Is there an SSD to last for decades? What is the most reliable SSD now?

[Kristijonas]

I want to update a laptop with an SSD and since it only has SATA2 connection, speed doesn't really matter and I really want a reliable one. So this brings me to two questions:

1. Can an SSD last for decades? Are there any models that could possibly claim such?

2. What is the most reliable SSD as of now?

I currently have my eyes set on Crucial MX300. It seems like a reliable one. Are there any better ones in this regard?

 

[Elixer]

Decades?
SSDs haven't been out for decades, so, how would anyone know?

You can have a 10 year warranty on a SSD, but, that is no guarantee that it will actually last 10 years. You must always make backups, there is no getting around that.

MX300 isn't a bad choice.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would look into getting a "new" Intel 710 series with HET MLC, surplus from a server supplier. They have 40,000 P/E cycles or so. Something like 800PB of writes supported, for the larger sizes. They aren't super-cheap, even surplus. But that's my vote on what I would go with.

That, or a Samsung 850 Pro, possibly. I don't know if 25nm HET MLC or 40nm Samsung 3D V-Nand has more endurance (P/E cycles).

Performance would certainly be better on the Samsung 850 Pro, though, being a SATA6G SSD, rather than SATAII.

 

[IntelUser2000]

I had my X25-M since shortly after release in late 2008.

Still works fine.

Performance would certainly be better on the Samsung 850 Pro, though, being a SATA6G SSD, rather than SATAII.

Hardly matters. Even SATAII vs NVMe doesn't matter for vast majority of people. Response time differences are quite negligible. Only thing you need is proper TRIM support.

 

[cfenton]

I wouldn't count on anything in a computer to last for decades. The storage size of anything today will be laughable in a decade. If you're concerned with longevity then get whatever has the longest warranty. It's not a perfect indicator, but they wouldn't warranty something if they didn't think a high percentage of the drives would last that long. On the consumer side it's probably one of Samsung's Pro drives.

 

[Kristijonas]

Thank you all for replies! Please share any more insights you may have!
@cfenton there are still computers, even laptops that are 15+ years old and are fully usable now! I suspect same will be with today's machines since Moore's law is slowing down. Even the laptop I'm installing a new SSD on is almost 9 years old now - the HPs Elitebook 8530w.

So it seems like the standard offerings from Intel, Samsung and Crucial ought to be the most reliable...
Though I heard Intel has/had this problem where their SSDs suddenly stopped working if something was damaged in it while others just isolated those sectors and continued working. I'm not sure if I've named the concern properly, read about it a year ago. One Samsung 850 I think, has super low failure rates and Crucial MX300 seems like a very reliable build in of itself too... I wonder if there are any other considerations.

 

[cfenton]

My point was that I wouldn't expect any computer component to last decades. Some will, some won't, but I wouldn't count on a part lasting that long.

As an aside, I suspect we have different ideas of what fully usable means. I'm sure there are 15 year old computers that turn on, but I sure wouldn't want to use one day-to-day. My oldest computer in semi-regular use is from 2008 (so not even 10 years old), but it's gone from 2GB of RAM to 8GB and from a 120GB HDD to an SSD. It's still not fun to use, and without upgrades I'd probably want to throw it out the window. I mostly use it when I don't want to take my good laptop somewhere I'm worried about it getting damaged.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Keep your stuff backed up and don't worry about it. If you have (unreasonably) high expectations for a computer component, you will only be disappointed.