Samsung preps another fix for 840 EVO SSD slowdowns

[spl]

spl/tribaljet: thanks for the comments - I'm just about to upgrade an old netbook, so on the lookout for a new SSD. Think Crucial will get the biz this time.

And yes, the Intel "issues" look to have been with SF-powered models.

spl: Vertex migration - it's not as if it's particularly difficult these days to migrate data, I've done a couple and ended up using either Acronis or Samsung's version and it was pretty much "connect new SSD using USB; copy partitions old->new; swap drives", maybe an hour tops? Perhaps time to quietly remind that Vertex's can do "sproing" and die with little warning. Although the one I had, (actually still have, although downgraded to large flash drive now), is still going strong.

That is true, and I'd suggest it to him if not for the fact that he badly needs a fresh Windows install anyway - this one has been running since 2011. Besides, it took me months just to get him to spend an hour or less installing the firmware update that was meant to fix the blue screens! Honestly I probably care more than he does about the mess his computer is in. When he finally does replace that drive though, I'll be very careful to recommend something tried and tested! Let us know how you get on with the upgrade :-) Will this be an M500, MX100, BX100 or MX200?

[tribaljet]

Well, I would recommend dismissing both M500 and BX100, their current price/performance ratio isn't really worth pursuing and instead considering either MX100, MX200 or M550.

I have to say I was one of the few lucky people that managed to work on a Vertex 3 without any particular issue, this on a Nehalem system at work that was purchased in too much a rush for my tastes, especially since Sandy Bridge was going to be released a few months later. Oh well, they sure complained afterwards, even though Nehalems were (still are, honestly) quite decent.

[Gronich26]

Sadly, I have a 250GB 840 EVO in my laptop - which is now noticeably slower than my two desktops when loading saved games in Civ5. I didn't really notice any speedup with the last firmware update, so, hopefully the lastest interation will do the trick.

I think it's strange that this hasn't been compared to the debacle surrounding the 970 i.e. We are getting nowhere near the speed advertised originally by Samsung.

[crossy]

Will this be an M500, MX100, BX100 or MX200?

Well, I would recommend dismissing both M500 and BX100, their current price/performance ratio isn't really worth pursuing and instead considering either MX100, MX200 or M550.

MX100 for me - mainly because Dabs have a special offer going at the moment - 256GB for less than £75, which seems "budget" pricing to me.

Did the W10 install on the netbook and - as predicted - it's not the most responsive. From the demented flashing of the disk access light I'm pretty sure that replacing the drive with an SSD is going to pay major dividends.

Leaving me only with the question of what to do about my two 840's - think the gen 6 firmware is a given (I'm on gen 0). But whether to try the latest slowdown fix or not...

[spl]

I'd suggest locating some old (preferably large) files that have been on there a long time and copying them to a RAM drive. If you see speeds below 300MB/s then it may be worth considering the fix. The new fix will be in this month's new Magician version.

[jinjur]

Hmmm, this can't come soon enough tbh. I have actually noted the performance drop now and went looking for a reason, here it is :/

I didn't notice the slow down last time however....perhaps it was too soon for my usage?

Either way, not entirely sure I am happy with having yet another fix and what the proposal entails, surely...they are chewing into our lifespan here and that HAS to be a spec change from what we purchased?

Anyone considering chasing a refund / change to 850?

Jinj

[spl]

Hmmm, this can't come soon enough tbh. I have actually noted the performance drop now and went looking for a reason, here it is :/

I didn't notice the slow down last time however....perhaps it was too soon for my usage?

Either way, not entirely sure I am happy with having yet another fix and what the proposal entails, surely...they are chewing into our lifespan here and that HAS to be a spec change from what we purchased?

Anyone considering chasing a refund / change to 850?

Jinj

I'm not happy about mine. 250GB model with ~150GB free and Trendmicro Housecall virus scan of the drive yesterday took over 7 hours. Considering going back to running Windows off my old Intel X25-M and just using this to install games (it's very rare I'd be playing the same game over several months so data should always be fairly fresh).

I don't think switching to the 850 Evo would be smart. It took over a year for people to begin reporting this problem with the 840 Evo and the 850 Evo is only a few months old. I'd be much more inclined to switch to something tried and tested like a Crucial M500 or MX100. This experience has made me much more suspicious of Samsung, TLC NAND and new SSD technologies in general. It's not like any of these advances are noticeably improving real-world performance, so I'll stick to proven MLC personally.

[jinjur]

Hear what you are saying bud....however, I really do like rapid mode.

Do other SSD manufacturers have something similar on drives at this level/price?

J

[spl]

Hear what you are saying bud....however, I really do like rapid mode.

Do other SSD manufacturers have something similar on drives at this level/price?

J

Yeah it sounded impressive to me too when I first read about it but there's really no noticeable real-world performance difference, at least interms of load times:

http://techreport.com/review/28032/a...th-pcie-ssds/5

That Intel X25-M is an old 2009 model and it's performing identically to the newest stuff, even the crazy expensive PCI-E drives! I focus instead on reliability and value.