Which 512GB SSD?

[Phynaz]

It's buying time!

Since they are both $400, I'm thinking either the Crucial M4 or the Plextor M3 drives.

I'm also on SATA II, so speed isn't much of a consideration. Reliability is. I'm leaning towards the Crucial, since they have done a couple of firmware updates already.

What do you guys think?

 

[aviator78]

If reliability is what you want, then you should get yourself a Samsung 830.

 

[Coup27]

I would avoid the m4 - purely because it has been around a very long time and is likely to be superseded in the coming months with every other SSD vendor having either a newer or faster SSD out there. The m4 is a great value buy as it is reliable but if buying today, I think it's showing it's age too much, especially in sequential writing and random reading.

Judging an SSD's reliability by post-release firmware updates is flawed. Every firmware update that fixes a bug means it is a bug which got through validation in the first place. Making a thorough job of validation naturally means you have less, if any firmware updates post-release. Intel never released a firmware update for the 510 and if it wasn't for the very high price it would have been more popular.

That said, my choice would either be an 830 or one of the Plextors. Both companies take reliability seriously and the 830 has the benefit of having been around long enough to demonstrate its a solid drive. The Plextor's are a bit faster than the 830 IIRC, but they are also more expensive. Both options will be solid. Samsung is likely to be cheaper and has a good toolbox, Plextor is likely to be faster and more expensive.

 

[Phynaz]

At $550 I'm thinking the Samsung is out of the price range.

Also, remember I'm on SATA II.

 

[Coup27]

You're on SATA 3Gbps now but you won't be forever and you would still see the increased random read offered by the 830 on 3Gbps.

If sounds like budget is going to be your deciding factor so there is nothing wrong with an m4, just there are faster drives out there if you were willing/able to go for them.

 

[MontyAC]

You can also check this thread.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2268148

 

[jwilliams4200]

Definitely the Plextor M3. Plextor has a 5-year warranty and probably is higher quality than the m4. Also, the Plextor M3 is faster than the m4.

 

[Phynaz]

You're on SATA 3Gbps now but you won't be forever and you would still see the increased random read offered by the 830 on 3Gbps.

If sounds like budget is going to be your deciding factor so there is nothing wrong with an m4, just there are faster drives out there if you were willing/able to go for them.

Thanks.

Yeah, I'd love the Samsung, but jeez, even Intel is cheaper. Price isn't the single deciding factor, but it's always important.

In the past I haven't had great results with Plextor, although that was a very long time ago. The five year warranty is appealing, but it's a pain if you have to use it.

 

[holden j caufield]

I've heard more than once that the m4 512mb is less reliable that the 256gb version. Don't remember why but a few people mentioned it.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I haven't seen a single problem with the 512 m4's. I don't see any reason a larger capacity would be less repable. Do you have any theories?

 

[BFG10K]

I would avoid the m4 - purely because it has been around a very long time and is likely to be superseded in the coming months with every other SSD vendor having either a newer or faster SSD out there. The m4 is a great value buy as it is reliable but if buying today, I think it's showing it's age too much, especially in sequential writing and random reading.

The difference in performance doesn’t matter too much. In most practical situations you won’t be able to tell the difference between the fastest and slowest SSDs, assuming the slow one doesn’t have some kind of compatibility problems.

Reliability (including warranty) and cost are the most important factors, and the M4 does fine for both.

 

[dmoney1980]

the plextor and the crucial both use the same controller, just different firmware. If both are equal cost get the plextor for the longer warranty.

 

[cytg111]

I dont know what prices you're looking at, but the m4 is like 20-25% cheaper than the 830 where I am doing my shopping.

 

[vpNex]

I actually like the SSD that is in mature state, the M4 are now shipped with 000F firmware which is the latest, factory flashed and tested. The Samsung 830 128GB is actually better choice if you choose within 128GB range, because the price is almost the same in the US region. Anandtech also shows the 830 is a Tier 2 vs Tier 5 M4.

I personally bought the M4, because is cheap, good performance, reliable and ships internationally. The 830 ships within the US only from neweggs and amazon, that kinda sucked. Even though Crucial is using top of the line NAND chips the same as Intel, but i do think Samsung technology is better.

 

[lehtv]

Crucial M4 is the best balance of reliability, speed and cost among 512GB drives.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/internal-hard-drive/#t=0&s=512000&f=3&i=25&sort=a5

The only other contender is the $300 OCZ Agility 3 but I think spending another $90 on a good brand with a superior controller is worth it.

 

[Jocelyn84]

I haven't seen a single problem with the 512 m4's. I don't see any reason a larger capacity would be less repable. Do you have any theories?

If you visit the Crucial forums, you will see more reports with the 512GB than any other flavor. It's still not very many, but that could be what holden j caufield was referencing.

the plextor and the crucial both use the same controller, just different firmware. If both are equal cost get the plextor for the longer warranty.

Exactly. The Plextor uses more expensive & faster Toshiba 2Xnm Toggle NAND and is also currently cheaper than the m4.

I dont know what prices you're looking at, but the m4 is like 20-25% cheaper than the 830 where I am doing my shopping.

I think Coup27 was using the 830 as a comparison and reason why to go with the M3 over the m4.

Crucial M4 is the best balance of reliability, speed and cost among 512GB drives.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/internal-hard-drive/#t=0&s=512000&f=3&i=25&sort=a5

The only other contender is the $300 OCZ Agility 3 but I think spending another $90 on a good brand with a superior controller is worth it.

Not with the M3 512GB priced at $370. Also, mentioning the Agility 3 as "the only other contender" doesn't really make sense. Did you mean price or what? It uses slow Async NAND and it's an OCZ, which means you lose reliability and have to deal with horrible CS if anything goes wrong.