Even the Intel SandForce-based drives have reports of incompatibility, lockups, and BSODs.
IMHO, their 2nd-gen controller is just intrinsically buggy, and no amount of firmware tweaking will get around the bugs in all the cases.
Sandforce hater, Samsung doubter, OCZ victim, Crucial bsoder.
Flip a coin, buy either. Keep backups.
Just for shit and giggles, run a full as ssd benchmark and see if it goes throu.I've had Waterfox white-screen (not responding) twice on me so far, with my new M500 240GB. I'm wondering if it's the SSD. I never get that issue on this laptop, that has an X25-M G2 in it.
I've got a Kingston V300, and a Mushkin Chronos Deluxe. Both are my only SF 2nd-gen drives.
The Mushkin, ate itself in less than a month. Didn't like being sleep / hibernated in my laptop at all.
The Kingston V300, is in my HTPC. I don't sleep / hibernate that machine, but every once in a while, I'll wake that machine from monitor-off mode, and be greeted by a screen full of colored lines. That could be an ECS motherboard, or Intel IB IGP driver issue, but I'm not ruling out a SF bug either. Have to hard power-off to fix it.
My opinion? The most trouble-free drive on the market is an Intel X25-M G2. Maybe it's not as flashy and fast as a SandForce drive, but they sure are reliable.
this. I have two of them (one being intel 330 series) and both of them cause me random bsods from time to time. So i'm not entirely convienced, that this controller is problem free. Even with intel's blessing. Could be just pure luck on my side, but i doubt it, since other drives cause me no issues whatsoever.
Either way, recommending a 4 year old controller, that is full of past issues is hardly a good thing. Even with intel badge on it.
Anand has stated the Intel drives run a different firmware than the OCZs and such.
Do you have any information about MX100's bsod issue ?
Looks like this is a widespread issue (just like sandforce) because their forums are filled with them...
Ran an HDTune Free Ed. surface scan, all green squares.Just for shit and giggles, run a full as ssd benchmark and see if it goes throu.
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.Also run sfc /scannow if you're on windows.
My understanding is that the BX100 line is a slower budget line from Crucial, utilizing TLC. Yes, they depart from the Marvell controllers used in other Crucial drives and use a Silicon Motion controller.
All SandForce based SSDs have a custom firmware in some degree. The OEMs can customize various parameters, but nobody, including Intel, has access to the source code. I.e. even the Intel firmware can suffer from the same issues.
My intel 520 is much faster than my samsung 840 pro ever was and has never given me a hint of trouble. It was my 840 pro that locked up on me instead so the proof is in the pudding. I'll take an intel ssd any day over another samsung not to mention the fact that they've got one of the worst, if not the absolute worst, rma process around.
He keeps iterating this statement without any other details.thats very odd, since 840pro dominated benchmarks when it came out.
Maybe there is something wrong with your drive..
Yeah, could be just my luck or maybe 335 has newer firmware. 330 is still on factory firmare as of right now.I have had a 330 in my Precision M4600 for 2 years without a single BSOD. So not everybody is going to experience issues with them.
Anand has stated the Intel drives run a different firmware than the OCZs and such.
EDIT: Oops, mine is a 335, but still a SF drive.
As of this date my intel 520 is the fastest ssd I've ever used. The 840 pro isn't a slouch and is currently installed in my laptop, however it isn't as fast. Before I bought the 520 I looked at several benchmarks and noticed that it had superior performance in several key areas which led me to purchase it. Intel has the superior customer service so obtaining support is much easier than with samsung who forces you to a 3rd party vendor for service.
They all slow down when they fill up so I'll take the superior speed along with the customer service to go with it.
My SF based Corsair Force 3 240GB has slowed down tremendously...I'm thinking about grabbing one of the Crucial BX100 or MX100 SSD's.
+1.
Can't stress what VirtualLarry said enough. Samsung has a HORRIBLE RMA service.
How full is it? I pushed my Agility3 60GB to about 90% once... just to see... and boy did performance take a nosedive.
Speaking of service, OCZ now has ShieldPlus for their units. Apparently they send you a new drive at not costs if you feel like your current one is faulty. You don't even need the invoice, just SN.
Sounds a lot like MSI's video card warranty. I like that a lot.