PC Specialist, can you help?!
- Thread starter rajadd
- Start date
That's seems odd...
Sorry, I was referring to the link you posted from the review on Tom's Hardware.
It didn't seem to perform that well, not quite was I was hoping for anyway.
"VERDICT
If a vendor offered the PM961 in a factory notebook, we wouldn't turn it down. The drive offers higher performance than any of the SATA options. The price is simply too high for the upgrade market, and the accessory package, along with a solid warranty, are nonexistent from resellers. The PM961 is simply a precursor to a retail product that we feel will hit store shelves in the next 30 days."
I think i'm going to start having a look elsewhere for another PC builder - i'd set my heart on the SM961 and anything else would seem a backward step.
I'll give them a month but if it's not been in stock for 2 months already then chances are it still won't be then.
If i've come up with something else in that time i guess i'll cancel my order and go elsewhere, like you say it's a shame but there you go.
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
Oh dear. I'm sorry for confusing matters with that review.
So, the first thing to bear in mind that that the review is giving its verdict based on the PM961 at a specific price point at the time of that review.
That's not relevant here as the PM961 is the same price as the good Sata III SSDs. It's £1 more than the 850 Evo at 500gb.
The price of an 850 Evo 500gb on Amazon.com is $169. So they say it's not worth it for double the cost of a good sata SSD. I suspect they wouldn't be making that recommendation if the price difference was £1 more.
Just like if the Pascal Titan X GPU cost £600 instead of £1200 a lot more people would be recommending it.
The warranty from PCS is pretty clear, and you don't need the accessories because you're not installing it into a PC and copying your OS etc over, you're buying it in a new machine where it's already in situ, as is the OS.
You can't read a verdict from a review without considering the context.
If you desperately want an SM961 then obviously you can consider your options, but since you were asking whether a PM961 would be alright, I just linked an article that showed little difference in the 'real world' benchmarks they used.
So, the first thing to bear in mind that that the review is giving its verdict based on the PM961 at a specific price point at the time of that review.
That's not relevant here as the PM961 is the same price as the good Sata III SSDs. It's £1 more than the 850 Evo at 500gb.
The price of an 850 Evo 500gb on Amazon.com is $169. So they say it's not worth it for double the cost of a good sata SSD. I suspect they wouldn't be making that recommendation if the price difference was £1 more.
Just like if the Pascal Titan X GPU cost £600 instead of £1200 a lot more people would be recommending it.
Second, they're assessing the item as a retail upgrade. i.e. "I have a PC, should I buy this to pep it up?" - to which they point out that it doesn't come with an accessory package (not sure what package you need since the screw ought to come with the mobo - maybe they mean no Samsung Magician software to transfer your OS across) and the vendors are unclear on the warranty.
The warranty from PCS is pretty clear, and you don't need the accessories because you're not installing it into a PC and copying your OS etc over, you're buying it in a new machine where it's already in situ, as is the OS.
You can't read a verdict from a review without considering the context.
If you desperately want an SM961 then obviously you can consider your options, but since you were asking whether a PM961 would be alright, I just linked an article that showed little difference in the 'real world' benchmarks they used.
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Yes i can see that the verdict was perhaps not entirely relevant, but I did read through the benchmarks and it didn't seem to score as highly in many of them as I was expecting, below a lot of the other ssd's in the test so far as I could see.
I just think that if I change to a PM series now i'll be annoyed with myself for not getting what I wanted. I've haven't upgraded a thing on my current pc for the 6 years i've had it, and don't want to be adding additional ssd's in the future on my new one really.
I just think that if I change to a PM series now i'll be annoyed with myself for not getting what I wanted. I've haven't upgraded a thing on my current pc for the 6 years i've had it, and don't want to be adding additional ssd's in the future on my new one really.
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
True, though bear in mind that the others are in a totally different leagues. E.g. the OCZ RD400 is about £170 for 256gb compared to the SM961 which is £100 for that capacity.
It would be like looking at the GTX 1060, finding out that was out of stock and considering the RX 480 instead, only to be put off because it got roundly beaten in benchmarks by a GTX 1070 and GTX 1080. The various PCIE SSDs it tests there are really intended for prosumers and costs hundreds of pounds
The only part of the bench that's really relevant here is the SM961 vs PM961.
I appreciate the SM961's absence is disappointing (and a bit surprising) but it does sound like you're finding reasons to talk yourself out of the PM961 that you were still finding quite appealing earlier in the afternoon if you don't mind me saying. Granted it's an expensive purchase and you'll generally want the best of the best for it.
I'd have thrown my PC out in 2015 if I hadn't been able to upgrade it. It's had a new PSU, a new GPU, and two new SSDs since it arrived. And is about to get one, possibly two more HDDs.
It would be like looking at the GTX 1060, finding out that was out of stock and considering the RX 480 instead, only to be put off because it got roundly beaten in benchmarks by a GTX 1070 and GTX 1080. The various PCIE SSDs it tests there are really intended for prosumers and costs hundreds of pounds
The only part of the bench that's really relevant here is the SM961 vs PM961.
I appreciate the SM961's absence is disappointing (and a bit surprising) but it does sound like you're finding reasons to talk yourself out of the PM961 that you were still finding quite appealing earlier in the afternoon if you don't mind me saying.
Granted it's an expensive purchase and you'll generally want the best of the best for it.I'd have thrown my PC out in 2015 if I hadn't been able to upgrade it. It's had a new PSU, a new GPU, and two new SSDs since it arrived. And is about to get one, possibly two more HDDs.
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I appreciate the SM961's absence is disappointing (and a bit surprising) but it does sound like you're finding reasons to talk yourself out of the PM961 that you were still finding quite appealing earlier in the afternoon if you don't mind me saying.
Yes you're probably right!
I'm not making any snap decisions though, like I say i'm willing to leave it a month and see how things are then, hopefully they'll be back in stock and it won't be a problem.
I have had a quick look on some other pc builder sites this evening (obviously i'm not going to say what they are), and according to a couple of them they had SM series ssd's in stock so they must be about!
ubuysa
The BSOD Doctor
I would have thought that if PCS are having problems sourcing the SM961 then so will pretty much everyone else. It's simply so popular!
The 'not recommending the PM961' I read as a power issue more than anything else (from reading the text of the review). I notice the marked difference they show between the PM961 and the SM961 in various tests but I really do wonder how much you're going to see that difference in normal use? I suppose that if you game (and I don't) then the difference might be noticeable - just - but how important that small difference might be I don't know.
I have the PM951, the preursor to the 961 drives and it's simply outstanding, it makes the SATA SSD on my Optimus IV laptop look positively sluggish in comparison. If it were me I'd go for the PM961 now, before everyone else does and that's out of stock too. I don't think the difference is going to be that big....
The 'not recommending the PM961' I read as a power issue more than anything else (from reading the text of the review). I notice the marked difference they show between the PM961 and the SM961 in various tests but I really do wonder how much you're going to see that difference in normal use? I suppose that if you game (and I don't) then the difference might be noticeable - just - but how important that small difference might be I don't know.
I have the PM951, the preursor to the 961 drives and it's simply outstanding, it makes the SATA SSD on my Optimus IV laptop look positively sluggish in comparison. If it were me I'd go for the PM961 now, before everyone else does and that's out of stock too. I don't think the difference is going to be that big....
That's exactly what I've done this morning.
I rang PCS to see if they would install the SM961 if I supplied it but they said no.
They do have the 256gb version coming in but even that won't be until the middle of next month so in the end I've decided to go for the PM961 1tb as this looks slightly faster than the 512gb, it was only £100 more so I've gone for it.
My pc is already in building on only the 3rd working day and having spent too much time fussing over this I've got a grip and decided the PM series will be fine for me.
I Googled PC Specialists competitors today and they all have the SM961 in stock, so fingers crossed PCS get them back within 30 days as clearly they still exist. I also saw them being sold as individual components online.
Why not ask if you can buy one elsewhere and send it to PCS for the installation?
I asked. They won't do it.
The 1TB PM961 is slower than the 512GB SM961 whilst being ~£125 more expensive.
They had them, I phoned them to confirm. I also checked an online reputable hardware seller who had them in stock.
It was bang on £100 more - I paid over the phone and it should be going in anytime now!
When I say it's a bit faster I meant over the PM961 512gb.