Need help picking a 1tb ssd

paprikman · March 18, 2020

Hi.

I finally decided to get a 1tb ssd for work and some games. I don't game a lot, as well as I'm not interested in most AAA-like stuff, though I feel that getting 512gb is not worth it nowadays.

As it comes to work, I do a lot of programming, which requires frequent rebuilds, and this is where I can benefit from the ssd. The process also requires writing/reading a lot of small files, which is very important for me. If the drive won't be capable of it, then there's no point for me in switching to an ssd. I already have one as a system drive (I was asking about it in this post), but I don't wanna leave anything sensible on it (like work projects and so on), and it's too small for keeping games on it.

I don't feel like spending more than $150-200 on it.

I have the asus rog strix b360-g mobo, which allows me to use both sata and pci-e types of ssd, but I'm leaning towards the m.2 ones. I've done some research, and I couldn't find any 'perfect' solution (these were the intel 660p, adata sx6000 pro, sata samsung 860 evo). I also have some concerns about heating - some ssd tests report operation 90 C temps (I have a closed define R4 case).

What are the best options for my requirements?

Thanks!

NewMaxx · March 18, 2020

Check the link in my signature, there's more resources there in my subreddit. If it's to be a workspace drive and it's going to be filled up often with plenty of writes, you probably want to avoid anything DRAM-less and also drives with QLC or large SLC caches. For the most part that would leave the WD SN750 as the best candidate - this has been <$130 lately at 1TB. E12-based drives would be suitable budget alternative. Again, check my resources.

paprikman · March 18, 2020

6 minutes ago, NewMaxx said:

Check the link in my signature, there's more resources there in my subreddit. If it's to be a workspace drive and it's going to be filled up often with plenty of writes, you probably want to avoid anything DRAM-less and also drives with QLC or large SLC caches. For the most part that would leave the WD SN750 as the best candidate - this has been <$130 lately at 1TB. E12-based drives would be suitable budget alternative. Again, check my resources.

1TB SN750: $149.99 here. You then get 10% off as a new user/account (newsletter) or 15% as student, teacher, or senior (through various methods). You can also get 5-15% cashback depending on which site you use for that.

Thanks, that makes sense. I've already saw info on how bad the dram-less drives would be for me, this is why I decided to ask about it. Unfortunately, the sn750 is a bit out of the price range for me (in my country), but I think that I won't find anything reliable within my budget, so I'd probably extend it.

NewMaxx · March 18, 2020

The 970 EVO/EVO Plus is also good, just usually overpriced. Although the SN750 often is, too. Traditionally the E12 drives are the budget fallback.

paprikman · March 18, 2020

2 hours ago, NewMaxx said:

The 970 EVO/EVO Plus is also good, just usually overpriced. Although the SN750 often is, too. Traditionally the E12 drives are the budget fallback.

I've selected the Silicon Power P34A80, according to your recommendations and reviews online. I can't justify getting the 970 evo, but I would definitely have considered one if I was only struggling for performance and not storage at the same time.

edit: copied wrong name, I mean the P34A80