior components, which give you less performance and less overall life. Samsung simply cheaped out on that model.

The Agility 4 is a good one, but it's also a budget model which doesn't use the highest quality components. I'd recommend the Vertex 4 since it's faster and you get the 5 year warranty. I've used OCZ drives since the first Vertex, and I've never had a single problem with them. Currently have the 256GB Vertex 4 and it's crazy fast.

I don't have any experience with the Plextor or SanDisk, so I can't say much about either of them.

If you're looking for a budget SSD, go with the Crucial M4. It's cheap, fast, and high quality. I'd say that's definitely your best bet.

Grand Master

theyarecomingforyou

Posted
Posted

afaik there's no physical difference b/w the Vertex and Agility line. Either would be a solid choice.

The Vertex 4 uses a different controller and has much better overall performance. The Agility line is a cut down version of the Vertex 3 line - it performs very similarly in many respects but suffers significantly in others. The Agility isn't a bad choice if you're on a budget?if it's actually cheaper, as it varies?but it's not a true performance drive.

Grand Master

Jason S. Global Moderator

Posted
  • Global Moderator
Posted

The Vertex 4 uses a different controller and has much better overall performance. The Agility line is a cut down version of the Vertex 3 line - it performs very similarly in many respects but suffers significantly in others. The Agility isn't a bad choice if you're on a budget?if it's actually cheaper, as it varies?but it's not a true performance drive.

Same controller b/w the Vertex 4 and Agility 4. The only difference appears to be synchronous vs asynchronous MLC

Agility 4

post-34502-0-05639700-1359476143.jpg

Vertex 4

post-34502-0-50156100-1359476144.jpg

Grand Master

theyarecomingforyou

Posted
Posted
Same controller b/w the Vertex 4 and Agility 4. The only difference appears to be synchronous vs asynchronous MLC

I was mistaken when it comes to the controller but the performance is certainly substantially different:

8bJ77Lk.jpg

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Poll: Grand Theft Auto VI price predictions, cast your vote

      By noobient · Posted

      $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Why you need to take back control of your synced passwords and how to go about doing that

      By noobient · Posted

      Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
    • Mp3tag 3.35

      By Jaybonaut · Posted

      Thanks
    • Why you need to take back control of your synced passwords and how to go about doing that

      By +Warwagon · Posted

      I actually got to use one of those so called "backup codes" once. It was for a customer, I choose the backup code option, and by the grace of god, they actually hade them printed out. Imagine my surprise, when after using the backup code, Google then told use we had to enter a code they just sent to the gmail address we currently did not have access to. I was not amused, Google backup codes should be the end all get out of jail free card, because you had to have access to the account to even get them.
    • Why you need to take back control of your synced passwords and how to go about doing that

      By Snake Doc · Posted

      On the topic of being locked out of a service. Recently two different friends of mine got locked out of their Google accounts. Both were hack attempts and one of them is waiting 30 days before he can get back in. He had backup codes and MFA but not a passkey. It was a browser token hack. Anyhow he has to wait 30 days for the dispute or whatever to end. The other person only had a password and is screwed losing all of the email, docs and years of photos. Google won’t help her at all. Her fault because she had no backup/recovery setup. Enable passkeys if possible. Also do NOT use browser based password managers. If using a cloud service make sure it is one you can fully sync to one of your devices so you can back it up. Like a PC or Mac with some backup drive plugged into it. Google is the worst to use IMHO. You can’t sync your photos at all. You have to use the “Take Out” service which is manual and takes days. That service strips the meta data from your photos. Also Google Docs synced to a device are useless without a Google accounts. MS Office/Libre Office is not going to open a link to a Google doc to a dead account.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Supreme Spray LV earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Genuinetonerink- Dubai earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Genuinetonerink- Dubai earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      hhgygy earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      AMV earned a badge
      Week One Done

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      513
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      164
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      88
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      74
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      73
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!