All the Solid State Drives simultaneously connected to a computer and tried everything at the same time. For the test, a motherboard with SATA II ports was chosen instead of a more modern motherboard with SATA III ports. As noted in the video, I didn’t have a more modern one on hand, but that doesn’t matter enough, since we don’t care about read and write speed.
The test was difficult and it was established that if, in a unit, the performance drops to 10MB/s write the least, this will be thrown. When this performance is reached, the unit is considered dead. It may continue to work, but the performance will be poor and it will cause the system to malfunction.
HD Tune Pro software was used to perform the intensive write test, which took 3 months with 24/7 system operation.
What is the durability of the different SSDs tested?
Before giving the data, we would like to point out that the terabytes written (TBW) These are generally conservative numbers. Many manufacturers offer an extended SSD warranty and a TBW cap. The usual thing is that they can continue to be used without too much trouble once this write limit is exceeded.
Crucial BX500
Let’s start with a major brand like Crucial. For those who don’t know, this is the Micron Business Division, a memory manufacturer for SSDs, RAM and graphics cards, among others. This SSD in question has 80 TBW, or what amounts to the same, we can write up to 80 TB before exceeding the limit set by the manufacturer.
During the first moments of the test, this device showed noticeable speed spikes. This may be due to the design of the controller, which may have multiple modes of operation. It seems that first it enters a specific mode for transferring files or booting the operating system.
After 5 TB writtenthe unit seems to have stabilized performance. This may indicate that the controller firmware is analyzing how the drive is used and changing its behavior. In the 17TB it seems to have a performance issue, but that’s somewhat anecdotal.
Reviews of the 26TB, 34TB and 60TB are good and the drive seems to deliver good and stable performance. At 87 TB written, the disk shows the first signs of fatigue. The Crucial unit hits 100TB without noticeable issues, beyond a few occasional fatigue symptoms. It’s a pretty good unit and one we should consider when buying an SSD.
SanDisk Ultra 3D
These SSDs are among the cheapest on the market and are particularly good for giving a second life to computers or laptops with a few years. It’s always been one of the slowest devices out there, but that doesn’t make them bad devices. It should be noted that some time ago Western Digital acquired SanDisk.
During the first moments of the test, it shows noticeable performance spikes, with strong ups and downs. What is interesting is that the operation is the same throughout the trial period. We see how in all checkpoints the unit shows the same “unstable” performance. You may be using a simple controller that only has one mode of operation, so to speak.
But, the drive hits 100TB writes without major issues, making it a great drive for durability. The unit is marketed with a lifetime of 100 TBW, so it exceeds that figure without major issues. It can be a good option to give an old laptop or computer a second life, but I wouldn’t choose it for a new system.
Kingston A400 (AWESOME)
Another one of those solid state drives ideal for giving an “old” computer a second life is that of Kinston. The unit is not characterized by its great functionality, moreover, they are the simplest units currently offered. This Kingston drive has a lifetime of 80 TBW.
It is striking that from the start the the performance of this Kingston SSD is very stable. We saw how the Crucial drive initially offered choppy performance and the SanDisk drive was always unstable. The first moment of instability for this SSD appears after 87TB written, although it appears to be transient.
It is without a doubt the best SSD of all those analyzed. Personally I thought Crucial would be the best, but by far the best is Kingston. If you want a good, cheap and durable SSD, don’t hesitate, buy this one.
Kingspec (DO NOT BUY)
Unfortunately I was cannot find the same drive as in the video. This drive is on Amazon in a 256GB capacity in orange, the 240GB drive I haven’t seen. It caught my eye to find capacities of 180GB (very rare) and 360GB (I think this is the first time I’ve seen it). Right off the bat, it’s a unit that activates my alarms. But it is that in addition, TBW not specifiedif it indicates an f1 million runtime hours between failuresa parameter that says nothing about SSDs.
What is interesting is that it offers very stable performance at the start of the test. Interestingly, after 5TB written, the first performance issues appear. It seems that in the written section of 17TB, the performance stabilizes again. When the 26 TB written is reached, it already shows obvious signs of exhaustion and at 34 TB written, the disk can be considered dead
Come on, this device is not considerable at all. Also, for price, capacity, and performance, Kingston and Crucial drives are better.
Bait (DO NOT BUY)
We are going with the second China-made solid-state storage drive. This manufacturer also gives us a very rare durability data. This indicates that it can withstand a 100 GB/day writing for about 8 years. If we do the math, supposedly this unit theoretically supports 292 TBW, which is better than SSDs meant for servers, crazy. Plus, it tells us that reading stamina is unlimited, which is even funnier.
During the start-up phase, the unit works well and shows quite good performance. The first problems appear after 5 TB written, showing the first symptoms that something is wrong. The unit lasts a little longer, since at 26TB writes disk dies totallyfalling below 10 MB/s in writing.
According to manufacturer data, this device It didn’t even hit 10% of the written terabytes it theoretically supports. Come on, don’t approach this unit with a stick.
Comparison between different SSDs
SANDISK | CRUCIAL | KINGSTON | KINGSPEC | BAIT | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MANUFACTURER DURABILITY DATA | 100TBW | 80TBW | 80TBW | 1 MILLION HOURS? | 100GB/DAY? |
START | speed peaks | speed peaks | stable performance | stable performance | stable performance |
5TBW | The speed spikes continue. | Performance stabilizes | stable performance | The first problems appear | The first problems appear |
17 TBW | The speed spikes continue. | A specific problem appears | stable performance | Performance is stable again | Performance is stable again |
26 TBW | The speed spikes continue. | Performance is stable again | stable performance | The first performance issues appear | dead |
34TBW | The speed spikes continue. | stable performance | stable performance | dead | – |
60TBW | The speed spikes continue. | Some minor performance issues | stable performance | – | – |
87 TBW | The speed spikes continue. | Has symptoms of fatigue | The first signs of fatigue appear | – | – |
100TBW | Complete the test without noticeable issues | Some symptoms of fatigue but complete the test without problems | Complete the test without noticeable issues | – | – |
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