SSD Are they asynchronous or synchronous? How to tell?

[thisusernameisnotavailaLOL]

Hello everyone,

I decided to upgrade my internal HHD to an internal SSD. I was looking at great value SSDs, but I can't tell the exact specs (if they run synchronous or asynchronous NAND, or if they are SLC or 2bit MLC or 3bit MLC). I can easily see the "read and write speeds" but I don't realy trust these, specially the writing speeds, so I want to know more details to be able to decide which would be the best SSD of the following:

These are the SSDs I am considering:

1. Samsung EVO 850 of 250GB

2.Crucial (Micron) BX200 of 240GB

3. Sandisk Ultra II of 240GB

Do you know the exact specs of these SSDs? If so, where can I find them?

Do you know any other great value synchronous NAND, MLC SSDs?



Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it!!

 

[mcnumpty23]

cant go wrong with an 850 evo

 

[Spectre694]

AFAIK no one makes asynchronous anymore. All the major manufactures either use the ONFI 3.x spec or the Toggle 2.x spec.

You really need to look at benchmarks, warranty, and endurance ratings. of the drives. SSD performance is really less about specs (though they don't hurt) and more about the specific implementation.

For example alot of the budget SSD all use the same flash and controllers but the firmware on them makes them a fair bit different.
another is 3 bit cells most implementations have a significant slowdown for large transfers. Samsung's 3 bit though has nearly identical performance to 2 bit

 

[JohnnyLucky]

You've probably been reading old articles or old forum posts if you are asking about asynchronous and synchronous. The terms asynchronous and synchronous are not used used anymore.

I maintain an ssd database listed in a sticky at the very top of this forum section. Here is the link:

http://www.johnnylucky.org/data-storage/ssd-database.html

Find the interface your motherboard is capable of supporting then scroll down to the brands and models you are interested in. Follow the links to the technical reviews. The technical reviews are divided into two categories - English language reviews and reviews in many other labguages.

If I could only choose between the 3 ssd's you mentioned, then I would choose the Samsung EVO. The Samsung EVO's are the most popular ssd's in the world and they perform very well.

 

[thisusernameisnotavailaLOL]

cant go wrong with an 850 evo

Well, I mean, there's a feeling all over the internet that Samsung EVO are the best, but you never know, and you should check specs before buying.

BTW, THIS IS IMPORTART: The Samsung EVO is a 7mm thick SSD and come with no adapter to 9.5mm (unlike the crucial one). I live in Spain and I just can't find a 2.5mm adapter for the EVO (or any SSD at all). Maybe I'm not using the right terms to find it in spanish. In english it's called "ADAPTER" OR "SPACER" but using the literal translations to spanish ("adaptador" or "espaciador", respectively) don't seem to give me any results.

That would be a deal-breaker since other users with the same computer model as me (Dell Inspiron Mini 1012) have encountered problems with that. Do you know if I can find any store that sells 2.5mm spacers that ships to spain? Or how do you call this bloody thing in spanish?

I really prefer the EVO but if I can't solve this I will have to go with the BX200.

Can you help me?

 

[thisusernameisnotavailaLOL]

You've probably been reading old articles or old forum posts if you are asking about asynchronous and synchronous. The terms asynchronous and synchronous are not used used anymore.

I maintain an ssd database listed in a sticky at the very top of this forum section. Here is the link:

http://www.johnnylucky.org/data-storage/ssd-database.html

Find the interface your motherboard is capable of supporting then scroll down to the brands and models you are interested in. Follow the links to the technical reviews. The technical reviews are divided into two categories - English language reviews and reviews in many other labguages.

If I could only choose between the 3 ssd's you mentioned, then I would choose the Samsung EVO. The Samsung EVO's are the most popular ssd's in the world and they perform very well.

Thanks Johnny,

I read about the kingston scam changing one of their synchronous SSD to asynchronous SSD without changing the name of it or anything. But htat must be old, as you said.


BTW, THIS IS IMPORTART: The Samsung EVO is a 7mm thick SSD and come with no adapter to 9.5mm (unlike the crucial one). I live in Spain and I just can't find a 2.5mm adapter for the EVO (or any SSD at all). Maybe I'm not using the right terms to find it in spanish. In english it's called "ADAPTER" OR "SPACER" but using the literal translations to spanish ("adaptador" or "espaciador", respectively) don't seem to give me any results.

That would be a deal-breaker since other users with the same computer model as me (Dell Inspiron Mini 1012) have encountered problems with that. Do you know if I can find any store that sells 2.5mm spacers that ships to spain? Or how do you call this bloody thing in spanish?

I really prefer the EVO but if I can't solve this I will have to go with the BX200.

Can you help me?

 

[mcnumpty23]

yes if its for a laptop/netbook/notebook the thickness can be an issue

yet i seem to remember my samsung coming with the spacer or whatever they call it

though i bought the upgrade edition--the one that came with the sata to usb cable to clone your existing drive--so that may make a difference

still got that spacer thing somewhere though god knows where i have a ton off stuff in here

if i could find it you could have it for whatever postage from the uk to spain would be

but usually i only find what i am actually looking for when i am looking for something else entirely if you know what i mean

would have thought they would be on ebay just a question of figuring out the actual name for it

 

[mcnumpty23]

this is all i can find at the moment

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/SSD95MMSPFL/

but the samsung one wasnt even solid like that it only went round the edge of the ssd

 

[mcnumpty23]

this is the one you want comes with it all though this is the 120gb kit but should be a 250gb kit as well

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/components-and-upgrades/internal-data-storage/samsung-850-evo-2-5-internal-ssd-starter-kit-120-gb-10137146-pdt.html

 

[mcnumpty23]

ok found the actual product code for the 250gb 850 evo with the spacer and clone cable though no idea where will sell them in spain

MZ-75E250RW

 

[JohnnyLucky]

The correct name is "drive caddy" or "drive bracket" for mobile pc's. The term "drive bay adapter" is used for desktop pc's.

You should not need one if you are replacing an internal 2.5 inch hard disk drive designed for use with mobile pc's. Just use the drive caddy/bracket attached to the hard drive. According to the Dell service manual the bracket is attached to the drive with 4 screws - 2 on each side of the bracket. The screws are positioned so that the SATA port in the pc and the SATA connector on the ssd or hard drive are aligned correctly. The thickness of the ssd should be irreleveant. If there is a problem, then it is a design flaw on Dell's part.

SSD manufacturers started switching from 9.5mm to 7mm thickness about 3 years ago. The reason it was done was to accomodate new small mobile pc's.

 

[mcnumpty23]

no the thickness of the drive is totally relevant and dell had only one drive thickness in mind when they made his laptop so its not a design fault on dells part

if the drive is that slight bit thinner/thicker then the sata power and data connectors dont line up and wont connect

 

[mcnumpty23]

and spacer is the correct terminology for the part they are talking about

its not a drive caddy its a bit of plastic that attaches to the drive before putting the drive in the drive caddy to make the drive thicker thus raising the sata power and data connectors to be in line with the respective connectors on the motherboard

 

[JohnnyLucky]

thisusernameisnotavailaLOL - Which version of the Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 do you have? Do you have the version that was first released at the end of 2009 or a later version? What is the complete model number?

mcnumpty23 - The spacer you linked to does nothing for the height of the SSD connector. It even says so in the description:

"This adapter is not needed for 2.5-inch drive installations that use the standard side or bottom mounting positions to secure the drive in place, and is not needed for any installation of a 7mm drive in Apple Macintosh computers."

The bracket/caddy in the Dell Mini 1012 uses a standard side mount. The spacer will not lower or raise the location of the SATA connector.

By international standard 7 mm drives are a compatible replacement for 9.5 mm drives but not vice versa. The 7 mm drives have the mounting holes in exactly the same place as the 9.5 mm and the SATA connectors are in exactly the same location on the bottom or "green board" side so they plug in exactly in place of a 9.5 mm drive. The drive will not fill the caddy all the way. There will be some open space which is great for extra ventilation. The mounting holes and caddy will hold it in place fine.

Here is a link to the service manual for the Dell Inspirion Mini 1012:

http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_inspiron_laptop/inspiron-mini1012_service%20manual_en-us.pdf

Click on the link for the hard drive assembly. There are instructions and photographs for removing and replacing a drive.