SSD Advice

[Platinum]

Ok so looking for some advice, looking at a new SSD, not really kept up with the tech much of late, had a look at prices seem to vary.
Performance looks similar across the board but ill take the figures with a pinch of salt, we all know how laughable the "Marketing" IOP figures are.

So not looking for top of the range but something mid to high end, main requirements are that the drive is reliable and will last a decent amount of time.

What trim / garbage collection like on these now? I understand some drives can run the garbage collection in the background? does this cause any issues with Windows running the Trim command when required? (Again from what I understand the drive optimization tool in Windows will do this rather than defrag now on W8).

Looking for around 480 / 512gb capacity, not fussed if this is 2 drives striped or a single drive (some brands seem to be a little cheaper if you stripe two smaller drives)

Not interested in TLC drives, just MLC.

Any advice appreciated guys

[kalniel]

Not interested in TLC drives, just MLC.

Any particular reason? (Ie would you be OK with a long lasting TLC drive over a shorter lasting MLC?)

[AJRDLawrence]

MLC drives don't last as long, but surely they last long enough?

I have an OCZ Agility III - it is pretty good but discontinued so you may be able to pick one up on the cheap.

It wasn't good at first - the 2.06 firmware was a nasty, buggy piece of work but a couple of updates later and it has been running smoothly ever since.

Striping can be useful in some cases but generally for SSD it actually introduces a small delay so a larger single drive may be better for you, but I have been tempted to buy another SSD myself and I have found the SanDisk Extreme models to offer a decent amount of speed at a fair price.

[kalniel]

MLC drives don't last as long, but surely they last long enough?

MLC drives typically last longer, but modern techniques/provisioning etc. may overcome and even extend the life of a TLC beyond MLC.

But the long enough argument is a valid one in either case, however maybe OP has a very specific requirement for abnormal service life (in which case a server category drive might be a better bet).

[Platinum]

Read a few reviews on TLC drives, seem fine for basic usage but never seen a review saying they were that great, prefer to pay a few quid more for a MLC drive.

Oh and not interested in Corsair / OCZ, Bad experiences with Corsair drives and I don't believe OCZ will be around in its current form to honor the drives warranty.

[kalniel]

Read a few reviews on TLC drives, seem fine for basic usage but never seen a review saying they were that great, prefer to pay a few quid more for a MLC drive.

Really? Most recent TLC drives get great reviews, eg Samsung 840 etc. But yes, the MLC (eg 840 pro) versions are a little faster.

[AETAaAS]

If not Corsair or OCZ, the main other brands I would get if you are dead set on a long lifespan MLC are the Samsung 840 Pro series and Plextor M5 Pro. To answer your questions, TRIM happens on the fly by the SSD's onboard systems and does not need manual control and both these drives will easily outlast their 5 year warranty even with medium-heavy loads.

Two points to this; the margins on SSDs can be very narrow, so they will always overbuild so that they wont have to replace your drive. Second, by the time 5 years rolls around, SSDs will probably be much cheaper and you might even want an upgrade before your current drive's time is up.

Samsung has an excellent software suite and will even warn you if a drive is approaching its end of life which gives you time to move your stuff off, unlike mechanical drives which can die without warning.

[Platinum]

Yea just been looking at the 840 pro

[Platinum]

Pretty much made my mind up now, Going for the 960b Crucial M500, just getting the funds together

[karl751]

The crucial ones get great reviews along with intel and samsung, Im sure you will be very happy with it

[Platinum]

Yea its a great balance between price / performance and capacity, Finally I can have Steam installed on my SSD