Recommend me an SSD

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jonwil

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Dec 29, 2014
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I am looking to get an SSD to augment my current 500GB internal HDD and want recommendations as to what to buy.
I am 99% sure a 250GB SSD is the size I should go for (just based on the calculation of the sizes of things that make sense to put on the SSD)
All I know about SSDs is that a friend has a Samsung and says they are good and that "an SSD is the biggest jump in performance you can get right now"
My motherboard is an Intel DP965LT (no clue what sort of SATA that has)

Anyone got any recommendations as to the right one to buy? I mainly use my system for gaming, programming and web browsing/internet (including YouTube videos)

The list of SSDs available from my local shop is at http://umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products_list.phtml?id=10&bid=4&id2=159 (I have no connection to that store other than being a happy customer nor do I get commissions or anything by going through that link, also I want to buy locally instead of online since I dont trust the postal service with computer hardware after a previous bad experience)

Can anyone help me figure out what SSD I should be buying? My budget is no higher than $150 or so but preferably lower than that if possible.
 
I just bought three 240 GB SSDs over the holidays, when the prices went down.

Kingston HyperX Fury
Intel 730
Samsung 850 Pro

To be honest they are all just fine.
My preference would be either the Intel or the Samsung simply because those two came bundled with drive cloning software.
I simply cloned my current HDD c drive on to the new SSD and away I went.....took 20 minutes.
I then reformatted my old HDD to use for storage.

The Kingston had no cloning software so you'd have to find some freeware.
 
Samsung, Crucial, Sandisk, Intel, and at least a half dozen others are fine. There are occasional hiccups, some brands to avoid.
atm Crucial MX100 256 GB is $105 shipped on amazon, PNY Optima is $90, a so-so drive. I would avoid the Kinston SSDNow V300 (they switched from synchronous to asynchronous (cheaper and slower) NAND without admitting change or performance difference for about a year.
Samsung 850EVO is $130.
Much depends on whether you want to research individual models on sale and ponce, hopefully on a good deal.
Samsung had a firmware problem with old data, not certain it is resolved, or if it only effects 840 EVO.
Samsung 850 PRO is among the top in all catagories, and has 10 year warranty.
Intel usually is solid but priced higher.
Corsair has a reliable reputation, especially higher models.
OCZ went bankrupt and has returned owned by Toshiba. Mixed comments.
 
Wow, 965, I haven't seen one of those in years.

Honestly, the ssd will be an upgrade but you won't see the whole performance.
 
Do I need to worry about the fact that Windows 7 doesn't support AHCI on my motherboard? (if I switch my BIOS to AHCI, it picks up my current SATA HDD and DVD but then Windows fails to boot) I know you need to update the firmware on some of these SSDs to fix issues that can cause data loss and that you can't do that without AHCI support.

As for my 965 board, if I could afford it I would be buying a nice new Core series CPU instead of my somewhat ancient Core 2 Duo but the SSD (and the new GPU I need) are about all my budget can stretch to right now.
 
I just got a Samsung 840 EVO 250gb and I am very happy with it. Its alot faster than my old Crucial C300 128gb drive. The Samsung comes with a program that allows you to easily clone your old drive and also some nice performance settings that can optimize the drive and windows very easily. The program also has a benchmark/speed test too. I think its called Samsung Magician.

Any of the new SSDs will work just fine and give you a nice performance upgrade.
 
Thanks for the advice, I got the Samsung 840 EVO 250GB as well (no point getting the more expensive 850 on my ancient motherboard...)
 
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