Question SSD & HDD recommendations?

bamitscon

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So I have been wanting to get a new HDD and a SSD for a while now since last black Friday but never ended up doing it, I have used all the 1TB of storage on my computer and have had trouble leaving space, so now is the time to upgrade! I saw a good deal for a Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SSD on Amazon, but was wondering if anyone knows of any 1TB SSDs that are below the £100 mark?

this is the 500GB Samsung evo:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078WQT6S6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_dlC_cqWVFbNNP2TCT?psc=1

I was also looking for another HDD possibly 2TB? 7200rpms as it is a gaming computer and the speeds are greatly appreciated :)
 
So I have been wanting to get a new HDD and a SSD for a while now since last black Friday but never ended up doing it, I have used all the 1TB of storage on my computer and have had trouble leaving space, so now is the time to upgrade! I saw a good deal for a Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SSD on Amazon, but was wondering if anyone knows of any 1TB SSDs that are below the £100 mark?

this is the 500GB Samsung evo:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078WQT6S6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_dlC_cqWVFbNNP2TCT?psc=1

I was also looking for another HDD possibly 2TB? 7200rpms as it is a gaming computer and the speeds are greatly appreciated :)
Does your computer have any free NVMe M.2 slots? If so here are some suggestions for M.2 and SATA.
PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£97.98 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£78.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£99.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Intel 665p 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£89.72 @ Senetic)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£89.99 @ Box Limited)
Storage: Crucial P2 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£97.19 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £553.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-26 02:04 GMT+0000
 
For not much more than a 1TB SSD and 2TB HDD you can just get a 2TB SSD.
PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: Western Digital WD Blue 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£149.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£189.99 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £339.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-26 02:09 GMT+0000


Otherwise here is a good 2TB HDD.
PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.38 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £50.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-26 02:11 GMT+0000
 

bamitscon

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Jun 1, 2015
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For not much more than a 1TB SSD and 2TB HDD you can just get a 2TB SSD.
PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: Western Digital WD Blue 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£149.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£189.99 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £339.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-26 02:09 GMT+0000


Otherwise here is a good 2TB HDD.
PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.38 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £50.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-26 02:11 GMT+0000

I will most likely just get the 2TB HDD, and a 1TB SSD, one thing I need help with tho, is the
Crucial MX500 1 TB CT1000MX500SSD1-Up to 560 MB/s (3D NAND, SATA, 2.5 Inch, Internal SSD), Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078211KBB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_dlC_Cm5VFbKGCZ1SR
Which is priced at £79.99 on Amazon, better than the Samsung QVO 1TB which is priced at £97? Should I go for the crucial?
 
I will most likely just get the 2TB HDD, and a 1TB SSD, one thing I need help with tho, is the
Crucial MX500 1 TB CT1000MX500SSD1-Up to 560 MB/s (3D NAND, SATA, 2.5 Inch, Internal SSD), Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078211KBB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_dlC_Cm5VFbKGCZ1SR
Which is priced at £79.99 on Amazon, better than the Samsung QVO 1TB which is priced at £97? Should I go for the crucial?
The best value is the WD Blue for £79 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073SBQMCX?tag=pcp0f-21&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1 It competes with the 860 Evo in term of performance and endurance. While Samsung does make good SSDs, I typically avoid them due to how expensive they have gotten.
 
MX500 is perfectly good.
One reason I usually suggest samsung for an upgrade is their excellent ssd migration app.
It is a C drive mover, not a clone.
You can download the app and instructions here:
Crucial may have one, but I do not know how good it is.
When done moving to the ssd, you just switch the boot order and can reformat the original hdd for added storage.
 

bamitscon

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The best value is the WD Blue for £79 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073SBQMCX?tag=pcp0f-21&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1 It competes with the 860 Evo in term of performance and endurance. While Samsung does make good SSDs, I typically avoid them due to how expensive they have gotten.

If the price didn’t matter, would the Crucial 500 be better than the WD Blue?
MX500 is perfectly good.
One reason I usually suggest samsung for an upgrade is their excellent ssd migration app.
It is a C drive mover, not a clone.
You can download the app and instructions here:
Crucial may have one, but I do not know how good it is.
When done moving to the ssd, you just switch the boot order and can reformat the original hdd for added storage.
the crucial is coming out as a better score than the 860 QVO, and is nearly £20 cheaper, would getting the crucial be a problem when having to move my windows boot to the SSD? As I will be buying a 2TB HDD aswell I don’t want to go to expensive
 
You will not be able to detect differences in performance between any ssd devices.
Most work is small random reads, and differences in performance for that workload are not significant.
The QVO is cheaper than the evo because it uses nand chips that do not update quickly.

I tend to suggest intel and samsung because they produce their own controllers and nand chips.
My theory is that they are better able to control quality and integration.
Most cheap ssd vendors buy controllers and chips for cheap on the open market. They are merely assemblers.
 

bamitscon

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You will not be able to detect differences in performance between any ssd devices.
Most work is small random reads, and differences in performance for that workload are not significant.
The QVO is cheaper than the evo because it uses nand chips that do not update quickly.

I tend to suggest intel and samsung because they produce their own controllers and nand chips.
My theory is that they are better able to control quality and integration.
Most cheap ssd vendors buy controllers and chips for cheap on the open market. They are merely assemblers.
Would the 860 EVO 1TB be better than the ones we have mentioned then?

Samsung 860 EVO 1 TB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (MZ-76E1T0) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078WST5RK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_nD8VFbDB3FMJA

what 2TB HDD would you recommend.
 
Last edited:
Would the 860 EVO 1TB be better than the ones we have mentioned then?

Samsung 860 EVO 1 TB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (MZ-76E1T0) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078WST5RK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_nD8VFbDB3FMJA

what 2TB HDD would you recommend.
The WD Blue, Crucial MX500, and 860 Evo all have similar performance and endurance. They all have been out since late 2017/early 2018 and their controllers are very good. I have used Samsung's magician software and it works well. When I have cloned a non Samsung drive, I use Macrum Reflect and it works equally as well as Samsung Magician. In the end I would just get the cheapest of the 3.
 
What is the make/model of your motherboard?
Does it have m.2 pcie capability?

Today, the only reason for a HDD is price per gb.
Storage for large sequential files such as videos is a good use for a HDD.
Otherwise, a SSD is better.
some 40x faster in random and 3-6x faster in sequential.
If performance is what you need buy a ssd.
I ask about the m.2 pcie capability because sequential speeds are better than with a sata ssd.
You might do best to just get a ssd that fills your storage needs for a year or two and omit the HDD.
In time, when that fills up, extra storage is going to be cheaper yet.
 

bamitscon

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What is the make/model of your motherboard?
Does it have m.2 pcie capability?

Today, the only reason for a HDD is price per gb.
Storage for large sequential files such as videos is a good use for a HDD.
Otherwise, a SSD is better.
some 40x faster in random and 3-6x faster in sequential.
If performance is what you need buy a ssd.
I ask about the m.2 pcie capability because sequential speeds are better than with a sata ssd.
You might do best to just get a ssd that fills your storage needs for a year or two and omit the HDD.
In time, when that fills up, extra storage is going to be cheaper yet.
well i have had my computer for some time now, and i have only been running off a single 2TB HDD as shown here:
http://prntscr.com/vqonds
i have been having trouble deleting stuff and getting space, to the point where there is nothing else i can possibly delete, have been wanting an SSD for quite a while now to put a few steam games and other games i mainly play aswell and my windows onto, and the HDD was just for more space wise.
this is my system specs + my Motherboard:
https://prnt.sc/qw3ckz
 
You have a good motherboard.
It supports m.2 pcie drives.
They are about the size of a stick of gum and install in a slot on the motherboard.
No sata data or power cables needed.

If you were to replace your 2tb HDD with a 2tb m.2 pcie ssd, you will have effectively doubled your storage capacity.
In the process, the ssd will be some 40x faster in random I/O and some 6x faster in sequential processing.
You will be amazed at how much quicker everything feels.
If nothing else, your gaming level loads will be faster and other things like texture loads and checkpoints will go faster.

a 1tb Intel 660P m.2 pcie drive is £101.34
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-M-2-...s&sprefix=intel+660p+2tb,computers,255&sr=1-3

665P is similar, if you find that cheaper.

I would imagine that the 2tb version would be double the price.

How do you intend to get windows moved over to the new ssd?
You can not just move windows; apps are tied to the registry and they need to be moved also.

With a 2tb drive you should be able to clone the whole thing.

 

bamitscon

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You have a good motherboard.
It supports m.2 pcie drives.
They are about the size of a stick of gum and install in a slot on the motherboard.
No sata data or power cables needed.

If you were to replace your 2tb HDD with a 2tb m.2 pcie ssd, you will have effectively doubled your storage capacity.
In the process, the ssd will be some 40x faster in random I/O and some 6x faster in sequential processing.
You will be amazed at how much quicker everything feels.
If nothing else, your gaming level loads will be faster and other things like texture loads and checkpoints will go faster.

a 1tb Intel 660P m.2 pcie drive is £101.34
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-M-2-2280-Express-Solid-State/dp/B07JBQZ2MG/ref=sr_1_3?crid=34RT3RWCZZ917&dchild=1&keywords=intel+660p+2tb&qid=1606411125&s=computers&sprefix=intel+660p+2tb,computers,255&sr=1-3

665P is similar, if you find that cheaper.

I would imagine that the 2tb version would be double the price.

How do you intend to get windows moved over to the new ssd?
You can not just move windows; apps are tied to the registry and they need to be moved also.

With a 2tb drive you should be able to clone the whole thing.

Is there any other 1tb m.2 PCIE with better reviews? i had an SSD on my old computer which i put in and i just partitioned a part of that SSD for windows and moved it over? using the partition app im pretty sure and then i booted windows using it? i didnt clone my entire HDD onto the ssd...
 

bamitscon

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The WD Blue, Crucial MX500, and 860 Evo all have similar performance and endurance. They all have been out since late 2017/early 2018 and their controllers are very good. I have used Samsung's magician software and it works well. When I have cloned a non Samsung drive, I use Macrum Reflect and it works equally as well as Samsung Magician. In the end I would just get the cheapest of the 3.
My motherboard: https://prnt.sc/qw3ckz
 

Windows22

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Does your computer have any free NVMe M.2 slots? If so here are some suggestions for M.2 and SATA.
PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£97.98 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£78.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£99.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Intel 665p 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£89.72 @ Senetic)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£89.99 @ Box Limited)
Storage: Crucial P2 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£97.19 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £553.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-26 02:04 GMT+0000
Not bad, Western Digital has decent track record, but Intel 665 has a higher standards and limits, so top marks on the analyzing.