About finding an inexpensive replacement for an older SSD
On the eve of the new year I decided to finally update the SSD in my self-assembled NAS. If I were not the author, but the reader of this post, questions would immediately arise. Why in NAS SSD? What is the point of buying something now, when prices jump like fleas? I will answer all this, as well as show the results of the three benchmarks with respect to the budget SSD with a capacity of 240-256 GB from ADATA, Kingston and Toshiba.
The SSD in my NAS on a 4-core Intel Atom appeared completely by accident. For many years, the system stood on a 2.5-inch WD with a capacity of 160 GB, and, according to SMART, it was not at all planned to die. But once, out of curiosity, I flooded the image with the system on Intel's old SSD, and I was just amazed how much everything became faster. And opening files over the network, and launching applications, and even copying a large number of small files (for example, photos) to external media. Plus, after traveling, I usually use NAS for batch processing of photos in Lightroom (everything works under Windows 7 Pro), and when the swap file is on the SSD, it has a positive effect on the performance and temperature inside the compact case. In general, a bunch of SSD and WD Red hard disk with a capacity of 4 TB seemed to me optimal, until one old sore appeared.
')
As many remember, the first SSDs did not support the TRIM command, which allows the operating system to notify the SSD about which data blocks are no longer contained in the file system and can be used by the drive for physical deletion. The absence of these notifications leads to a gradual decrease in the recording speed to very low values. Yes, see for yourself.
The SSD itself, although it worked for 13,170 hours, by all indications will live another hundred years, but writing 26 MB / s makes little use of it. It is treated either by formatting the disk and restoring from a backup (which is easy, but troublesome), or by replacing the drive with a more modern model. Having fiddled with the year with the first option, I decided to choose the second.
I drove to Savelovsky Market at a very good time - December 16th. Citizens with glowing eyes stranded from the windows all in a row - from "iPhones" to laptops. In the store, which is kept by my good friends, there was a natural turn for laptops. So I was just given three available SSDs of the right size (I ordered something moderately expensive at 256 GB) and asked to make a decision at home, and then bring the extra drives along with the money. As I later found out, on this day, the store made a two-week proceeds, and even what had been gathering dust on the shop window for more than a year was sold.
The following models appeared on my hands:
- ADATA Premier Pro SP600 (ASP600S3-256GM, 256 GB)
- Kingston ssdNOW 300 (SV300S37A, 240 GB)
- Toshiba Q Series Pro (HDTS3, 256 GB)
For a long time I did not buy SSD in retail-packaging, and therefore, not without surprise, I found out that now there is always performance data on it. Like, and nothing to test - for you all done. However, I decided to double-check the stated characteristics with the help of the free, but smart CrystalDiskMark utility. And for good reason!
The ADATA SSD comes in a compact cardboard box, and in addition to the brief and rather useless instructions, there is only a plastic frame with double-sided tape glued in, designed to fit the drive into a standard 9 mm connector (the thickness of this model is only 7 mm). On the SSD case, traditionally for ADATA, the serial number for Acronis True Image HD 2013 is pasted. Quite a useful bonus. On the box we are promised a read speed of up to 540 MB / s and a write speed of up to 290 MB / s.
We are checking.
Well, by appointment, everything is fair, you won’t reproach. In reading, however, up to 540 MB / s remained decently, but we will not be outraged. Very much depends on the compatibility of a particular controller with a specific chipset on the motherboard. In our case, this is a four-channel JMicron JMF661 and Intel ID9C43, built-in processor Core i7-4500U. On older chipsets, such as the Intel Z77, performance may be even lower.
SSD Kingston comes in the usual plastic blister. However, there was a place for a thickening rectangle in it. The inscription on the package promises us 450 MB / s when reading and writing. We start a benchmark.
Congratulations, comrades, lied. If everything is as read, as promised, and even in excess, then a recording at 220 MB / s is twice as low as the stated characteristics. Not good. Not good at all. SandForce is evil. I rechecked the data on the machine with the Z77, and the result was the same, only the reading speed is lower. I respect Kingston for a long time, and therefore I checked the results obtained by other authors. The results are different: someone writes that even more than 450 MB / s record, someone shows the numbers, like mine. I suspect the SandForce chipset case, famous for its mysterious oddities. Perhaps it will work for you, as it should, but on my machines - alas.
Toshiba SSD comes in a rather large box for products of this kind, where the thickening frame and a little waste paper are already familiar. The manufacturer promises an impressive speed: up to 554 MB / s when reading and up to 512 MB / s when writing. We are checking.
Peaks are not achieved, but the speed is still impressive. Especially when recording. Toshiba TC358790XBG controller shows its best. In fact, we are dealing with an absolute record holder, and ADATA is ahead of it only in one indicator (reading 4K).
It turns out, the choice is obvious?
Not really. As we know, prices are now a mess, and sellers often draw figures that seem reasonable only to them personally. But let's look at the average Yandex.Market.
The record holder is again Toshiba. Still, it’s not for nothing that the Pro is in the title: the speed is suitable, but the price is a third higher than that of the Kingston. The latter, by the way, is also not cheap, especially considering the unfriendly controller and the smallest volume (actually 224 GB versus 238 for ADATA and Toshiba).
And cheaper all today is ADATA. Some sellers who are especially resistant to stress manage to sell this SSD at 6,000.
Well well. Memory is used everywhere type MLC. Kingston and ADATA have a three-year warranty, for some reason Toshiba has only two years. These are, of course, fairly conventional numbers, which speak little about the durability of drives. Those who mount the video in industrial quantities, can easily kill the SSD for six months, and in normal mode it will work for ten years, no less.
And yet, after weighing the pros and cons, I stopped at ADATA. Record writing speed for my tasks is not needed, reading is parity, and it's nice to save.
It looks like next year we will again be forced to picky when choosing equipment and components for computers. Thoughtful analysis of benchmarks, heated discussions in the forums, and only then - buying. Admit it, you are bored.
The SSD in my NAS on a 4-core Intel Atom appeared completely by accident. For many years, the system stood on a 2.5-inch WD with a capacity of 160 GB, and, according to SMART, it was not at all planned to die. But once, out of curiosity, I flooded the image with the system on Intel's old SSD, and I was just amazed how much everything became faster. And opening files over the network, and launching applications, and even copying a large number of small files (for example, photos) to external media. Plus, after traveling, I usually use NAS for batch processing of photos in Lightroom (everything works under Windows 7 Pro), and when the swap file is on the SSD, it has a positive effect on the performance and temperature inside the compact case. In general, a bunch of SSD and WD Red hard disk with a capacity of 4 TB seemed to me optimal, until one old sore appeared.
')
As many remember, the first SSDs did not support the TRIM command, which allows the operating system to notify the SSD about which data blocks are no longer contained in the file system and can be used by the drive for physical deletion. The absence of these notifications leads to a gradual decrease in the recording speed to very low values. Yes, see for yourself.
The SSD itself, although it worked for 13,170 hours, by all indications will live another hundred years, but writing 26 MB / s makes little use of it. It is treated either by formatting the disk and restoring from a backup (which is easy, but troublesome), or by replacing the drive with a more modern model. Having fiddled with the year with the first option, I decided to choose the second.
I drove to Savelovsky Market at a very good time - December 16th. Citizens with glowing eyes stranded from the windows all in a row - from "iPhones" to laptops. In the store, which is kept by my good friends, there was a natural turn for laptops. So I was just given three available SSDs of the right size (I ordered something moderately expensive at 256 GB) and asked to make a decision at home, and then bring the extra drives along with the money. As I later found out, on this day, the store made a two-week proceeds, and even what had been gathering dust on the shop window for more than a year was sold.
The following models appeared on my hands:
- ADATA Premier Pro SP600 (ASP600S3-256GM, 256 GB)
- Kingston ssdNOW 300 (SV300S37A, 240 GB)
- Toshiba Q Series Pro (HDTS3, 256 GB)
For a long time I did not buy SSD in retail-packaging, and therefore, not without surprise, I found out that now there is always performance data on it. Like, and nothing to test - for you all done. However, I decided to double-check the stated characteristics with the help of the free, but smart CrystalDiskMark utility. And for good reason!
The ADATA SSD comes in a compact cardboard box, and in addition to the brief and rather useless instructions, there is only a plastic frame with double-sided tape glued in, designed to fit the drive into a standard 9 mm connector (the thickness of this model is only 7 mm). On the SSD case, traditionally for ADATA, the serial number for Acronis True Image HD 2013 is pasted. Quite a useful bonus. On the box we are promised a read speed of up to 540 MB / s and a write speed of up to 290 MB / s.
We are checking.
Well, by appointment, everything is fair, you won’t reproach. In reading, however, up to 540 MB / s remained decently, but we will not be outraged. Very much depends on the compatibility of a particular controller with a specific chipset on the motherboard. In our case, this is a four-channel JMicron JMF661 and Intel ID9C43, built-in processor Core i7-4500U. On older chipsets, such as the Intel Z77, performance may be even lower.
SSD Kingston comes in the usual plastic blister. However, there was a place for a thickening rectangle in it. The inscription on the package promises us 450 MB / s when reading and writing. We start a benchmark.
Congratulations, comrades, lied. If everything is as read, as promised, and even in excess, then a recording at 220 MB / s is twice as low as the stated characteristics. Not good. Not good at all. SandForce is evil. I rechecked the data on the machine with the Z77, and the result was the same, only the reading speed is lower. I respect Kingston for a long time, and therefore I checked the results obtained by other authors. The results are different: someone writes that even more than 450 MB / s record, someone shows the numbers, like mine. I suspect the SandForce chipset case, famous for its mysterious oddities. Perhaps it will work for you, as it should, but on my machines - alas.
Toshiba SSD comes in a rather large box for products of this kind, where the thickening frame and a little waste paper are already familiar. The manufacturer promises an impressive speed: up to 554 MB / s when reading and up to 512 MB / s when writing. We are checking.
Peaks are not achieved, but the speed is still impressive. Especially when recording. Toshiba TC358790XBG controller shows its best. In fact, we are dealing with an absolute record holder, and ADATA is ahead of it only in one indicator (reading 4K).
It turns out, the choice is obvious?
Not really. As we know, prices are now a mess, and sellers often draw figures that seem reasonable only to them personally. But let's look at the average Yandex.Market.
The record holder is again Toshiba. Still, it’s not for nothing that the Pro is in the title: the speed is suitable, but the price is a third higher than that of the Kingston. The latter, by the way, is also not cheap, especially considering the unfriendly controller and the smallest volume (actually 224 GB versus 238 for ADATA and Toshiba).
And cheaper all today is ADATA. Some sellers who are especially resistant to stress manage to sell this SSD at 6,000.
Well well. Memory is used everywhere type MLC. Kingston and ADATA have a three-year warranty, for some reason Toshiba has only two years. These are, of course, fairly conventional numbers, which speak little about the durability of drives. Those who mount the video in industrial quantities, can easily kill the SSD for six months, and in normal mode it will work for ten years, no less.
And yet, after weighing the pros and cons, I stopped at ADATA. Record writing speed for my tasks is not needed, reading is parity, and it's nice to save.
It looks like next year we will again be forced to picky when choosing equipment and components for computers. Thoughtful analysis of benchmarks, heated discussions in the forums, and only then - buying. Admit it, you are bored.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/364835/
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