Amazon has the Crucial BX500 240GB SATA SSD for $26.00 instead of $34.25.
Form factor: 2.5 inch
Interface: SATA 3
Read: Up to 540MB/s
Write: Up to 500MB/s
Type: 3D NAND
CamelCamelCamel.
Perfect for the oldies/youngsters, no problem with this for YouTube and email PC.
For RPi 4? Can be handy to try out a different OS or OS version.
My $10 WD Green 240GB is still collecting dust / unopened.
about as cheap as the superior BX gets, much better than the MX.
You got that the wrong way around. The MX500 is the much better drive
You are absolutely correct. Apologies for the IT dyslexia…
Cheap old PC resus drives. Cheers OP.
Thinking of putting in some extra ssds for app drives to leave main c for OS only - doesn't seem to rate well - https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crucial-bx500-ssd,5377.…, understandable given the price, but anyone have similar multi ssd setups and what type of budget os/app drive rated ssd would I be looking at for decent enough performance?
The main issues with low end SSDs are:
Read is not an issue, write, even if you get the same batch as the reviewer, you are looking at HDD like write speed. If you ended up with the QLC version, then you are looking at SD card writing speed (can be as low as 30MB/s).
If you want to use low end SSD as a data drive, it is best you only write limited amount of data to it each time (to let the SLC cache recover). Try to use it for mostly reads if possible. If you have spare a m.2/NVMe slot, might be better to look at cheap 2TB or 1TB NVMe SSD ($/GB is better).
Seems a good deal for a spare SSD. Won't blow your pants off but I'd have one as a spare for whatever.
Also wtf is frustration-free packaging?
I have used prime for years now and I can't say I've ever seen that hahahahah
As I understand, they remove any plastic that requires using a knife or scizzors to open, and just put it in a box for you.
Watch the youTube video (it is not in English, but it shows you):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP01F8jHlcY&t=113s
You get the contents of the item, but not the packaging box. It's a bit weird though because latest Crucial ssd packaging is very compact already.
If you dont have Prime, may as well get a $39 500gb drive - plenty to choose from
Link for the 500gb $39 drive pls
This same drive in 480GB is $44.
That will get it above the $39 free shipping threshold.
If going to the "close to $50" zone, I would just buy mx500 drive - 500gb for $50 at my local computer shop (PLE)
For the moment, I suggest aim for the worst. I am testing a 480GB SATA SSD purchased last weekend for $29. It's QLC (older model was TLC). I am doing the full drive write test at the moment. It's already over 2 hours and it is still going. After SLC cache is depleted, it is writing at 30MB/s.
For low end SATA SSDs, if you want to get them, make sure they are dirt cheap and be prepared to receive QLC SSDs.
which kind is this one?
Kingston A400 480GB, so some of the current batches can be QLC. The easiest way to test is to run the Phison utility, my one says Intel 114L QLC. Got to say it is the slowest Intel QLC I've ever experienced, probably due to low end controller with bare minimum channels (I am seeing only 2 channels, which is just awful). Knowing it is QLC, I have to test how slow it is… 30MB/s write. You won't be able to notice it with CrystalDiskMark tests though.
If you buy any of these as a system drive, I dont think it would matter much (though 500gb for a system may be an overkill)
And as with any SSD - keep a backup!
But we are really counting peanuts here. MX500 is $50 for 500gb or $38 for 250gb
NV2 1TB is now $69. WD Green 240GB was $10. PCIe gen 3 x4 1TB being less than $69 multiple times.
It's not as simple as you think for QLC. The SLC cache for A400 480GB is only 80GB at the beginning so it is probably still okay for a clean install of an OS. I am yet to test its SLC cache recovery speed (as the full drive write test is still going after 3 hours). 30MB/s write QLC speed, mate. You think that's fine? If your NBN is 250Mbits or higher, this SSD could be too slow to keep up with downloads.
This is about telling people that QLC is becoming the norm for low cost SSDs even for SSDs with smaller sizes.
@netsurfer: Doubt that people on 250mbps+ internet speeds would worry about an extra $20-$30 for a much better drive
If your desktop/laptop can take that type of drive, why even look at the old SATA?
@SAU: Good point, that was an impulsive purchase. I think my A400 will be connected to a Pi 4, unless I can figure out a way to use it just for reads. Reads are pretty consistent. My initial intention was maybe put linux mint on it to muck around, or Mac clone (but the write speed rules out using it for the latter).
I also found other interesting aspects of QLC and other measures Kingston is doing to cut costs on these low end SSDs.
I despise Amazon/Bezos, but sometimes I can't get the items I want locally. I was using this SSD to buy a $15 item to get the free shipping.
I am nearly 100kms from a shop. So, the shipping matters for a lot of people.
The MX is the better than the BX model.