Question best 256 gb budget ssd?

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

I have an HP Chromebox that I'd like to fix up for watching downloaded HBO max files on our TV. I was thinking of using some external 480GB usb3 ssd drives that I got cheap at walmart to install Windows XP and Linux mint for a dual boot system.

However, now I'm thinking that might be rather slow, so I'm thinking about upgrading the internal 16GB m2 ssd to roughly a 256 gb size. Can anyone recommend a good budget choice? I see a number of options in the low $30 range, but have no idea which name is more trustworthy.

Thanks!

 

[VirtualLarry]

[dead] Gigabyte NVMe 256GB SSD $32.99 AP @ Newegg

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-256gb/p/0D9-00B8-00007 $7 off w/ promo code 79ULTSMR428, limited offer Form Factor: M.2 2280 Interface: PCI-Express 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 Total Capacity: 256GB 300TBW Sequential Read Speed: up to 1700 MB/s Sequential Write speed: up to 1100 MB/s HMB (Host Memory...

forums.anandtech.com

That's the cheapest NVMe 256GB that I currently know of, $29.99. But it uses HMB, Host Memory Buffer. Which, on a PC with a UEFI BIOS, shouldn't be an issue, but I have no idea if that is compatible with a Chromebox.

Also, how are you going to re-install the OS onto the Chromebox with the new SSD? There is no single "Chrome OS installer", they are customized to each platform.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

It's an HP J5N5OUT. Evidently you enable developer mode, then install firmware from Mr. Chromebox, and in the forum discussions on slickdeals where purchasers were discussing it, a number of folks were saying they did it successfully, & then were able to boot within a few seconds into several versions of Linux on startup, including Ubuntu & Linux Mint.

 

[aigomorla]

make sure its a nvme and not a msata.
As nvme ports are backwards compatible with msata, but not the other way around.

Seeing from specs:
HARD DRIVE

• Interface Type
  SATA 6Gb/s
• Type
  SSD
• SSD Form Factor
  M.2 2242
• Interface Class
  Serial ATA
• Installed Qty
  1
• Capacity
  16 GB
• Hard Drive Features
  multi-level cell (MLC)

makes it sound like its not a nVME, but a mSATA, in which larrys recommendation might not work.

 

[Billy Tallis]

But it uses HMB, Host Memory Buffer. Which, on a PC with a UEFI BIOS, shouldn't be an issue, but I have no idea if that is compatible with a Chromebox.

The NVMe Host Memory Buffer feature has nothing to do with the system firmware. Whether the system boots with UEFI or something else doesn't matter at all. The only thing that matters is whether the operating system knows how to use the HMB feature. If it doesn't, you get somewhat lower performance, but there are still no hard compatibility issues that would prevent you from using the drive. Linux and Windows have both supported HMB for a few years now.

make sure its a nvme and not a msata.
As nvme ports are backwards compatible with msata, but not the other way around.

NVMe and mSATA are mutually exclusive. You may be confusing mSATA for the more recent M.2 SATA. It is possible for a M.2 slot to support both NVMe and SATA drives. It's also possible for a M.2 slot to support only M.2 SATA drives, or to support only NVMe drives. It is often the case that M.2 NVMe slots using PCIe lanes provided by the CPU rather than the motherboard will not be able to support M.2 SATA drives.