New SSD required

I'm after a drive which is fast and doesn't give a random BSOD
or lots of tweaking around getting it to work with windows random crashes etc
would like to avoid that if possible.

you get me?
 
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Not used one myself but I know it uses the Sandforce controller which is known to have it's problems where some people experience BSOD's with their SSD's.

I was looking at a simular one on here (OCZ Agility 3) which uses the Sandforce controller as well but I was put off it after hearing the bad things about the Sandforce controller. The one that keeps being mentioned as being the most reliable one at the moment and the one to go for is the Crucial M4, these ones use the Marvell controller and even though they may not be as fast, they are much more reliable.

I have just pre-ordered one myself but I have not recieved mine yet as OcUK are still awaiting new stock.

Liam
 
LEK-89 said:
Not used one myself but I know it uses the Sandforce controller which is known to have it's problems where some people experience BSOD's with their SSD's.

I was looking at a simular one on here (OCZ Agility 3) which uses the Sandforce controller as well but I was put off it after hearing the bad things about the Sandforce controller. The one that keeps being mentioned as being the most reliable one at the moment and the one to go for is the Crucial M4, these ones use the Marvell controller and even though they may not be as fast, they are much more reliable.

I have just pre-ordered one myself but I have not recieved mine yet as OcUK are still awaiting new stock.

Liam
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hi so

the one i linked :

- High performance SandForce SF-2200 SSD controller

so that's obviously not a good start

thanks will take a note of this and look for m4 - looks like it is out of stock though.
 
I would have a read up on the SandForce controllers through google to get a better idea, but I was recommended to stay clear of them for now until things have been cleared up. Firmware updates for various SSD's which use the SandForce controller have been known to fix some issue's but problems still occur with these.

Yeah it's been out of stock for a little while now but stock is meant to be back in on Friday, so I'm just hoping that it does come in so I get mine early next week :)

Another good thing with the Crucial M4 is that Crucial have just released a new firmware update which besides fixing bugs, it also increases the read speed from 415Mb/s to up to 530MB/s for some users. As soon as I recieve my M4 I will be updating it.

Liam
 
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thanks I'll have a read about that. TBH I'd rather not want to update firmware to "fix" anything but if it'll get me a better speed then I'm all for it :)
 
Pretty much all (if not all) make / models of SSD's end up having several firmware updates during their lifespan. Crucial have in fact recently released updated firmware for their M4 drives (see http://www.storagereview.com/crucial_m4_ssd_review_firmware_0009).

Only my opinion, but pretty much a good idea to wait till any particular drive has been out a few months before purchasing, as there are always issues that come to light when new hardware is released into the "wild".

As an example. You only need to look at all the problems with the original OCZ Vertex 2 drives when they first came out, the firmware is now up to version 33! Though I've never (up to now... touch wood) had any issues with mine. Crucial also rather spectacularly issued one set of firmware for one of its earlier drives that bricked a lot of folks drives! Just an example, not knocking Crucial.

SSD's in my opinion are not yet "plug and play" devices like a lot of PC components. Getting better with time though.

Good luck whatever you decide to buy.

PS. I to would probably not consider a Vertex 3 drive at the moment, just because of some of the bad press. Though I also accept that there are lots of people out there that have had no problems what so ever with these drives. Now in a couple of months time, when I shall be considering getting a newer / faster SSD, then I would once again consider / look at the Vertex drives (as well as Crucial, Intel etc.).

PPS. For those that are interested. This review of the latest Intel SSD shows some "interesting" reliability figures. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4202/the-intel-ssd-510-review/3
I can't say that 4 out of 5 of the companies mentioned have much to shout about. Though I've not read the complete article that this comes from (yet).
 
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mikeo said:
Pretty much all (if not all) make / models of SSD's end up having several firmware updates during their lifespan. Crucial have in fact recently released updated firmware for their M4 drives (see http://www.storagereview.com/crucial_m4_ssd_review_firmware_0009).

Only my opinion, but pretty much a good idea to wait till any particular drive has been out a few months before purchasing, as there are always issues that come to light when new hardware is released into the "wild".

As an example. You only need to look at all the problems with the original OCZ Vertex 2 drives when they first came out, the firmware is now up to version 33! Though I've never (up to now... touch wood) had any issues with mine. Crucial also rather spectacularly issued one set of firmware for one of its earlier drives that bricked a lot of folks drives! Just an example, not knocking Crucial.

SSD's in my opinion are not yet "plug and play" devices like a lot of PC components. Getting better with time though.

Good luck whatever you decide to buy.

PS. I to would probably not consider a Vertex 3 drive at the moment, just because of some of the bad press. Though I also accept that there are lots of people out there that have had no problems what so ever with these drives. Now in a couple of months time, when I shall be considering getting a newer / faster SSD, then I would once again consider / look at the Vertex drives (as well as Crucial, Intel etc.).

PPS. For those that are interested. This review of the latest Intel SSD shows some "interesting" reliability figures. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4202/the-intel-ssd-510-review/3
I can't say that 4 out of 5 of the companies mentioned have much to shout about. Though I've not read the complete article that this comes from (yet).
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thanks this is the problem

I need something reliable so far the M4 drive looks like a good candidate
but we'll see more in the future
 
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