Why are SATA SSDs almost the same price as NVME?

[AncientPistol]

I am looking to get a 2TB SSD as a game drive for my PC. Since it will be exclusively used for storing games and movies/shows I was looking for something cheap that performs better than a hard drive. On Newegg the cheapest 2TB SATA drive I found was a crucial drive for $140 while a WD Blue NVME SSD is available for $150.

 

Are there no cheaper options or should I look at other websites?

[SavageNeo]

They are almost the same price, because you wont really notice the difference in speed anyway, so there is no pont of m.2 SSDs being so expensive.

[manikyath]

because when you go look for the cheapest, they're both limited to the same 'lower limits' for cost, despite the interface:

- the cost of the flash memory

- the cost of manufacturing, packaging, shipping.

 

you're still talking about a 7-ish percent difference in cost, on one side yes it's only a tenner, but on the other side that's quite a lot of difference.

[Deadpool2onBlu-Ray]

34 minutes ago, manikyath said:

because when you go look for the cheapest, they're both limited to the same 'lower limits' for cost, despite the interface:

- the cost of the flash memory

- the cost of manufacturing, packaging, shipping.

 

you're still talking about a 7-ish percent difference in cost, on one side yes it's only a tenner, but on the other side that's quite a lot of difference.

Yup

[mariushm]

The flash memory chips have about the same price. Maybe the SATA versions could use a lower speed grade flash memory chip (different binning) but the price differences are small.

The nvme controller chip may be a bit more expensive compared to a sata controller but that sata controller still needs all the brains a nvme controller would have for error correction and all the tricks needed to properly use the fancy modern flash memory chips....  but you save money on the m.2 version by having a smaller circuit board and no plastic/metal shell and no big sata power and data connector (they buy them in huge quantities but still not free, even if the connectors cost  20 cents it's a lot.

You save money in shipping with m.2 versions ... you can package 2-3 M.2 drives in the spac you'd use for a SATA drive ... so you fill a shipping container more efficiently...

The sata version may need an extra 5-10 cent voltage regulator to convert 5v to 3.3v or lower, m.2 drives are powered directly with 3.3v

[worstalentscout]

22 hours ago, mariushm said:

The flash memory chips have about the same price. Maybe the SATA versions could use a lower speed grade flash memory chip (different binning) but the price differences are small.

The nvme controller chip may be a bit more expensive compared to a sata controller but that sata controller still needs all the brains a nvme controller would have for error correction and all the tricks needed to properly use the fancy modern flash memory chips....  but you save money on the m.2 version by having a smaller circuit board and no plastic/metal shell and no big sata power and data connector (they buy them in huge quantities but still not free, even if the connectors cost  20 cents it's a lot.

You save money in shipping with m.2 versions ... you can package 2-3 M.2 drives in the spac you'd use for a SATA drive ... so you fill a shipping container more efficiently...

The sata version may need an extra 5-10 cent voltage regulator to convert 5v to 3.3v or lower, m.2 drives are powered directly with 3.3v

 

wow................sounds like NVME SSDs should be more reliable since no SATA + power connectors....................but hotter NVME temperatures affected data retention reliability, right ?

[worstalentscout]

what happened to the font on this forum ??

[mariushm]

44 minutes ago, worstalentscout said:

 

wow................sounds like NVME SSDs should be more reliable since no SATA + power connectors....................but hotter NVME temperatures affected data retention reliability, right ?

No. Flash memory likes to be warm. Running at 50-70c is perfectly fine for the Flash memory chips. It's the controller that doesn't like heat, which can usually handle up to around 85c and when they get too hot they throttle (reduce speeds).

M.2 have smaller pcbs, which may have to be made out of more layers (so more expensive) and you have to run the pcbs through an extra manufacturing step to gold plate the contacts - sata SSD pcbs don't need gold plating step  because they solder the connectors to the pcb and the connectors may or may not be gold plated from the factory.

 

 

[worstalentscout]

9 hours ago, mariushm said:

No. Flash memory likes to be warm. Running at 50-70c is perfectly fine for the Flash memory chips. It's the controller that doesn't like heat, which can usually handle up to around 85c and when they get too hot they throttle (reduce speeds).

M.2 have smaller pcbs, which may have to be made out of more layers (so more expensive) and you have to run the pcbs through an extra manufacturing step to gold plate the contacts - sata SSD pcbs don't need gold plating step  because they solder the connectors to the pcb and the connectors may or may not be gold plated from the factory.

 

 

 

i see, many thanks for the detailed info

[kokosnh]

On 4/1/2022 at 4:46 PM, worstalentscout said:

what happened to the font on this forum ??

prima aprilis