AT's best SSDs Q2 2016 article

[Elixer]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9799/best-ssds

The value segment of the SSD market is where drives sacrifice performance and reliability to reach the lowest possible prices. Since SSD prices have tended to drop across the entire market, it is almost always possible to spend just a little more money to get a significant performance boost. The mid-range segment is a battleground between TLC drives with high enough performance, and any MLC drives that can get the price down without sacrificing their inherent performance advantage over TLC.

Now, why would you not say just what reliability sacrifices are made for each drive?
They list one MLC, and the others are TLC, so, I am wondering what does Billy base his opinions of poor reliability on?
Yeah, we know TLC is less reliable than MLC, so then, why does he not specifically say that about the TLC drives only?
He is implying that the PNY CS2211 is also unreliable, which isn't the case, at least, from what I read about it.


BTW, I don't think I have seen Billy ever post here, unlike the old SSD guy, hellhammer, what is up with that?

 

[StrangerGuy]

tl;dr buy the Muskin Reactor 1TB?

 

[VirtualLarry]

I wouldn't even put the CS2211 into the "value" segment. It's consistently more money than the bottom-end drives, although it's MLC, not TLC, and it has a Phison S10 controller (quad-core), so performance is good.

 

[Hellhammer]

BTW, I don't think I have seen Billy ever post here, unlike the old SSD guy, hellhammer, what is up with that?

While being active in the forums is encouraged, it's not demanded. Every editor makes their own choice whether they want to participate in forums and social media, and from what I know Billy doesn't seem enthusiastic about either.

 

[UsandThem]

I wouldn't even put the CS2211 into the "value" segment. It's consistently more money than the bottom-end drives, although it's MLC, not TLC, and it has a Phison S10 controller (quad-core), so performance is good.

I agree, depending on how someone defines the different segments.

For how I look at things, I think there are four different segments:

Enthusiast, performance, mainstream, and value.

Enthusiast = 950 Pro, Intel 750

Performance = 850 Pro, Sandisk Extreme Pro

Mainstream = 850 EVO, CS2211, etc.

Value = Mushkin, Adata, Sandisk Plus, CS1311, etc. (Basically drives that are cheaper and slower than the mainstream ones).

I know there is a difference between NVMe drives and SATA3 SSDs, but that's how I look at the current choices.

 

[Billy Tallis]

Now, why would you not say just what reliability sacrifices are made for each drive?
They list one MLC, and the others are TLC, so, I am wondering what does Billy base his opinions of poor reliability on?

The two TLC drives I listed have 5 year warranties compared to 4 years for the CS2211 and 3 years for the Reactor. Other things being equal, MLC will be more reliable than TLC, but the warranty differences suggest that these MLC drives aren't built with the highest grade of NAND or aren't getting as much QA as the SanDisk and Samsung TLC drives. In a way, it's a choice between promised reliability and unofficial expected reliability.

If it wasn't clear, all of the drives I listed in that section's table are what I would consider mid-range SATA drives, while low-end SATA drives are mostly Phison and SMI TLC drives. Recommendations for the bottom tier of SATA SSDs would amount to little more than "whatever's cheapest today", so I didn't make any specific recommendations for that segment and instead chose to highlight some drives that are worth paying a little extra for.

BTW, I don't think I have seen Billy ever post here, unlike the old SSD guy, hellhammer, what is up with that?

I tend to hang out more on Reddit, and haven't made the AT forums part of my routine yet. It's nothing personal against you guys. Don't hesitate to nag me by email if there's something in the forums that should be brought to my attention.

 

[Elixer]

The two TLC drives I listed have 5 year warranties compared to 4 years for the CS2211 and 3 years for the Reactor. Other things being equal, MLC will be more reliable than TLC, but the warranty differences suggest that these MLC drives aren't built with the highest grade of NAND or aren't getting as much QA as the SanDisk and Samsung TLC drives. In a way, it's a choice between promised reliability and unofficial expected reliability.

OK, that makes sense, thanks for the clarification!

Nice to see you on the forums.