Best and Most reliable SSD?

[Zillatech]

After browsing Newegg's many reviews, the Corsair line of SSD's seems like one of the safe buys but Anandtech's reviews seem to favor Intel which is the name I normally trust. I'm still unsure of the best and most reliable SSD to purchase so can anyone help me narrow it down a bit? Intel's new G2's seem to be taking a beating with firmware issues and now some bad reviews on Newegg about faulty units.

I'm looking for something at least 128GB or greater because I don't think 64/80GB will be enough for future so what drives should be on my short list and why? Reliability is my top priority (no Stutters or other issues will be tolerated).

Thanks in advance ~

 

[CurseTheSky]

Other than the recent (and original) firmware issues, it's hard to go wrong with an Intel X-25M G2. They should eventually release good, TRIM-enabling firmware... it's just a question of how long.

With that said, nearly any of the Indilinx and Samsung-based drives will be reliable. Only the old jmicron drives (OCZ Core) suffered from stuttering. Performance wise, I'd recommend Intel, Indilinx (OCZ Vertex, OCZ Agility, many others), or Samsung, in that order.

 

[Zillatech]

So why is everyone down on the Samsung Controllers and choosing the Indilinx Barefoot controller over it? Since the Samsung controller automatically cleans up the drive at the hardware level, there is no need of "TRIM" support and XP and Vista users can use these drives without ever worrying about performance degradation.

I see too many DOA (or premature death) reviews with the Indilinx controllers, even Corsairs "Extreme" series is having problems with that controller. Maybe thats why the Corsair Performance Series drives are racking up the good reviews and the others seem to be hit or miss with far less reviews in general.

 

[jvroig]

Everyone is down on the Samsung Controllers because (if I had to guess) it comes up as the worst performer in all SSD benchmarks done by Anand, and quite possibly in other review sites as well.

 

[Zillatech]

So, how come this page show the Corsair P256 ranking pretty high in both tests?

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3667&p=8

Its still wicked fast over a VelociRaptor and if it doesn't have tech issues and works reliably, who cares about being the absolute fastest? It also appears that Newegg users agree with the best and most votes all having the Samsung controller. These are end users that have put down their money and actually used the drives rather then just declare the winner based on Tech review benchmarks.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e=4215%3A41071

I guess I'd like to see more consistency in "Good Reviews" with both Intel and Indilinx.

 

[jvroig]

I have no SSD preference myself. I merely offered a conjecture based on the reviews posted by Anand, and also his narratives in several of his reviews noting that Samsung controllers seem to be the worst performers among the SSD bunch.

I do agree with you, and this is something I've mentioned in another thread, that as far as SSDs go, even the worst SSDs often trounce the best HDDs.

 

[KingstonU]

Zillatech, though the Samsung drive does well in sequential read/write performance, what Anand discovered (and is now famous for) is that what is most important about an SSD that makes it such an improvement over traditional mechanical drives is the random 4k read/write speeds. Read ALL of Anands article on this if you want to really understand why. This is where the Intel and Indilix are far beyond the Samsung controller. The old Jmicron controllers are even worse which caused the mass of useless SSDs that were released at the beginning like the OCZ Core, G.Skill Falcon, Patriot Warp etc...

 

[bradley]

The most reliable would be SLC-based drives. Being a relative newcomer, MLC's real-world longevity is still fairly unknown, while SLC have been used as enterprise drives for over a decade. Theoretically SLC offers as many as five to ten times greater longevity over MLC.

The fastest SLC drives on the market: Intel X25-E, OCZ Vertex EX and Agility EX. All of these drives employ Intel SLC NAND. In terms of bang for the buck, I'd probably pick the Agility based on real world performance. The Agility is only slightly slower than the Vertex.

For regular consumer drives, the MLC-based: Intel X25-M G2, OCZ Vertex and Agility are more than adequate in terms of reliability.

 

[exar333]

It appears DOA units affect SSDs across the gamut...I would stick with either Intel or Indilinx based controllers. Personally, the X-25 G2 is probably the best bet out there right now for performance, reliability, and cost.

 

[jvroig]

It appears DOA units affect SSDs across the gamut...I would stick with either Intel or Indilinx based controllers.

That's a useful warning. But is it the fault of the controller if a unit arrives DOA, which is why you recommend Intel/Indilinx over Samsung?

 

[exar333]

That's a useful warning. But is it the fault of the controller if a unit arrives DOA, which is why you recommend Intel/Indilinx over Samsung?

KingstonU hit the nail on the head earlier in the thread regarding the random 4k read/write speeds. The Samsung controllers lag considerably from the both Intel/Indilinx's offerings. The real benefit of SSDs is this ability; you might as well get a Velociraptor instead if you are concerned more about sustained transfer speeds.

Don't get me wrong, the Samsung controller isn't "bad" (it's certainly much superior to the JMicron controller) but it's a gen behind what the other two can do. Fast 4k randon read/writes will really make the OS snappy and fast.

 

[jvroig]

I am aware of the random read/write performance, as I stayed current with Anand's SSD reviews. However, my question was about you mentioning units arriving dead on arrival (DOA) then recommending Intel/Indilinx. From how you phrased your post, I thought you meant that Intel/Indilinx has a better track record of not shipping dead units, which surprised me because I assumed having an SSD unit arrive DOA has nothing to do with the controller.

 

[Rebel_L]

Too me it reads more like hes saying that DOA rates are independent of the what controller it comes with and thus hes recommending just based on the controller and ignoring DOA complaints in general as its a potential issue for all drives

 

[exar333]

Too me it reads more like hes saying that DOA rates are independent of the what controller it comes with and thus hes recommending just based on the controller and ignoring DOA complaints in general as its a potential issue for all drives

Correct. I apologize if I inferred otherwise. In many respects, SSDs are much like classic mechanical drives in that you often get a DOA unit, or it lasts forever. From reviews I have read, there is not a specific brand or controller company that is measurably less reliable than the next.

 

[n7]

Samsung SSDs do have specific benches they do well in, yeah.

But overall, they aren't even comparable to the Indilinx/Intel offerings.

It's Intel > Indilinx > Samsung > don't buy anything lower in SSDs.

If you need 120/128 GB, Indilinx is right up your alley, as the next step is the 160 GB Intel G2.

 

[evident]

Hope OP doesn't mind me piggybacking. but any SSD drive nowadays runs circles around conventional HD's right? I am looking to get a ssd to run off my laptop and i just need something that will be faster than a crap 5400 RPM drive and be reliable.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Hope OP doesn't mind me piggybacking. but any SSD drive nowadays runs circles around conventional HD's right? I am looking to get a ssd to run off my laptop and i just need something that will be faster than a crap 5400 RPM drive and be reliable.

Any GOOD SSD will run circles around a spindle drive, yes. The old JMicron-based SSDs will stutter and end up performing worse. So, Intel G1 or G2, Indilinx (OCZ Vertex, OCZ Agility, several other brands), and Samsung based drives will all work fine.

For real world performance, the order seems to be:
Intel SLC (X-25E) -> Indilinx SLC (Vertex EX, etc.) -> (Samsung SLC?) -> Intel MLC (X-25M) -> Indilinx MLC (Vertex, Agility, etc.) -> Samsung MLC -> Fast Spindle Drives (Raptor, etc.) -> Normal Spindle Drives (7200 RPM) -> Slow Spindle Drives (5900-5400 RPM) -> JMicron MLC (OCZ Core, etc.)

 

[Zillatech]

I think I'll wait a bit more, at least until Intel releases working firmware for the G2's, then maybe go with that. Or maybe even wait until the 3rd Generations drives. It seems to me that SSD's need to bake a little more before there done. At least there are several players really working hard to better the technology and it seems that SSD Tech. is moving forward at a nice pace. Kind of like the good old 3DFX, TNT days for graphics cards

Thanks to all who posted feedback ~

 

[chrisf6969]

Yeah waiting won't hurt, if you're patient. As SSD's are still in their infancy considering all of the firmware rewrites/revisions from EVERYONE.

If you were going to buy right now, I'd say Intel X25-M G2 or OCZ Vertex.

That said I got an Intel X25-M 80Gb G2 and am VERY happy with it. So much so that it aggrivates me using nearly any other computer. Well, except for other FAST dual/quad core based systems with 640Gb-1Tb (ie: very new/fast drives). Anything less is painful now.

 

[schenley101]

i suspect that most of the ssd DOAs are from the actual memory chips or manufacturing defects and not because of the controller.

 

[bradley]

Theoretically the controller itself will eventually fail well before the flash chips, even more so with proper wear leveling. I read that most of the Intel SSD semi/DOA's were due to pre-production firmware accidentally being released.

 

[taltamir]

That's a useful warning. But is it the fault of the controller if a unit arrives DOA, which is why you recommend Intel/Indilinx over Samsung?

because all review sites have tested and found samsung to be the slowest by a fair margin.

 

[jvroig]

because all review sites have tested and found samsung to be the slowest by a fair margin.

I asked about whether it was the fault of the controller (Intel vs Indilinx vs Samsung) when a card arrives DOA, therefore being the basis of his recommendation . It was not a performance question, and several posts after that post of mine that you quote (including another post from myself) have already clarified the point repeatedly. It's not about Samsung's lackluster performance, it was merely trying to clarify ExarKun333's statement if he did or did not mean that Samsung controller's were more prone to arrive DOA.

 

[Zap]

In theory the "most reliable" SSDs would be ones using SLC NAND.

"Best" in terms of overall performance would be a tossup between Intel and Indilinx.

I'll toss another one in there - "longest warranty." That would be the Patriot TorqX drives with 10 year warranty.

Regarding DOAs, the Indilinx and Intel drives are probably the most popular ones, so of course we will hear of more problems because even if all of them have, let's make up some numbers, 2% DOA rate, then 10,000 Intel/Indilinx drives sold (as bare drives, not part of a system) would be 200 DOA drives people complain about online, while 1000 Samsung drives would be 20 DOA. Before anyone gets in a huff, yes, I made up those numbers to illustrate my point.

 

[=Wendy=]

There is another kid on the block. The SandForce controller. It's still a little bit away, but it looks killer.

But for the moment, IMO, the Intel and Indilinx based drives are pretty hard to beat. In some user patterns the Intel drive is fastest, in other user patterns the Indilinx based drives are fastest.