Looking for a new SSD

[GustavoGimpel]

I'm currently deciding on which of these SSDs I should buy for my laptop, since they are the only ones available where I can buy them:

1) Intel 540 Series 120GB - SSDSC2KW120H6X1
2) Samsung 750 EVO 120GB - MZ-750120BW
3) Kingston UV400 120GB - SUV400S37/120G
4) Corsair Force LE 120GB - CSSD-F120GBLEB

They are about the same price, but are listed in price order, being the top one the most expensive. I tried to do some research but couldn't find much info or user feedback about most of these. I cound find reliable info only about the Evo 750, since it's the most popular one.

The SSD is going to be the main storage for OS and Programs on a laptop running Ubuntu, with a secondary HDD as media storage. I would like to know which one of these is the best option, comparing them regarding stability, performance (especially over time), endurance, etc. If anyone feels good about doing it, I would like to know any Controller related issue too, since I've had an old Corsair Force GT with the SandForce Controller and it simply panic locked after only a couple of months of usage.

I currently have an 840 EVO on my desktop but it's performance has been disapointing at least, since it faced a huge performance drop after a while using it, even tho it's not even half full and I kept the firmware updated and tried all the performance software tweaks samsung provides, so I'm a bit skeptical about going for Samsung again.

Another point is, since I'll be using Linux, I would like a drive which is good to go out of the box, since there won't be any software to tweak it. So I don't want a drive which the advertised performace is based on any tweak such as RAPID mode, for example.

Thanks for any help!

 

[WyomingKnott]

I currently have an 840 EVO on my desktop but it's performance has been disapointing at least, since it faced a huge performance drop after a while using it, even tho it's not even half full and I kept the firmware updated and tried all the performance software tweaks samsung provides, so I'm a bit skeptical about going for Samsung again.

Another point is, since I'll be using Linux, I would like a drive which is good to go out of the box, since there won't be any software to tweak it. So I don't want a drive which the advertised performace is based on any tweak such as RAPID mode, for example.

Thanks for any help!

You have at least one, and possibly two, issues with TRIM. Are you familiar with TRIM? SSDs need an OS that supports this operation to function well in the long term.

My guess about your desktop is that the OS is not supplying TRIM, either because the controller is in AHCI mode or because it's an older OS. TRIM support started in Windows 7. Without TRIM support, once writes totalling the full capacity of the drive have been written, things will really slow down. Are you sure that your controller is in AHCI mode?

Since you will be using Linux, you need to find out which Linux distros support TRIM, or you will have the same problem on the Unix laptop. I'm way, way behind in my knowledge of Linux and TRIM. Anyone out there that can help us? I have read that, at least in Ubuntu, you have to enable it manually.

EDIT: Here's a discussion of TRIM in Linux with more details as to configuration and tradeoffs: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Solid_State_Drives#TRIM

 

[GustavoGimpel]

I currently have an 840 EVO on my desktop but it's performance has been disapointing at least, since it faced a huge performance drop after a while using it, even tho it's not even half full and I kept the firmware updated and tried all the performance software tweaks samsung provides, so I'm a bit skeptical about going for Samsung again.

Another point is, since I'll be using Linux, I would like a drive which is good to go out of the box, since there won't be any software to tweak it. So I don't want a drive which the advertised performace is based on any tweak such as RAPID mode, for example.

Thanks for any help!

You have at least one, and possibly two, issues with TRIM. Are you familiar with TRIM? SSDs need an OS that supports this operation to function well in the long term.

My guess about your desktop is that the OS is not supplying TRIM, either because the controller is in AHCI mode or because it's an older OS. TRIM support started in Windows 7. Without TRIM support, once writes totalling the full capacity of the drive have been written, things will really slow down. Are you sure that your controller is in AHCI mode?

Since you will be using Linux, you need to find out which Linux distros support TRIM, or you will have the same problem on the Unix laptop. I'm way, way behind in my knowledge of Linux and TRIM. Anyone out there that can help us? I have read that, at least in Ubuntu, you have to enable it manually.

EDIT: Here's a discussion of TRIM in Linux with more details as to configuration and tradeoffs: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Solid_State_Drives#TRIM

Thanks for the reply!
Regarding the 840 EVO, I suppose the performance issue is due to Samsung's TLC NAND, which eventually resulted in the drive having to slow down and re-read cells to properly read the charge-decayed cells. They tried to patch it trough firmware updates but didn't work, at least not for me. Performing a benchmark nowadays gives me about 200Mb's read / write, more than a 50% drop. Booting windows is noticeably slower. It boots basically the same time my old dual raid 0 hdds did. I'm using Windows 10 Pro with the Anniversary Update, TRIM is working just fine, so, unfortunatetly, the solution ain't so easy. My old Corsair Force GT ran just fine, with it's advertised speeds, until the very end of it's life. Too bad it was cursed by the SandForce.

One question tho, isn't AHCI the recommended for SSDs, to achieve their full potential?

For the laptop, I'll be using Ubuntu GNOME 16.04, which has TRIM support by default. I've seen rumors that it used to run by default only on Intel and Samsung SSDs, other brands reguiring adding a " --no-model-check " to the command. But I've seen somewhere else that Ubuntu 16.04 doensn't have this issue, and supports TRIM just fine on any supported device. After buying the ssd, I'll check everything carefully. Still have to decide which one of these I'll get tho 😛

 

[WyomingKnott]

AHCI is recommended because
1) It allows command queuing
2) It allows TRIM. The TRIM command isn't available in the old mode
3) All kinds of other reasons that I don't know.

Oh, I see. I left out the word "not". "...because the controller is NOT in AHCI mode." Later I wrote "are you sure that your controller is in AHCI mode." Silly of me, the NOT was important.