SSDs - State of the Product?

LunarMist

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Most SSDs use 64-layer NAND and the newer ones use 96 layers. I think you meant 3 levels, i.e., TLC.
I'm sure there will be a trend toward 4TB M.2 now that I have the U.2 drive. I don't think any M.2 can keep up with the sustained writes as well as the U.2 SSDs though. I'm hoping to use whatever 4TB SSDs I have in a new computer which should have several M.2 slots.
 
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time

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IIRC, some boards will disable some the SATA ports to enable NVMe support, and some boards only support NVMe devices on the onboard M.2 slot

You may lose a SATA port when you use a SATA drive in an M.2 socket - which makes sense.
When you use an NVME drive in an M.2 socket, you're more likely to lose a PCIe slot.

With a typical dual M.2 configuration, one socket supports SATA only, but the other supports either. In other words, you can sacrifice only one PCIe slot.
 

time

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So has anyone else tried a Crucial P1 NVME M.2 drive? It's QLC and intended for desktop use only, but the 1TB pricing is fantastic when compared to say a Samsung 970 EVO. Lightly-loaded performance tests at Anandtech gave stellar results, with medium also good provided you don't fill up the drive (in which case it stinks).
 

LunarMist

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I'd rather use a TLC SATA drive than a QLC NVMe, but I suppose it depends on the expected writes.
 

Stereodude

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So has anyone else tried a Crucial P1 NVME M.2 drive? It's QLC and intended for desktop use only, but the 1TB pricing is fantastic when compared to say a Samsung 970 EVO. Lightly-loaded performance tests at Anandtech gave stellar results, with medium also good provided you don't fill up the drive (in which case it stinks).
I wouldn't touch it with a 3m barge pole. You can get the 1TB HP EX920 (3D MLC) for less in the US and it's proven to be a good performing quality drive.
 

Handruin

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I agree the HP EX920 is a good value drive for the money. I've used one in a system and it works great.
 

time

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The HP is uncommon here, and at least 35% more expensive. Looking at the Anandtech benchmarks again, both appear to be mostly comparable, but then the HP is at least twice as fast on some things like sustained sequential transfers and mixed loads.

I'll admit I wouldn't have considered HP as a serious option until you guys raised it. I regard them as a company that tends to produce cheap crap for high prices with hostile warranty support. I need to buy one for myself to keep for a while to allay those fears.

So thanks for the enlightenment.
 

Handruin

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I would have bought another if I had an available slot for it. I still have my 1TB 970 EVO NVMe M.2 sitting in its box from back in January when it arrived late. :-/ I was going to update my workstation back then, but now I'll wait for the new Ryzen 2 when it releases later this year.
 

Handruin

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Likewise I want to see how it performs in reviews and then I can make a better decision. I'm not in a rush to build a new system so I can wait and see how things pan out with that chip.
 

LunarMist

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The 12 core part has my interest. I'm not sure how the 16 core part can have the same TDP and run 4 more cores at the same frequencies. I'll wait for reviews.

I don't believe the 3950X could run 16 cores at the same time and frequency without using more power either. It's not like the chip technology will change. However, it may be better to have more cores and there may not much to lose considering the 3900X is 3.8-4.6GHz and the 3950X is 3.5-4.7GHz.
 

LunarMist

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Other than the 860 Pro (uneconomical to buy four for my purposes) are there any good options other than the 860 EVO in the 2TB SATA 2.5'' form factor?
Each SSD will be in a PSD with sustained sequential writes 250-300 GB/sec. probably at QD1 for 128GB at a time. I know that QVO crap won't cut it after a few GB.
I only seem to find the 2TB SanDik Ultra and WD Blue (supposedly the same drive) that are rather old by now. Is there no further development in the consumer sector?
 

time

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Crucial MX500 2TB is TLC and performs well for a SATA drive. It also has limited power loss protection.

Pretty sure you will be struggling to see 250GB/s though.
 

Stereodude

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Anyone play with the HP EX950 M.2 NVMe drives? I was thinking about trying one of the 2TB drives given their reasonably decent price for the space and performance.
The Anandtech review of the 1TB model made it looks like they made it a worse overall performer than then EX920 for the sake of putting up higher number in a few synthetic benchmarks for bragging rights.
 

Handruin

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I'd get the EX920 if there was a 2TB version. The 2TB EX950 seemed to compare well to the competition including the EX920 in 4K random read/write tests. I'll have to go look at the Anandtech review to see what their numbers show.
 

snowhiker

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Imagine a Gen 4, PCIe x16 slot with a monster SSD installed. 20+ GB/s write speed in Windows.

 

Handruin

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The reviews of their SSD seem respectable. I'm surprised in the Phoronix testing how much faster the Postgres/MariaDB are when compared to the other SSDs. Maybe due to the random write performance more-so than it's lower read performance.
 

LunarMist

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What are you all using for the 4TB NVMe in T&L laptops? I am considering the WD RED SN700 which is rather cheap. The TBW is very high for a TLC SSD. It's designated for NAS so maybe the FW is whack and no good for general uses?
 
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