Author Topic: SSD upgrade for a desktop system (Read 2533 times)

jeremypv · « **Reply #20 on:** June 29, 2020, 11:31:40 AM »

I've been using a kingston uv drives (3 of them, 2 laptops and my desktop), my desktop currently has a 20TBW, and is now 4years old

also have an 840evo (6years old with 15TBW), intel540 which is 5yo (also dramless)

oh, almost forgot, I have a samsung 32GB mSata SSD on my NUC used as HTPC - it doesn't expose S.M.A.R.T. data, so I don't know about it's health, but it's also around 5years old

I haven't had any of them fail (yet)

oh, I have a UPS on my desktop, so it's very rare for me for an unexpected shutdown (also laptops), maybe that's why.

Quote

nobody can seem to give a definite answer.

they made a test that it's all about the TBW, for regular usage (less than 20GBW per day average), it will last quite a long time -- as for my experience, it's roughly the same as normal HDD

dean · « **Reply #21 on:** June 30, 2020, 07:47:21 PM »

i'm looking at the kingston KC600 and at the description which says the following:
Total Bytes Written
256GB - 150TB
512GB - 300TB
1024GB - 600TB
2048TB - 1200TB

so is that like the measure of the lifespan? kinda like hours for light bulbs?

sandstig · « **Reply #22 on:** June 30, 2020, 08:22:13 PM »

Quote from: splerdu on June 29, 2020, 01:04:03 AM

Turns out the Samsung 970 Evo Plus, Kingston KC600 (actually all the Kingston drives), enterprise drives are all DRAMless.

I think info on PCPartPicker list might be incomplete -- maybe they just grab the data from the retailers.

Toms Hardware and Storage Review both say the 970 Evo Plus has a DRAM cache:
https://www.storagereview.com/review/samsung-970-evo-plus-2tb-review
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-970-evo-plus-ssd,5608.html

KC600 has 1MB of DRAM cache for each GB of storage according to most reviews:
https://www.kitguru.net/components/ssd-drives/simon-crisp/kingston-kc600-1tb-ssd-review/
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3449662/kingston-kc600-sata-ssd-review.html
https://www.nordichardware.se/test/kingston-kc600.html
https://hexus.net/tech/reviews/storage/137759-kingston-kc600-sata-ssd-1tb/

Quote from: dean on June 30, 2020, 07:47:21 PM

i'm looking at the kingston KC600 and at the description which says the following:
Total Bytes Written
256GB - 150TB
512GB - 300TB
1024GB - 600TB
2048GB - 1200TB

so is that like the measure of the lifespan? kinda like hours for light bulbs?

Yes, that's the theoretical lifespan.

barurutor · « **Reply #23 on:** July 01, 2020, 07:46:31 PM »

I have a 240GB Samsung 830 from March 2013 at 96.3TB written. It's been on my office laptop as the sole harddrive for a few years now.

splerdu · « **Reply #24 on:** July 01, 2020, 09:00:43 PM »

Ye olde MLC drives are hella tough! I have a 120GB Intel SSD 530 with 273TB total NAND writes and 13,651 power-on hours. Was my main OS drive and torrent scratch drive on a rig running 24/7 for a few years.

dean · « **Reply #25 on:** July 18, 2020, 11:34:25 PM »

Ok, follow up question:

The computer in need of an SSD upgrade is an Asus VM60 MiniPC. It runs on the Intel VM76 chipset. The Asus website says it supports only up to 256gb SSD but the crucial and Kingston sites are listing bigger SSDs as compatible. Can't find info on the chipset about the support for bigger SSDs. I'd appreciate having 500gb rather than 256gb because I cannot add another drive in it. Also, getting a 7200rpm drive is out of the question because the system will run too hot for sure due to the cramped space.

WallyWest · « **Reply #26 on:** July 19, 2020, 04:36:59 PM »

Whatever capacity HDD it can accept then it should accept the SSD equivalent. Shouldn't it?

jeremypv · « **Reply #27 on:** July 19, 2020, 06:05:20 PM »

usually the manufacturer only puts up maximum of anything that was available the time it was released, the documentation is not updated afterwards... so most likely the time that was released, only 256GB was the maximum available. but it will certainly supported terabyte sized SSD (if you can afford it), since the protocol is the same as a spinning rust SATA.

dean · « **Reply #28 on:** July 19, 2020, 06:55:45 PM »

got it, thanks! i know now what to get

dean · « **Reply #29 on:** August 06, 2020, 10:07:13 PM »

ok...i should have enough money to finally buy me an SSD in a few days but a new challenger has arrived:

WD 500GB 2.5" SATA SSD @ 3350 from EasyPC
https://easypc.com.ph/collections/solid-state-drive/products/western-digital-solid-state-drive-500gb-blue-sata-2-5

I checked and it's a dram SSD too just like the Samsung Evo. Am I losing a lot if I go for the WD instead of the Samsung? The WD goes for 3350 while the Samsung goes for around 4500 (Lazada/Shopee). I'm on a tight budget and the PC is not a speed demon (heck, I've been living with its 5400RPM boot drive for years) and the saved money can go to other things (like a better keyboard or mouse to replace the existing ones?) Or should I really just fork out a bit more and get the Samsung?

WallyWest · « **Reply #30 on:** August 06, 2020, 10:48:04 PM »

Just a suggestion from a guy with shallow pockets. Why not opt for a 250GB SSD and put the old HDD in a USB enclosure?

The SSD will be the OS and programs drive while data files go to the USB HDD. You could probably even partition the SSD 60/40 or 70/30 so you'll have some space for data that you could then sync (via a folder sync app) to the external or a network drive at regular intervals.

You'll save some bucks on the SSD and just fork out less than 500 pesos for an Orico USB 3.0 enclosure.

dean · « **Reply #31 on:** August 06, 2020, 11:54:34 PM »

Thanks for the recommendation. I already have an existing enclosure where the HDD will go to and it's going to be attached to another PC. The current rig in discussion has two external drives attached to it already for added storage.

dean · « **Reply #32 on:** August 07, 2020, 03:07:29 AM »

Ok, read a bit more. Will get the Samsung for sure.

arbee · « **Reply #33 on:** August 09, 2020, 11:28:35 PM »

got a samsung 860 evo last month. replaced my old crucial m500 as boot drive.

i can feel the speed difference.

WallyWest · « **Reply #34 on:** October 01, 2020, 02:01:45 PM »

I'm currently reviving an old rig with the following specs:

AMD Athon II X4
ECS GF8200 Black Series mobo
4GB DDR2 RAM
onboard video

I've been trying to use this old 120GB Intel SSD 330 Series but there appears to be a problem:
With Windows 10, it boots up fine but within a few minutes of use there'll be pauses in whatever app I'm currently running. Then the app will eventually stop responding with the HDD activity indicator turned on. After a restart, the same thing happens. Sometimes it'll throw up a BSOD.

With Windows 7, installation will go smoothly but initial boot up will freeze at the Windows logo.

Very stable naman yung rig nung sa regular HDD ko ininstall ang Windows 7.

I've already considered switching the mode to SATA and AHCI. But neither setting helps.

What could be the problem with the SSD? I put it in a USB enclosure and so far it seems OK.Or could it be hindi talaga supported ng mobo ang SSD?

jeremypv · « **Reply #35 on:** October 01, 2020, 02:15:23 PM »

have you tried using another HDD? seems unlikely that the SSD will do that, perhaps the mainboard is already failing, or a PSU issue?

if the system came with another HDD and the SSD is the only new item in there, check for the S.M.A.R.T. data, maybe it's on it's last leg, try to trim the ssd (re-format the drive, open an admin powershell console, "Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter <drive letter> -ReTrim -Verbose"), then try to re-install again.

and use AHCI, as SATA/IDE mode will not know how to send trim commands to the SSD

splerdu · « **Reply #36 on:** October 01, 2020, 04:12:28 PM »

If it's stable on the HDD my guess is the SSD could already be failing.

WallyWest · « **Reply #37 on:** October 04, 2020, 10:01:13 AM »

I've come to the conclusion that the motherboard does not support SSD (or this particular SSD at least).
I Googled several possible fixes including setting the mobo to IDE then switching to AHCI later and forcing Windows 7 installer to install to the SSD during selection of the drive. However, none of those worked for me.

Even Windows 7 Disk Management does not recognize the drive despite the BIOS detecting it.
I'm currently using the Intel SSD as a secondary drive on my own rig for my VMs and other Program Files. It's working great. No SMART errors.

I just find it weird that a GeForce8200 board doesn't support SSD while my AMD780G board (IIRC they came out at about the same time) does.
I'll probably just try to get as much RAM on this rig as possible to somehow compensate for the regular HDD.
Reviving this old rig has been been pretty much a PITA.

1. Too much thermal paste.
2. The stock processor fan for some reason was replaced with a low rpm CDR-King CPU fan that was loosely screwed on an inch above the stock heatsink. I'm surprised the Athlon II X4 didn't get cooked. Good thing I had a spare AM3 HSF lying around.
3. Front panel LEDs were connected to the mobo header with the wrong polarity - kaya pala walang ilaw ang case when I got it.
4. CMOS jumper was set to the CLEAR position. But now, even with a new CR2032, the BIOS still resets.
5. 1 bloated cap which I replaced.

splerdu · « **Reply #38 on:** October 04, 2020, 01:08:55 PM »

That's weird. Even for systems that don't explicitly support SSDs they should appear as just another SATA drive.

This makes me want to test putting an SSD on my Athlon64+NForce. Hopefully it still works lol, been sitting in a closet for who knows how long now.

jeremypv · « **Reply #39 on:** October 04, 2020, 01:19:50 PM »

Yep, that's really especially if it is on SATA/IDE mode (instead of AHCI) since the OS will see it as a normal HDD, and haven't really seen any storage-based compatibility when it comes to the SATA spec, since SATA was developed with backwards and forwards compatibility in mind, I remembered a Jayz2cent video where he was baffled with a SATA SSD problem, turns out it's the RGB and it was heating the SSD (found it), maybe your SSD is also in a place where it is heating up