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estutmirleid

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2012
28
0
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

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
The Samsung 840 is about the same and is cheaper.

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

estutmirleid

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2012
28
0
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

macrumors 68040
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).
 
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estutmirleid

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2012
28
0
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 :)
 

tmagman

macrumors 6502
Nov 7, 2010
413
1
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.
 

Giuly

macrumors 68040
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

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2012
28
0
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.
tmagman said:
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

macrumors 6502a
Apr 6, 2011
973
1
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

macrumors 6502
Nov 7, 2010
413
1
Calgary AB
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

macrumors 601
Oct 25, 2008
4,316
1,312
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

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2012
28
0
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. :)
 
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