Guide on choosing storage for your Hardware.

[axipher]

Just picked up a 1 TB XPG SX8200 Pro as per earlier recommendation in this thread for my gaming rig, absolutely great drive as a main Windows drive.

[ENTERPRISE]

Never tried any of the XPG drives myself, I guess these hold up nicely against the more obvious brands like Samsung etc @axipher ?

[axipher]

Never tried any of the XPG drives myself, I guess these hold up nicely against the more obvious brands like Samsung etc @axipher ?

 

I've used ADATA drives before for friends and family builds and all the reviews have always been great. I probably wouldn't use an ADATA drive in my server environment without more long-term reliability data, but they have higher Endurance then Intel 660p's I'm currently using and still a 5-year warranty so either the products are actually great, or cheap enough that they can afford to have multiple warranty returns that they somehow keep quiet (I highly doubt that in today's age of loud internet negative reviews).

 

Does anyone know of good stats similar to something like BackBlaze's Hard Drive reports?

 

Does @ENTERPRISE want to fund a SSD reliability project

[ENTERPRISE]

 

I've used ADATA drives before for friends and family builds and all the reviews have always been great. I probably wouldn't use an ADATA drive in my server environment without more long-term reliability data, but they have higher Endurance then Intel 660p's I'm currently using and still a 5-year warranty so either the products are actually great, or cheap enough that they can afford to have multiple warranty returns that they somehow keep quiet (I highly doubt that in today's age of loud internet negative reviews).

 

Does anyone know of good stats similar to something like BackBlaze's Hard Drive reports?

 

Does @ENTERPRISE want to fund a SSD reliability project

 

Nice thanks for the info, Will have to look into those as well in the future then, for a moment I could not remember the company name responsible for XPG. As for other stats other than BackBlaze, not that I know of, that was the only one I knew of and since then I have not needed to look. There might be one I do not know of. Hahah well maybe one day we can look into an SSD endurance review of sorts

 

 

[xlen]

Just picked up a 1 TB XPG SX8200 Pro as per earlier recommendation in this thread for my gaming rig, absolutely great drive as a main Windows drive.

 

I'm running one myself, can't say anything bad about it, let it serve you well!

[xlen]

 

I've used ADATA drives before for friends and family builds and all the reviews have always been great. I probably wouldn't use an ADATA drive in my server environment without more long-term reliability data, but they have higher Endurance then Intel 660p's I'm currently using and still a 5-year warranty so either the products are actually great, or cheap enough that they can afford to have multiple warranty returns that they somehow keep quiet (I highly doubt that in today's age of loud internet negative reviews).

 

Does anyone know of good stats similar to something like BackBlaze's Hard Drive reports?

 

Does @ENTERPRISE want to fund a SSD reliability project

 

Intel 660P is a QLC drive, pretty much any TLC will have much larger lifespan. I did the math on the average QLC and if you use it as a main game drive with games like COD:MW constantly getting large updates you can realistically get 8TBW per month on a 1TB SSD, which is enough to wear it down in 2 years, TLC drives like SX8200 PRO at the same 8TB per month would live 6.67 years before it reaches the manufacturers set EOL TBW.

Overall I don't want to recommend QLC SSDs to anybody who doesn't build some kind of quarterly back-ups on them where they would serve long and well.

 

Speaking about backblaze, I haven't heard that anybody is running something like that for SSDs the main cause probably is that there are way too many models in the market.

[xlen]

 

Nice thanks for the info, Will have to look into those as well in the future then, for a moment I could not remember the company name responsible for XPG. As for other stats other than BackBlaze, not that I know of, that was the only one I knew of and since then I have not needed to look. There might be one I do not know of. Hahah well maybe one day we can look into an SSD endurance review of sorts

 

 

XPG is ADATA's Gaming branding.

[axipher]

 

Intel 660P is a QLC drive, pretty much any TLC will have much larger lifespan. I did the math on the average QLC and if you use it as a main game drive with games like COD:MW constantly getting large updates you can realistically get 8TBW per month on a 1TB SSD, which is enough to wear it down in 2 years, TLC drives like SX8200 PRO at the same 8TB per month would live 6.67 years before it reaches the manufacturers set EOL TBW.

Overall I don't want to recommend QLC SSDs to anybody who doesn't build some kind of quarterly back-ups on them where they would serve long and well.

 

Speaking about backblaze, I haven't heard that anybody is running something like that for SSDs the main cause probably is that there are way too many models in the market.

 

Well I blew through my 512 GB 660p's rated 1 TBW Endurance in about a year on my Plex Server as the Cache drive:

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Critical warning[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0x00[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Temperature[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]39 Celsius[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Available spare[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]100%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Available spare threshold[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]10%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Percentage used[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]40%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Data units read[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]18,890,734 [9.67 TB][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Data units written[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]262,780,475 [134 TB][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Host read commands[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]193,405,751[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Host write commands[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]2,680,048,673[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Controller busy time[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]18,679[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Power cycles[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]30[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Power on hours[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]11,446[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Unsafe shutdowns[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]6[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Media and data integrity errors[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Error information log entries[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Warning comp. temperature time[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Critical comp. temperature time[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

That Cache drive hosts:

- Two VM boot drives

- Plex Library files (not media)

- Plex Temporary Transcode directory

- Docker Image and Docker App Data (InlfuxDB, Tautalli, Unifi Controller, etc.)

- Write Cache for network writes

 

 

I should probably look at replacing those soon as Intel only rate them for 1 TBW or 5 years, no errors yet, but not super keen on risking things on my server...

[xlen]

 

Well I blew through my 512 GB 660p's rated 1 TBW Endurance in about a year on my Plex Server as the Cache drive:

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Critical warning[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0x00[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Temperature[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]39 Celsius[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Available spare[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]100%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Available spare threshold[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]10%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Percentage used[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]40%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Data units read[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]18,890,734 [9.67 TB][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Data units written[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]262,780,475 [134 TB][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Host read commands[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]193,405,751[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Host write commands[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]2,680,048,673[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Controller busy time[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]18,679[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Power cycles[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]30[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Power on hours[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]11,446[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Unsafe shutdowns[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]6[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Media and data integrity errors[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Error information log entries[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Warning comp. temperature time[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]-[/TD]

[TD]Critical comp. temperature time[/TD]

[TD=colspan: 8]0[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

That Cache drive hosts:

- Two VM boot drives

- Plex Library files (not media)

- Plex Temporary Transcode directory

- Docker Image and Docker App Data (InlfuxDB, Tautalli, Unifi Controller, etc.)

- Write Cache for network writes

 

 

I should probably look at replacing those soon as Intel only rate them for 1 TBW or 5 years, no errors yet, but not super keen on risking things on my server...

 

QLC as a cache drive is a bad idea and damn you already are 34TBW over the 100 it's rated for, won't live for long now, probably will begin to throw write errors within the next 15 TBW

I'd get a MLC/TLC SSD with DRAM as a cache drive, with this kind of write pattern will live much longer.

[axipher]

 

QLC as a cache drive is a bad idea and damn you already are 34TBW over the 100 it's rated for, won't live for long now, probably will begin to throw write errors within the next 15 TBW

I'd get a MLC/TLC SSD with DRAM as a cache drive, with this kind of write pattern will live much longer.

 

Yeah, just not looking forward to migrating to a new Cache drive, I'm thinking a pair of the same SX8200 would be an okay Cache drive unless you can recommend something else. I think 512 GB might still be okay for now as I have a separate 1 TB 660p mounted to my Windows VM for game servers and the like.

[xlen]

 

Yeah, just not looking forward to migrating to a new Cache drive, I'm thinking a pair of the same SX8200 would be an okay Cache drive unless you can recommend something else. I think 512 GB might still be okay for now as I have a separate 1 TB 660p mounted to my Windows VM for game servers and the like.

 

Any TLC SSD with DRAM cache should do okay, SX8200 or the Pro both will have pretty decent performance as well.

[Sir Beregond]

Thank you for this guide. I've really been out of the loop on storage these days and I plan to ditch having HDD's in my upgrade build next year. This will help finding the right SSD's.

 

I'm a silence freak with my PC and the hard drive noises are bothering me. 

Edited October 7, 2020 by Sir Beregond

[Snakecharmed]

I also have the XPG SX8200 Pro as I got the 1 TB version for my laptop a couple of months ago. It's a new Ryzen 7 4800H laptop, but unfortunately, it's still limited to PCIe 3.0, so my choice boiled down to either the SX8200 Pro or the Sabrent Rocket. I was seeing a better price on the SX8200 Pro and stacked a Newegg coupon on top of it.

 

At the time that I bought the SX8200 Pro, the 970 EVO cost about $45 more. It did get a price cut recently, but if I was going to spend what it cost before, I would rather have a PCIe 4.0 SSD (for a motherboard that would support it) instead of a Samsung.

 

Meanwhile, the SX8200 Pro has been great so far.

[tictoc]

The SX8200 Pro is a great drive (I have a pair of them). 

If I were buying a similar drive today it would probably be the SK Hynix Gold P31.  Top of the line PCIe 3.0 performance, 5 year warranty, 750 TBW, and excellent temps. STH Review: https://www.servethehome.com/sk-hynix-gold-p31-1tb-nvme-ssd-review/ 

Edited October 14, 2020 by tictoc

[Snakecharmed]

1 hour ago, tictoc said:

The SX8200 Pro is a great drive (I have a pair of them). 

If I were buying a similar drive today it would probably be the SK Hynix Gold P31.  Top of the line PCIe 3.0 performance, 5 year warranty, 750 TBW, and excellent temps. STH Review: https://www.servethehome.com/sk-hynix-gold-p31-1tb-nvme-ssd-review/ 

 

Impressive. If reviews for this were widely available when I was buying the SX8200 Pro, I may have gone with the Gold P31 instead. In theory, its superior power efficiency mentioned in this AnandTech review would be good for a laptop too. It seems that SK Hynix didn't have the Gold P31 start making the rounds in the press until mid-late August though.

[Mistio]

I am running in my Razer laptop Samsung's 970 Evo + 2 TB NVME drive. Very happy with the performance and quality. I also used Samsung's Magician to create that special space to prolong its life. Test was done half a year ago on a fresh windows install without any drivers or anything. 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2020 by Mistio

[xlen]

@ENTERPRISEI'm guessing the new forum doesn't support the old google docs plugin?(check 1st post)

[ENTERPRISE]

11 minutes ago, xlen said:

@ENTERPRISEI'm guessing the new forum doesn't support the old google docs plugin?(check 1st post)

 

We are developing a new one, just not ready yet, hope to have it ready soon.

[UltraMega]

I just bought this the other day: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07L6GF81L?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

Seemed like a pretty good price/performance deal. 

[xlen]

1 hour ago, UltraMega said:

I just bought this the other day: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07L6GF81L?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

Seemed like a pretty good price/performance deal. 

It's not a bad SSD, the only concern is that Toshiba NAND has some reliability issues, but if you back up your important information you shouldn't worry about it more than you usually would