[SOLVED] What brand of 120GB SSD would you recommend and why?

[F1demon]

Am looking to upgrade my Dell Inspiron 3421 up shifting the 500GB 5400 rpm HDD to an HDD Caddy.

I am looking for a suitable 120GB SATA 3 2.5 inch 7mm SSD but have found conflicting opinions about:

-WD Green (slow, old tech)
-Kingston Q500 (booting stutter)
-Crucial BX500 (Old tech)...

So can anyone pls shed some light on which brand and what type of SSD would be OK/GOOD?

Tks in advance and Keep Safe!

 

[DrummerManSpike]

Why only 120GB? That's a pretty small amount.

There's lots of options though, what's the most you want to spend?

 

[Maxxify]

HP M700 if you can find it. Samsung MLC and a decent (DRAM-less) controller. You don't want it for the MLC per se, but rather the fact it's planar flash which is less dense and more performant at low capacities, although MLC is ideal among 2D/planar flash for the most part. There are drives similar to this, for example someone on Reddit showed me their 120GB FattyDove recently and it had MLC. But you might not be able to find a reliable retail drive with that.

Outside that, the BX500 is fine - how is that old tech? It's not old tech at all. You might be thinking the BX300, which actually is an excellent drive (MLC + DRAM), but it's not commonly sold anymore.

 

[F1demon]

Why only 120GB? That's a pretty small amount.

There's lots of options though, what's the most you want to spend?

I don't want to spend anything. shoestring budget, you see.

 

[kanewolf]

I don't want to spend anything. shoestring budget, you see.

You will be sorry if you are trying to use this as a boot drive for Windows 10.

 

[F1demon]

HP M700 if you can find it. Samsung MLC and a decent (DRAM-less) controller. You don't want it for the MLC per se, but rather the fact it's planar flash which is less dense and more performant at low capacities, although MLC is ideal among 2D/planar flash for the most part. There are drives similar to this, for example someone on Reddit showed me their 120GB FattyDove recently and it had MLC. But you might not be able to find a reliable retail drive with that.

Outside that, the BX500 is fine - how is that old tech? It's not old tech at all. You might be thinking the BX300, which actually is an excellent drive (MLC + DRAM), but it's not commonly sold anymore.

MLC drives mostly begin with higher capacities, i assumed? I couldn;t find em on amazon mainly 240 and above and are anyway more expensive. I'm guessing NAND is the std with 120GB drives.

Is HP good? I've not had a good exp with that brand. What about Sandisk, Kingston?

If you feel Crucial BX500 is good I'll look into it.

 

[USAFRet]

120GB? In 2020, none of them.

The major manufacturers have stopped making and selling them that small. So you're left with off brands.
And 120GB is TooSmall. Unless you are rabid about it, you WILL run into space issues.

And of the 3 you listed? None of those, in any size.
We all understand the budget thing But there is a thing known as "too cheap'.

 

[Maxxify]

MLC drives mostly begin with higher capacities, i assumed? I couldn;t find em on amazon mainly 240 and above and are anyway more expensive. I'm guessing NAND is the std with 120GB drives.

Is HP good? I've not had a good exp with that brand. What about Sandisk, Kingston?

If you feel Crucial BX500 is good I'll look into it.

2D/planar flash is ideal as it's less dense and therefore more performant at 120GB. The problem is, 2D TLC is iffy especially with older controllers. MLC is not commonly found in consumer drives anymore outside of the HP M700, which is why I mentioned it, and a few others unreliably. So you're mostly looking at 3D TLC, but the best-performing drives start at 240/250/256GB due to density. So you're relegated to DRAM-less which in many cases has varying hardware (e.g. controller). Ergo, the best drives in that range are BX500 clones - the BX500 itself or the Team GX2 or the Mushkin Source.

 

[F1demon]

2D/planar flash is ideal as it's less dense and therefore more performant at 120GB. The problem is, 2D TLC is iffy especially with older controllers. MLC is not commonly found in consumer drives anymore outside of the HP M700, which is why I mentioned it, and a few others unreliably. So you're mostly looking at 3D TLC, but the best-performing drives start at 240/250/256GB due to density. So you're relegated to DRAM-less which in many cases has varying hardware (e.g. controller). Ergo, the best drives in that range are BX500 clones - the BX500 itself or the Team GX2 or the Mushkin Source.

Ok, I understand the diff bet 120 and 240 these days. However, is there a very large difference between 3d TLC and 2d MLC?

 

[USAFRet]

Ok, I understand the diff bet 120 and 240 these days. However, is there a very large difference between 3d TLC and 2d MLC?

Not so you'd notice.

Buy a good drive (250GB or larger) from a major manufacturer (Samsung 860 EVO, Crucial MX500).

What is your actual budget for this drive? Not just 'as cheap as possible'...an actual number.

 

[punkncat]

If this is purely about "I've got ~$20 in my pocket and HAVE to have an SSD"

The worst most gosh awful thing you find will still be multiples faster than a HDD. I note that Newegg has ~120GB selections starting at $18. A name I even recognized at $25.
If you absolutely INSIST on moving forward now go with the cheapest thing you can find and recognize the name.

I would HIGHLY suggest that you save up around $15 MORE and buy the 250GB. Even if you cheap out it will operate faster, as above.

If you are really looking for a good product and performance you need to save some money up.

 

[F1demon]

2D/planar flash is ideal as it's less dense and therefore more performant at 120GB. The problem is, 2D TLC is iffy especially with older controllers. MLC is not commonly found in consumer drives anymore outside of the HP M700, which is why I mentioned it, and a few others unreliably. So you're mostly looking at 3D TLC, but the best-performing drives start at 240/250/256GB due to density. So you're relegated to DRAM-less which in many cases has varying hardware (e.g. controller). Ergo, the best drives in that range are BX500 clones - the BX500 itself or the Team GX2 or the Mushkin Source.

What do you think of the Team Group L3 EVO? Is this the same brand as Team GX2?

Seagate Maxtor Z1 240GB 2.5inch SATA SSD ?

One of the things I'm keen on is also power savings since, I'm replacing the laptop's battery too. So, I need a power efficient SSD?

Tks.

 

[USAFRet]

What do you think of the Team Group L3 EVO? Is this the same brand as Team GX2?

Seagate Maxtor Z1 240GB 2.5inch SATA SSD ?

One of the things I'm keen on is also power savings since, I'm replacing the laptop's battery too. So, I need a power efficient SSD?

Tks.

Power consumption is pretty identical across all SSDs.
As in...very little.

 

[popatim]

Out of those you listed, the Bx500 would be my choice.
You might want to browse for larger used ones also. many people are unloading their smaller SSD's in favor of larger ones.

 

[mdd1963]

500 GB Crucial MX500 is about $65 on Amazon....; the 250 GB model saves perhaps $18-20....

In my opinion, given the relatively low prices....get 500 GB.

120 GB drives are often an exercise in frustration as space for updates and applications becomes a delicate balancing act...

 

[USAFRet]

500 GB Crucial MX500 is about $65 on Amazon....; the 250 GB model saves perhaps $18-20....

In my opinion, given the relatively low prices....get 500 GB.

120 GB drives are often an exercise in frustration as space for updates and applications becomes a delicate balancing act...

Exactly.
I like to put this choice in "PDU".
Pizza Delivery Units.

If you can defer the purchase of a single pizza delivery and apply that to a better drive, you can have a drive that will last years.
The pizza will be gone in a single afternoon.

 

[Maxxify]

What do you think of the Team Group L3 EVO? Is this the same brand as Team GX2?

Seagate Maxtor Z1 240GB 2.5inch SATA SSD ?

One of the things I'm keen on is also power savings since, I'm replacing the laptop's battery too. So, I need a power efficient SSD?

Tks.

The Z1 (if you read my spreadsheet) is S11-based, there's tons of drives with that controller at that capacity. Tons of options there. Hit my S11 filter.

 

[F1demon]

The Z1 (if you read my spreadsheet) is S11-based, there's tons of drives with that controller at that capacity. Tons of options there. Hit my S11 filter.

Wow... tks. that's really detailed. A lot of it was beyond me.

So, the Maxtor Z1 and L3 EVO are a good choice judging by the r/w speeds then? As is the Giganyte too?

 

[F1demon]

The L3 EVO should be avoided.

Why is that?

 

[USAFRet]

We still don't know what your actual budget for this is.

 

[Maxxify]

Why is that?

I meant the L2 EVO/Lite 2D (NOT the L5 Lite 3D), my bad. The L3 EVO as listed should have the same hardware as many other drives.

 

[Maxxify]

Wow... tks. that's really detailed. A lot of it was beyond me.

So, the Maxtor Z1 and L3 EVO are a good choice judging by the r/w speeds then? As is the Giganyte too?

R/W speeds aren't terribly important, but all of those drives as filtered have roughly comparable hardware.

 

[F1demon]

We still don't know what your actual budget for this is.

My budget is $40 thereabouts...

 

[USAFRet]

My budget is $40 thereabouts...

Crucial MX500, 250GB, $49
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-250GB-NAND-Internal/dp/B0781VSXB

 

[F1demon]

R/W speeds aren't terribly important, but all of those drives as filtered have roughly comparable hardware.

So, any of these brands will do for either 120/240 versions? Is there a slight preference for one over the other? I get the impression Crucial is trusted and Team Group is also good? I just need to narrow it down to a reliable/fast one for either the 120 or 240 odd GB ones....

tks again.