Are benchmarking sites reliable for deciding which component to order?

[Drakodan]

As the title implies, really. I'm keen on getting an SSD, and I notice that the Kingston HyperX SSDs are often recommended, but if this benchmarking chart is to be believed, the Samsung 840 EVO 120GB outperforms it, and it is also slightly cheaper:

http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/hdd.php?hdd=Kingston+HyperX+3K+120GB+SH103S3120G&id=230

I guess this goes for other components as well such as CPU and graphics card.

 

[keynes]

I have seen benchmarks between those and I would think you wouldn't notice the difference between those 2 unless running a benchmark

 

[BlessedSquirrel]

I agree with keynes, these days ssd's are all so quick that the difference is just a few mbs which you'd never be able to tell in real world usage. They're both excellent drives.

 

[grimsbymatt]

The Samsungs were recently found to have performance degradation issues, so the Kingstons have been recommended a lot just lately. There is a fix available which involves updating the firmware. It's a simple job, but is an extra hoop to jump through.