[SOLVED] TBW

[nismo_z]

I bought a Samsung 990 PRO 2TB ($289.99) and it has a TBW of 600. My brother just a Crucial P5 Plus 2TB ($149.99) and it has a TBW of 1200. Is his SSD better than mine?

 

[USAFRet]

I bought a Samsung 990 PRO 2TB ($289.99) and it has a TBW of 600. My brother just a Crucial P5 Plus 2TB ($149.99) and it has a TBW of 1200. Is his SSD better than mine?

No.

This is like comparing 2 new cars, with different warranties.

1 is a 5 year, 2 million miles.
The other is 5 year, 3 million miles.

In neither case will you reach that mileage before the warranty ages out.
Also, in neither case will you personally reach that mileage before you die, warranty or no.

 

[kanewolf]

I bought a Samsung 990 PRO 2TB ($289.99) and it has a TBW of 600. My brother just a Crucial P5 Plus 2TB ($149.99) and it has a TBW of 1200. Is his SSD better than mine?

IMO, no. You won't get close to either of those numbers. Is a car "better" becsuse it has a 160MPH speedometer rather than the 140MPH? You won't get to either of those speeds.
That number is just a warranty parameter. If you write 100TB in the 5 year warranty period, neither of those numbers is relevant.

 

[fzabkar]

The question I would be asking is, is the difference in the endurance rating an actual reflection of the real endurance of the NAND? In other words, is Crucial's NAND better than Samsung's?

I wondered whether Crucial was using a larger pseudo-SLC cache, in which case this could explain the difference. However, Tom's Hardware's reviews seem to suggest that Samsung's cache is larger.

 

[kanewolf]

The question I would be asking is, is the difference in the endurance rating an actual reflection of the real endurance of the NAND? In other words, is Crucial's NAND better than Samsung's?

I wondered whether Crucial was using a larger pseudo-SLC cache, in which case this could explain the difference. However, Tom's Hardware's reviews seem to suggest that Samsung's cache is larger.

The more likely thing is that Crucial is using this made-up number as a marketing device. The probability that a user will actually get to the TBW number is so low that the cost of a couple of warranty units is in-the-noise. But to unsuspecting consumers that are trying to compare, they will see a bigger number and purchase because of that.
It is like the big throughput numbers on WIFI routers. You will NEVER hit those numbers, but you might buy a 5400 over a 2700 labeled unit thinking you will get a benefit. Spoiler: you won't in 99% of the cases.

 

[Pextaxmx]

except.... 990 PRO 2TB is covered up to 1200 TBW, not 600