Firmware Update to Fix the Samsung SSD 840 EVO Read Performance Bug Coming on October 15th
by Kristian Vättö on September 26, 2014 5:10 PM EST
A week ago Samsung acknowledged the existence of the read performance bug in the SSD 840 EVO and I just received a note that the fixed firmware is in validation process and is expected to be released to the public on October 15th. Unfortunately I don't have any further details about the bug or the fix at this point, or whether the update is coming to the 'vanilla' SSD 840 and OEM models, but I hope to get more details as the public release gets closer, so stay tuned.
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valinor89 - Sunday, September 28, 2014 - link
I did notice it being slower on startup. I simply thought that the culprit was windows. Still much better than my old HHDD.Mugur - Monday, September 29, 2014 - link
Does anyone know if this "old age" issue is file based or block based?I assume it is block based, so if I have for example a vhd file on it and regularly modify a bit or add a bit to it (while the VM is used) the untouched blocks will still slow down over time.
ssdengr - Monday, September 29, 2014 - link
Sounds like they aren't doing read level calibration like Intel. Not surprising since they patented it. http://www.google.com/patents/US8510636Pabl8 - Monday, September 29, 2014 - link
Hi all. I ordered last week a new laptop and I had to choose between the 120GB Samsung 840 EVO and the 120GB Kingston Hyperx 3k for a similar price. I chose the 840 EVO as it had better score in several webpages but I learn about the 840 EVO issue this weekend. I still have the opportunity of changing the order but I need some advice: Will the best improvement of the EVO compensate the risk of low life/performance or should I get the Kingston straight away? ThanksTheWrongChristian - Monday, September 29, 2014 - link
Given that choice, I'd take the Samsung drive every time. The Kingston drives are based on Sandforce controllers, which have had a whole host of data corrupting/losing bugs. They may be all fixed now, and you may never see a bug with a Kingston drive, but the firmware is inherently more complex and doesn't degrade nicely in the face of bugs or data corruption.Kingston have also had a recent scandal for bait-and-switch practices, where review drives are sent out, perform decently, then they switch out the NAND in use for cheaper, lower performance NAND (not this model AFAIK.)
All in all, Samsung have a much better reputation in SSD, even with this "end of the world" (not!) bug. If you must switch, the general consensus appears to be leaning towards the Crucial mx100, which has gained a good performance and value reputation.
Pabl8 - Monday, September 29, 2014 - link
I have been looking into Kingston problems with the ssd's and I think I'll stay with Samsung. Thanks for the advice!Romberry - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Stick with the EVO. This bug is an inconvenience that frankly, most people/end users would never even have noticed in day to day use if they hadn't read about it and/or ran drive benchmarks which really are just about irrelevant to anything other than, well, benchmarks. The whole TLC limited endurance/low life thing is a red herring for the vast, vast majority of users. If you aren't running a database server that's getting constantly hammered, you'll have long since upgraded or entirely replaced your entire system before wear becomes an issue. Samsung has a fix coming. Get the EVO and apply the new firmware once its been released after validation.ThisWasATriumph - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
My old Kingston HyperX 3K had all sort of issues with data corruption and read errors. Total piece of junk with zero firmware updates.Pabl8 - Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - link
Definitely I'll go for the EVO. Thanks all!!AbRASiON - Monday, September 29, 2014 - link
Gotta open up the PS4 :(