Spec me an SSD

eddyc · 19 Apr 2013 at 14:00

Hi all,

I'm looking for an SSD to go in a laptop (Thinkpad T61). Needs to be around the 256GB mark. Ideally no more that £150 ish.

What's the best I can get for the money? I've not really looked into SSDs since I got my Vertex 2 a couple of years ago. I'm sure things have moved on.

Have been looking at:

Samsung 250GB 840
Crucial M4 256GB

Any help would be great

wazza300 · 19 Apr 2013 at 14:09

its hard between those two as the m4 uses longer lasting multi level cell nand memory,the Samsung non pro uses triple level cell nand

but the Samsung should last a long time,and I trust their products plus its cheaper than the m4 but its upto you really,either drive is good

Scotteh · 19 Apr 2013 at 14:13

Samsung has lower write speed (assuming you're going for 250gb basic and not 256gb pro)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-159-SA would be better

Super-Spy · 19 Apr 2013 at 14:37

The Samsung 840 Pro is one of the best all round drives and with the £15 cashback on the 256Gb version, it is a good price too.

snips86x · 19 Apr 2013 at 14:39

Super-Spy said:
The Samsung 840 Pro is one of the best all round drives and with the £15 cashback on the 256Gb version, it is a good price too.

+1

wazza300 · 19 Apr 2013 at 14:40

£15 cashback on the non pro 250gb also,if all out speed isn't needed

eddyc · 19 Apr 2013 at 15:44

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll have to have a think about whether I can stretch my budget for the 840 pro. It looks great.

wazza300 · 19 Apr 2013 at 16:10

you wont see those read/write figures on your amd board though,so the cheaper non pro would be better imo unless your planning on upgrading the motherboard

eddyc · 19 Apr 2013 at 17:06

wazza300 said:
you wont see those read/write figures on your amd board though,so the cheaper non pro would be better imo unless your planning on upgrading the motherboard

Ah good point. Although this isn't for my main rig this is for a Lenovo Thinkpad T61 laptop. But I think the point still stands. It would be an old SATA 3gbps mobo.

So does that mean I won't get any additional benefit by going for the pro?

wazza300 · 19 Apr 2013 at 17:08

might be a bit faster iops but id doubt you'd notice,you'd see roughly 250-280mb per sec read/write no matter what sata3 drive you put in

intel sata3 ports would give you full rated speeds

eddyc · 19 Apr 2013 at 17:09

Well that's saved me a few £. Thanks!

I suppose there is still the issue of the only 3 year warranty but I'm not sure the laptop has another 3 years left in it anyway. Certainly not as a primary workstation.

EDIT: 1,000th post!

wazza300 · 19 Apr 2013 at 17:17

it'll be plenty fast enough for your needs imo,3 year warranty is plenty aswell

bartdude72 · 20 Apr 2013 at 18:15

get a Samsung 250GB 840 cracking ssd and cash back the 500gig is not that much more with 40 pounds back

OLDPHART · 20 Apr 2013 at 19:21

Hi, using the 830 can't fault it > 840 Pro win.

deFiniLoGy · 21 Apr 2013 at 14:36

Personally will get the Vertex 4.. but not from OcUK as they're not in stock :S

Smashx · 24 Apr 2013 at 03:53

I suggest you get a samsung or crucial ssd which are reliable.

ed79 · 24 Apr 2013 at 13:50

Not sure if it's been mentioned above, but the T61 by default only supports SATA1 speeds (up to 150MB/sec).

There is a 3rd party BIOS available that enables SATA2 speeds (I have a T61 fitted with a M4 128GB drive and the SSD still makes a HUGE improvement).