Best ssd sata: SK Hynix Gold S31 review: A great SATA SSD from the largest vendor you’ve likely never heard of

17 февраля, 2023

SK Hynix Gold S31 review: A great SATA SSD from the largest vendor you’ve likely never heard of

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This 2.5-inch newbie performs on a par with, or better than just about any other drive on the market.

By Jon L. Jacobi

PCWorld Oct 23, 2019 3:30 am PDT

Image: SK Hynix

At a Glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

  • Excellent performance
  • 7 mm form factor fits in most laptops
  • 5-year warranty

Cons

  • Relatively low TBW rating

Our Verdict

In real world copies, this first SSD from SK Hynix, proved the fastest SATA drive we’ve ever tested. The price is right, and the company is actually one of the largest semiconductor purveyors in the world so don’t let the name throw you. All the technology is in-house. A very good drive.

While you may never have heard of SK Hynix (nee Hyundai) , it’s one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers on the planet. The company has been developing NAND and controller technology since the get-go, and while it’s been the SSD OEM for numerous large computer vendors, it generally hasn’t taken a place for itself on the shelves.  

Why the company decided to suddenly go retail with its own Gold S31 2.5-inch SATA SSD, we can’t say, but we’re certainly happy about it. The drive aced our real-world performance tests and won’t break the bank. 

This story is part of our ongoing roundup of the best SSDs. Go there for information on competitive products and how we tested them. 

The Gold S31 is a 7mm thick, 2.5-inch SATA III, 6Gbps drive that will fit in any PC and the majority of laptops that accept the form factor. It uses SK Hynix’s own 72-layer TLC (Triple-Level Cell/3-bit) NAND and Quartz 4th generation controller. Sk Hynix was mum about the amount of DRAM or NAND cache on board, but kudos to the company anyway, it all works well. 

SK Hynix

The Gold S31 of course, has some gold in the logo. It’s nice-looking, and an excellent performer on the whole. 

At the time of this writing, the Gold S31 is available online in 250GB ($50 on AmazonRemove non-product link), 500GB ($70 on AmazonRemove non-product link), and 1TB flavors—the size we tested—for $119 on Amazon, respectively. All capacities feature a 5-year warranty but unusually, the TBW (TeraBytes Written—how much you can write to the drive before it degrades) ratings are not strictly linear. The 250GB unit is rated for 200TBW, while the 500GB model is only 300TBW, and the 1TB capacity, 600TBW. That’s hardly Optane-like, but more than most users will write in ten years, let alone five.

Also, word on the streets has generally been that SSDs regularly exceed their lifespan ratings, which tend to be conservative, by a fair piece, so I wouldn’t sweat it. 

Performance

I tested the 1TB version of the Gold S31, and the numbers ranged from good to excellent. Unlike some drives such as the Samsung 860 QVO on the charts in this article, at no time did the Gold S31 slow down during the long 450GB single-file copy.

Our test with CrystalDiskMark didn’t quite match the company claims, but we’re talking about a subjectively unnoticeable 4-percent deficit in sustained writing, which didn’t manifest itself in our real-world 48GB copies. 

IDG

The Gold S31 wasn’t rated quite as fast as the competition by CrystalDiskMark, but it proved faster in real world testing as shown below.

When all was said and done in those real-world 48GB copies, the Gold S31 proved the fastest drive we’ve ever tested for sustained read and write operations. The 73-millisecond read, and 44-millisecond write seeks measured by AS SSD ( a notoriously fickle test) are also quite good. 

IDG

When it comes to real world large data transfers, the Gold S31 is the fastest drive we’ve tested overall. 

By the total time copying metric shown above, the SK Hynix Gold S31 is the cream of the crop. 

A great drive at the right price

The Gold S31 is a great first effort from SK Hynix. Given similar pricing, I’d opt for the Gold S31 over the vast majority of the 2.5-inch SATA SSDs on the market.

Samsung 870 EVO SATA SSD Review: The Best Just Got Better (Updated)

Tom’s Hardware Verdict

Samsung’s 4TB 870 EVO is not only spacious, but it also offers plenty of speed and is very efficient under any workload. It’s a great choice for those in need of a SATA upgrade.

Pros
  • +

    Reliable and responsive architecture

  • +

    Appealing aesthetics

  • +

    AES 256-bit encryption

  • +

    Capacities up to 4TB

  • +

    5-year warranty

  • +

    Software suite

Cons
  • —

    Premium price

Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Update 1/30/2021: We have updated this article with new testing for the 4TB Samsung 870 EVO SATA SSD on page 2.

Original Review published 1/21/2021:

Samsung’s 870 EVO succeeds the hottest-selling SATA SSD on the market, the company’s own 860 EVO, so it has big shoes to fill. Normally, this would be a challenge, but for Samsung, it’s like clockwork: Samsung’s 870 EVO is now our top pick for those looking for the best consumer SATA SSD on the market.

Offering up high-ranking performance and efficiency, spacious capacities, and well regarded by many for high reliability, Samsung’s SSDs have earned quite the following and reputation over the years. The company hopes to build on its reputation with the addition of Samsung’s 870 EVO to its lineup that’s built on years of the company’s flash expertise. 

Samsung’s 870 EVO is the most refined version yet, courtesy of its latest 6th-gen 128-Layer V-NAND TLC flash and an updated MKX ‘Metis’ SATA 6Gbps controller. Still bottlenecked by the SATA interface, the new SSD doesn’t stand a chance against the latest NVMe SSDs. Still, Samsung says the 870 EVO offers up to 38% higher performance for everyday computing tasks over its predecessor, and the 250GB model sees an up to 30% improvement in sustained write performance.

Specifications 

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Product 870 EVO 250GB 870 EVO 500GB 870 EVO 1TB 870 EVO 2TB 870 EVO 4TB
Pricing $39.99 $69.99 $129.99 $249.99 $479.99
Capacity (User / Raw) 250GB / 256GB 500GB / 512GB 1000GB / 1024GB 2000GB / 2048GB 4000GB / 4096GB
Form Factor 2. 5″ 7mm 2.5″ 7mm 2.5″ 7mm 2.5″ 7mm 2.5″ 7mm
Interface / Protocol SATA 6 Gbps / AHCI SATA 6 Gbps / AHCI SATA 6 Gbps / AHCI SATA 6 Gbps / AHCI SATA 6 Gbps / AHCI
Controller Samsung MKX ‘Metis’ Samsung MKX ‘Metis’ Samsung MKX ‘Metis’ Samsung MKX ‘Metis’ Samsung MKX ‘Metis’
DRAM Samsung LPDDR4 Samsung LPDDR4 Samsung LPDDR4 Samsung LPDDR4 Samsung LPDDR4
Memory Samsung 128L TLC Samsung 128L TLC Samsung 128L TLC Samsung 128L TLC Samsung 128L TLC
Sequential Read 560 MBps 560 MBps 560 MBps 560 MBps 560 MBps
Sequential Write 530 MBps 530 MBps 530 MBps 530 MBps 530 MBps
Random Read 98,000 IOPS 98,000 IOPS 98,000 IOPS 98,000 IOPS 98,000 IOPS
Random Write 88,000 IOPS 88,000 IOPS 88,000 IOPS 88,000 IOPS 88,000 IOPS
Security AES 256-bit encryption  AES 256-bit encryption  AES 256-bit encryption  AES 256-bit encryption  AES 256-bit encryption 
Endurance (TBW) 150 TB 300 TB 600 TB 1,200 TB 2,400 TB
Part Number MZ-77E250 MZ-77E500 MZ-77E1T0 MZ-77E2T0 MZ-77E4T0
Warranty 5-Years 5-Years 5-Years 5-Years 5-Years

Samsung’s 870 EVO is available in almost every capacity you could need, ranging from sizes as small as 250GB up to 4TB for the data hoarders who need the extra space. Each capacity comes at premium MSRPs, with prices ranging from $0.12-$0.16 per gigabyte. 

Samsung rates the 870 EVO to deliver sequential speeds of up to 560/530 MBps and sustain up to 98,000/88,000 random read/write IOPS across the board. In regards to the Intelligent TurboWrite algorithm, Samsung did not disclose any changes. 

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Intelligent TurboWrite
Capacity 250GB 500GB 1TB 2TB 4TB
SLC Write Cache 12 GB 22 GB 42 GB 78 GB 78 GB

Each capacity should measure similar to that of the 860 EVO — typically, it will have a 6GB-12GB of static SLC cache paired with a dynamic SLC cache that spans tens of gigabytes. Speed degradation was not apparent in our testing of the 1TB and 4TB model, but it may impact the smaller models.  

The 870 EVO is over-provisioned by 9%, with most of that space set aside for controller use and background block management. Samsung backs the 870 EVO with a five-year warranty, and the drives can absorb up to 150TB of write data per 250GB of capacity, meaning the 4TB model is rated to handle 2,400 TB of writes within its warranty period.

Not only is it rated to be endurant, but it’s also potentially very secure with the option to use TCG Opal 2.0-compliant AES 256-bit full disk encryption for those whose data needs the added protection from prying eyes. 

Software and Accessories 

Samsung supports customers with data migration software for easy cloning and the Samsung Magician SSD toolbox. Samsung Magician allows you to monitor your SSD’s health via reading its S.M.A.R.T. data report, upgrade the SSD’s firmware if applicable, secure erase, and even benchmark your drives.   

A Closer Look 

Image 1 of 6

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Samsung’s 870 EVO comes in a 2.5” 7mm form factor and has a sleek, black anodized aluminum casing, that gives it a quality feel over cheaper competitors. 

Opening up the 870 EVO reveals very tiny PCBs, not only for the 1TB model but also the 4TB model. 

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Samsung’s 870 EVO is powered by the company’s MKX ‘Metis’ SATA 6Gbps controller, the same one powering the 870 QVO. The company did not disclose details, like how many or what type of cores the controller has, their speeds, or what process node it was built on. We do know it’s based on an ARM architecture (possibly tri-core like the MJX ‘Maru’ controller before it) and leverages DRAM for FTL metadata caching. Samsung’s own LPDDR4 DRAM resides next to the controller, measuring 1GB on our 1TB sample and 4GB on our 4TB sample.  

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The controller also has eight NAND flash channels to maintain high levels of interleaving with Samsung’s 6th-gen 512Gb 128-Layer V-NAND TLC. This new flash offers very low latency, communicating with the controller at Toggle DDR4.0 speeds up to 1.4 GTps. Like the company’s previous flash, it is still dual-plane, but due to sub-planes, the die supports very fast performance on par with or exceeding that of most competitors.  

MORE: Best SSDs

MORE: How We Test HDDs And SSDs

MORE: All SSD Content

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Sean is a Contributing Editor at Tom’s Hardware US, covering storage hardware.

15 Best SSDs 2022 — Solid State Drive Rating

Table of contents

Speed, reliability and silence — thanks to these three qualities, solid state drives, aka SSDs, single-handedly beat hard drives (HDD) and firmly settled in our computers, laptops and game consoles. The best SSDs, from time-tested SATA to speed giants with PCIe 4.0 interface, are in my rating!

15. GIGABYTE 120 GB SATA GP-GSTFS31120GNTD

  • Read/write speed: 500/380 MB/s
  • Interfaces: SATA 6Gb/s
  • Connector: SATA

The little gray box at a very reasonable price will keep your data safe and will do so for a long time — it has a lifespan of 2 million hours of continuous use and a warranty of more than three years.

Judging by user reviews, owners of companies with offices are especially fond of this disc — it is cheap, but at the same time very hardy, and marriage is very rare. The Gigabyte device will be appreciated by both students and those who just need a disc for movies and music. The model can be used in a PC, and the combination of price / endurance makes it one of the best options in the top ssd for a laptop. nine0003

Price

Reliability

For a long time for failure — 1 million hours

Small volume

14.

KingSton A400 240 GB SATA SATA SA400S37/240G

9000 9000

  • Entry speed: 500/350 MB/s

    • 22

  • Interfaces: SATA 6Gb/s
  • Connector: SATA

Another hardy workhorse for the average person who doesn’t need ultra-fast gaming and doesn’t deal with huge amounts of data. And those who just want Windows to load faster, but there was somewhere to store documents and photos. nine0003

Kingston A400 more than meets these requirements: it is simple, reliable, inexpensive, moderately fast and therefore very popular. It uses a 40nm Phison S11 as a controller. The memory used is TLC NAND from Toshiba.

Price

Reliability

Endurance

Low speed

13. Seagate Firecuda 530 1 TB M.2 ZP1000gm3a013

  • Reading/Records: 7300/6900 MB/

    • 22

  • Interfaces: SATA 6Gb/s
  • Connector: SATA

Seagate is one of the biggest names in storage, and the new FireCuda 530 doesn’t disgrace its creator. It is based on the Phison E18 controller, which provides insane speed — one of the highest in the SSD market. It’s not quite stable though — some other drives (for example, WD Black SN850, fifth place in the rating) provide more uniform speed, but the numbers are still impressive.

And, besides, the phenomenal endurance that the Barracudas have always been famous for has not gone away — in the reviews, experts note that this is something amazing, one of the most reliable SSDs. I will also add that the drive is compatible with the PS5, and for a certain fee you can buy a cooler for it, specially optimized for the latest generation of curling irons. nine0003

very fast

reliable

  • Interfaces: SATA 6Gb/s
  • Connector: SATA

    • Good disc in terms of price/quality/resource ratio. High speed for its price range, decent capacity, durability — what else do you need for file storage or a Windows boot drive?

    The memory of this model is 32-layer 3D TLC NAND, the controller is Silicon Motion SM2258XT. There is no DRAM cache, only the SLC cache is present, and if it is insufficient, the speed drops significantly. But this is a common drawback of budget SSDs. nine0003

    reliability and durability

    good speed for SATA III

    gets warm

  • Connection type: USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C
  • Maximum read speed: 2000 Mb/s
  • Maximum write speed: 2000 Mbps
  • Form factor: 1.8″

    • This silver beauty is one of the best portable SSDs on the market. He does not have enough stars from the sky — there are more spacious, and smaller, and faster than him. Even its data transfer rate is not the highest, but still generally higher than that of competitors. nine0003

    But the combination of all these qualities of the Kingston XS2000 is hard to beat. It can be used as a flash device, it will easily fit in your pocket or bag, and the capacity from 500 MB to 2 TB ensures that you have enough space for important documents, as well as for presentations and projects. It’s nice that the kit comes with a convenient rubber case so that the device does not lose its presentation.

    appearance

    compactness

    rubber boot included

    10. Crucial BX 480 GB SATA CT480BX500SSD1

    • Read/write speed: 540/500 MB/s
    • Interfaces: SATA 6Gb/s
    • Connector: SATA

    While the Samsung 870 EVO is faster and more spacious, the Crucial BX500 has the advantage of being one of the cheapest SSDs on the market. Judging by the tests of CrystalDiskMark, the speed declared by the manufacturer corresponds to the real one. And even under load, the drive case does not heat up much — up to about 50 degrees.

    Will appeal to those who need maximum performance at the lowest price and at the same time a sane life. However, I recommend making backups for every firefighter — once a year even a stick shoots. nine0003

    Price

    Speed ​​

    Reliability

    Theoretically small supply of rewrites

    9.

    Corsair 2 TB M.2 CSSD-F2000GBMP600PRO

    • Record speed: 7000/6550 MB/

      • 22

    • Interfaces: PCI-E
    • Connector: M.2

    Expensive, playful and roomy — these three words can describe the MP600 PRO LPX model from Corsair. The disc is made for gamers, it can be installed both on a personal computer and PS5, if you are lucky enough to get it. nine0003

    Games will simply fly on it — in benchmarks, the drive demonstrates the highest performance, overtaking even the Samsung 980 Pro, the first place in the 2022 SSD drive rating in terms of price / quality. But it also stands like a small wing from an airplane. Well, at least in the kit there is a low-profile cooler specifically for the PS5.

    Cooler included

    Very fast

    Very spacious

    Very expensive

    8. Samsung 860 Pro

    • 0012
    • Interfaces: SATA 6Gb/s
    • Connector: SATA

    The SATA3 interface is far from being as fashionable as it once was, but some models came out so successful that it would be a shame not to talk about them in the top SSD of 2022. One such model is the Samsung 860 Pro with a high performance MJX controller operating at 1.0 GHz.

    The capacities of the drive are impressive, up to 4 TB, there is a DRAM buffer, and the transfer speed is at the upper limit of available SATA III capacities and is stable as a rock. And, most importantly, it is a very reliable and secure (supports all hardware encryption standards) model, which is confirmed by customer reviews. nine0003

    reliable

    at least 5 years

  • Interfaces: PCI-E
  • Connector: M.2

    • Despite the fact that this model from Samsung is only with a PCIe 3.0 interface, and in terms of speed it is far from the second place in the rating (980 Pro), however, if you do not have to process large amounts of data on duty, then 980 — quite a good model and at a reasonable price (especially for 1 TB). nine0003

    The system will load instantly (customers write — time from 1 to 1.5 seconds), games — fly, and what else does an ordinary user need?

    fast

    quiet

  • Interfaces: SATA 6Gb/s
  • Connector: SATA

    • If you prefer traditional 2. 5″ SATA drives over tiny M.2 drives, don’t need crazy speeds, but want simple, honest and reliable storage, then the 870 EVO is a great choice. nine0003

    This is one of the fastest drives among SATA drives, with capacities up to 4 TB, so your entire collection of children’s cartoons will fit more than enough. I will also add that the “old man”, like other Samsungs, has excellent software — Samsung Magician SSD, a long warranty period and high reliability.

    stable speed

    reliability

    long warranty

    0003

    • Read/write speed: 7000/4100 MB/s
    • Interfaces: PCI-E
    • Connector: M.2

    One of the fastest PCIe 4.0 drives ever to hit the market today. True, according to this characteristic, it is inferior to the FireCuda 530 (13th place in the rating).

    Then why fifth place? Because super-high speed and at the same time a moderate price for PCIe 4.0. In addition, this drive is not only fast, but also provides outstanding performance — the real transfer rate is as stable as a concrete wall. There is also a capacious DRAM buffer, so the 512 GB model has a buffer up to 512 MB DDR4. And the durability is at the level: according to the manufacturer, the drive can live 1.7 million hours. nine0003

    very high speed

    good proprietary software

    heats up, no heatsink included

    4. Corsair 1 TB CSSD-F1000GBMP400

    • Interfaces: PCI-E
    • PCI-E type: PCI-E 3.0 x4
    • Recommended: gaming, laptop and desktop

    Corsair deals in products for gamers, and they also have a gaming SSD. Its volume in the maximum version is impressive, all games and a little more will fit. Its interface is PCIe 3.0 — although not as fast as 4.0, it is more than enough for games. nine0003

    The only drawback of the M400 is that it is not as durable as its price counterparts. But for ordinary users who do not drive huge amounts of data through the disk, but use it for games and storing films and documents, the M400 resource will last for at least several years.

    fast

    high capacity

    3D QLC NAND memory — its reliability is not yet fully understood

    3. Silicon Power 1TB M.2 SP001TBP34A80M28

    • 0012
    • Interfaces: PCI-E
    • Connector: M.2

    Considered to be one of the most inexpensive SSDs among PCI 4.0 SSDs. It is equipped with a robust Phison E12 controller and TLC 3D, NAND flash, but it has several competitors that beat Silicon Power in speed (for example, the first place in the 2022 SSD rating).

    A strange solution doesn’t help either — for some reason the designers decided to make the SSD board a bright blue color, which against the background of traditionally black components will hurt the eye. Another strange decision is that the sticker that interferes with heat transfer cannot be torn off, otherwise the warranty will be lost. Fortunately, the interference is small — only 1-2 degrees, but still unpleasant. nine0003

    fast

    relatively inexpensive

    warranty depends on interfering sticker

  • Interfaces: PCIe
  • Connector: M. 2

    • The company «Samsung» — is not a novice in matters of computer. Therefore, the continuation of the EVO line — Samsung 970 EVO Plus — came out no worse and even better than the original. The data transfer speed has increased — according to the manufacturer, the reason is V-Nand technology, efficient use of NVMe and optimized firmware. This will be especially appreciated by buyers who, by the nature of their work, have to deal with the distillation of large data arrays — for example, for CAD. For games, it is perhaps too powerful. nine0003

    The drive doesn’t even get particularly hot — the reason is said to be automatic temperature monitoring and cooling when required by the Dynamic Thermal Guard system. And, what is especially pleasant, despite such technical perfection, the disc is not particularly expensive.

    stable high speed

    proprietary control and test software

    need m2 screw, not included

    00 MB/s / 5000 MB/s

  • Interfaces: PCI-E
  • Connector: M. 2

    • If you’re ready to spend your hard-earned hard-earned money in the pursuit of the perfect drive, I advise you to pay attention to the Samsung 980 PRO, one of the fastest SSDs on the market. Judging by the articles of experts, this is almost an ideal option for a PC — especially if we consider the capacity of 1 TB.

    Although the Samsung 980 PRO can hardly be called cheap, it does not require too much for its high speed — the price is not much higher than competitors of the same class. Please note that to fully enjoy the speed, PCIe-4.0 is a must. The data transfer rate over this interface is twice as fast as PCIe 3.0 — and we are talking about the same drive! Form factor 980 PRO is compact, M.2 2280, so you can easily shove it into a PC system unit or a thin laptop.

    staggering speed

    PCIe 4.0

    will cost a lot

    high heat

    How to choose an SSD drive for your computer

    Connector

    How exactly will your drive be connected to a PC or laptop. Most often there are two:

    SATA — a traditional l-shaped connector on the motherboard. Also suitable for hard drives. nine0003

    M.2 — Supports both SATA 3 and NVMe (PCIe 3.0 and PCI 4.0). The most frequent guest on modern motherboards. In order not to be mistaken, I suggest that you carefully study the documentation, because this connector can potentially support three different interfaces. Therefore, when choosing a drive for an M.2 connector, you must choose a device compatible with the motherboard interface.

    These discs are available in 2.5″ format as well as thinner and narrower records exclusively for M.2. While 2.5-inch platters usually have an aluminum case that dissipates heat well, then M.2 platters may require a special cooler. Especially if you want to mount the disc in PS5. nine0003

    Interface

    The most important parameter to know when answering the question of which SSD hard drive is better to buy.

    SATA 2. The oldest interface, although it is still used in the PlayStation 4. Allows a maximum speed of 300 Mb / s.

    SATA 3. Can reach speeds up to 600 Mb/s. A good option if you do not need to drive large amounts of data through the disk, but you need ordinary household use: toys, music, movies, documents. Also keep in mind that the usual average connection speed in Moscow and the region becomes about 500-600 Mbps, that is, in this aspect, you simply won’t notice the difference between SATA 3 and PCIe 4.0 — anyway, the recording will be limited by the speed of the Internet. Such discs can be found in the traditional 2.5-inch format, as well as in the form of small M.2 platters. nine0003

    PCIe 3.0. May be 2-way or 4-way; the first develops a speed of about 2 Gb / s, the second can reach up to 4 Gb / s.

    PCIe 4.0. Today it is the latest generation standard, it develops maximum speed — twice as much as its four-lane 3. 0 counterpart. I will only add that using it for everyday tasks is like carrying water on a trotter. You will not notice the difference between a trotter and an ordinary workhorse during this procedure, but you will pay more. Whether it’s worth it is up to you. In addition, the standard has not yet been tested enough, and due to optimization problems, drives with this interface may show worse results than PCIe 3.0. nine0003

    Which type of ssd memory is better

    SSD memory is NAND non-volatile solid-state memory chips and a controller that, in fact, regulates the process of writing and “playing” data. Chips can be compared to honeycombs, where information is hidden in each cell — from 1 to 4 bits. When overwriting data, «cells» are gradually destroyed, and sooner or later fail.

    The more data in a cell, the more it is accessed and the faster it is destroyed. Four options are currently possible:

    1. SLC — one charge (not offered in household drives, too expensive),
    2. MLC — two,
    3. TLC — three,
    4. QLC, respectively, four.

    MLC — the most reliable, but also the most expensive. QLC is the cheapest, but also the most leisurely. TLC is the most common, so it is a middle ground between the first and second options. Which is better — SSD TLC or MLC? Many factors play a role here: how much disk space (the larger, the less likely it is to be overwritten), how often you plan to use it, what is the declared warranty period and overwriting resource (TBW). In general, even economy models can last longer than the warranty period, unless, of course, you record and erase several films a day. nine0003

    It is worth focusing on the following indicators: TLC on average can live 5-6 years (about 1000 rewrite cycles), and MLC can last a couple of years more — up to 8 years (about 3000 cycles).

    Capacity

    For an operating system, 120-240 GB is enough, for a game disc you should choose a size of 500 GB, for music and movies — here the more the better. Of course, the larger the capacity, the more expensive you will have to pay. And if the interface is also the latest, the «four» — get ready to part with a round sum. nine0003

    Operating time

    It is designated TBW — terabytes written, how many terabytes can be written before the SSD goes to the land of eternal hunting. The approximate lifespan of your drive can be calculated by dividing the TBW in GB by the approximate amount of data you plan to overwrite each day.

    The best ssd drive for a computer

    This is the one that is ideal for the task at hand.

    • SATA 3 120-240 GB in size is enough to boot operating systems, provided, of course, that you have another disk allocated for the “file trash can”. nine0012
    • For gaming, PCIe 3.0 is preferred, and if you’re a happy PS5 owner, you should start building models based on PCIe 4.0.
    • Large SATA 3 will be enough to store music and movies.
    • If you have to deal with heavy programs at work, if you are an engineer or a designer, then speed is crucial. PCIe 3. 0 or (better but more expensive) PCIe 4.0 will do. Here you can see with the naked eye the difference between 3.0 and 4.0. nine0012

    And the main rule is that all models must have a TBW resource of 200 or more. Please note that the larger the volume, the higher the durability of the disc, all other things being equal.

    The best ssd manufacturers

    There are many strong players in the SSD market now:

    • Adata — there are several very successful budget models
    • Corsair — specialize in gaming SSDs
    • Kingston — inexpensive but durable
    • Samsung — excellent quality at a moderate and high price
    • Seagate — there are both flagships and budget models, famous for its endurance
    • Western Digital — various SSDs for every taste, good price / quality ratio

    rating of good SSD drives [TOP 10]