Shopping, budget is 300, looking for reliability

[the_servicer]

Sometime in 2016 I will be shopping for a 2.5-inch SSD for a notebook computer. Budget is 275 USD max. I don't care very much about performance or capacity. The most important thing is reliability for years to come.

(Low power draw might be a secondary consideration for battery life goodness, but I don't want to confuse things by saying it's crucially important for choosing the right drive.)

For those who advocate Samsung, I am wondering if it actually may be safer to buy one of the current-gen 850 drives rather than get something newer from Samsung. Didn't Samsung falter in a previous SSD generation? It seems that people on this forum generally say good things about the 850 drives. So I am thinking, to the extent the 850 is tried and true, might it be better to avoid a newer drive, just in case something goes awry with the next generation? And who knows, maybe Samsung won't even release something newer this year anyway.

You guys have provided helpful ideas before and I hope you won't mind offering some suggestions again!

Edit: In case I wasn't clear, I am open to any good brand (not just Samsung).

Edit 2: Max price changed to 275 from 300. With sales tax it might come close to 300 anyway.

 

[charold]

Intel drives have some of the best warranties, albeit they haven't always been on the bleeding edge of speed generally. I've had a couple of "lower" quality brand SSDs die on me over the years (I've owned/installed roughly 25 SSDs over the years), but my Intel 330 is still running strong, as is a 530 I have that even suffered some pretty brutal physical abuse (its case got destroyed - but bare SSD is still running haha).

This has a 5-year warranty, but would be considered on the expensive side for a 480GB, and not bleeding edge speed.
Fast Intel Drive for $300

This has a 5-year warranty as well, but is slower, and isn't built to the same standards.
Slower and Cheaper

I don't think you can go wrong with an 850 Pro either though. I just have had good luck so far with Intel SSDs, and I like the toolkit with it.

 

[the_servicer]

Thanks for the suggestion. The Samsung 850 Pro seems like a safe bet.

It is my understanding that some Intel SSD models are not appropriate for portable use due to relatively high power consumption. I will have find out whether this is true of the Intel 535 Series (Solid State Drive 480GB) you linked to.
Edit: I think I am looking for something more "high end" than the Intel 535 Series.

 

[diizzy]

I'd say Samsung Pro-series, if you want something cheaper that's still good have a look at Crucial's MX200 series and/or Micron M600-series. Unless the M600 series are quite a bit cheaper than the Pro-series I'd go for the Samsung Pro-series.
Keep in mind that all drives can/and will die at some point so be sure to keep backups.

 

[friscomgm]

Samsung 840 evo had quite a stumble but their 830 predecessor has been up and running in one of my laptops since that HDD launched several years ago. It has seen heavy usage and still shows up as healthy in magician with no issues whatsoever.

I also picked up an 850 pro and have had no issues to date with it in a newer build.

If your machine supports it i would go with this:
http://promotions.newegg.com/samsun...g.com/samsung/15-5243/160x360.jpg&icid=335442

 

[the_servicer]

From what I can tell -- and I could still be wrong about this -- Intel's best offering for me right now is the 730 Series. I am going to avoid it for the reason stated above, so I think that really does leave me with Samsung, unless I have the wrong information about Intel.

I'd say Samsung Pro-series, if you want something cheaper that's still good have a look at Crucial's MX200 series and/or Micron M600-series. Unless the M600 series are quite a bit cheaper than the Pro-series I'd go for the Samsung Pro-series.

The 850 Pro starts at under 100 USD, and even half a terabyte is well within my price range. So I see no reason to buy anything lower-end than the 850 Pro.

If your machine supports it i would go with this:
http://promotions.newegg.com/samsun...g.com/samsung/15-5243/160x360.jpg&icid=335442

It will be a Dell Latitude E6230. I am trying to "future-proof" the computer with a solid SSD. I like your suggestion, but I do not believe the E6230 accomodates this M.2 form factor.

So I could just end up buying a 512GB Samsung 850 Pro. Is there anyone who would actually recommend waiting for a successor to this model?

 

[FnordMan]

Crucial recently launched their BX200 series of drives, i've got a prior gen BX100 in my desktop and a BX200 in my home theater PC. I think they might be TLC drives if that matters though. The 840 EVO in my desktop is still working fine after the rounds of firmware updates.

Under $275 gets you a 480Gig drive Their 1TB model is only $300. (astonishingly cheap, that..)

 

[yehness]

I have the samsung 840, 500gb and it has been working fine. I've been doing a lot of video editing and audio recording with it. I'm pleased.

 

[SpeedAddiction]

I would definitely recommend the Samsung 850... although if you want to hold out (and save your pennies while waiting) supposedly Intel will be releasing their new 3D XPoint HD's sometime in 2016 which are supposed to be a big leap forward if they live up to their hype. But that new technology isn't exactly proven...

 

[the_servicer]

supposedly Intel will be releasing their new 3D XPoint HD's sometime in 2016 which are supposed to be a big leap forward if they live up to their hype. But that new technology isn't exactly proven...

That's interesting, something possibly better? But also a possible invitation for buyer's remorse if it turns out for some reason to be less reliable than they hope.

Corsair recently launched their BX200 series of drives, i've got a prior gen BX100 in my desktop and a BX200 in my home theater PC. I think they might be TLC drives if that matters though

When you said Corsair did you actually mean Crucial?

 

[FnordMan]

When you said Corsair did you actually mean Crucial?

Yeah.. I don't know why I always do that.

 

[DejaWiz]

Spring for the 850 Pro. You're not going to get a better balance of speed, capacity, reliability, and warranty.

...unless the 1TB MX200 goes on sale for $270 shipped again and the capacity is more important to you than warranty calendar period (the higher capacity MX200 models have around the same TBW rating as the 850 Pro).

 

[the_servicer]

First, I want to say thanks for all the advice. I bought a Crucial BX100 (lowest capacity). I decided the low price and low power draw are the most important factors.