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Top Customer Reviews
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Intel SSD all the way, baby
By
Kevin Sipma
on
December 7, 2011
Size: 120 GB
Verified Purchase
I am an IT consultant and have purchased and used quite a few Intel SSDs, not just the 320 Series extensively, but the prior generations like the fantastically reliable X-25M series. I just love these SSDs. They transform ANY computer into a "new" one by decreasing the boot times of an OS and load times of small and major apps so dramatically. Throw one of these in a 5 year old laptop and you've got a machine that will outperform the newest off-the-shelf laptops with spindle-based hard disk drives. I particularly choose Intel 320 series for:
* Reliability, which is legendary. I've used the cheaper OCZ products before, but once one of them literally bricked on me just a couple days after setting up a new PC, I don't even bother to price-compare other brands against Intel SSDs. I have been using Intel SSDs for about 2 years now and have never ever had a single issue with any one of them. I would say I have purchased at least 100 Intel SSDs.
* Price. There is a major hard drive shortage going on right now which has raised the prices of hard drives considerably. Granted, while the GB to GB, apples to apples comparison is still not in SSD favor, you just cannot beat the performance benefits of an SSD vs. any HDD. I only use hard drives for storage. OS and Apps go on an Intel SSD, period.
* Software. The Intel SSD Toolbox is absolutely awesome. It will tell you if there is a firmware update available, easily allow you to upgrade the SSD firmware, and will actually show an estimated life remaining. All flash memory have a finite number of write cycles which eventually WILL deplete, so it's nice to FINALLY have the technology where we can replace something up to, and right before, it fails. I don't believe other SSD brands even offer this kind of a software utility of this caliber.
For those of you who are reading reviews that claim their Intel SSDs failed after so-and-so number of days, weeks, months, whatever, please take note that the reviewer themselves probably most likely did not take the necessary precautions in preventing *static electricity* from damaging these sensitive flash devices! Additionally, even though they do not generate much heat at all, if you put them in a hot environment, it will shorten the lifespan of these sensitive drives dramatically. Exercise proper care!
For those of you who are trying to compare Intel SSDs with any other brand out there, stop looking and just buy an Intel and be done with it. It's worth every single penny and it will enhance your computing life so much, while giving you the reliability you deserve.
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Great, No-Frills SSD
By
mijcon
on
February 23, 2016
Size: 120GB
Verified Purchase
I was hoping to find an inexpensive, high-quality SSD to replace the slow and unstable hard drive on my secondary computer. It had gotten so bad that I would avoid using it at all costs, even though it is far more powerful than my tablet. That's where this PNY CS1311 SSD comes in. The price was nice at just under $60 for the 240 GB model, and the measured performance was arguably the highest among the competition.
First of all, I did not use the Acronis software code that came with the device. I always start fresh whenever I can, and Windows 10 makes that process easier than ever, but you must be running Windows 10 on your old hard drive for this to work:
- Backup the files you want to keep on OneDrive, a USB, or an external hard drive if you can.
- Download Windows 10 and create an install disc/USB.
- Switch out the HDD for the SSD and boot up from the install media*.
- When it asks for the product key, click "I don't have a product key".
- Once Windows 10 goes online, it will see that it's the same system and activate automatically.
The Samsung EVO 850 comes with software that helps you test your drive, keeps track of its age, and automatically changes settings in Windows to get the most out of the SSD. The PNY has none of that, but I don't think most users would really miss it. It also doesn't come with any cables or brackets, which is standard, but it does include a spacer for those that may need one. Although this may be one of the prettiest computer components I have ever seen, where the PNY really shines is its speed.
According to PNY, this drive should deliver up to 550MB/s in sequential reading, and 520MB/s in sequential writing (550/520 in shorthand, higher numbers are better for both). The [[ASIN:B00OAJ412U Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E250B/AM)]] provides up to 540/520 and the [[ASIN:B016JREGAC Crucial BX200 240GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT240BX200SSD1]] tops out at 540/490. In user tests, the Samsung usually performs right on the mark, but the Crucial seems to have occasional problems according to its reviewers. The PNY CS1311, on the other hand, often outperforms its own benchmarks in both my tests and the tests done by other reviewers (attached image).
This model only comes with a 3 year warranty, so if the Samsung EVO 850 is a comparable price I would buy the Samsung for its 5 year coverage. However, SSDs are known for their reliability, so do what feels right to you.
Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. I would absolutely recommend this drive to anyone that I like, and the Crucial to anyone I don't. I will update later on if anything changes.
*On some older systems, the Serial ATA interface may be set up in "Legacy" or "IDE" mode (mine was). I recommend searching online to verify that your BIOS is set to AHCI BEFORE installing Windows, assuming it supports AHCI.
Test machine:
ASUS K53E
Intel Core i5-2450M (2 cores @ 2.50GHz)
4GB DDR3-1333 SDRAM
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
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500GB version works great in a MacBook Pro mid 2012 (non-retina)
By
Michal Chomiczewski
on
March 9, 2015
Size: 250 GB
Style: SSD Only
Verified Purchase
I installed this in my wife's MacBook Pro (mid 2012; non-retina; MacBookPro 9,2) and the installation process could not be more of a breeze. Once the new drive was in, I did a fresh install of OS X 10.10 from USB stick. Then restored user accounts, apps, etc, from the HD just removed from the Mac, attached with this cable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJZJI84/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (rather than using time machine backup). Since I was already opening the computer, I also upgraded the memory to 8 GB using this 'kit:' http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LDLVAO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Once the OS was installed and all data transferred, the difference in boot time, application launch time, and overall performance was nothing short of dramatic. MS Word now opens instantaneously. Night and day. I'm sure extra memory is not hurting, either, with things like running multiple apps at the same time and application switching. After the upgrade, it feels like a brand new computer. I was originally waiting to upgrade the 500 GB hard drive that come with the Mac once prices of SSD drop enough to make a 1TB a bit more economical, but I'm really glad I did not wait. The expected longevity/endurance of Samsung's "3D" technology along with the price point of just just over $200 (with tax) were the 2 key deciding factors (expected performacne gains being a given). Could not be happier. Will be interesting to see if there is any noticeable improvement in battery life and how the drive performs after a year or so (given TRIM is not permitted by Apple on third-party SSDs). BTW - the drive itself looks really good. I realize the case is superfluous and rather irrelevant in an internal SSD (it will never be seen again after re-inserting the back cover), but once installed amid the tidy MacBook innards, the drive looks perfectly at home, actually matching the other components in terms of aesthetics. NOTE: once your drive is installed and configured in your Mac, restart holding option command r p to make your computer stop looking for the old boot drive and start up right away (google 'option command r p' for details). From pressing the start button to fully loaded desktop, this PowerBook now takes just under 20 seconds.
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great budget ssd
By
Jeremy doss
on
October 2, 2016
Verified Purchase
pretty fast drive for the price, used it in an hp probook 4440s laptop and it brought the boot times from 1 minute with a 7200 rpm hard drive to about 10 seconds, things like google chrome and file explorer start up almost instantly. less refined programs like utorrent and programs that require verification and constant updating like steam take a little longer but times are still much much faster. keep in mind if you are using an operating system that requires a login like windows 10, [which i have set to automatically login], auto logging in actually takes longer then the actual booting up. when my ssd arrived, i plugged it in and file explorer couldnt find it. if this happens to u, dont freak out. just open up disk management and locate the drive based on size [mine was about 110.2 gb] right click it and select create new simple volume. follow the prompts and you will be good to go. all in all im glad i spent the few extra dollars for this name brand vs the [adata, mushkin, silicone power] drives that were slightly cheaper. worth it!!!
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[240GB SSD] 548.9 MB/s Read & 376 MB/s Write!
By
insomniac
on
July 27, 2015
Size: 120GB
Style: Drive Only
Verified Purchase
Just upgraded my laptop from a 7200rpm HDD to this SSD! Now I'm enjoying quicker boot time, quicker app launch & even quicker refresh in desktop :P. Well, this is my 3rd SSD & 1st from SanDisk. Installation was straight forward on my HP Envy M6-k010dx sleekbook (an AMD A10 machine). One noticeable absence is the lack of cloning software in the box. But, I learnt a very important lesson about cloning software by installing other SSD's. I find myself comfortable using "Macrium Reflect" for cloning, which free, very very easy to use & very fast. All you have to do is connect the new SSD with the computer with a SATA cable, run the software & about 10 clicks :P. BTW, read speed of this drive is very impressive. I got 548.9 MB/s sequential read & 376 MB/s sequential write. Its a GREAT drive, highly recommended!
EDIT: Alternative free cloning software: "AOMEI DISK Backupper". In order to do clonning, you'll have to share their software on any social media (facebook, google+ or twitter) & copy/paste the link of your post. Yeah, annoying, but hey, its free! And its a very clean looking & user friendly software. Thanks.
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Great speeds but rather high power draw
By
Aaron
on
March 13, 2013
Size: 32 GB
Style: 2.5" 2D MLC
Verified Purchase
I got this SSD to replace a slow and ancient hard drive in my laptop (circa 2008). The SSD vastly improves performance, delivering a whopping 60x/40x 4K random read/write over the old HDD in my tests (pic attached on the product page under "customer images"). It is much lighter and more durable than the old HDD, it is resistant to shock, and it doesn't cause noise or vibrations, unlike the regular hard drive. I have had nothing but good experience with ADATA products (RAM, memory cards, flash drives) so I'm fairly confident the drive will last.
A couple minor quibbles though:
1. Upon installing the drive, I've noticed the battery life drop from 5hrs 30min to 5hrs flat. At first I thought it was merely due to active garbage collection the drive was performing after a fresh OS install but after the issue persisted for a few days, I decided to test it by putting the old hard drive back in (I've left its contents untouched) and the battery life went back up to 5hrs 30min. After searching online, I found that this drive pulls ~0.7W idle and ~1.5W active, which is actually slightly more than a regular 2.5" hard drive (~0.2W sleep/standby, ~0.5W idle and 1.4W active) hence the reduced battery life. This is by no means a deal breaker since increased speed/durability more than makes up for it. Also, this shouldn't be a problem for desktop users.
2. The area of the notebook enclosure right under the drive (away from the processor/fan exhaust) gets noticeably hot, to the point of being uncomfortable to use on your lap for extended periods of time. Once again, not a huge issue or a deal breaker for me as I mainly put the laptop on a desk. This also should be a non-issue for desktop users.
PROS:
-Dramatically faster than old HDD
-more durable and resistant to shock in a portable machine
-does not generate vibrations or noise unlike the old HDD
-least expensive 64GB SSD model I've found at the time
CONS:
-slight drop in battery life
-gets noticeably hotter than old HDD
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UPDATE (5/29/13):
The SSD continues to chug along nicely. I've largely gotten used to slight drop in battery life, but the heat issue continues to annoy me. I am keeping the rating at 4 stars because, ultimately, the SSD has made my old machine usable and has prolonged its service life for a fraction of what it'd take to replace it.
That said, for the next revision, I really hope ADATA will focus on improving the power envelope and heat generation/dissipation on these because the competition in SSD space is picking up and soon there will be many more options, with higher capacities and better performance, available around this price point.
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UPDATE 2 (02/21/2014):
The SSD still works fine and performs nearly identically to when it was brand new, so those wondering about longevity can check the concerns at the door. With normal client usage model, and as long as TRIM is enabled on your system, the drive should maintain performance and last a very long time.
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