SSHD inner workings

[JamesEnquiry]

Hello,

I'm looking to buy a Seagate Firecuda 2TB. I have already got a 500GB SSD as a system drive but I try not to delete and install games on it too often. That's why I want another drive. One where I can install some larger games or the ones that get uninstalled right after playing them. I tried 3 WD Black HDDs in the last couple of months which I had to return because they vibrated like crazy even in comparison to my old 7200rpm Barracuda. My current PC is a fairly silent build.

So I've got couple of questions:
1) Wondering about the Firecuda lifespan. Especialy about the 8GB of SSD cache on it. I am a little worried it might wear more quickly than the HDD part. In that case - would the HDD part work even without the SSD part? I mean NAND chips usualy don't die all at once, typicaly its some and then others later, but SSD still keeps working, so I was hoping it might too...
2) Also as my PC is quiet, I'm hoping the Firecuda won't be as noisy as the WD Black HDDs. Do you have any experience with that?
3) Basicaly wonder if it's worth buying the 2TB Firecuda or whether I'd be better off just getting a 2TB Barracuda or possibly WD Blue 7200rpm with only 1TB ?

Thank you for any insight!

 

[USAFRet]

The SSD portion and the HDD portion work together.
If the 8GB SSD part dies, the drive is dead. Highly unlikely, though.

Lifespan? What is the warranty on it?

Personally, I'm not really a fan of SSHD's.
Write speed is no better than a regular drive, and the read speed is only fast for whatever data currently exists in that SSD portion.
It learns what blocks get used most, and those end up on the SSD. So tomorrow, when you play some different game...that just comes off the spinning platter, just like a regular drive.
Play this new game a couple of times, and then that stuff ends up in the SSD.

 

[JamesEnquiry]

The SSD portion and the HDD portion work together.
If the 8GB SSD part dies, the drive is dead. Highly unlikely, though.

Lifespan? What is the warranty on it?

Personally, I'm not really a fan of SSHD's.
Write speed is no better than a regular drive, and the read speed is only fast for whatever data currently exists in that SSD portion.
It learns what blocks get used most, and those end up on the SSD. So tomorrow, when you play some different game...that just comes off the spinning platter, just like a regular drive.
Play this new game a couple of times, and then that stuff ends up in the SSD.

Thanks for a quick reply!
The Firecuda has a 5 year warranty, unlike the Barracuda's which only lasts 2 years.
I install most of my games on my SSD. So the secondary drive will basicaly have installed one, maybe two games, which I would be playing at the time. So I might even see some benefit from the 8GB SSD part.
I was wondering about the SSD part. When the SSD cache is full it will start reading from the HDD part, right? If so, then it can actually work without using the SSD. I wonder how it would behave if some of its NAND chips would die. I mean in proper SSD it basicaly makes the drive smaller as it simply doesn't use the bad chips. Or am I wrong? That's why i was hoping it might work even after some of the SSD part has gone...

 

[USAFRet]

It all works as a team. It reads from the platters unless those particular blocks currently exist on the 8GB SSD portion.

In the unlikely event of that part dying, I expect the whole drive will fail to work. The firmware does not simply ignore it.

And no, an SSD doesn't simply get smaller. It continues to shuffle blocks around, and eventually just becomes read only. Or dies altogether.

 

[JamesEnquiry]

It all works as a team. It reads from the platters unless those particular blocks currently exist on the 8GB SSD portion.

In the unlikely event of that part dying, I expect the whole drive will fail to work. The firmware does not simply ignore it.

And no, an SSD doesn't simply get smaller. It continues to shuffle blocks around, and eventually just becomes read only. Or dies altogether.

Oh, I thought that "block shuffeling" made it sort of smaller. With the failed chips only fit for reading and the rest still available to be written onto. Good to know.
I supose I expected a bit too much from the hybrid drive in terms of funcionality... But it still seems to be a better option for me than a loud WD Black or a smaller WD Blue. And with a 5 year warranty, it should be an OK drive hopefuly.
So unless you have anything to add, I'll go with the 2TB Firecuda.
Thank you!

 

[rkzhao]

The SSD portion and the HDD portion work together.
If the 8GB SSD part dies, the drive is dead. Highly unlikely, though.

I don't think This isn't necessarily true. Most hybrid drives that I know of should be designed to run as a regular disk drive when the Flash is used up, which means yes, the HDD part would still work without the SSD part. But that's up to the firmware to actually handle properly. It's also up to the firmware to make the SSD read only when it's life has expired.

It's similar to enterprise SSDs disabling write cache when their power loss capacitors lifespan is expended.

Now as to Seagate's FireCuda, I still wouldn't buy it, especially when there's already a 500GB SSD in the system. The added cost just isn't really worth it. I'd actually trust the reliability of a standard drive more than hybrid drives for any manufacturer, regardless of warranty. It's less convoluted firmware and less compromises.

 

[JamesEnquiry]

The SSD portion and the HDD portion work together.
If the 8GB SSD part dies, the drive is dead. Highly unlikely, though.

I don't think This isn't necessarily true. Most hybrid drives that I know of should be designed to run as a regular disk drive when the Flash is used up, which means yes, the HDD part would still work without the SSD part. But that's up to the firmware to actually handle properly. It's also up to the firmware to make the SSD read only when it's life has expired.

It's similar to enterprise SSDs disabling write cache when their power loss capacitors lifespan is expended.

Now as to Seagate's FireCuda, I still wouldn't buy it, especially when there's already a 500GB SSD in the system. The added cost just isn't really worth it. I'd actually trust the reliability of a standard drive more than hybrid drives for any manufacturer, regardless of warranty. It's less convoluted firmware and less compromises.

Thanks for your reply! The first part about how the SSD-HDD might work is basicaly what i first thought it just made more sense to me.
Reliability is exactly what I am most concerned about in this case as half of the drive will serve as a storage and the other half will have some larger games on it. I sort of figured that a 5 year warranty Firecuda might not be that bad, since I can only get a same size barracuda with only a 2 year warranty, which worries me a little. I hear bad things about Barracudas lately. Only have experience with cca 7 year old Barracuda and I must say it is still rock solid and fairly silent.
So it boils down to the choice of WD Blue 2TB or Barracuda 2TB both with just a 2year warranty or taking chance on that Firecuda. Bit of a pickle...

 

[rkzhao]

If you want the 5 year warranty, then go for it. The price isn't really that different and I'm the type to be in favor of paying for peace of mind.

One thing to note about SSDs and Hybrid drives, the warranty period (along with the market segment) is what they use to spec out the NAND. A 5 year warranty should mean that with average use, the SSD portion of the SSHD should be able to handle 5 years worth of writes. I wouldn't be surprised if they last a little longer since a lot of people don't actually end up writing and rewriting their drives as much as it's specc'd for.

It's kind of how Samsung has been successful with their SSDs. On paper, the endurance they spec their drives with is sub par, but people don't end up using it that much so it's not really noticeable.