Anything better than an OWC 6G Electra for the same price?

estutmirleid · Feb 23, 2013, 01:50 AM

Pretty simple question really: I've had good experience of the OWC 120GB 6G Electra SSD in the past. Should I just buy another or is there something better now for the same price?

Going into a 6G-capable Mac mini 2011.

alphaod · Feb 23, 2013, 06:51 AM

The Samsung 840 is about the same and is cheaper.

The 840 Pro is a little more, but a lot better.

estutmirleid · Feb 23, 2013, 03:47 PM

Hmm, OK. I was considering the 840 Pro before. Might look at it again.

Is there anything that isn't made by Samsung? I've got one of their TVs, and used to own one of their monitors, and their support service is, frankly, shoot-yourself-in-the-face atrocious…

Giuly · Feb 24, 2013, 09:52 AM

The Samsung 840 Pro and OCZ Vector are the top tier.

The tier below that would be the Samsung 840 which uses TLC NAND that lasts only 1/3 of the other drives, the Crucial m4 which is a little behind in random reads (which is what you do the most time) and the SanDisk Ultra Plus which is fine for random reads but a little behind for random writes (and as you do writes less often than reads, that makes it better than the m4).

estutmirleid · Feb 24, 2013, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giuly

The Samsung 840 Pro and OCZ Vector are the top tier.

The tier below that would be the Samsung 840 which uses TLC NAND that lasts only 1/3 of the other drives, the Crucial m4 which is a little behind in random reads (which is what you do the most time) and the SanDisk Ultra Plus which is fine for random reads but a little behind for random writes (and as you do writes less often than reads, that makes it better than the m4).

Tom's Hardware recommends the Crucial m4 as best mid-budget SSD, so I guess that's two votes. I'll look into the OCZ and SanDisk drives too before making a purchase.

Thanks

Giuly · Feb 24, 2013, 08:52 PM

Maybe that's because the m4 has been around so long that the successor, the m500, was announced already for a Q1 launch, while the SanDisk was released in January at CES.

tmagman · Feb 24, 2013, 08:57 PM

Intel 520 is an outstanding model. OCZs have historically had higher failure rates, while Intel has had the lowest in the industry by a considerable margin. I know OCZ has improved but you definitely cannot go wrong with Intel.

Giuly · Feb 24, 2013, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmagman

Intel 520 is an outstanding model. OCZs have historically had higher failure rates, while Intel has had the lowest in the industry by a considerable margin. I know OCZ has improved but you definitely cannot go wrong with Intel.

That's funny, because OCZs problem were the SandForce chipsets which were failing, to which Intel switched to recently, while OCZ bought Indlinx and developed their own Barefoot III controller, which happens to be the only thing that can challenge the Samsung at the moment.

estutmirleid · Feb 24, 2013, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giuly

Maybe that's because the m4 has been around so long that the successor, the m500, was announced already for a Q1 launch, while the SanDisk was released in January at CES.

The m500 isn't even out yet, so that's a pass. Even if it were out, it hasn't been around long enough for reliability to be assessed.

The SanDisk gets luke-warm reviews from Anandtech and Storage Review, so I think I'm going to pass on that too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmagman

Intel 520 is an outstanding model. OCZs have historically had higher failure rates, while Intel has had the lowest in the industry by a considerable margin. I know OCZ has improved but you definitely cannot go wrong with Intel.

The Intel does seem well reviewed. It's more expensive than the Crucial M4, though: Amazon sells the 520@120GB for ~£112, whilst I can get a 256GB M4 for £140. The latter is also faster than its 128GB sibling.

I still have the OCZ Vector to check out. Meanwhile, thank you for the responses.

LeandrodaFL · Feb 24, 2013, 11:51 PM

Any OCZ or Crucial SSD will do you fine. Dont worry about certain reviews, there are some people who don know what they are talking about.

tmagman · Feb 25, 2013, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giuly

That's funny, because OCZs problem were the SandForce chipsets which were failing, to which Intel switched to recently, while OCZ bought Indlinx and developed their own Barefoot III controller, which happens to be the only thing that can challenge the Samsung at the moment.

different generation. the 24xx series of SF were fine compared to the 22xx that the OCZ was using from what I've read and hear.

phrehdd · Feb 26, 2013, 03:21 AM

I don't have a definitive answer but what about warranties?

OWC's top of the line has a 5 year warranty last time I checked. Has this changed? Do others offer the same? I would be curious if there are alternatives that offer the same and similar speed.

estutmirleid · Mar 1, 2013, 02:30 AM

I decided to go with the Crucial m4 256GB. By no means the fastest, but well-reviewed across the web, good reliability and a good £:GB ratio. Given that it's going into a Mac mini's second slot, and the hassle that entails, reliability was ranked more importantly than some other factors.

Thanks to all those who responded.

Feb 23, 2013, 01:50 AM	#1
estutmirleid macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2012	Anything better than an OWC 6G Electra for the same price? Pretty simple question really: I've had good experience of the OWC 120GB 6G Electra SSD in the past. Should I just buy another or is there something better now for the same price? Going into a 6G-capable Mac mini 2011.
	0

Feb 23, 2013, 06:51 AM	#2
alphaod macrumors P6 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: NYC	The Samsung 840 is about the same and is cheaper. The 840 Pro is a little more, but a lot better. __________________ Mac Pro \| 27" iMac \| 15" MacBook Pro with Retina display \| iPhone 5 \| iPad 3 \| iPad mini
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Feb 24, 2013, 08:57 PM	#7
tmagman macrumors 6502 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Calgary AB	Intel 520 is an outstanding model. OCZs have historically had higher failure rates, while Intel has had the lowest in the industry by a considerable margin. I know OCZ has improved but you definitely cannot go wrong with Intel. __________________ rMBP 15" 2.7 i7, 16GB, 512GB Asus G73SW-A1 2.0Q i7, GT460M 1.5GB, 12GB iPad2 64-3G, iPhone 4S 64GB 7D, 15-85, 70-300 DO, 50 1.4, LB Composer DG, LB Scout Fisheye, Canon S100
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Feb 23, 2013, 03:47 PM	#3
estutmirleid Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2012	Hmm, OK. I was considering the 840 Pro before. Might look at it again. Is there anything that isn't made by Samsung? I've got one of their TVs, and used to own one of their monitors, and their support service is, frankly, shoot-yourself-in-the-face atrocious…
	0

Feb 24, 2013, 09:52 AM	#4
Giuly macrumors 68020 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: That depends whether you ask for timezone, state of mind or GPS coordinates.	The Samsung 840 Pro and OCZ Vector are the top tier. The tier below that would be the Samsung 840 which uses TLC NAND that lasts only 1/3 of the other drives, the Crucial m4 which is a little behind in random reads (which is what you do the most time) and the SanDisk Ultra Plus which is fine for random reads but a little behind for random writes (and as you do writes less often than reads, that makes it better than the m4).
	0

Feb 24, 2013, 08:52 PM	#6
Giuly macrumors 68020 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: That depends whether you ask for timezone, state of mind or GPS coordinates.	Maybe that's because the m4 has been around so long that the successor, the m500, was announced already for a Q1 launch, while the SanDisk was released in January at CES.
	0

Feb 24, 2013, 11:51 PM	#10
LeandrodaFL macrumors 6502a Join Date: Apr 2011	Any OCZ or Crucial SSD will do you fine. Dont worry about certain reviews, there are some people who don know what they are talking about.
	0

Feb 26, 2013, 03:21 AM	#12
phrehdd macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2008	I don't have a definitive answer but what about warranties? OWC's top of the line has a 5 year warranty last time I checked. Has this changed? Do others offer the same? I would be curious if there are alternatives that offer the same and similar speed.
	0

Mar 1, 2013, 02:30 AM	#13
estutmirleid Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2012	I decided to go with the Crucial m4 256GB. By no means the fastest, but well-reviewed across the web, good reliability and a good £:GB ratio. Given that it's going into a Mac mini's second slot, and the hassle that entails, reliability was ranked more importantly than some other factors. Thanks to all those who responded.
	0