Does format alone able to restore the SSD to its original performance?
Long or quick format?

This post has been edited by tskhang: Jan 19 2012, 09:21 PM

Meaning if you format a TRIM enabled SSD using Windows 7, it will restore back to its original performance?
I read somewhere that secure erase is used for non TRIM enabled SSD.

The most important thing is how the shipper declared the item. By right ssd is not supposed to be taxed. It is on the kastam database under computer storage category


This post has been edited by tskhang: Jan 27 2012, 09:18 PM

How was the item declared on the airway bill, and is there any U.S harmonized code?

From which retailer did you buy the SSD from?

My god, kastams self declared it as a part of sound recorders.

If you refer to this, this person's SATA card was declared as under sound recorders as well.
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=46238897

Does it mean that all IT stuffs will be declared as sound recorders which are taxable when they reach our KASTAM?
Really unbelievable.

owikh84 bro,

How you manage to get such high 4K writes? Benchmarks on the internet on this drive mostly showing a range of around 80MB/s.
What version of Intel RST are you using? Alignment?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=s...itialSearch=yes

This retailer ships international.

Initially I was interested on the Intel 520, but after reading further, it still doesn't solve the irrecoverable performance issue. So do you need to perform a secure erase to restore it to it's original performance? As with the current intel x-25m, it does restore to original performance after you perform a full format.

And which SSD would you go for next.

Yes, send directly to the manufacturer.

If you buy from here, you claim directly with the distributors (or go thru resellers, but there is additional time taken for them to return to distributor). But sometimes, the distributors themselves will send back to the manufacturer, and this takes time because it very much depends on when they would send it back.

So it very much depends on the situation, if the distributor can exchange it on the spot, then good. If they need to send it back to manufacturer, I would rather RMA it myself with the manufacturer as it is faster.

Actually, RMA is not a lot of work as you think once you done it yourself.

This post has been edited by tskhang: Feb 22 2012, 12:14 PM

Prices for the Crucial M4 256GB in the US are getting more outrageous day by day

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/7688...m4_SSD_2_5.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820148443 (this one is a record price drop/discount, worthwhile if you have someone in the US to ship it to you)

So boss owikh84, is it time yet to get yourself two of these babies?

For warranty, you can just deal straight with Crucial.

First thing you should check if it is stated "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com" and not some other merchants.
Second, scroll down a bit to the Product Details
you should see "Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S."


Nope they do not accept paypal.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/dis...y?nodeId=513058


You can RMA directly with crucial USA.

This post has been edited by tskhang: May 12 2012, 02:30 AM

Generally speaking, they are more expensive because of the exchange rate. However if they are best buys/clearance, than maybe it's a different story. You will need to calculate and compare yourself.

This post has been edited by tskhang: May 16 2012, 11:32 AM

New Crucial SSD packaging. Very thin, as thin as the SSD itself. Now made in China. No wonder Crucial prices are so cheap now.



This post has been edited by tskhang: May 17 2012, 06:39 PM

It seems you are running on Marvel SATA chipset. What motherboard are you using? You would get slightly better performance if you plug your SSD on Intel SATA chipset.

Getting a dedicated SATA card especially supporting SATA III is very expensive, as they are normally RAID cards with/without cache. Yes, there are cheapos out there, but all of them are using PCIe x1 interface, which itself already bottlenecks the SATA III bandwidth. These SATA cards are normally used for connecting hard disk.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....name=SATA%20III

You would be better off using the Marvel chipset first or changing the motherboard.

Don't worry. If you refer to my previous post I did post the picture of the new packaging from Crucial. And mine was bought directly from Crucial themselves.

Not all. Majority of them are having 3 years warranty. AFAIK Plextor and OCZ Vertex 4 having 5 years.