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Advice on SSDs

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Dec 22, 2010
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Advice on SSDs

Am using a 500GB WD HD about 5 years old. Is this the normal lifespan of a HD and, although its working perfectly, I think its about time to change.

Have no experience or knowledge about SSDs, except they are faster and more expensive.
What do any of the more knowledgeable think about the SanDisk Ultra Plus 256GB and the cheap mounting bracket.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/sandisk-ultr ... 8-1336.htm

Mounting Bracket

http://www.ncix.com/detail/kingston-2-5 ... -86232.htm
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Jan 16, 2011
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While I can't comment on your specific model, I can tell you about the SanDisk SSD I bought a few years back. It works.

The one I have, brand new retail package, already comes with a mounting bracket (and crews + all necessary cables). The included CD makes transfer of OS from existing drive really easy - should you choose not to reinstall from scratch.
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Jul 22, 2006
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For budget folk Kingston SSDnow are decent. Otherwise I like Intel
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OP you don't sound like you are in urgent need of an SSD so I say you wait for a deal. Keep checking the hot deal forum here. The SSD in your OP is an ok deal but nothing great. You will be able to find a considerably faster drive for that price if you keep looking.
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Oct 24, 2012
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ihacki wrote: The one I have, brand new retail package, already comes with a mounting bracket (and crews + all necessary cables). The included CD makes transfer of OS from existing drive really easy - should you choose not to reinstall from scratch.
I bought a Samsung EVO 850 and it didn't come with brackets.

However, I was surprised to find a SSD holder that was hidden in the floppy drive bay of a computer case I bought 5 years ago.
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Thanks a lot for the fast replies everyone. I was just about to go out and purchase one. But I think SickBeast is right. I have a clone of my current HD as a backup so I am in no hurry. Will wait for a deal on a 500GB SSD
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Nov 25, 2013
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Im using a sandisk extreme pro 960gb. Its about 2x or 3x faster than my old hdd. And 10 years warranty.
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I actually bought a Mushkin Eco 2 240GB from newegg. It was on sale like a week or two ago for $100. I had to jump on that since my OCZ Vertex 2 died earlier this year (probably stay away from OCZ for a bit) and was waiting for a killer deal before making the jump. It didn't come with brackets, but I picked up a bracket from Canada Computers for like $6.

After my OCZ died, I transferred my data to a 500GB HDD, it was a very painful transition so I am glad to be back on the SSD bandwagon. Basically I am saying the OP should definitely keep their eyes peeled as its soo worth it!
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Aug 23, 2013
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I picked up my 512GB SSD last year by price matching at Canada computers. I think I paid around $200 and it's more than enough space for me. I originally purchased a 128 and then bought another one and put them in RAID until I finally got fed up and bought the 512.
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Samsung, Crucial and Intel are my top picks for SSDs right now, with preference for Intel and Samsung. Sandisk is ok, but you can usually grab the aforementioned brands for roughly the same price during sales.
When given enough time, all threads on RFD can and will go off on a tangent.
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Mar 3, 2004
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Intel and Samsung are most reliable from experience. With Samsung make sure to get the models that don't use TLC.
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I like the samsungs the best. But these days if you get a good deal. All ssds are pretty much close together.
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Dec 12, 2009
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EEE2 wrote: But these days if you get a good deal. All ssds are pretty much close together.
Not in my experience. Picked up a Transcend, Samsung 850 EVO and Crucial MX200 this year. The Transcend although an improvement over a HDD, it is no match compared to the other two. Let me put this way, I'm keeping my eye out for a sale to replace it with one of the others.
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Nov 17, 2004
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Get a good name brand; Intel, San disk, Samsung, crucial, etc....
Avoid bad brands; Kingston, Transcend, corsair, OCZ, etc...

Even with good name brands there are models which suck and with bad name brands there are particular models which are great, but you will generally be ok sticking with good name brands and avoid bad name brands.

As for bracket, it really does not matter, you can duct tape to your case and it would not matter, SSDs generate little heat and movement does not affect them. My SSD in my desktop just sits in a 3.5 inch drive bay without being secured.
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Sep 10, 2004
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Since prices vary, Click on the EFFECTIVE SPEED tab at the link above to organize according to performance.

Samsung and OCZ/Toshiba are two of the very few that has everything in-house.
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How is it nobody has mentioned SSHDs? Just reading they are nearly as fast as SSDs and I see they have larger capacities at a lower price.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/seagate-st10 ... 7-1336.htm
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insync44 wrote: How is it nobody has mentioned SSHDs? Just reading they are nearly as fast as SSDs and I see they have larger capacities at a lower price.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/seagate-st10 ... 7-1336.htm
Because the SSD part is only 8GB you cant even get the Operating System on it which negates the whole purpose of an SSD. SSHDs have a place in a laptop where you have only one connector - but not really much application beyond that unless you get at least a 40GB SSD component. Even then you are typically cheaper and more versatile to buy a separate SSD and HDD
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insync44 wrote: How is it nobody has mentioned SSHDs? Just reading they are nearly as fast as SSDs and I see they have larger capacities at a lower price.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/seagate-st10 ... 7-1336.htm
If you want to do something like that I highly recommend you set up an Intel RST cache. You can use any HDD that you want and you will need a ~64gb SSD. Then it will use the SSD as a cache to accelerate the hard drive. You need at least an Intel Core i3 CPU though for it to work. It won't work on AMD. I use this for my 3tb gaming hard drive and the games load up really fast, it's hard to tell the difference between the cache and an SSD.
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Purchased a BNIB Samsung 250 GB Evo yesterday for $100 from Craig's. Just finished installing. Works perfectly. The speed is like night and day compared to my previous WD Black. Thoroughly happy.
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insync44 wrote: Purchased a BNIB Samsung 250 GB Evo yesterday for $100 from Craig's. Just finished installing. Works perfectly. The speed is like night and day compared to my previous WD Black. Thoroughly happy.
Which evo? 850 or 840?

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