Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD Review
Test System & Comparison Drives
Legit Reviews Test System
All tests were performed on a fresh and up-to-date install of Windows 7 Pro x64 with no other applications running while using AHCI mode set through the BIOS. Synthetic Benchmarks were run with the OS loaded on a 40GB Corsair Force SSD. In between every test, the test drive was secure erased using Samsung’s Magician tool as shown below. As such, all results should be indicative of optimal performance. All components were set to their default speeds and are listed below.
P67 Test Bench
| Intel LGA 1155 Test Platform | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Component | Brand/Model | Live Pricing | |||
|
Processor |
Core i5 2500k | ||||
|
Motherboard |
ASUS P8P67 Deluxe | ||||
|
Memory |
Crucial 2 x 2GB PC3-10600 | ||||
|
Video Card |
Gigabyte GeForce GT 430 | ||||
|
OS Drive |
Corsair Force 120GB (FW 2.4) | ||||
|
Power Supply |
Corsair HX1000 | ||||
|
Operating System |
Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit | ||||
Comparison Drives & Other Models We Have Tested
Since there are so many SSDs out there now with different controllers, we started a reference table of which controllers are used by each drive to help you compare results. Different controllers definitely perform differently and each has various strengths and weaknesses. Like CPU’s, even identical drives will have variations in performance and part of that variance may be attributable to the NAND flash used. Since the tests of the drives listed have spanned different test benches and represent different interfaces, we have listed the most recent ones for easy reference.
| SSD MODEL | CONTROLLER(S) | TRIM? | Interface |
| Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB |
LAMD LM87800 | Yes | SATA III |
| Intel 335 Series 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Strontium Hawk 120GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Corsair Neutron 240GB |
LAMD LM87800 | Yes | SATA III |
| ADATA SX900 128GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Crucial V4 256GB |
Phison PS3105-S5 | Yes | SATA II |
| Kingston SSDNow V200 128GB |
Toshiba (JMicron JMF66x) | Yes | SATA III |
| Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| SanDisk Extreme SATA 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Mushkin Chronos 120GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Vertex 4 256GB |
Indilinx Evertest 2 | Yes | SATA III |
| Vertex 4 512GB |
Indilinx Evertest 2 | Yes | SATA III |
| Micron P400e 200GB |
Marvell 88SS9174 | Yes | SATA III |
| Kingston V+200 120GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| RunCore Pro V 120GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Intel 520 Series 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Samsung 830 Series 256GB |
S4LJ204X01-Y040 | Yes | SATA III |
| Corsair Force GT 180GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Corsair Force GT 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Samsung 830 Series 256GB |
Samsung S4LJ204X01-Y040 | Yes | SATA III |
| OCZ Octane 512GB |
Indilinx Everest | Yes | SATA III |
| Corsair Force 3 120GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Super Talent TeraDrive CT3 64GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Kingston HyperX 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Corsair Force GT 120GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Patriot Pyro 120GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 480GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281)x4 | Yes | PCI-E |
| OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| OCZ Agility 3 240GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| OCZ Vertex 3 120GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 120GB |
SandForce SF-2200 (SF-2281) | Yes | SATA III |
| Crucial m4/Micron C400 256GB |
Marvell 88SS9174 | Yes | SATA III |
| Corsair Performance 3 Series 128GB |
Marvell 88SS9174 | Yes | SATA III |
| Intel 510 Series 250GB |
Marvell 88SS9174 | Yes | SATA III |
| Plextor M2 Series 128GB |
Marvell 88SS9174 | Yes | SATA III |
| * TRIM is not supported due to the RAID controller. | |||
CrystalDiskMark 5.0.2 Readout:
For the Samsung 840 250GB drive, the readout on CrystalDiskInfo 5.0.2 shows that both NCQ and S.M.A.R.T. are enabled, as well as TRIM and the interface is
confirmed at SATA III (6Gbps). This is a great free tool to see lots of detailed information about the drive such as the firmware version for which we are running the latest available at the time of testing. Future firmware updates will be available through the Magician software tool.
Samsung also has their own toolbox application for a variety of tasks such as updating firmware, optimizing the OS, secure erasing, and viewing diagnostic data about the drive. You can also allocate more space for overprovisioning.
Within the tool, you can get the technical information about the drive, similar to that offered in CrystalDiskMark Info.
Secure erasing the drive is a breeze with the Magician tool. We’d be happy if all SSD makers offered such a tool and for the ones who do, this and the Intel SSD Toolbox are the most robust.
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