So you wanna buy a SSD? Read this first.

[Rockfella]

Samsung 850 Pro 128GB Benches

My old HDD where I had the OS installed:

New beast:

Got it delivered yesterday. Installed Windows 10 (Technical preview) in AHCI mode and it shines even on a SATA II motherboard.

This series (850) by Samsung comes with 10 years peace of mind :clap:

 

[Taz]

Thanks a lot AkG!! It's a lot to take in at once, but it certainly beats trying to piece together everything via online reviews and Wikipedia on my own!!

 

[Vittra]

My search skills are failing me. I was trying to locate an old thread with respect to Samsung SSD RMA support in Canada. Has Samsung addressed their previous lack of information/support for SSDs in Canada?

I've noticed they have the 850 pros listed on their product pages, but on the warranty section I don't see information regarding SSDs:

Warranty Information | Samsung CA

My 840 256GB pro and 840 EVO 512GB have treated me well thus far, but I'm curious what the recourse is if things go sour.

 

[SugarJ]

This is the thread you were looking for: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/storage/60608-samsung-ssd-support-canada-3.html

 

[Vittra]

That's the one, thanks!

 

[MARSTG]

How can you tell if a certain SSD uses synchronous or asynchronous NAND if the manufacturer does not advertise it? I noticed some ADATA drives on newegg mention having synchronous NAND.

 

[AkG]

If they dont advertise it you will have to rely upon reviews - its why I crack open every ssd I review. On the positive side ONFi 1 NAND (aka async NAND) is going away (again...hopefully this time for good) and is being replaced by ONFi 3 NAND...and TLC NAND in the budget end of the marketplace. Not a fond lover of TLC NAND, but ONFi 3 is much better than async.

 

[3.0charlie]

My search skills are failing me. I was trying to locate an old thread with respect to Samsung SSD RMA support in Canada. Has Samsung addressed their previous lack of information/support for SSDs in Canada?

I've noticed they have the 850 pros listed on their product pages, but on the warranty section I don't see information regarding SSDs:

Warranty Information | Samsung CA

My 840 256GB pro and 840 EVO 512GB have treated me well thus far, but I'm curious what the recourse is if things go sour.

Bought a Pro over the week-end at CC. I asked about the Canadian Sammy RMA support issues - straight answer from the tech was to use the US RMA support; costs a bit more to shop to the US, but 3-days turn-around time with free Express Air return shipping, and they accept Canadian RMA requests.

 

[sswilson]

Bump/Thread Res to request a bit of a refresh....

Now that we're at the point where m.2 NVMe drives are affordable and new(er) motherboards appear to generally offer support, is there something (other than confirming size, key, and format) folks should be paying close attention to before they purchase a new drive?

I'm aware that we need to be sure we're looking at NVMe vice Sata M.2, but what about OS installation on NVMe? Is installing W10 on a NVMe M.2 drive as straight forward as installing it on a Sata SSD, or is there still some kind of restriction like there used to be with the PCIe slot drives?

 

[AkG]

With windows 10... stick in the usb win 10 installer, stick in the NVMe SSD... and let her rip. Then when its up and running Dl the 'proper' nvme drive for your storage device. Eg sammy, Intel, etc etc.

Other than that... not much more hassle than using SATA based storage. IE make sure its the only attached drive, etc etc etc.

For what to look for. Depends on what people want. I look for MLC over TLC. I look for a good controller with a proven track record. Right now Intel has one of the best value (760p) M.2s available. Hard to go wrong with it IF the system can handle its performance demands (ie wouldnt stick it in a Z170 with a quad core and expect to harness it). Next gen sammy is landing soon so that may change PDQ.... and Mushkin (yes Mushkin is making a come back!!!... maybe... we think... we hope) have some very interesting drives too.