Recommend an SSD

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Lizard1977

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#113000 1-Jan-2013 17:37

Right - I'm thinking about taking the plunge and buying an SSD for my desktop while Computer Lounge have a 7% discount code floating around for New Years. I'm looking at using it as my primary/boot drive. The SSD will just need to house Win8, plus my programs and games. For data (docs, videos, pictures, etc) I'll either use my existing 1TB WD Caviar Black or my NAS (when I get it up and running smoothly). My current OS + Programs use up about 80GB, so I think an SSD of 120GB+ should be plenty.

I've had a look at the offerings from Computer Lounge, and I"m drawn to the Intel 330 series, or the Samsung 840 series (120Gb for $149) OCZ looks nice, but I'm not sure whether the price premium is justified. I only have SATA2 on my motherboard, so SATA3 isn't necessary.

Does anyone have a recommendation to make, or a warning to offer, about any of the above drives?

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867 posts

Ultimate Geek

#739189 1-Jan-2013 18:03

The three makes I'd recommend would be Crucial, Intel and Samsung. If you can get a good deal on a Samsung 830 then I'd go for that one over a 840. Don't worry too much about one benchmarking a little better than another as you probably won't notice any difference on your system with SATA2.

You might want to check this old thread here:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=37&topicid=107940

#include <standard.disclaimer>

mattwnz

20180 posts

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#739191 1-Jan-2013 18:22

Intel 330

bfginger

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#739211 1-Jan-2013 19:55

Crucial has the best track record for reliability. OCZ has probably the worst.

Shindig

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#739219 1-Jan-2013 20:38

OCZ Agility3. Pleased I spent the extra and got a SSD.
In a laptop running Win 8 with 8Gb RAM... quick as!

The little things make the biggest difference.

gehenna

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#739229 1-Jan-2013 21:22

Never had an issue with the OCZ Vertex series.

lucky015

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#739237 1-Jan-2013 21:39

Samsung 830/840 would get my vote, I have a 120GB 840 I got for about $140 from Playtech during Boxing Day sales.

macuser

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#739247 1-Jan-2013 22:14

Crucial C4 512gb in my Dell XPS 17. I enjoy having far more space than needed to allow me to run all my apps, and temporary work documents on the boot SSD, then two internal 750GB hdds host backup and less temp work files. (Three internal drive bays ftw)

If you can afford it, get a big ssd, makes for less overall hassle.

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leo0787sx

407 posts

Ultimate Geek

#740430 5-Jan-2013 14:51

I got one of the Corsair ones, no issues at all and with Windows 8 (Faster than 7) runs like a dream.

PANiCnz

990 posts

Ultimate Geek

#740432 5-Jan-2013 14:59

Avoid OCZ like the plague, would recommend Crucial, Intel and Samsung.

Intel 330 series if you're on a budget, Samsung 840 if you're not.

boby55

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#740435 5-Jan-2013 15:19

Avoid OCZ I've had 4 die on me, 2 Agility 3's a Vertex 3 and Vertex 4. I would recommend looking at a Crucial M4 or Samsung 840

Skillie

192 posts

Master Geek

#740545 6-Jan-2013 07:52

See tom's hardware for "Best SSDs For The Money: December 2012"

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269.html

michaelmurfy

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#740558 6-Jan-2013 08:48

Shindig: OCZ Agility3. Pleased I spent the extra and got a SSD.
In a laptop running Win 8 with 8Gb RAM... quick as!

I'm running this in my Netbook, it's speedy as, and for the price its pretty good

Shameless plug: If you're wanting a very fast Netbook this will be in the offers section shortly, I have upgraded.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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Regs

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Snowflake

#740755 6-Jan-2013 21:01

gehenna: Never had an issue with the OCZ Vertex series.

my windows 8 install bombed three times in a row - unrecoverable, couldn't even repair. The fourth time its been fine. The first three attempts were all on a cheap OCZ Vertex Plus 60G SSD, the fourth was on a traditional hdd.

I've had five OCZ SSD's, and two Intel SSDs. No problems with the Intel versions, 3/5 complete failures on the OCZ. One OCZ is still running great, and the other is the one from above which seems to have some problems. Basically a success rate of 1/5.

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dpf81

58 posts

Master Geek

#748204 21-Jan-2013 13:52

Every OCZ drive ive had i've had to RMA. Intel is far more reliable

Lizard1977

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#748221 21-Jan-2013 14:25

I ended up going with an Intel 330 120GB from Computer Lounge for $149. Going well so far. Had a few hiccups with installing Windows 8, but that wasn't anything to do with the SSD. Things have settled down now, and I'm loving the 15 second boot times!

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