Looking for good mid range M2 NVMe drive.

[Rifter]

Thinking about parts for my upcoming zen build and its time to choose a SSD. My old Intel G2 120GB has been great but i may as well move off sata and into the future of NVMe at this time.

So what are some good mid range options? i dont need a baller top end samsung pro or whatever just looking for something in the 500GB size range that has good performance, doesnt throttle, and doesnt brake the bank.

Seem like the crucial MX300 may be what im looking for, opinions?

 

[UsandThem]

Well the MX300 is not a NVMe drive. They have a version of that drive in the M.2 form factor, but it is still a SATA drive that's no different that a standard SSD. If that's what you want, the MX300 is a good choice.

Some options if you want a NVMe drive are the MyDigitalSSD BPX, Samsung 960 EVO, OCZ RD400, and Plextor M8Pe. But they are more $$$ (and faster) than SATA-based drives.

 

[Bouowmx]

Tom's Hardware gave favorable opinions on MyDigitalSSD BPX.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mydigitalssd-bpx-nvme-ssd,4780.html
480 GB: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA53D55P8999

 

[UsandThem]

Tom's Hardware gave favorable opinions on MyDigitalSSD BPX.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mydigitalssd-bpx-nvme-ssd,4780.html
480 GB: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA53D55P8999

As Bouowmx and I have already mentioned, the MyDigitalSSD BPX is probably "THE" entry-level SSD to get, and if you order from their website instead of Amazon, it is cheaper:

($187.32 or $199.99 from Amazon)
http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/my...-m.2-pcie-gen3-x4-nvme-ssd-mdnvme80-bpx-0512/

 

[Rifter]

those look nice for sure, never herd of the company before though how is their reliability and customer service?

 

[UsandThem]

those look nice for sure, never herd of the company before though how is their reliability and customer service?

They have a good BBB rating, and the Tom's Hardware review linked above talks about their history. They have been around for a while.

 

[jkauff]

As Bouowmx and I have already mentioned, the MyDigitalSSD BPX is probably "THE" entry-level SSD to get, and if you order from their website instead of Amazon, it is cheaper:

($187.32 or $199.99 from Amazon)
http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/my...-m.2-pcie-gen3-x4-nvme-ssd-mdnvme80-bpx-0512/

I bought one of these a couple weeks ago and mounted it using an Asus m.2 PCIe adapter. My only complaint is that it runs really hot, even sometimes at idle.

I'm looking to purchase an Alphacool HDX heatsink and replace the included thermal pads with the Arctic pad I bought. Unfortunately, it's out of stock at the sole retail source.

 

[UsandThem]

I bought one of these a couple weeks ago and mounted it using an Asus m.2 PCIe adapter. My only complaint is that it runs really hot, even sometimes at idle.

I'm looking to purchase an Alphacool HDX heatsink and replace the included thermal pads with the Arctic pad I bought. Unfortunately, it's out of stock at the sole retail source.

All bare NVMe drives run warm/hot.

Also, that Alphacool HDX really won't do much for you. In this thread, user XbananakFanatic bought one and posted his temp differences. He then bought a KryoM.2 and posted the results from that one:

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/is-this-53-degrees-idle-normal-for-nvme-ssd.2497459/

960 Evo bare: 26C idle, 54C peak, 28C delta

960 Evo Alpha: 31C idle, 48C peak, 17C delta

 

[Rifter]

wait we need to buy heatsinks for these things?

 

[UsandThem]

wait we need to buy heatsinks for these things?

Not for normal desktop use. However, they all will throttle at some point under sustained use.

Some of us use cooling on our NVMe drives much in the same reason some people use aftermarket coolers on their CPU. Keeping the drives cooler (28c cooler at load in my case with a 960 EVO). Less heat definitely can't hurt anything, and a good cooler like the KryoM.2 is pretty reasonable at $30.

 

[jkauff]

Thanks for the link to the Alphacool HDX review. Based on that, I decided to take another approach. My case has two fan-size vents on the left side, so I bought a couple of USB-powered external fans that I'm going to mount over the vents to blow additional air over the Asus card. Should do the trick for everyday use, and be quieter than running the internal fans at full speed.

 

[Smoblikat]

Samsung PM951

 

[catilley1092]

My 240GB MyDigitalSSD BPX is running nearly as fast in my #2 PC as my 512GB Samsung 950 PRO that's in my main rig!

The secret? Mount it in a PCIe lane, not on the MB, there's a little known adapter with fan which is replaceable, brand name is Sintech. Works on most all 2280 M.2 SSD's (don't know about the SATA-3 type), at first forgot to turn it on & HWMonitor reported temps of 72C. Once I opened the case & seen that the fan wasn't spinning, twisted the knob in the other direction, temps nosedived by 22C during load, a huge difference!

Had the Sintech adapter & fan not been available, would had purchased a Lycon or Addonics PCIe adapter (the latter is what my Samsung 550 is connected to) & the Antec Super Cyclone Blower Fan, which takes two PCI slots, although powered by a Molex connector, nothing a SATA power to Molex adapter for $5 can't fix. Anything to force air across the PCIe SSD. Some users reports this can can cool RAID setups, so should also be fine with small M.2 NVMe SSD.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antec-Super...411341?hash=item5d50bb4f4d:g:xrMAAOSwY45UNtIs

No way will I ever place one of these NVMe SSD's on the MB slot, this (like the mSATA SSD's) is where these drives becomes toasty, even though the surrounding components are well within or below normal temps. BTW, my BPX is running on the 1st (and maybe only) Z97 MB that featured a 3rd gen Ultra M.2 port in the ASRock Z97 Extreme6 (as well as an extra Gen 2), this is a 2014 model MB that was a Tom's Product of the Year during that time, it's unbelieveable that in the year 2017 that many of these OEM's are still pushing Gen 2 M.2 ports. If one can find one of these MB's new today, expect to pay close to $200, it's a lot there for what I spent on promo less than a year back ($129.99).

At any rate, as far as the 240GB MyDigitalSSD BPX goes, have never looked in the rear view mirror, it consistently outperforms the specs printed on the package. Near the speed of the Samsung 950 PRO for just over one third of the price.

Entry level price, upper mid range performance!

Cat