![Samsung 860 PRO 256GB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76P256BW)]({"https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91jEMveNnUL._AC_SS130_.jpg":[130,130],"https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91jEMveNnUL._AC_SS260_.jpg":[260,260],"https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91jEMveNnUL._AC_SS390_.jpg":[390,390]})
This SSD is an absolute joy to have installed in my laptop. It was already a nippy machine but having only a traditional 5400rpm hard drive meant that the system wasn't running at its full potential. I don't need to give chapter and verse about just how good this drive is as so many reviews have already done this but I can't help but list the key things I now enjoy:
- Rapid Windows 7 boot up, restart and shut down;
- Office applications, web browsers and Photoshop - quite hefty things - load in a flash and operate very smoothly;
- Video editing (I use Cyberlink Power Director) is now very snappy and much easier. With the old hard drive it would struggle to keep up as I scrolled through frames;
- I occasionally run other operating systems in virtual machines and needless to say these are now much more responsive;
- I used to clean up Windows with CCleaner and Wise Disk Cleaner about every other day but now I simply forget to do this because performance is always so good;
- The list of programs in Control Panel's add/remove programs now populates immediately;
- My laptop is now completely silent, the rattling of traditional hard drives now sounds really old fashioned and sluggish;
- The Windows task manager shows far less CPU activity than it used to as the SSD is capable of keeping up with it.
Windows 7 performance has obviously dramatically improved with this SSD but I'm also keen to see how it performs with Windows 8.1 (when its released) and Ubuntu Linux.
The only thing that I don't seem to have experienced which seems to be promised is longer battery life which hasn't changed at all. My battery is due for replacement soon so I'll see what happens when I start afresh.
I'm not sure how modern games would perform with this SSD but I'd be surprised if it did anything other than help dramatically.
The installation process was easy enough. My laptop (like most) has only one drive bay so I also bought an external drive enclosure (
Icy Box IB-273StU3 External case for 2.5 inch SATA HDD to USB 3.0 Host
) to use during the cloning of my hard drive to the SSD, and it now houses the old hard drive so it can now be used as external storage. I tried my best, but the Samsung Migration software refused to recognise the SSD when installed in the enclosure, even though Windows and other programs did recognise it and Windows Disk Administrator allowed me to format it. I therefore assume the migration software will only cooperate if you use Samsung's proprietary cable to connect the SSD to laptop but as this cable doesn't come with the Pro versions of this SSD and can't be bought separately (as far as I know) the use of Samsung's Migration software was out of the question for me. I wasn't too disappointed though as I've read a number of reviews which say that migrations using it have often been unsuccessful. Instead I downloaded Macrium Reflect Free Edition which proved to be excellent. It recognised the drive in the enclosure and was really easy to use. It cloned the 100 GB on my hard drive to the SSD within an hour. Then it was just a case of shutting down the laptop, removing the SSD from the enclosure, removing the hard drive from the laptop and slotting in the SSD in its place. The loading of Windows 7 and general use improved noticeably straight away but it was only after using the Samsung Magician software and running its optimization features (very easy to use) that I really saw what the SSD could do.
When reading reviews people often talk about the 'gentle' way you should work with your SSD so that you don't write to it too often or unnecessarily as this could shorten its life. I'm sure this advice is wise but I don't think there's any need to handle the SSD with 'kid gloves' or expect it to fail at any time which is what I feel is implied. In fact I feel my laptop is now far more robust with this drive installed and I'd be unpleasantly surprised if it couldn't withstand the modest things I ask of it during its five year warranty period and beyond.
Finally, I thought this SSD was an expensive purchase and was a little apprehensive about spending this sort of money on an upgrade but that's forgotten now (although I realise I've just mentioned it!). The purchase has been entirely justified and it's certainly worthy of the price tag.
I've written more about this than I thought there was to write but to sum up I think if the main drive in your PC or laptop is not an SSD then you'll find you'd be delighted if it was, and this is the SSD to get! The pioneers of SSD technology are to be congratulated.
| Brand | Samsung |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 10 x 6.98 x 0.7 cm; 70 Grams |
| Item model number | MZ-7PD256BW |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Series | 840 EVO |
| Color | Black |
| Form Factor | 2.5-inch |
| Standing screen display size | 2.5 Inches |
| Hard Drive Size | 256 GB |
| Hard Drive Interface | Solid State |
| Operating System | Yes^Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), Vista, XP, MAC OSX, Linux |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Item Weight | 70 g |
