okarowarrior

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Jul 18, 2015
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I'm kinda new dealing with these concepts for buying my first M2 SSD and when I've looked up at the specs of two cheap SSDs of the SAME BRAND I was looking into they both name differently their type of storage:

The XPG Spectrix s40g spec page says NAND 3D


The XPG gammix S11 Pro spec page says 3D TLC

For what I gather from Google, TLC means triple level cell and according to this blog, either SLC,MLC and TLC are 2D architectures.

But then if I Google if 3D TLC (which NAND seems to be synonymous of 3D) i found this article that talks about 3D TLC vs Plain 3D NAND...
SO... Do the two SSDs that I shared have different architecture or they use different words to refer to the same thing ? Or it was an error and 3D TLC is a World Order Hoax?

Thanks for your time in advance
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
At the consumer level, it does not really matter.

What matters is:
Size, type (SATA III or NVMe), reliability, warranty.
AKA - Don't buy cheap, and don't buy from a janky retailer.

The different terms that may end up in a marketing text are often wrong.
And this is like fretting over the specific alloy percentages in the pistons in a car engine. Mostly.
 
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okarowarrior

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Jul 18, 2015
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Well. Thanks both of you.

Now reading the """"detailed"""" datasheet I see that even there the different naming persist in the comparison. But both of them have the same meager 160TB of TBW. So I'll assume the Spectrix also uses TLC.

For the record, I've asked more for learning myself than as for being worried for that particular spec.

I'll see if I can get something better. Because not only I was going to buy cheap because I don't have other option, but also because there aren't many offers of budget M2 in my country.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
the same meager 160TB of TBW
In a good quality drive, and normal consumer use, that number does not really matter.

I have 7x SSDs in my system. Some of them in 24/7 use since 2014.
All 7 combined barely reach 100TBW.

It is highly unlikely you'll get close to that 160TBW anytime soon.

But the only way I'd use an ADATA drive is if it were given to me for free...:eek:
 
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Bazzy 505

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Jul 17, 2021
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But the only way I'd use an ADATA drive is if it were given to me for free...:eek:

And that's the whole problem with adata, I daresay has always been ever since popped up on the scene in the early 2000's.
They always tried to undercut competitors, often with sensational pricing. wholesellers loved it, customers didn't exactly
complain about "same" memory sticks, flashdisks, pendrives suddenly becomming a lot cheaper for same capacity. And for the most
part those products were terrific for the asking price. But every now and than there would have been a catch with a product or two.

At some point, i had grown tired of those shenanigans , accepted paying few extra bucks to buy from a reputable brands and have my piece of mind.
 
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USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
And that's the whole problem with adata, I daresay has always been ever since popped up on the scene in the early 2000's.
They always tried to undercut competitors, often with sensational pricing. wholesellers loved it, customers didn't exactly
complain about "same" memory sticks, flashdisks, pendrives suddenly a lot cheaper for same capacity. And for the most
part those products were terrific for the asking price. But every now and than there would have been a catch with a product or two.

At some point, i had grown tired of those shenanigans , accepted paying few extra bucks to buy from a reputable brands and have my piece of mind.
Given the plethora of other drives and manufacturers who do NOT do these shenanigans, why patronize them?

Oh, I know...."I have a small budget!"
Easy fix...avoid a couple of pizza deliveries.
That is literally the price difference between crap and good. A pizza or two.

I like to refer to is as PDU. Pizza Delivery Units.
Often, the PDU value between crap and good is 1.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I've only written 35 TB in 4.3 years on a single 960 EVO.... or, with 'only' a hypothetical 160 TBW lifetime, barely a 16-17 year lifespan? :)
Exactly.

I've asked many times in here:
Has anyone ever exceeded the TBW rating on their drive?
If so, was this before the age number on the warranty?
Further, has anyone ever had a drive die from too many write cycles in normal use?

To date....none.
 
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okarowarrior

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Jul 18, 2015
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Given the plethora of other drives and manufacturers who do NOT do these shenanigans, why patronize them?

Oh, I know...."I have a small budget!"
Easy fix...avoid a couple of pizza deliveries.
That is literally the price difference between crap and good. A pizza or two.

I like to refer to is as PDU. Pizza Delivery Units.
Often, the PDU value between crap and good is 1.
Fair enough, I get your point.
Tough that analogy doesn't swiftly translates to a minimum wage third world country customer.
I'm limited by a very narrow offer concerning brand and models from easily accessible retailers without paying premium to a small scale importer or some individual that evade the import tax illegally.

For what I've read, the
Samsung 970 EVO MZ-V7E500 is a good choice.

Though (loosely converted) the 88USD price o can get for the XPG RGB s40 500gb vs the ~170USD for the 500GB Samsung corresponds to ~11 large pizzas.
Needless to say I don't use delivery often 😂

I can get a WD Blue sn550 or a Kingston KC2500 for ~20 USD more of the XPG. But are those models really that better?

I've compared the reviews of the three by Tom's Hardware's blog and all of them seemed somewhat similar. But I can get the XPG for cheaper.


If you are so kind to point out to me any budget trustable model I'll try to aim for that, if the model is even available in my country, that is.

Thanks everybody
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I can get a WD Blue sn550 or a Kingston KC2500 for ~20 USD more of the XPG. But are those models really that better?

I've compared the reviews of the three by Tom's Hardware's blog and all of them seemed somewhat similar. But I can get the XPG for cheaper.


If you are so kind to point out to me any budget trustable model I'll try to aim for that, if the model is even available in my country, that is.
I'd get the WD vs either the Kingston or the XPG.
While the initial 'speed' may be similar, the extra $20 is reliability and warranty.

What is available in your market, at your budget and size requirements?
 

okarowarrior

Honorable
Jul 18, 2015
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I'd get the WD vs either the Kingston or the XPG.
While the initial 'speed' may be similar, the extra $20 is reliability and warranty.

What is available in your market, at your budget and size requirements?


My budget would be close to ~110 USD. Nevertheless I'll add some of the M2 that goes over my budget to see your opinion on them. At least as an ideal option, though I'm not seeing myself able to afford those prices atm.

I'll link the US amazon page of each one for reference, followed by the price in my market.


XPG S40G 512GB RGB @ 95 USD
WD Black SN750 500GB @ 103 USD

Kingston KC2500 500GB @ 105 USD
WD Blue SN550 500GB @ 115 USD
WD Black SN750 500GB w/HEATSINK @ 120 USD (i'm not sure if the heatsink really justifies the 20USD+)
Corsair MP510 480GB @ 130 USD
Gigabyte 512GB @ 145 USD
AORUS 500 GB @ 160 USD
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB
@ 165 USD

Sorry it took me that long to compose the reply. But I didnt want to be lazy and provide the most info I can give you for you to help me.
Thanks for your time
 
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