Thinking of 1TB SSD upgrade, have questions.

[SwearinAaron]

1. Life expectancy - Most of the time when I hear somebody mention an SSD, they will say "I use it for windows, games, certain applications" etc. Is this because it is unwise to have all of your data on just an SSD instead of the traditional HDD/SSD combo? This information is important to me since I plan to use just a SSD for storage..

2. Brands - Right now, I'm currently looking into the Samsung 860 EVO, Samsung 860 QVO, WD Blue 1TB SSD, and possibly a Crucial MX500. Obviously all of these drives are excellent in their own respective ways, but in terms of reliability and software (Monitoring, boosting, data transfers) which brand do you think excels the best?

3. Backup - I understand that even If I did everything I could to prevent it, drive failure can never be ruled out. What backup software would you guys recommend? (I'll hang on to my WD Blue HDD too if the day ever comes that I should need it)

[Korra]

Ssd's wear out over time. Meaning it loses storage over time. That why you may have to replace an SSD every few years. For me, I have a 256gb SSD and only have windows installed on it. And I have a 2tb sshd for everything else. All my games load up extreamely fast and load almost instantly in fact.

[Omega]

1. No, this is because these people buy a small SSD which is only big enough to fit one of those things. SSDs are significantly more reliable then HDDs.

2. The 860 EVO is basically the fastest a SATA SSD can get. The QVO I believe slower then the EVO and has significantly less write cycles, but it's cheaper. Don't even bother with any other SSD brand when already looking at the EVO, Samsung SSDs are some of the best on the market and they are one of the largest supliers of NAND flash. Even when you don't buy Samsung you likely are still buying Samsung.

3. Windows has build-in tools for that, no need for third party software. Don't bother backing up your whole drive, just backup important files. Push really important files to the cloud (Dropbox, Onedrive etc..) or another external location.

Първоначално публикувано от BellyButton:

Ssd's wear out over time. Meaning it loses storage over time. That why you may have to replace an SSD every few years. For me, I have a 256gb SSD and only have windows installed on it. And I have a 2tb sshd for everything else. All my games load up extreamely fast and load almost instantly in fact.

Once an SSD starts losing storage it's done for. Modern SSDs will easily last a decade or longer during normal usage before this happens.

Only applications running from the SSD will load faster. Running Windows off an SSD will not make your games on the HDD load faster.

[Azza ☠]

Firstly check, does your motherboard have M.2 SSD slots on it? These are flat, small slots against the motherboard inbetween the standard PCI-e slots. If you know your motherboard model, just google search it.

If so, get a "M.2 NVMe SSD", as that will make use of PCI-e performance with more bandwidth and direct access to the motherboard.

I would personally recommend Samsung SSD 860 or 970.

Then install the "Samsung Magician", this brand comes with tools to copy everything over, setting up the SSD and Windows correctly for you.

Ideally, you want TRIM enabled, the Windows Page File locked in size, and Windows Indexing disabled.

The SSD will last for ages, so long there's no crazy read/write of new data all the time upon it. The above settings help a lot to prevent that for occurring, therefore prolonging it's lifespan. If you need to know how to manually do those, just ask, however the Samsung Tools do it for you. Windows 10 (later builds) can also detect a SSD and help adjusts itself accordingly.

[SwearinAaron]

Първоначално публикувано от Azza ☠:

Firstly check, does your motherboard have M.2 SSD slots on it? These are flat, small slots against the motherboard inbetween the standard PCI-e slots. If you know your motherboard model, just google search it.

If so, get a "M.2 NVMe SSD", as that will make use of PCI-e performance with more bandwidth and direct access to the motherboard.

I would personally recommend Samsung SSD 860 or 970.

Then install the "Samsung Magician", this brand comes with tools to copy everything over, setting up the SSD and Windows correctly for you.

Ideally, you want TRIM enabled, the Windows Page File locked in size, and Windows Indexing disabled.

The SSD will last for ages, so long there's no crazy read/write of new data all the time upon it. The above settings help a lot to prevent that for occurring, therefore prolonging it's lifespan. If you need to know how to manually do those, just ask, however the Samsung Tools do it for you. Windows 10 (later builds) can also detect a SSD and help adjusts itself accordingly.

I do have an M.2 slot on my motherboard but I've kinda strayed away from buying one because the slot for it is right behind my GPU and I'm worried about temps. My motherboard is an MSI B350m Bazooka.

[The Chicagoan]

Първоначално публикувано от Omega:

1. No, this is because these people buy a small SSD which is only big enough to fit one of those things. SSDs are significantly more reliable then HDDs.

yeah, I agree on that one. I had this 1 TB HDD that was the only working and fast HDD that didn't fail on me. I had it in my hand because I was going to put it in my PC. Slipped out of my hand and fell on a concrete floor. It appeared in good condition on the outside, but it stopped working... but I've dropped my SSD a few times and it didn't break, nor fail and I've had my SSD for almost a year now.

[Azza ☠]

Първоначално публикувано от Winds Howling:

Първоначално публикувано от Azza ☠:

Firstly check, does your motherboard have M.2 SSD slots on it? These are flat, small slots against the motherboard inbetween the standard PCI-e slots. If you know your motherboard model, just google search it.

If so, get a "M.2 NVMe SSD", as that will make use of PCI-e performance with more bandwidth and direct access to the motherboard.

I would personally recommend Samsung SSD 860 or 970.

Then install the "Samsung Magician", this brand comes with tools to copy everything over, setting up the SSD and Windows correctly for you.

Ideally, you want TRIM enabled, the Windows Page File locked in size, and Windows Indexing disabled.

The SSD will last for ages, so long there's no crazy read/write of new data all the time upon it. The above settings help a lot to prevent that for occurring, therefore prolonging it's lifespan. If you need to know how to manually do those, just ask, however the Samsung Tools do it for you. Windows 10 (later builds) can also detect a SSD and help adjusts itself accordingly.

I do have an M.2 slot on my motherboard but I've kinda strayed away from buying one because the slot for it is right behind my GPU and I'm worried about temps. My motherboard is an MSI B350m Bazooka.

You will probably have to temporary remove the graphics card to place it in, fiddle with a little screw at the end of the M.2 slot and perhaps have to setup under your BIOS, however I would personally highly recommend using that.

It's a feature of some gaming motherboards people normally overlook, but you will NOT be disappointed. My system runs as smooth as butter.

No worries about the temps. It will actually generate way less heat and they can handle a lot, up to temperatures as high as 110C (230F) without a care!

M.2 SSD NVMe support, up to 32 Gb/s using PCI-Express Gen3 x4.

SSD are static and they don't have moving parts, therefore it's more like your RAM. Heat won't affect them as much and they won't generate too much. Most I've seen my SSD temp is 26C.

I suggest before the hardware install, flash updating your BIOS (at least ensure it's version 7A38v1E or higher - as that has improved M.2 compatibility).

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B350M-BAZOOKA

[Autumn_]

Първоначално публикувано от Azza ☠:

Firstly check, does your motherboard have M.2 SSD slots on it? These are flat, small slots against the motherboard inbetween the standard PCI-e slots. If you know your motherboard model, just google search it.

If so, get a "M.2 NVMe SSD", as that will make use of PCI-e performance with more bandwidth and direct access to the motherboard.

I would personally recommend Samsung SSD 860 or 970.

The 860 is SATA not NVMe, but it comes in both 2.5inch and M.2 Formfactors.
You will get the same speed with both.

Just though I'd clear that up.

[Azza ☠]

Първоначално публикувано от Autumn:

Първоначално публикувано от Azza ☠:

Firstly check, does your motherboard have M.2 SSD slots on it? These are flat, small slots against the motherboard inbetween the standard PCI-e slots. If you know your motherboard model, just google search it.

If so, get a "M.2 NVMe SSD", as that will make use of PCI-e performance with more bandwidth and direct access to the motherboard.

I would personally recommend Samsung SSD 860 or 970.

The 860 is SATA not NVMe, but it comes in both 2.5inch and M.2 Formfactors.
You will get the same speed with both.

Just though I'd clear that up.

Yeah you are correct (Not the 860):

Samsung 860 EVO 1TB M.2 SSD (MZ-N6E1T0BW)
• Capacity: 1TB
• Form Factor: 2.5-inch internal SSD
• Speed: 550MB/s Read / 520MB/s Write
• Interface: SATA 6.0Gb/s
• Warranty: 5-Year

Samsung 860 EVO 250GB M.2 SSD (MZ-N6E250BW)
• Capacity: 250GB
• Form Factor: 2.5-inch internal SSD
• Speed: 550MB/s Read / 520MB/s Write
• Interface: SATA 6.0Gb/s
• Warranty: 5-Year

Samsung 860 EVO 500GB M.2 SSD (MZ-N6E500BW)
• Capacity: 500GB
• Form Factor: 2.5-inch internal SSD
• Speed: 550MB/s Read / 520MB/s Write
• Interface: SATA 6.0Gb/s
• Warranty: 5-Year

NVMe versions:

Samsung 970 EVO 250GB M.2 NVMe SSD (MZ-V7E250BW)
• Capacity: 250GB
• Form Factor: M.2 (2280)
• Speed: 3400MB/s Read / 1500MB/s Write
• Interface: PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3
• Warranty: 5-Year

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD (MZ-V7S1T0BW)
• Capacity: 1TB
• Form Factor: M.2 (2280)
• Speed: 3500MB/s Read / 3300MB/s Write
• Interface: PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3
• Warranty: 5-Year

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 250GB M.2 NVMe SSD (MZ-V7S250BW)
• Capacity: 250GB
• Form Factor: M.2 (2280)
• Speed: 3500MB/s Read / 2300MB/s Write
• Interface: PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3
• Warranty: 5-Year

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD (MZ-V7S500BW)
• Capacity: 500GB
• Form Factor: M.2 (2280)
• Speed: 3500MB/s Read / 3200MB/s Write
• Interface: PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3
• Warranty: 5-Year

Samsung 970 PRO 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD (MZ-V7P1T0BW)
• Capacity: 1TB
• Form Factor: M.2 (2280)
• Speed: 3500MB/s Read / 2700MB/s Write
• Interface: PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3
• Warranty: 5-Year

Samsung 970 PRO 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD (MZ-V7P512BW)
• Capacity: 512GB
• Form Factor: M.2 (2280)
• Speed: 3500MB/s Read / 2300MB/s Write
• Interface: PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3
• Warranty: 5-Year

I personally use a "Samsung 970 PRO 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD" and a "Western Digital 3TB Black Edition HDD". Seriously some of the best performance/quality/stability/lifespan. I picked after doing my research and have had zero issues with either.

Note: V-NAND tech on SSD is awesome. The PLUS or PRO versions have superior heat dissipation via Dynamic Thermal Guard (if still worried about temps, this automatically monitors and manages it for you).

[[☥] - CJ -]

Aside from whats already mentioned

There are a select number of games such as large open world games where they run better on an SSD. But the majority of games run perfectly fine on a modern HDD or SSHD.

OS/Apps/Select games on SSD, with everything else on a storage drive is pretty standard these days.

If you already have an HDD and its in good shape, simply format it and use it for storage/games/backups once you get an SSD.

Modern SSDs are able to last quite a while, so longevity with normal use is less of a concern

[nullable]

1. SSD life is fine, they're at least as reliable as HDDs most current SSD's can write more data to them than you've written to every device you've ever handled in your entire life. The whole SSD + HDD thing is really borne out of a period of time when SSD's still cost more than $1 per GB. And unless you had deep pockets you weren't going to get a SSD that could necessarily accommodate all your space needs. But now when you can get a 1TB Crucial MX500 for $134, we're talking about under 7.5¢ per GB. So for my money SSDs are cheap enough now where you can just buy a proper sized SSD and ditch the HDD completely. I already have, and I never plan on buying an HDD again, it's pretty nice. Some people are either cheap enough where they still won't commit, or are just doing things a certain way because they think they have to for some reason and not for any rational reason.

2. Samsung drives are good, I have a bunch, they're a bit more expensive than other drives.there's nothing wrong with the Crucial MX500 if you'd rather save a few bucks that's the way to go. I mean even a so-so SSD is so much nicer than a HDD it's not really worthwhile quibbling all that much. I'm running a 500GB NVMe 970 evo, a 1TB 850 evo and a bargain basement 2TB Micron 1100. The nicest thing about it all is I have plenty of space and no HDDs. Most of the time it just doesn't matter which drive I'm putting something on, it's all generally fast enough.

3. If you're so worried about drive failures... what backup software were you using for your WD HDD? Or is this just a new concern coincidental to your upgrade? I don't have a recommendations for software, but it's not a bad idea. Although it's not something SSDs require as opposed to HDDs.

4. m.2 slots... some people seem to fuss over temps on NVMe's because they can see the PCB or something. I mean I've never heard anyone worry about SSD temps until it gets time to talk about NVMe and plugging it right into the motherboard. It's crazy, you put something in a plastic enclosure and it's like temperatures magically don't exist.

If you have good enough airflow for everything else a NVMe drive doesn't really demand special cooling considerations. I've been running an evo 970 NVMe drive on my i7 8700k/GeForce 1080 ti for 10 months now. No heatsinks, or any fuss, seems fine. I think next build I'm going to go all NVMe because it'll be pretty clean, no SATA cables cluttering things up.

[SwearinAaron]

Okay guys, so I just snagged an Intel NVMe 660p 1TB for $110 on Amazon, original price was $205. I know Intel isn't really one of the "stand out" SSD brands, but for the price, I couldn't really pass it up. I believe the read/write both go up to a max of 1800mbs. Comes with 5yr warranty and has dedicated software via their website for data migration and monitoring. Endurance is 200TB and uses QLC technology. Not the best in the industry but for the price I still think it was a steal. I'll let you guys know how it works if any of you are interested in buying one for yourself.

[nullable]

Should be find, the stated endurance is pretty conservative anyway. A memerable SSD article from several years ago had 240 GB ssd's writing seveal hundred TBs before failing (much higher than stayed endurance) with some drives breaking in PB territory.

For the price and the performance you will get you'll be better off than 95% of pc users.

[[☥] - CJ -]

Intel still does pretty well, so its not really a problem

[bundito]

I don't know how others feel, but I swear by the Western Digital Red series, both SSD and rotational. I've got a 1TB SSD in this laptop and it's nice and speedy. Never once kicked out an error after a year of heavy use. I used WD Red rotational drives to build a NAS for a friend's video-editing business: 8 bays, 10TB drives in each. It's been running for almost 18 months without a hiccup. (Except for that time she moved it and forgot to plug in back in).

[nullable]

There's plenty of quality options. SSD's have been around for quite a long time, HDD's even longer and most brands/models are going to work fairly well for most users. And on the flipside there's somone has had a horrible experience with X drive and they'll buy from Y company again.