Have I bought a faulty SSD?
Solution 1:
Sounds much like a controller problem on the SSD. Samsung doesn't have a lot of problems with their controllers (unlike OCZ for example), but they do happen.
Return the drive and have a new one sent to you. New drives shouldn't cause all that much trouble. Samsung EVO drives are generally plug and play. If your other sata drives are working with the configuration you have, so should your SSD.