Question New OS drive - should I go for a new SSD or an older used SSD of higher quality ?

Mr.CJ

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Jan 27, 2022
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Hello!

I need to get a new SSD for my OS as my old one is failing. I am looking for an SSD with a DRAM cache, but I came across an older intel DC S3610 SSD 1.6TB in which the add states 96% life left according to S.M.A.R.T. The price puts it at around the same as a 1TB TLC/QLC SSD with DRAM. I know it is an older drive and it is out of warranty, but it is an enterprise disk with MLC and build for longevity. Would this disk serve well as an OS disk? Would partition a part for the OS and have the rest for storage. What say the masses?

MB: Asus Maximus VIII Ranger
CPU: i5-6600K 3,5Ghz
GPU: GTX 1070
OS: WIN 10
OS disk: Samsung EVO 850 SSD 500GB (naughty disk)
Disk 2: Kingston SNV2 M.2 2TB
RAM: 16GB DIMM 2133Mhz
PSU: Cooler Master V750 (RS-750-AFBA-G1)
It is an older build but has been a workhorse so far. Will probably be upgrading most parts relatively soon, but the OS disk needs to be done now.

(I started looking for a 240GB cheap SSD for my OS, and here I am)

Cheers!
 

Aeacus

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OS drive is the most important drive in your system and i, personally, wouldn't put my OS onto a drive which is past it's warranty, regardless the claims it has.

but it is an enterprise disk with MLC and build for longevity.

If the drive is still viable, then why it is sold in the 1st place? :unsure: Unless the one who sells it, knows the drive might die any second now, and is not willing to risk it. Are you willing to risk it? Since keep in mind, when drive dies, you will be left hanging high and dry, whereby you need to fork out even more money for another OS drive + the tedious thing of installing OS, while also loosing all your personal data you had on your OS drive.

So, your call. ~500GB more space with high risks over brand new drive (e.g 970 Evo Plus 1TB).
 

Mr.CJ

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Jan 27, 2022
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OS drive is the most important drive in your system and i, personally, wouldn't put my OS onto a drive which is past it's warranty, regardless the claims it has.



If the drive is still viable, then why it is sold in the 1st place? :unsure: Unless the one who sells it, knows the drive might die any second now, and is not willing to risk it. Are you willing to risk it? Since keep in mind, when drive dies, you will be left hanging high and dry, whereby you need to fork out even more money for another OS drive + the tedious thing of installing OS, while also loosing all your personal data you had on your OS drive.

So, your call. ~500GB more space with high risks over brand new drive (e.g 970 Evo Plus 1TB).
Appreciate your reply.

Yeah, I am a bit hesitant about buying an SSD secondhand, that's why I wanted to check here if the enterprise disks were better by such a factor that it might be worth it. Got the impression that MLC is a lot more durable than TLC. I've been reading up, but only scratching the surface.

Could it be an idea to put my OS on my kingston M.2 and get the Intel for storage? I don't have another M.2 slot and my initial plan was to get an SSD for my OS as my understanding is that it is more than fast enough for an OS disk. My understanding is also that as an OS disk there will be a lot of writing compared to a storage disk and it is preferable with at least a DRAM cache if it is a TLC/QLC. My M.2 disk does not have that.

Might also be the best idea to just go for a Samsung EVO 870 500GB or similar as it should be more than enough for an OS disk and I guess I don't need more storage :p

Cheers!
 
Appreciate your reply.

Yeah, I am a bit hesitant about buying an SSD secondhand, that's why I wanted to check here if the enterprise disks were better by such a factor that it might be worth it. Got the impression that MLC is a lot more durable than TLC. I've been reading up, but only scratching the surface.

Could it be an idea to put my OS on my kingston M.2 and get the Intel for storage? I don't have another M.2 slot and my initial plan was to get an SSD for my OS as my understanding is that it is more than fast enough for an OS disk. My understanding is also that as an OS disk there will be a lot of writing compared to a storage disk and it is preferable with at least a DRAM cache if it is a TLC/QLC. My M.2 disk does not have that.

Might also be the best idea to just go for a Samsung EVO 870 500GB or similar as it should be more than enough for an OS disk and I guess I don't need more storage :p

Cheers!
Add a crucial mx500 to the options.
 

Aeacus

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Got the impression that MLC is a lot more durable than TLC.

In general, MLC is more durable (and expensive) than TLC. But here, you also need to factor in other variables.

For example: Can't compare MLC and TLC drives across brands. Heck even same brand comparisons may not paint the accurate picture, and here, i'm talking about reliability vs cost ratio. It could very well be, that even same brand low-end MLC drive doesn't last as long as same brand, but high-end TLC drive does.

Another issue with this used Intel SSD is, that it is at least 5 years old, since that's how long it has warranty. 5 years is quite a lot and if it was used in enterprise situation (as it was designed to), then it could've seen all kinds of abuse in those 5 years.

All-in-all, IMO, too much risk to spend money on it.

My understanding is also that as an OS disk there will be a lot of writing compared to a storage disk and it is preferable with at least a DRAM cache if it is a TLC/QLC. My M.2 disk does not have that.

True, but your Kingston M.2 drive isn't quite DRAM-less either. It has Host Memory Buffer in size of 64MB. It's better than completely DRAM-less drives, but worse than those drives with DRAM.

Your M.2 drive review: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/kingston-nv2-1-tb-m-2-nvme-ssd/

Might also be the best idea to just go for a Samsung EVO 870 500GB or similar as it should be more than enough for an OS disk and I guess I don't need more storage

In your situation, where your MoBo has only one M.2 slot (which is a bit strange, i too have Z170 chipset MoBo but mine has 2x M.2 slots: MSI Z170A Gaming M5), best would be going with new 2.5" SATA SSD as an OS drive.

Either 870 Evo,
review: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-870-evo-sata-ssd-review-the-best-just-got-better

Or as already suggested, Crucial MX500,
review: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crucial-mx500-ssd-review-nand,5390.html

I have both in use (Skylake build, full specs with pics in my sig);
870 Evo 2TB is my data drive,
MX500 1TB is my backup drive,
while 970 Evo Plus 2TB (M.2) is my OS drive.
Oh, my 2nd M.2 slot is filled with 960 Evo 500GB drive, which is my old OS drive. Drive still works fine, but i ran out of space, hence why i bought 970 Evo Plus 2TB. :sweatsmile:

Do note that with Crucial MX500, which is good 2.5" SATA SSD (just hair lower for 860 Evo performance) and cheaper than Samsung drives, it also will slow down if you fill it up with stuff.

As far as OS drive size, that depends if you have Steam games on OS drive or not. If not, 250-500GB drive will do. 500GB drive also does well if you have 3-5 Steam games installed. If more, better get 1TB OS drive. 2TB OS drive has loads of space for all kinds of junk. :LOL: (Interestingly, my OS drive only has 373GB of stuff, including OS and my currently played Steam games.)
 

punkncat

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I have, in the past, purchased used SSD, and gotten other second hand market type deals on NOS. Those have included Sandisk (which all turned out to be junk), WD Blue 500 (great performers), and various Samsung 8xx series between 250-1TB (outstanding). I picked a deal on some Kingston "Predator X" NVME drives as well that were the NOS and they have been "ok", nothing to write home about.

In each of the above situations I was purchasing them in lots and super stupid cheap. The use case that I put them to was to replace HDD in older PC such as Dell Optiplex 3rd and 4th gen Intel boxes and sell them on as basic work/browsing type use. The only ones of the above I have used for my own systems are the Samsung in larger sizes for non-critical game storage, and the Predator X drives that were new.

To get to the point. I wouldn't choose to put a used SSD into my system as the OS drive unless I had no other choice. The above suggestions are quite solid.
 

Mr.CJ

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Jan 27, 2022
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Appreciate all the replies. I will not be opting for a used SSD. As you have thoroughly confirmed, the risk outweighs the benefit.

Of the DRAM disks I am considering, MX500 is the cheapest at around 50$. I can get the EVO 870 at around 60$ and the Samsung PM893 at around 70$. These are all 500GB. I have my Kingston M.2 2TB for storage. Would you recommend the PM893, or will it not be worth it for consumer use?

Cheers.
 
Appreciate all the replies. I will not be opting for a used SSD. As you have thoroughly confirmed, the risk outweighs the benefit.

Of the DRAM disks I am considering, MX500 is the cheapest at around 50$. I can get the EVO 870 at around 60$ and the Samsung PM893 at around 70$. These are all 500GB. I have my Kingston M.2 2TB for storage. Would you recommend the PM893, or will it not be worth it for consumer use?

Cheers.
Flip a coin all disk fail keep good backups.
 

Aeacus

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Personally, i'd go with 870 Evo (actually, already have, 870 Evo SSDs act as data drives in my Skylake and Haswell builds).

Also, going with Samsung means, that you can use Samsung Data Migration Tool, to clone your OS from failing drive to you new Samsung drive, without needing to do OS reinstall. Very convenient way to upgrade OS drive. :)

Samsung PM893 is meant for data center storage, not as consumer OS drive. So, in data center environment, when using with specific software and as intended, they fare well. Using them in consumer PC, especially as an OS drive, is gray area.
 

Mr.CJ

Commendable
Jan 27, 2022
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Thank you all for your valuable input. Samsung 870 EVO it is :D

Last questions from me now are, how will cloning be affected by the old drive starting to fail, and will potential errors be sorted by the migration SW?

Cheers!