Plextor M5 Pro vs OCZ Arc 100 vs OCZ Vertex 4

[Elfear]

The SSD in my kids' computer decided to bid farewell to this cruel world and now I need to swap one of my drives to their computer. I'd like to keep the fastest/best drive for my OS drive. Which of these would you keep?

128GB Plextor M5 Pro
240GB OCZ Arc 100
256GB OCZ Vertex 4

The M5 Pro seems to be the quickest with the Xtreme firmware according to Anandtech but other sites put the Vertex 4 ahead.

 

[Charlie98]

I would keep the M5Pro.

If the kid's computer doesn't have anything critical on it, I would put the Vertex in there, otherwise the Arc100. The Vertex' were not known for their reliability... although the were fast.

 

[Hellhammer]

Note that the M5 Pro is only 128GB, whereas the other two are 240/256GB. Larger drives are faster, so in this case I'd pick the ARC 100.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Does your kid's PC need that much SSD storage? Just buy a cheapo SandForce-clone 120GB drive to put in their PC. If you're worried about longevity, NeweggFlash.com has Intel 530 120GB for $69.99. Five-year warranty.

 

[Charlie98]

Note that the M5 Pro is only 128GB, whereas the other two are 240/256GB. Larger drives are faster, so in this case I'd pick the ARC 100.

I did, I was thinking longevity. I would, under no circumstances recommend the Vertex over the M5Pro... and I don't really know that much about the OCZ/Toshiba drives. But you are correct, assuming the ARC is a fairly reliable drive.

 

[Elfear]

I would keep the M5Pro.

If the kid's computer doesn't have anything critical on it, I would put the Vertex in there, otherwise the Arc100. The Vertex' were not known for their reliability... although the were fast.

Note that the M5 Pro is only 128GB, whereas the other two are 240/256GB. Larger drives are faster, so in this case I'd pick the ARC 100.

My only concern with the Arc 100 is the abysmal 4k random read score. I thought that was critical to an OS drive.

Edit: Actually after looking at a couple reviews the Arc 100 doesn't fair too badly. Looks like the 128GB M5 Pro is still quicker though according to these two reviews: 240GB Arc 100 & 128GB M5 Pro. The Arc has better steady state performance but I'm not sure how applicable that is to a typical user's needs.

Does your kid's PC need that much SSD storage? Just buy a cheapo SandForce-clone 120GB drive to put in their PC. If you're worried about longevity, NeweggFlash.com has Intel 530 120GB for $69.99. Five-year warranty.

They don't need much storage. They've gotten by with an old 30GB OCZ Vertex drive for the past year and it finally went kaput. 120GB should be plenty since they'll have a 1.5TB HDD as backup. I'd rather not buy any more SSDs since I've accumulated quite a few over the years (need to quit looking at the deal section!).

I should mention I've also got a 512GB & 1TB Samsung Evo drives I've been using for games/programs but maybe they'd be better suited for the OS and games. I've always liked the idea of keeping the OS and everything else separate in case I want to reimage/reformat the main drive but maybe I need to rethink that strategy in this case.

 

[Charlie98]

They don't need much storage. They've gotten by with an old 30GB OCZ Vertex drive for the past year and it finally went kaput. 120GB should be plenty since they'll have a 1.5TB HDD as backup. I'd rather not buy any more SSDs since I've accumulated quite a few over the years (need to quit looking at the deal section!).

I should mention I've also got a 512GB & 1TB Samsung Evo drives I've been using for games/programs but maybe they'd be better suited for the OS and games. I've always liked the idea of keeping the OS and everything else separate in case I want to reimage/reformat the main drive but maybe I need to rethink that strategy in this case.

I hear you!

When I first got into building PC's, I thought that was a good idea (small OS drive, big storage drive) but that was also in the days of $2/GB+ SSD's (I think I paid $89 for my 64GB Agility3 on black Friday 2011, and I thought I was getting a DEAL!) Nowadays, with SSD capacity at sub-.50/GB, I don't see any real reason to separate the OS unless you are a frequent reformatter (I'm not.) Buy a big enough drive to hold everything... and then buy a bigger drive to make backup images on.

 

[ashetos]

I've got the 128GB Vertex 4 and I've got to say it's the best hardware purchase I've made together with the Intel Core i5 2500.

Got it in 2012, it's at 98% remaining life (the 256GB one should have double the endurance).

Never had any data corruption, it's pretty fast, it does not randomly lag and I've been using it all these years with the discard mount option in Linux without any issues (there is a list of SSDs that simply don't behave well in Linux with synchronous TRIM commands).

It is a drive with high power consumption however, it belongs in a desktop computer rather than in an ultraportable. My 2 cents.

 

[ocer9999]

Not so sure about Plextor, they don't seem to be too popular these days. Although OCZ hasn't had the best reputation in the past, but ARC 100 seems to be bringing them back.

 

[Charlie98]

Not so sure about Plextor, they don't seem to be too popular these days.

They are not popular because their $/GB ratio isn't very favorable. If they started selling the M6Pro 256GB at $100... THEN you'd see how popular they are, in much the same manner as the Samsung Pro series, etc.

 

[slumbarr]

Sandisk Ultra II is not bad...good service too

 

[Blain]

Plextor

 

[ocer9999]

They are not popular because their $/GB ratio isn't very favorable. If they started selling the M6Pro 256GB at $100... THEN you'd see how popular they are, in much the same manner as the Samsung Pro series, etc.

So...the M6Pro 256GB is $156.99 vs. OCZ ARC 100 240GB is $94.99 on Amazon, how can Plextor ever drop to the same price level, its just way too expensive!

http://www.amazon.com/Plextor-Series.../dp/B00MMMNCLI

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Solutions-...264204&sr=1-80

 

[Charlie98]

So...the M6Pro 256GB is $156.99 vs. OCZ ARC 100 240GB is $94.99 on Amazon, how can Plextor ever drop to the same price level, its just way too expensive!

http://www.amazon.com/Plextor-Series.../dp/B00MMMNCLI

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Solutions-...264204&sr=1-80

That's just it... I don't expect the Plextor to ever drop that low, therefor, they won't ever become the go-to drive that the Samsung Evo and Crucial MX100 has become and everyone recommends, in much the same way as the Samsung 840Pro (et al) are not contenders in that market.

 

[leedreamer189]

Most recommended ones at the moment: Samsung Evo and Crucial MX100 and OCZ ARC100

 

[npaladin-2000]

These days, if it doesn't say Samsung or Crucial on it, it's second tier.