Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you need some more speed from your existing PC (especially laptops) this might be what you are looking for. Let's face it, most decent computers have enough RAM (4GB or more) and a fast enough CPU for "general purpose" use. But if you find your computer is still sluggish overall performance is probably held back by the hard drive. Traditional hard drives are mechanical and are limited by the time it takes for the platters to revolve and the mechanical components to position/seek before data can be read/written. An SSD is an "electronic" hard drive with no moving parts - which means significant speedups since there is no waiting on mechanical parts. In addition SSDs are more resistant to vibration/mechanical shock than hard drives. Replacing the stock hard drive on a laptop (Win7, 64-bit) my Primary Disk interface score went from 5.8 to 7.6 (note the highest score is 7.9) and the laptop feels much snappier - boots in half the time too. I used the included Samsung Disk Migration software to perform the disk clone (using the SSD in an external USB SATA adapter). When it was finished I simply swapped the hard drive installed in the laptop with the SSD and Windows booted as usual. Note that you need to have a functional Windows installation for the Disk Migration tool to work - you install the tool under Windows like any other app (the tool is NOT a bootable CD with its own OS). It's too early to determine reliability, which is the one concern I have with SSDs in general. SSDs use Flash memory and some SSDs use MultiLevelCell Flash (stores more than 1 bit per cell) - this allows pricing to be lower for a given capacity. Samsung uses 3 bit per cell memory in the 840 EVO (they call it TLC) using a smaller process technology which could be somewhat detrimental for potential reliability. However the drive's spare area (for the 250GB model) is 9% allowing for remapping in case of bad/worn out blocks. I feel that Samsung is being conservative with design/flash lifetime and that's a good thing - you don't want your fast drive to drop dead or risk a data loss. THE GOOD: + Reasonably priced SSD. I bought the 250GB model to replace a 500GB hard drive, still had 50GB free space with the SSD (even though it was smaller in capacity). + Has Disk Migration tool on CD - this will do the cloning operation from your hard drive to the SSD. + Hardware supports AES-256 encryption. + Samsung makes all of the components, from the Flash memory chips to the MEX controller. I would expect better integration and more realistic endurance ratings as a result. THE BAD: - I didn't realize it at the time but Samsung sells this SSD packaged 3 different ways: 1. the bare drive (with software). This is what I bought. This DOES NOT INCLUDE A USB to SATA adapter. 2. the drive/software & accessories for laptop installation (including a USB to SATA adapter) 3. the drive/software & accessories for desktop installation (including a USB to SATA adapter) NOTE: If you buy the bare drive and you are using a laptop YOU WILL NEED A USB TO SATA ADAPTER! I used Uspeed USB 3.0 & eSATA to SATA External Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5 or 3.5in HDD, SSD [UASP and 4TB Support] and it worked fine. OVERALL it has made a speed improvement for me and I find using my laptop (which is a couple of years old) more enjoyable. I hope you have found this review helpful!