[kwlug-disc] OT: SSD disks?

[Paul Nijjar]

At work we value reliability over high performance. To that end, after
doing a fair amount of research we went with the Samsung line. We have
been happy with them so far (but we have only been using SSDs for two
years now, so who knows what will happen).

The Samsung EVO 850 is currently $90 for 120GB. 

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1229_1088&item_id=080109

That is $20 more than the Kingston below, but I would be inclined to
take the hit even if I was spending my own money. That is not a
scientific opinion (all SSDs fail eventually, and it sounds as if they
fail suddenly) but I recall reading some comparisons on some tech
review site (which I cannot find now, natch) and the Samsungs seemed
to do well.

The Pro series of Samsung drives uses a different technology and is
supposedly more reliable than the EVO line. We use Pro drives for our
servers, but for desktops we are pretty happy with the EVOs. I am sure
there are other reliable drives on the market now, but I don't have
the patience to go through another market review to find them, and as
far as I know people are still happy with the Samsungs. 

There is a model of drive called the Samsung 650, but from my research
it looks like this is a crippled version of the 850. The savings was
not great enough for us to purchase one, but from a reliability (as
opposed to performance) perspective it is probably okay.

In terms of where to buy: lately we have been going with Canada
Computers, NewEgg or directdial.com (which may only be open to
organizations). 

- Paul 


On Sun, Nov 08, 2015 at 02:45:16PM -0500, Khalid Baheyeldin wrote:
> A while ago I posted on this group about me replacing a spinning disk with
> an SSD disk for my laptop. I later gave a presentation on how I did it.
> 
> So, the OCZ Vertex SSD that I had died yesterday with no warnings. Now slow
> I/O or anything. The disk I/O light went on, and the entire laptop froze.
> Upon rebooting, the BIOS would not even recognize the disk and tries PXE
> netwook booting.
> 
> I swapped the old spinning disk back and copied the daily backup that I had
> for my home directory. But this disk is not very healthy per SMART.
> 
> I am looking for a disk to replace the one I have now, preferrably an SSD
> disk, but I want a reliable one this time, but not too expensive.
> 
> My laptop uses only 30GB of the current disk, so even a 120GB disk is
> enough. If there is a good deal, I will go up to a higher capacity (250GB
> or so).
> 
> There is $10 off on Silicon Power (a brand I never heard of before).
> 
> http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/silicon-power-silicon-power-s60-120gb-520mb-s-sata-iii-slim-solid-state-drive-sp120gbss3s60s25-sp120gbss3s60s25/10362950.aspx
> 
> There is a Kingston for about the same:
> 
> http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/kingston-technology-kingston-technology-ssdnow-v300-120gb-solid-state-drive-sv300s37a-120g-sv300s37a120g/10241483.aspx
> 
> Similar models and prices are available at Canada Computers.
> 
> Any recommendations on what models are reliable, reasonably priced, and
> where to buy?
>