Samsung 840 v 830

[apeZ]

128GB 840 Pro vs 250GB 840 is the question I'm currently asking. Does the fact that my Macbook Pro only has SATA-II make a difference in that decision?

Based on what I've read in this thread I would buy the standard 840. But I'm not sure what the 'real world' difference between the two will be in SATA-II.

 

[Phil2008]

Well going from a sata II SSD to a sata III SSD Ive shaved of another 2-3secs off my boot up time.

 

[Dervious]

128GB 840 Pro vs 250GB 840 is the question I'm currently asking. Does the fact that my Macbook Pro only has SATA-II make a difference in that decision?

Based on what I've read in this thread I would buy the standard 840. But I'm not sure what the 'real world' difference between the two will be in SATA-II.

Well, it is likely that the SATA-II interface will "hold back" the faster write speed of the 840 Pro. The read speed of the Pro vs Non pro is pretty much identical.

My opinion is that Sata-II or III, the extra capacity of the 250 non pro outweighs the slightly cheaper price and faster write speed of the 128gb Pro. Most users computers/laptops do much more reading than writing, therefore the faster write speed is not really going to be an advantage (probably will be hardly noticeable in a lot of cases).

I'm just completing the install of a 840 250GB in a Toshiba i3 based laptop with Sata-II, and it just so happens that I did the same upgrade on a brand new Toshiba i3 laptop with Sata-III a couple of days ago. Yes, the New laptop is slightly faster booting up (as Phil2008 pointed out), and this is down to the faster Sata speeds. To be fair, the older laptop hasn't got a "clean" install of Windows 7 on it, so that is likely to be adding a little to the boot time.

As far as the choice between pro or non pro goes, I don't think that Sata II or III should be the deciding factor. I think you should concentrate on capacity/price/warranty.

 

[wazza300]

if your limited to sata2 only then go for the bigger cheaper ssd imo

 

[Dervious]

if your limited to sata2 only then go for the bigger cheaper ssd imo

Sometimes it pays to think of the future. At some point the user may upgrade to a newer laptop or pc with Sata III, and may transfer the SSD from the old to the new machine.

Sata III would "unleash" the faster write speed of the 840 pro. That doesn't mean to say the pro is the best choice in all cases though.

 

[wazza300]

youd still gain from sata3 read speeds,write speeds you wouldn't notice tbh over the pro's only in benchmarks,im lucky to have both the 250gb non pro and the 256 pro

and both are just as quick

theres no point spending more ££ on the pro version if your limited to sata2 speeds,and even if you upgrade later you'll still gain in speed with a non pro 840

 

[Dervious]

youd still gain from sata3 read speeds,write speeds you wouldn't notice tbh over the pro's only in benchmarks,im lucky to have both the 250gb non pro and the 256 pro

and both are just as quick

theres no point spending more ££ on the pro version if your limited to sata2 speeds,and even if you upgrade later you'll still gain in speed with a non pro 840

+1

Yes, either drive will be capable of 500MB/s read speed on Sata-III. Both will be limited if they are running on Sata-II.

Incidentally, can you confirm my suspicion that the pro and non pro versions appear to run equally as fast in everyday use ? Can you tell that the pro has a faster write speed ?

 

[wazza300]

I can't tell to be honest,both are fast in everyday use

the only way you would notice is in benchmarks

EDIT: if you want the best and are prepared to pay the money then go for the pro,if that's not important then the non pro is more than good enough

 

[Dervious]

I can't tell to be honest,both are fast in everyday use

the only way you would notice is in benchmarks

Thanks.

This is why I bought myself a 250GB non pro, and why I buy them to install in my customers' laptops and PCs.

I don't get why there is so much "love" for spending a fair bit more on the 256GB pro. The faster write speeds seem to be a big attraction to those who simply look at specifications and benchmarks, without understanding that a) 250MB/s write speed is more than enough for most users and b) the difference between 250 and 500MB/s write speed will hardly be noticed, if at all.

In my opinion, the real advantage of the pro is the extra 2 years warranty. I suspect that for >95% of users, there would be no warranty claim in the 4th and 5th year of ownership of the non pro (unless the TLC memory really is "dodgy").

 

[wazza300]

its faster than the non pro but where n whether you would notice idk,i can't tell,its faster than my corsair force gt though I can tell that much

3 year warranty is plenty imo,things will have moved on by then

 

[Dervious]

its faster than the non pro but where n whether you would notice idk,i can't tell,its faster than my corsair force gt though I can tell that much

3 year warranty is plenty imo,things will have moved on by then

Agreed.

I used to use Crucial M4s, but the choice is now simple, 840 250GB. Unless I hear of reliability issues, or a better SSD comes along for a similar price, I'll be sticking with this choice.

 

[chippy08]

I put my samsung 840 none pro in yesterday my boot time is between 21-24 seconds i was expecting less but might be because i have 5 other drives in as well on both sata and marvel sata ports.
I have seen a difference in performance and transfer speeds so far.

 

[Dervious]

I put my samsung 840 none pro in yesterday my boot time is between 21-24 seconds i was expecting less but might be because i have 5 other drives in as well on both sata and marvel sata ports.
I have seen a difference in performance and transfer speeds so far.

It might be worth trying some different SATA drivers.

If you are using an Intel board, try their RST driver.

Sometimes other drivers/software can slow down the boot process.

 

[Phil2008]

In the magican software does it let you know when it automatically does trim, as Ive had mine ssd for 3 days now and still nothing...

 

[wazza300]

it should do it in the background,performance would drop off if it wasn't working so I wouldn't worry

 

[Dervious]

You have an Intel motherboard and Windows 7.

TRIM should be enabled, so sit back and enjoy your SSD.

 

[vipstarr]

I didn't want to start a new thread... I noticed that a new FW update is available (256GB 840 Pro).

Should I still update even if my drive is working without any problems?

Thanks.

 

[wazza300]

I didn't want to start a new thread... I noticed that a new FW update is available (256GB 840 Pro).

Should I still update even if my drive is working without any problems?

Thanks.

any release notes saying what the new fw fixes?

 

[Minstadave]

Toying with purchasing a 250Gb 840 today, will I see any performance difference between the pro and non-pro? Main use is gaming. My current Intel X25m has a write speed of about 70MBs so I can't see the slower write speed of the non pro being a big issue.

 

[vipstarr]

any release notes saying what the new fw fixes?

no notes on magician. it stated only that a new FW version available

I have two of these in two different builds.

I updated one drive and ran the performance test.

The Read and Write (IOPS) score has increased on the updated drive (using magician).