Intel2.5-Inch 240 GB Internal Solid State Drive SSDSC2BP240G4R5

Pretty fast and smooth start up for Windows 8. (Of course Windows 7 too)It made my computer to start up about 2 times quicker.1min15sec (with Seagate 7,500rpm HDD) => 30sec (this SSD)I gave 1 star minus because the SATA cable included was not made for my computer.

I love this SSD!!!Talk about speed and throughput, and then add in the reliability of Intel SSD's, and now, also the cost of Intels SSD's, this one is a MONSTER Performer!Also, I purchased the 480Gb version of this Intel 730 SSD, and have no idea of why Amazon listed my review being for the 240Gb SSD???So this review is for the 480Gb Intel 730 SSD.Also please note, the advertized speeds of this SSD are meant for a SATA III device.So if your running this in a laptop or desktop computer, that only has SATA II capabilities, your speeds are going to be slower.Still, this is a very fast SSD, even when used in a SATA II laptop/desktop!I've been using SSD's since Intels X25 was released.Since that time, I've used many different brands, from Crucial, OCZ, Samsung, and Mushkin, and throughout the years, I've always gone back to using Intel, due to failure rates.Intel leads the pack with much fewer returns due to failures.& Yep, you can easily find this information online, with just a few word searches.SSD reviews, Best SSD's, Most reliable SSD's, SSD Failure Rates....Google any one/or all, of those, and you'll find the info you need.This 730 is the fastest Intel SSD I've ever used, and as I said earlier, I've used a lot of em!They are a snap to install, and I already have Acronis Image 2014, which clones and copies your OS perfectly, then a few commands later, your set up and are using your new desktop/laptop, with Windows 7 or Windows 8.Fast, Reliable, and now, Intel's pricing is much more competitive.Just awesome!!!I do highly recommend this SSD, for any desktop, or Laptop computer.Update (9-17-14):I just wanted to add this, after a good few month's or more of heavy use (at least 12 to 14 hours a day), I've encountered ZERO problems, and a tremendous speed increase in my laptop. This is just one of the BEST SSD's I've ever owned.Reliable, Super Fast, Competitively Priced, Intel Quality....You will love this drive as I do!Also, get Acronis True Image 2014, it is the best program to have for backing up your PC.It does everything. Cloning, Complete Image Backups, Options to backup to your own external HD, or to the Acronis Cloud (your choice)...and much more. The easiest user interface I've seen with Acronis yet, and it's fast! It works flawlessly with Windows 7 and Windows 8.

The 730 series is one of the best overall consumer-grade SSDs you can buy. This drive combines excellent real-world performance benchmarks (see the many online reviews by Anandtech, etc.) with Intel's great track record for reliability. They also get some of the best user reviews.Unlike some of the cheaper Intel drives, the 730 series uses a controller designed in-house by Intel and all Intel firmware developed in the USA. In their cheaper drives (like the 530 series) they use inferior Sandforce controllers as do many other SSD brands. As a Sandforce-based drive becomes nearly full (especially with incompressible data such as photos, video, encrypted volumes, etc.) the Trim support is seriously degraded. Put simply, a Sandforce drive can reach a point where it can no longer fully clean up after itself. That means significantly degraded performance (often two or three times slower). This issue is well documented in many professional reviews but thankfully the 730 series doesn't have this problemIntel drives have also done better than nearly all others under adverse conditions (like a power failure during a write operation). Intel takes a more conservative approach. The drives are also among the few fully designed in the USA. A lot of the other brands are designed in Asia and have had more issues with firmware bugs, failures, lost data, not meeting their performance claims, compatibility problems in some systems, etc. Finally, Intel has one of the better software management programs for optimizing SSD performance, monitoring drive health, etc. Several of the other SSD brands have nothing like it.I've installed more than a dozen Intel SSDs, dating back to the X25-M and V-series drives from early 2009, and have never had a single problem. They're really solid drives.

I have two of the first-generation Intel sata II ssd's which are several years old and are still going strong. Once you use a ssd you won't want to go back to a regular hdd. This version is noticeably faster and they are finally offering larger capacities and becoming cheaper. I have no complaints with the new one except after a few months my pc would no longer boot, and had a "no operating system found" error. I booted from another hd and in disk management, the intel ssd showed up as only 8mb total. I contacted Intel (their ssd's have a 5-year warranty) and they referred me back to the seller. Amazon is who I purchased the drive from but it actually came from an outside seller. Amazon was still willing to help me and allowed me to return it well past the 30-day return window (over 3 months). But I believe I just received a bad unit and bought another. I don't want to bad mouth Intel over this, everything else I have from Intel has been very reliable. Fortunately I back my stuff up all the time and I didn't lose anything. If this new drive fails that quickly the next review will be different.Mike