This review is from: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5 inch SATA Solid State Drive (Accessory)
I bought the samsung 840 SSD to replace the Western Digital 1TB VelociRaptor Hard Drive as the boot disk in my Desktop Mac Pro. The velociraptor is pretty much the fastest spinning disk and because of that it was the last machine I upgraded. My computer uses disk caddy’s rather than cables so I had to buy an Cremax ICY DOCK MB882SP-1S-1B 2.5 inch to 3.5 inch SSD and SATA HDD Converter in order to use it. If your desktop doesnt use cables you may need something similar too for your desktop. If you are getting it for your notebook you likely wont need anything extra to use it.
Installation on my desktop it was a simple job; of slotting it into the case and connecting it. Once setup my computer boots up about 3x quicker than my old disk. Starting applications is mostly instant. One downside to SSD’s is the cost compared to storage – I bought mine on a todays deal so the price was good but I only have 1/4 the storage I had before. It delivers on speed and that matters to me – If you are installing it into your desktop – in most cases you can still use your original disk. If you are using notebooks there are kits that come with a caddy that turn your old hard disk into a USB disk.
Its exceptionally fast (even compared to other slightly older drives I have.) There is a supplied CD with tools for managing the disk (on windows) after you have installed it but doesn’t come with a tool to migrate your disks so you will need a utility to do that (or the original disks from your computer to set things up.
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This review is from: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5 inch SATA Solid State Drive (Accessory)
The new Samsung 840 series is a great development in their SSDs however the Samsung 830 series is still currently a better buy for your money as it stands.
If you upgrading your SSD and already have either a 830 or SSD of similar performance consider moving up to at least the Samsung 840 series PRO to make it worth while.
The performance of the 256GB models is below so you can compare. (IOPS = In out Operations per Second)
As you can see the 840 has a much slower write speed; this is due to it using TLC NAND. The write speeds for the standard 840 is still adequate so is a great choice versus the cheaper 830s if you want a slightly higher read speed. If you do however require to be able to write a large amount of data on your SSD drive and you don’t want to spend the extra money for the pro the 830 would be a much better choice giving all around great read and write speeds.
Overall to sum up, if you already have a 830 SSD upgrade to the 840 series PRO or stick with your current SSD.
If you upgrading from a much slower early SSD or are buying your first SSD drive, the 830 series would be an ideal choice and offers you the best value for money. However if your not cautious about money the go ahead and buy the Samsung 840 PRO SSD as it provides unrivalled performance.
Just as added information when using this SSD set your Motherboard Bios setting to AHCI for this drive.
Please note the Basic Kit will not include a 3.5″ to 2.5″ bracket, to install the SSD in a 3.5″ slot in your pc you will have to purchase one.
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This review is from: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5 inch SATA Solid State Drive (Accessory)
I used one of these to upgrade a Dell Studio 17 laptop bought in Nov 2009. It replaced a Seagate ST9320423AS 320Gb conventional drive. I was expecting a big improvement in boot-up times and program loading but was surprised at the improvement in speed of web pages coming up. Pages that load cached pictures snap up in impressive style although my rural internet service is slow and many pages still pause and stutter in the old way. Programs running from the local hard disk were never a real problem; however editing pictures, particularly from raw files, has speeded up dramatically. On the whole it has been a very worthwhile way to update the aging laptop.
There are however some caveats. Replacing your hard drive is a technical operation, not for the under-confident. You need an external SATA connector and disk cloning software to do it. The supplied utility expects to see Norton Ghost to work which is either pointless or cynical marketing. I already had Acronis True Image Home installed; I was able to use that and it went without hitch. I had prepared my disk for the operation before I started, since the SSD was smaller than the previous disk. I moved all my pictures onto a network drive and then ran defragment from the Disc Properties – tools.
Another problem is that depending on the laptop design you may not be able to use the original drive as a second disk. My laptop has a space for it but needs a special bracket with right-angle SATA adapter. I can’t find the bracket available as a spare on the internet but If I ring around I may find one. If your replacement SSD is much smaller than the original disk this might be a problem but if you have the external connector and disk cloning software you have the best backup system possible, just keep cloning to the old disk and you are ready to go again within minutes of a total disk catastrophe.
The 230 series was very little cheaper at the time but the PRO a lot more expensive. Most of what I say would apply to any SSD, this one just happened to be the best value at the time. So compare current prices and make your own judgement. Also if you don’t have the cloning software there is a deal Samsung SSD 830 2.5inch SATA III 6GBps 256GB Notebook Accessory Kit with Free Norton Ghost 15
PS Mrs Happy is my partner and would not be up to changing a Hard drive! we use the same computer I would change the profile but I just can’t be bothered.
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Good value exceptional performance,
I bought the samsung 840 SSD to replace the Western Digital 1TB VelociRaptor Hard Drive as the boot disk in my Desktop Mac Pro. The velociraptor is pretty much the fastest spinning disk and because of that it was the last machine I upgraded. My computer uses disk caddy’s rather than cables so I had to buy an Cremax ICY DOCK MB882SP-1S-1B 2.5 inch to 3.5 inch SSD and SATA HDD Converter in order to use it. If your desktop doesnt use cables you may need something similar too for your desktop. If you are getting it for your notebook you likely wont need anything extra to use it.
Installation on my desktop it was a simple job; of slotting it into the case and connecting it. Once setup my computer boots up about 3x quicker than my old disk. Starting applications is mostly instant. One downside to SSD’s is the cost compared to storage – I bought mine on a todays deal so the price was good but I only have 1/4 the storage I had before. It delivers on speed and that matters to me – If you are installing it into your desktop – in most cases you can still use your original disk. If you are using notebooks there are kits that come with a caddy that turn your old hard disk into a USB disk.
Its exceptionally fast (even compared to other slightly older drives I have.) There is a supplied CD with tools for managing the disk (on windows) after you have installed it but doesn’t come with a tool to migrate your disks so you will need a utility to do that (or the original disks from your computer to set things up.
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|A great SSD drive but consider other options,
The new Samsung 840 series is a great development in their SSDs however the Samsung 830 series is still currently a better buy for your money as it stands.
If you upgrading your SSD and already have either a 830 or SSD of similar performance consider moving up to at least the Samsung 840 series PRO to make it worth while.
The performance of the 256GB models is below so you can compare. (IOPS = In out Operations per Second)
Samsung 830 SSD | Read 520MB/s (IOPS 80k) Write 400MB/s (IOPS 36k)
Samsung 840 SSD | Read 540MB/s (IOPS 96k) Write 250MB/s (IOPS 62k)
Samsung 840 PRO SSD | Read 540 MB/s (IOPS 100k) Write 520MB/s (IOPS 90k)
As you can see the 840 has a much slower write speed; this is due to it using TLC NAND. The write speeds for the standard 840 is still adequate so is a great choice versus the cheaper 830s if you want a slightly higher read speed. If you do however require to be able to write a large amount of data on your SSD drive and you don’t want to spend the extra money for the pro the 830 would be a much better choice giving all around great read and write speeds.
Overall to sum up, if you already have a 830 SSD upgrade to the 840 series PRO or stick with your current SSD.
If you upgrading from a much slower early SSD or are buying your first SSD drive, the 830 series would be an ideal choice and offers you the best value for money. However if your not cautious about money the go ahead and buy the Samsung 840 PRO SSD as it provides unrivalled performance.
Just as added information when using this SSD set your Motherboard Bios setting to AHCI for this drive.
Please note the Basic Kit will not include a 3.5″ to 2.5″ bracket, to install the SSD in a 3.5″ slot in your pc you will have to purchase one.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Good way to revive an aging laptop,
I used one of these to upgrade a Dell Studio 17 laptop bought in Nov 2009. It replaced a Seagate ST9320423AS 320Gb conventional drive. I was expecting a big improvement in boot-up times and program loading but was surprised at the improvement in speed of web pages coming up. Pages that load cached pictures snap up in impressive style although my rural internet service is slow and many pages still pause and stutter in the old way. Programs running from the local hard disk were never a real problem; however editing pictures, particularly from raw files, has speeded up dramatically. On the whole it has been a very worthwhile way to update the aging laptop.
There are however some caveats. Replacing your hard drive is a technical operation, not for the under-confident. You need an external SATA connector and disk cloning software to do it. The supplied utility expects to see Norton Ghost to work which is either pointless or cynical marketing. I already had Acronis True Image Home installed; I was able to use that and it went without hitch. I had prepared my disk for the operation before I started, since the SSD was smaller than the previous disk. I moved all my pictures onto a network drive and then ran defragment from the Disc Properties – tools.
Another problem is that depending on the laptop design you may not be able to use the original drive as a second disk. My laptop has a space for it but needs a special bracket with right-angle SATA adapter. I can’t find the bracket available as a spare on the internet but If I ring around I may find one. If your replacement SSD is much smaller than the original disk this might be a problem but if you have the external connector and disk cloning software you have the best backup system possible, just keep cloning to the old disk and you are ready to go again within minutes of a total disk catastrophe.
The 230 series was very little cheaper at the time but the PRO a lot more expensive. Most of what I say would apply to any SSD, this one just happened to be the best value at the time. So compare current prices and make your own judgement. Also if you don’t have the cloning software there is a deal Samsung SSD 830 2.5inch SATA III 6GBps 256GB Notebook Accessory Kit with Free Norton Ghost 15
PS Mrs Happy is my partner and would not be up to changing a Hard drive! we use the same computer I would change the profile but I just can’t be bothered.
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