250GB Samsung 840 Series 2.5" SATA Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with Notebook and Desktop Installation Kit (MZ-7TD250KW) $150 + Free Shipping

Quote from maddoggyusa : I seriously doubt you got 6 bad drives... you must have some conflict/issue in your system. I did a new z77 build with this drive and Win8 boots in 5 seconds... runs crystal smooth.

It's probably a compatibility issue. Not common, but does happen with new hardware.

n41tu+rep

in 4 1! Good deal with upgrade kit, then, I don't need to spend time clone the whole system.

*sigh*

We have this debate every time the 840 (not pro) gets mentioned here. I'll just quote

Quote : http://reviews.cnet.com/internal-...07710.html "The Samsung 840 series, which is not to be confused with the recently reviewed Samsung 840 Pro, is not really an upgrade to the Samsung 830 series that was released more than a year ago. The new drive belongs to Samsung's new tier; it's slightly slower and has components that suggest it's an entry-level SSD. That said, it's probably the best entry-level SSD you can find out on the market. This is because the Samsung 840 is not just great-looking but also offers the kind of performance that you'd expect from a more expensive drive. It's an excellent choice for budget home users who want to move up from hard drives for their laptops. Professionals or those wanting top speed or durability, however, should still stick with the good-old Samsung 830 series, or the new 840 Pro, or any other drives on this top-five list."

Comparing this drive to the 830 or 840 Pro is really inaccurate. They aren't meant to be the same level of drive. The 840 (not pro) is meant to be a power-efficient, low cost, but still quite fast entry level SSD. If you just need something cheap to give an older system a boost this is a good option. If you want the fastest, bestest, most spec-gasm SSD then go look at the 840 Pro or it's ilk.

(I own a 840 Pro by the way)

Quote from lucill22 : Did you get the latest Firmware? I just installed one of these yesterday and a Firmware update came down through the Samsung Magician?

What version was the new firmware? According to the samsung website [samsung.com], the drive is still on firmware version 1.0.

Quote from VOUDOO : Just now putting together my rma return for one of these to B&H. My 6th SSD drive and by far the worst. Windows freezes on install, slow speeds on new z77 chipset, sluggish performance, hiccups and glitches, just not what I am used to in SSD. Put my Crucial M4 back in place and smooth sailing.

I had to RMA my 830 to Samsung also. Super slow read speed. The one they replaced it with is running better but still not as fast as advertised and what I'm getting from my Crucial M4.

I'm a bit mixed feelings on Samsung SSDs now unfortunately.

Quote from Infinity : What version was the new firmware? According to the samsung website [samsung.com], the drive is still on firmware version 1.0.

1.0 is an updated firmware.
Not sure about original.

This is not worth the money, in my sole opinion. A good deal would be the Pro for the same money.
In fact, Samsung shrank the chip process and it cost them at least 30% less to make the Pro, compared to the 830 series. They can retail the Pro at $150 and still make considerable margin.
In other words, unless I am desperate to have a SSD just today, I would not buy. Also, more reliable models are M4, Kingston HyperX and Intel for roughly the same money.

Waiting for a steal on another Intel 520... love the 5 year warranty on those dogs. This is a good price, but i'll save some bones right now and it will pay off later.

In 4 1. Guess it's time to return the 120GB 840 I just got yesterday. Paid $99 for that one. Needed something a bit bigger for my HTPC boot disk so it can hold some assorted games too.

I've been running the 830s RAID0 in my desktop for a while now and love them. Kind of wanted to switch to 840 Pros for the desktop and move the 830s to the HTPC but I really don't need it yet. I think I'll let the desktop sit until i can get to 1-2TB level on SSDs without drive caching.

Quote from ck128 : Height: 0.3" = 7.63 mm, means this a 7mm drive? Fits ultrabooks?

All 830 and 840 series samsungs are 7mm and ultrabook compatible.

Quote from Ananke : This is not worth the money, in my sole opinion. A good deal would be the Pro for the same money. In fact, Samsung shrank the chip process and it cost them at least 30% less to make the Pro, compared to the 830 series. They can retail the Pro at $150 and still make considerable margin. In other words, unless I am desperate to have a SSD just today, I would not buy. Also, more reliable models are M4, Kingston HyperX and Intel for roughly the same money.

A good deal would be an 840 pro that is double the capacity for the same money...and buy 1 get 20 free. That would be a good deal.

Quote from maddoggyusa : I seriously doubt you got 6 bad drives... you must have some conflict/issue in your system. I did a new z77 build with this drive and Win8 boots in 5 seconds... runs crystal smooth.

Never said a thing about 6 bad drives. This is the 6th SSD I have owned and its plagued with bugs and its SLOW

The price is pretty good, lowest I've seen on this drive with the kit. However, I too am a bit nervous about the 840 series and it's TLC versus MLC. TLC is estimated to last 1/3 as long as MLC.

In for 1 for my Macbook Pro. Thanks for the post.