I need a hard drive time

[Daehawk]

Looks like my gaming SSD my wife got me back around 2016 is dying. A 500g Samsung 850 I think. All kinds of troubling problems with it now. Even Samsung's own software doesn't see much of it.

My system is over 10 years old so no m.2 drive for me..no slot. Will have to be another 3.5" SSD to limp along with until I can build a full new system hopefully next year.

But Im out of the loop these days. What can I get thats big and cheap in SSD 3.5" IDE to put all my games on to keep me humming? Dont want a hybrid drive. Just a simple cheap big SSD for games. Thanks guys.

[Smoove_B]

Just so I'm clear, something like this?

EDIT: I think I'm just confused by the 3.5" and IDE notation you've included.

[Daehawk]

Ya like that. Are any brands cheaper and bigger yet still good? Ill need it for at least 1 - 2 years. On my current 500g one I have to delete games to put others on I want to try or play.

Some games these days are 150+g

And I said IDE I meant to add SATA. Internal.

I found this....

https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Inch-Int ... Wki8y&th=1

Its a Samsung 870 EVO 500g for $39.99

[Smoove_B]

I'm sure you can find cheaper, but I doubt they're going to be as good. You know the rules.

$53 for 250 GB of space seems pretty cheap to me, but I know it's all relative. Space to have a giant library installed might not be a luxury you can afford unfortunately, but doubling the size to 500 GB for another $20 seems pretty good, imho.

Maybe someone else has better leads or info. Maybe Woot has a deal?

[Daehawk]

Found a 500g PNY (used to be a good name) SSD SATA II for $21.99 on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/PNY-CS900-Intern ... X0DER&th=1

? Sry kinda rushing now. Want to order tonight...failures are spreading quicker than I had hoped they would.

[Daehawk]

With me paying off the house next year and my washer, car, and pc all falling apart Im taping things up with duck tape as I see the finish line come into view and I keep going. This would make a funny Wyle E Coyote'esk cartoon.

[Max Peck]

My system is over 10 years old so no m.2 drive for me..no slot. Will have to be another 3.5" SSD to limp along with until I can build a full new system hopefully next year.

If you have open PCIe slot, you can pick up an inexpensive NVMe adaptor that would let you install an M.2 SSD. I bought the one linked below a couple of years ago to install an additional 2TB Samsung 970 EVO SSD in my PC, and it works just as well as the one installed in the motherboard slot.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07YFW5HBN/

[Blackhawk]

Not a terrible idea.

For a regular SATA, I'm using these: Link.

[Daehawk]

Are m.2 cheaper or something? Whats the draw?

[Blackhawk]

Are m.2 cheaper or something? Whats the draw?

They are fasterer.

[Daehawk]

Are m.2 cheaper or something? Whats the draw?

They are fasterer.

Even funneled through the pci slot?

[Smoove_B]

There must be features I don't understand on those different Samsung drives that's somehow coded in those model numbers or versions. Cheap!

[Daehawk]

There must be features I don't understand on those different Samsung drives that's somehow coded in those model numbers or versions. Cheap!

I know. I dont understand it either.

[Smoove_B]

Unless some are able to be used with consoles (like the PS4/5?) - then I could see them being more in demand and more money.

[Max Peck]

I have one SATA SSD for my boot drive and a couple of M.2 drives for games.

Drive	Sequential R/W (MB/s)	Random R/W (IOPS)	TBW
Samsung 850 Pro 256G (SATA)	559/528	78613/73486	66.7/600
Samsung 970 EVO 2T (M.2 NVMe/Motherboard)	3510/3343	400878/397216	19.5/1200
Samsung 970 EVO 2T (M.2 NVMe/PCIe adaptor)	3375/3291	397216/355712	15.3/1200

The drive on the PCIe adaptor benchmarks slightly slower than the one on the motherboard, but it's still far faster than the SATA drive.

Edit: Added TBW as reported by Samsung Magician.

[Anonymous Bosch]

If you can afford to do so, I would suggest opting for the Samsung 870 EVO drive you linked above over the cheaper PNY drive. Because the PNY drive you linked has a lesser endurance of 200 TBW (TeraBytes Written) and a 3-year warranty, as indicated here. Whereas the Samsung 870 EVO drive has a more durable endurance of 300 TBW and a 5-year warranty.

Again, I would strongly recommend watching the following video, which clearly explains the relevance of the TBW limit and how it impacts the lifespan of the particular SSD you end up purchasing:

[Carpet_pissr]

Isn't m.2 just a form factor? AFAIK the form factor doesn't gain you any speed...it's smaller, for sure, than a SATA. I think you guys might be confusing NVME with m.2? (or maybe I'm confused).

I have both SATA and NVME drives in my rig and while I haven't tested them (why would I?) I don't notice a difference in speed (I'm sure benchmarks would show a difference, but I am talking about real world noticeable difference). They are both noticeably faster than my old school 2TB drive however.

[Daehawk]

Wow those are some impressive numbers. Guess you've sold me then.

Looks like Ill be moving to a new tech. Max I had to order a different cheaper adapter card as the one you linked seemed to be Canada only. Wouldn't let me order it and I couldn't find it on Amazon here.

Im gonna order the ......

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VY ... UTF8&psc=1
NVMe PCIe Adapter, M Key M.2 NVME SSD to PCI-e 3.0
$7.99


And the.........

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PCIe-NAN ... ZieXRNTtV2
Crucial P3 500GB PCIe Gen3 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD
$24.99


Wow..500g NVMe M.2 SSD + adaptor card for total plus tax = $27.43

[Daehawk]

Bosch I watched that video when you posted in the other thread. Informative. I just need cheap and big for a short time. I think what I ordered will do well right?

[Max Peck]

Isn't m.2 just a form factor? AFAIK the form factor doesn't gain you any speed...it's smaller, for sure, than a SATA. I think you guys might be confusing NVME with m.2? (or maybe I'm confused).

I have both SATA and NVME drives in my rig and while I haven't tested them (why would I?) I don't notice a difference in speed (I'm sure benchmarks would show a difference, but I am talking about real world noticeable difference). They are both noticeably faster than my old school 2TB drive however.

To clarify, my 850 Pro is a SATA drive and my 970 EVOs are M.2 NVMe drives, with one connected to an M.2 NVMe socket on the motherboard and the other connected to an M.2 NVMe-to-PCIe adaptor that is plugged into a PCIe x4 slot.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Bosch I watched that video when you posted in the other thread. Informative. I just need cheap and big for a short time. I think what I ordered will do well right?

I would think so, and you certainly ought to see improved performance with the NVM Express M.2 drive.

[Daehawk]

Thats good. Something going my way is rare. Cheap fast and big...must be a SSD...why ..what were you thinking?

[Daehawk]

Looking forward to tomorrow. Ive never had a nvme drive but have read about them. Should be fast. Still shocked I could get a 500g ssd and adapter card for $30. Thats a shocking price compared to my former decades of purchases.

Im missing playing ESO already and its just one day. Such a deep fun impressive game.

[Daehawk]

SSD and adapter came today. Its moment of truth time and I must install it. About to lose a hard drive of games going back to 2016 or 2017. Least my place is kept .Ill need to write down the ones I want to reinstall and actually play again.

[Max Peck]

All this talk about failing drives reminded me that I've been planning to replace my legacy HDDs (1x2TB, 1x4TB), which have been moved from PC to PC over several upgrades and have been in service for at least a decade by now. I already had one issue crop up with the 4TB drive a few weeks ago, although I was able to repair the file system with minimal apparent data loss.

I picked up a SATA Samsung 870 QVO 8TB SSD. I've already backed off the contents of the 4TB HDD to an external SSD, so I'll swap out that HDD for the new SSD, restore the backed up data and then migrate the contents of of the 2TB HDD to the 8TB SSD. A lot of the content is accumulated data archives, along with a bunch of older games that ran fine from a HDD, so the lower performance of the QVO relative to EVO or PRO drives is an acceptable trade-off for (relatively) cheap high capacity. It is rated for 2880 TBW, so given that I don't churn this data very much, it'll probably outlive me.

This article was helpful in understanding the differences between the different types of Samsung SSDs in particular, and other brands in general:

Samsung QVO vs. EVO: SSD differences explained

Samsung makes some of the best SSDs (solid-state drives) on the market, so if you’re looking to speed up your storage, it makes perfect sense to check out this brand. However, it can be hard to tell which Samsung SSD to pick, simply because Samsung’s naming convention doesn’t give anything away.

Many of us are left wondering: What’s the difference between the different SSD lines? Which model wins in a battle of Samsung QVO versus Samsung EVO? The drives vary in a few ways, from pricing to performance and longevity. In this guide, we’ll delve deeper into the differences between the Samsung QVO and Samsung EVO SSDs.

It all comes down to flash memory type

For a long time, Samsung offered two types of SSDs — the Samsung Pro and the Samsung EVO. In 2020, the company also launched its third line of SSDs, dubbed the Samsung QVO. While all three are available to consumer-level PC builders, the Pro SSDs are the most expensive, while the other two types are more affordable.

The main difference between these three brands stems from the type of flash memory they use. SSDs use non-volatile flash memory, which is a type of memory that can store data for long periods of time and doesn’t require constant power. All three Samsung SSD lines use NAND (which stands for “Not And” and is an electronic logic gate) flash memory to persistently store data, but the exact technology varies between all three.

NAND flash memory typically comes in the following types:

• Single-level cell (SLC) NAND is typically the most expensive of all, but it tends to have a high endurance. It stores 1 bit of data per memory cell.
• Multi-level cell (MLC) NAND is often less expensive than SLC while still offering great longevity. It can hold 2 bits of data per memory cell.
• Triple-level cell (TLC) NAND offers a higher storage density than the previous two, but it also tends to have worse performance and longevity. It holds 3 bits of data per cell.
• Quad-level cell (QLC) NAND is perhaps the cheapest of all four types. Unsurprisingly, it also offers the shortest lifespan of the four. Following the trend, QLC NAND stores 4 bits of data per cell.
• 3D NAND refers to stacking multiple NAND chips within a single SSD. It offers much higher storage density, but it’s not practical in consumer builds due to higher costs and power requirements.

Samsung EVO SSDs use TLC NAND (3 bits per cell) while the new QVO line uses QLC (4 bits per cell). For reference, Samsung Pro SSDs are made with MLC NAND (2 bits per cell), but below, we will focus on the differences between EVO and QVO.

[Daehawk]

Im going to install it now....famous last words. Buggabuggabugabuga buga$W%@$%^$%. It should have been as easy and installing the ssd on the adapter and plugging the adapter into a pci slot. Was it? NOOoooo Nonononono I said NO. Never.

Did that and nothing. My computer does not see the drive at all. Bios sees it, Crucial software sees it, device manager sees it. Me not building a pc in 12 years cant remember why. 4 or 5 or 6 webpages and 20 min later I see I have to initialize it. Doh. Disk Manager..of course. Cant find DM. Search for it..doesn't exist..wtf. Try to run it off the command line..does not exist. Damnit I know disk manager is in win 10. More web pages. Nothing.

I finally stumbled upon it somehow..now Im not sure that Ive closed it..but I got it open. It sees the drives. Says Not Initialized still. Figure out how to do that. Now says not allocated. I know this means to format it. I cant remember how. 10 min later my brain sorta remembers to right click it ..nothing to format. 10 more min I realize Im clicking the left side of the drive info in DM and I need to click the roght side area to format. (*&%^%*^%%^&*^&*@#@##!!!!!

Now its all good and I have a new G drive..G for games..get it? hehe me smert. But man 12 years out of the loop and you forget simple shit I used to use all the time.

[Daehawk]

Thanks to all you fellers for the help and info. And thanks you Max for the nvme and adapter suggestion and info. I would have never thought of that as my system is so old I knew it didn't support it on the board so had no reason to consider it. Now Im upgraded to something even better for only $30.