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alexistkd

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 3, 2013
27
0
Hi i have a new macbook pro 15 inches mid 2012 core i7 2.3ghz, i would like to buy SSD hard drive but im between Samsung 840 ssd vs 840 pro series which one its the best? i mainly use my macbook pro for a lot of photoshop work, illustrator, flash, and so on. People said 840 pro series is for sequential writes like for gaming, video editing, but i dont know if that its my best choice.

thank you very much.
 

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
They're essentially the same. The Pro is designed for excessive daily writes and it really only needed in high-production/enterprise environments. I'd recommend you save some money and buy the regular version.
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,164
15,667
California
The Pro is a bit faster, but not much in real world usage. Compare the two in this "storage bench" test that is intended to simulate normal disk activities.

Like SandboxGeneral said, the main difference is the non-Pro uses TLC NAND chips that last fewer write cycles. You can read here about the TLC NAND in the 840. Bottom line is it is not an issue for any kind of normal computer use.
 

alexistkd

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 3, 2013
27
0
so u think if i buy 840 samsung will last less years than 840 pro series?

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maybe the 840 regular version could last 3-5 years? and the 840 pro 5+ years? i mainly use my macbook pro for photoshop, illustrator, xcode for development, android development and homeworks :) which one do u recommend me.

thank you very much.

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i also saw samsung ssd 830 but its more expensive
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,164
15,667
California
so u think if i buy 840 samsung will last less years than 840 pro series?

----------

maybe the 840 regular version could last 3-5 years? and the 840 pro 5+ years? i mainly use my macbook pro for photoshop, illustrator, xcode for development, android development and homeworks :) which one do u recommend me.

Read the article I linked about TLC NAND lifetime. The chart below is from that article. So even if you write 10GB of data every day (I doubt you do), the 128GB version of the non-Pro would last over 11 years vs 35 years for the Pro. Lifespan is double that for the 256GB versions.

So yes, the non-Pro will not last as long, but unless you are doing some extremely write intensive work, your computer will be dead and long gone before that SSD wears out.

For the average user, I don't see a need to pay more for the Pro. JMO :)

Z5l2xnj.png


The 830 is an old version and it was replaced by the 840 series.
 

Mr MM

macrumors 65816
Jun 29, 2011
1,116
1
They're essentially the same. The Pro is designed for excessive daily writes and it really only needed in high-production/enterprise environments. I'd recommend you save some money and buy the regular version.
no they arent.

there is the difference in nand, overprovisioning and other stuff

so u think if i buy 840 samsung will last less years than 840 pro series?

----------

maybe the 840 regular version could last 3-5 years? and the 840 pro 5+ years? i mainly use my macbook pro for photoshop, illustrator, xcode for development, android development and homeworks :) which one do u recommend me.

thank you very much.

----------

i also saw samsung ssd 830 but its more expensive
get the 840 pro at at least 256gb or the m500 at at least 480gb, there is the intel dc s3500 as well, cheaper version of the great dc s3700, and the OCZ vertex 4 this get it at at least 256gb
 

alexistkd

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 3, 2013
27
0
i see, but the 840 regular will last more than 5+ years also, and for that time my mbp will be dead maybe lol
 

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
no they arent.

there is the difference in nand, overprovisioning and other stuff


get the 840 pro at at least 256gb or the m500 at at least 480gb, there is the intel dc s3500 as well, cheaper version of the great dc s3700, and the OCZ vertex 4 this get it at at least 256gb

Yes they are for all intents and purposes for the general user like the OP, myself and the vast majority of people.

This comparison review of the 840 / 840 Pro 256GB details the differences between them. Yes there are a few differences, such as more durable NAND and additional over-provisioning space. However with a cost difference, the average user is not going to use the Pro in such a way as to justify the extra cost over the non-Pro version.

840-840Pro.JPG


I kept my answer above generic because I didn't feel it was necessary to detail the minor, everyday differences which are inconsequential for most of us.

The URL to Anandtech that Weaselboy referenced is also a good place to get details on the NAND. Plus we have a dedicated thread to the 840/840 Pro here with lots of details on them.

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i see, but the 840 regular will last more than 5+ years also, and for that time my mbp will be dead maybe lol

Writing 10GiB per day with a write amplification of 10x to the non-pro version will last at least 7 years.
 

Mr MM

macrumors 65816
Jun 29, 2011
1,116
1
Yes they are for all intents and purposes for the general user like the OP, myself and the vast majority of people.

This comparison review of the 840 / 840 Pro 256GB details the differences between them. Yes there are a few differences, such as more durable NAND and additional over-provisioning space. However with a cost difference, the average user is not going to use the Pro in such a way as to justify the extra cost over the non-Pro version.

Image

I kept my answer above generic because I didn't feel it was necessary to detail the minor, everyday differences which are inconsequential for most of us.

The URL to Anandtech that Weaselboy referenced is also a good place to get details on the NAND. Plus we have a dedicated thread to the 840/840 Pro here with lots of details on them.

----------



Writing 10GiB per day with a write amplification of 10x to the non-pro version will last at least 7 years.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...0497-samsung-840-120gb-endurance-testing.html

this thread shows how it tanks after awhile

those specs dont offer much info at all. best to look at the anandtech review for actual info
 

Mr MM

macrumors 65816
Jun 29, 2011
1,116
1
I sure did. :)

in 6 months I did 40tb of writes to my SSD before it failed. off course it wasnt the 840, not to mention there are different writes, 4k writes with low queue depth damage more the SSD than the large file transfers

but to sum it up, its a pretty difference
 

UBS28

macrumors 68030
Oct 2, 2012
2,893
2,340
i see, but the 840 regular will last more than 5+ years also, and for that time my mbp will be dead maybe lol

Bigger SSD's also tend to last longer. So if you can score a 840 500 gb for the same price of 840 pro with only 250 gb, then the regular 840 should be quite durable in comparison to the 840 pro with less capacity.
 
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