Recommended list of NVMe SSDs for use

[GoofyX]

Hi,

I use Gentoo (with kernel 6.13.x) and my root partition resides in a Samsung 870 EVO (SATA). My home resides is a LUKS RAID 1 partition of two WD Black 750GB disks which serves me well (at least up until now...), but I was wondering about buying a NVME drive for it (and other stuff, like a few VMs that I use).

I've been looking at WD SN580 and SN770 (just for the sake of the higher TBW compared to SN580) in 2TB sizes. I don't care much about the speed (my mobo supports PCIe x4 4.0 in the NVMe slots). I've chosen these two mainly for the lower cost compared to Samsung, but I've been reading about issues with these drives in Linux.

Which NVMe SSDs do you use and have been reliable for you? What do you recommend? Regardless of cost, because if I buy a cheap SSD that has issues, then the point of lower cost goes away.

 

[Brickwizard]

My SSD's are Kingston and my NVMe's are branded Toshiba they are both mid-range models

 

[GoofyX]

Models?

 

[Brickwizard]

Models?

Problem ??

 

[GoofyX]

I mean which Kingston and Toshiba models you have.

 

[Condobloke]

Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 SSD 250GB

trouble free

Bought 3/4 years ago

I have a second SSD...also a 250GB......this one made by SPCC (www.silicon-power.com)

Only ~12 months old....cheap as chips on Amazon.....fast as lightning.....reliable to date....the feedback on Amazon was good

 

[f33dm3bits]

I mostly buy Samsung and sometimes Kingston or something else on a rare occasion.

 

[Brickwizard]

Ah, the 2.5 inch SSD's are DC 600 series and the NVMe are KIOXIA,
I have never had a problem with any Kingston memory products so unless high speed is needed [gamers like the fasted they can get] I will always recommend them, Although I have Toshiba branded NVMe's again I have fitted Kingston without issue, and before you ask why the Toshiba ones, one of my contacts had to change out the 256 & 512 Toshiba's for 1 tb models for a large customer and was shifting them from his stock to his contacts as new other unbox and unused for half price,

​

 

[KGIII]

Modern SSDs, including the NVMe M.2 versions, have come a long way. They now last longer (have a longer MTBF) than the best spinning rust drives did. Though, the industry does expect people to upgrade anywhere between 3 and 5 years (which is no longer as valid as it once was), they still last longer than you'll likely use it.

As data grows, which is what it does, files are getting larger and larger - with games being many times larger than full operating systems. An example would be Baldur's Gate 3, which is about 150 GB in size. So, what seems adequate now will not be all that adequate in the future. I was once the cock of the block with a whopping 40 MB in HDD storage and a MODEM that cracked 9600 baud.

I mention this because you have less expensive alternatives.

More specifically, head to NewEgg and look up 'TeamGroup' drives. Check their reviews if you'd like. Check their specs while you're there. I tried them on a lark, expecting poor quality. I've since become a fan as I've had exactly zero failures - across multiple drives and now quite a few years.

I have other SSDs that are more expensive but TeamGroup performs very well and is less expensive while still giving you acceptable results.

 

[GoofyX]

More specifically, head to NewEgg and look up 'TeamGroup' drives. Check their reviews if you'd like. Check their specs while you're there. I tried them on a lark, expecting poor quality. I've since become a fan as I've had exactly zero failures - across multiple drives and now quite a few years.

I have other SSDs that are more expensive but TeamGroup performs very well and is less expensive while still giving you acceptable results.

I'm in Europe (Greece), so NewEgg is not a possibility.

I've read good reviews about TeamGroup MP44, but also read that the company tends to change the controllers used in their products, without mentioning or announcing anything. Actually the prices here for TeamGroup NVMe's are quite close to the WD ones. Speaking of WD, no one here wrote anything about this brand. Are they bad? I've read good reviews about SN580 (and SN770), especially as a DRAM-less budget drive.

Samsung 990 EVO Plus 2TB costs here 145€. TeamGroup MP44L 2TB is at 115€, MP44 2TB is at 143€, SN580 2TB is at 114€, SN770 2TB is at 123€, Kioxia Exceria G2 2TB is at 113€.

 

[Brickwizard]

I'm in Europe (Greece),

Wish I was,

those € prices are Similar to UK sterling prices.

 

[KGIII]

Actually the prices here for TeamGroup NVMe's are quite close to the WD ones.

That's good to know, thanks. Now I'll know this for folks who aren't in the US.

Speaking of WD, no one here wrote anything about this brand.

They were one of the first SSDs I used. SSDs were so new that it was actually a hybrid SSD, functioning more like a cache for an HDD. I've since owned additional WD SSDs but I've never owned an NVMe M.2 SSD from Western Digital.

I'm sure they're fine.

Actually, I think I might have one WD SSD in a USB-C enclosure. I think it came with it. I also have some external storage that's WD, but that doesn't apply to this topic.

Like I said, I'm sure they're fine. Any of the major OEMs are going to give you acceptable results and the statistics will suggest a long and healthy life for the drive. There are always outliers and manufacturing defects, but the odds of getting one will be quite low, regardless of which major OEM you go with.

Do make sure to get the drive from a reputable source. There are a lot of counterfeit drives out there. There are some that will report the correct capacity through some firmware trickery and then not have anything close to the stated capacity. This isn't just for USB thumbdrives but can (and does) apply to internal storage. Fakes are a legitimate problem. If you see a price that's way less than other prices, you've probably found the counterfeit.

 

[theLegionWithin]

i've been using a sabrent nvme drive for a few years, havent had any issues. dunno the model and it guess it's sort of small compared to the 2tb models you can get now but I dont store much on the boot device (other than the OS)

 

[dos2unix]

I use quite a few different ones, I really never have any trouble with any of them.

TASK [Display drive information] ******************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.75] => {
"msg": "NAME MODEL VENDOR\nsda
KINGSTON SUV500240G ATA \nsdb 2.5\" SATA SSD 3ME3 ATA \nzram0 \nnvme0n1
INTEL SSDPEKNW020T8 \nnvme1n1
WD_BLACK SN850X 2000GB "
}
ok: [10.0.0.66] => {
"msg": "NAME MODEL VENDOR\nzram0 \nnvme0n1
INTEL SSDPEKKR256G8 "
}
ok: [10.0.0.67] => {
"msg": "NAME MODEL VENDOR\nzram0 \nnvme0n1
PC SN520 NVMe WDC 512GB "
}
ok: [10.0.0.138] => {
"msg": "NAME MODEL VENDOR\nzram0 \nnvme0n1
INTEL SSDPEKKR256G8 "
}
ok: [10.0.0.193] => {
"msg": "NAME MODEL VENDOR\nsda
SQF-SM4V2-256G-SBE ATA \nsdb
Crucial_CT525MX300SSD4 ATA \nsdc
SanDisk 3.2Gen1 USB \nzram0 \nnvme0n1
WD_BLACK SN850X 2000GB "
}