SSD..which to buy

[Flash_2]

Hi everyone,

New the SSD scene and in the market for one so any help would be appreciated. I am looking at either the MX100 256GB vs the Samsung 840 250GB. I am on a tight budget and I am also interested in speed (minimzing boot time & loading applications) as that's the primary reason for buying an SSD.

The Samsung will cost me about 30-40$ more, so is there a big noticeable difference between these two drives in terms of speed? I've heard that there is little to no real world difference because the SATA3 bus is maxed out by both drives but if there are real world differences then I can also wait and save for the Samsung. Also, I am using an old HDD alongside whichever drive I buy if that makes a difference. I am on Windows 7.

Thanks.

 

[unrlmth]

I would go for the MX100 in your case. There wont be much of a real world difference and since you are replacing a HDD, both will be a massive upgrade. If you want to spend a little bit more, I would probably wait around for a few weeks and see if you can get a 512GB one for around ~150.

 

[redzo]

Since the endurance is low on the 840 evo also, I will go for the mx100. While the evo may seem faster on paper(~300MB/sec vs ~500MB/sec write speed), it achieves this with trickery by using some SLC type buffer which is capacity limited. Rapid seems useless to me. I paid the equivalent price of a 850 pro on my 840 evo last year. If I had the option of a cheaper mx100 back then, I would've not hesitated. Samsung needs to put things in order and lower the prices on the 840 evo line.

 

[lehtv]

Endurance isnt low on the 840 evo, it's just not obscenely high like on MLC NAND drives. In typical consumer use, even the 120gb model will almost certainly outlive the sata iii standard

 

[redzo]

My argument was that is better not to use endurance in order to differentiate between the two. I find them pretty equal in terms of endurance.

 

[ronbo613]

I have a Samsung 830 128G SSD that is a great drive; fast and never had a single problem. I need more space so I plan to buy a Crucial MX100 256G unless a better deal for a Samsung comes up this Black Friday. I don't think you can go wrong with either a Samsung 840 EVO or Crucial MX100. Whichever one is cheaper on Friday is the one I'll buy.

Using an SSD as a boot drive with "work" and storage spinners is the way to go, done it for years.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Endurance isnt low on the 840 evo, it's just not obscenely high like on MLC NAND drives. In typical consumer use, even the 120gb model will almost certainly outlive the sata iii standard

Surprised to hear someone describe modern MLC endurance as "obscenely high". Especially, since it's around 2-3K P/E cycles.

You want obscenely high? Get some Intel SATA2 710-series drives, like I did. Rated for 500TB of writes. 100GB model comes with 160GB of NAND. (Factory OP of 60GB.) It's rated for 900TB of writes, if you manually OP it 20%. Supposedly, it has 50-60K P/E cycles. These drives were the replacement HET-MLC models, for Intel's original X25-E models. The 710 series is not quite 100K P/E cycles like the SLC, but higher capacities.

 

[MountainKing]

Im currently eyeing a sale on ebay for a Samsung Evo 840 250GB model currently on ebay at US $108.82. At that price, I'd take it over the MX100 though.

 

[Elixer]

Im currently eyeing a sale on ebay for a Samsung Evo 840 250GB model currently on ebay at US $108.82. At that price, I'd take it over the MX100 though.

Ugh, no, never buy anything from fleabay, unless it is a dealer.
240GB Crucial M500 SATA III 2.5" Solid State Drive SSD $84.99 w/ Free Shipping
240GB Intel 530 Series 2.5" SATA III MLC SSD $94.99 w/ Free Shipping
Are some of the deals I see now...
Good ole early Black Friday sales... http://slickdeals.net/f/7393186-new...let-checkout-via-newegg-android-app-15-off-50

 

[MountainKing]

You must realise Elixer not everybody has the chance of buying from newegg They do not ship internationally!

 

[7heBoss]

I would like some advice and didn't want to clutter up the forum by creating a new thread.

I plan on putting together a new PC for myself and so I decided to upgrade from my Crucial M4 to something newer. I had pretty much decided on the 256gb Samsung 840 Pro but now I am debating spending the little extra to go with the 512gb MX100. From some of the numbers I saw they seem to have close to the same performance but maybe I wasn't quite grasping what numbers were most important.

Anyway, between the 2 (512gb MX100 and 256gb Samsung 840 Pro) which one should I opt for?

 

[redzo]

You should read the review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8066/crucial-mx100-256gb-512gb-review/5

840 pro 256GB - pro is a little faster and has a higher endurance rating + 5 years waranty.
mx100 512GB - you get twice the capacity.

But you should check 850 pro vs 840 pro pricing. In my country, for example, they are priced almost the same so choosing the 840 pro over the 850 pro makes no sense at all.

 

[TemjinGold]

I would like some advice and didn't want to clutter up the forum by creating a new thread.

I plan on putting together a new PC for myself and so I decided to upgrade from my Crucial M4 to something newer. I had pretty much decided on the 256gb Samsung 840 Pro but now I am debating spending the little extra to go with the 512gb MX100. From some of the numbers I saw they seem to have close to the same performance but maybe I wasn't quite grasping what numbers were most important.

Anyway, between the 2 (512gb MX100 and 256gb Samsung 840 Pro) which one should I opt for?

Upgrade to get more space. Don't upgrade for speed. You'll never feel the speed.

 

[7heBoss]

Thanks for the advice guys. I decided to go with that Samsung 850 Pro. Same Price as the 840, cheaper than the MX100 and I doubt I would ever fill 256gb since i have other Hdds for storage.

 

[MountainKing]

Great pic. You can never have enough of hdd space. Trust me!

 

[7heBoss]

Great pic. You can never have enough of hdd space. Trust me!

I know what you mean, man. With my last build I put 2tb in RAID thinking I could never fill it. I was definitely wrong about that. With this new build I am going with 6tb. I'm confident that I wont fill this one but I suppose I'll see in time.

 

[unrlmth]

I know what you mean, man. With my last build I put 2tb in RAID thinking I could never fill it. I was definitely wrong about that. With this new build I am going with 6tb. I'm confident that I wont fill this one but I suppose I'll see in time.

And I just filled up a 12TB NAS, just expanded it to 24TB.

 

[7heBoss]

And I just filled up a 12TB NAS, just expanded it to 24TB.

Jeez, man! Thats crazy. I don't plan on mapping the human genome on my home computer so I think I will be okay for now. haha