Samsung 850 EVO or Crucial MX200?

[007 Junior]

Hello everyone!

I'm considering replacing my 21.5" iMac (mid 2010) hard drive with an SSD, but I really don't know which brand to go for. There are two 500GB models I got my eyes on at the moment: Samsung 850 EVO and the Crucial MX200. Both are currently available at the same price: €189.

Any suggestions or things I need to take in consideration before I make my decision?

 

[yjchua95]

Hello everyone!

I'm considering replacing my 21.5" iMac (mid 2010) hard drive with an SSD, but I really don't know which brand to go for. There are two 500GB models I got my eyes on at the moment: Samsung 850 EVO and the Crucial MX200. Both are currently available at the same price: €189.

Any suggestions or things I need to take in consideration before I make my decision?

If they're both the same price, I'd go with the Crucial one because it uses MLC NAND. Samsung uses TLC NAND, which isn't as durable (although it'll easily last over 10 years).

On a side note, the Crucial BX100 is cheaper, but uses the same exact Micron NAND as the MX200 sans the SLC caching capabilities.

Since your iMac will only support SATA2 (3 Gb/s), I wouldn't spend on the most expensive SSDs. Something midrange and decent like the Crucial BX100 will do a very good job.

 

[007 Junior]

Thanks for your reply! So, an SATA III is actually not worth it because my SATA II controller won't support the speeds SATA III offers, right? Are there any better options on SATA II-level or is Crucial really the top brand in this category?

 

[yjchua95]

Thanks for your reply! So, an SATA III is actually not worth it because my SATA II controller won't support the speeds SATA III offers, right? Are there any better options on SATA II-level or is Crucial really the top brand in this category?

I'm recommending Crucial for the price-performance ratio. It uses MLC NAND and henceforth is theoretically more durable than the TLC NAND in the 850 Evo.

If you buy Crucial, just go for the BX100. Relatively inexpensive and almost as fast as the MX200. And it uses MLC NAND as well.