New SSD for storage

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mikeymikec

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
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When I think "storage and backup" I don't think "SSD", but to each their own I guess. If I were you I would question whether the data you're planning on storing on it is really worth storing on an SSD, and to bear in mind the issue with SSDs that are left off for a while and temperature variations (if relevant).

A rule of thumb I've adopted for a long time with HDDs is that it's a lot more likely for the highest-capacity drives to have reliability issues because their designs are the ones that are 'pushing the boundaries'. Buying the lowest-end drive for the higher end of capacity IMO is asking for trouble.
 
Elixer

Elixer

Lifer
May 7, 2002
10,371
762
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I wouldn't use a SSD for "long" term storage. Heck, the test I did on my Crucial didn't even survive >6 months without power.
 
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Igo69

Senior member
Apr 26, 2015
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I built a computer in 2015 and decided to get SSD for the first time, got myself SanDisk Extreme Pro 960GB as my main drive that is for Windows, software and storage and it has been working flawlessly since. Are you guys saying that SSDs are not for long term use or that they don't last too long or is it Crucial MX300 is not a good SSD?
 
UsandThem

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
16,068
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When I responded to his post, I guess I didn't take it as meaning the drive would be powered off for significant amounts of time, and would be used as normal storage/program drive in a PC.

But as the others have pointed out, if you intend to use the SSD as a detached back-up drive that won't be connected to power for significant periods of time, a traditional HDD is a much better (and cheaper) choice.
 
UsandThem

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
16,068
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Igo69 said:
I built a computer in 2015 and decided to get SSD for the first time, got myself SanDisk Extreme Pro 960GB as my main drive that is for Windows, software and storage and it has been working flawlessly since. Are you guys saying that SSDs are not for long term use or that they don't last too long or is it Crucial MX300 is not a good SSD?
Click to expand...

SSDs are not the best choice for unpowered long-term storage. A regular HDD is a much better choice for that use.
 
Elixer

Elixer

Lifer
May 7, 2002
10,371
762
126
I rather see people spend the $$$ on multiple backup devices (or cloud backups) than one unit.
It is also far more expensive to recover data from a SSD than a HD if there is a catastrophic failure in the device where you can't access the unit anymore, and it is also possible that a hardware encrypted device won't be recoverable at all.
 
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mikeymikec

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
21,073
16,302
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Igo69 said:
Are you guys saying that SSDs are not for long term use or that they don't last too long or is it Crucial MX300 is not a good SSD?
Click to expand...

I'm saying neither of those things. "Backup and storage" suggests to me that the device will be used for storing files and that performance is of little concern. For backups I use old hard drives because whether the drive can do 50MB/sec or 150MB/sec is neither here or there to me, as long as it stores the data reliably.

Considering that a 2TB HDD can likely be had for about a fifth of the price of a 2TB SSD, and 2TB HDDs have been around for a heck of a lot longer, I would probably trust a decent model 2TB HDD more than the cheapest 2TB SSD I could find.

The only reason I would consider an SSD for "just storage" would be that they're silent (assuming it's inside my PC, whereas all my backup devices are external), and I'm always looking to make my computer quieter, however SSDs are somewhat more expensive and my WD Black works just fine.
 
BonzaiDuck

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,655
2,035
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I didn't know they made an MX300 in that size, so it has me thinking.

I'm trying to follow a "KISS" principle, but haven't completely finalized my "storage subsystem." I've finally acquired and configured a 1TB 960 Pro with flawlessly-installed-and-running dual-boot OSes. And I had extended the capacities of the two volumes on that drive to a 2TB spinner. I had been looking for maybe a 1TB SSD to replace it. Now I have something more to at least think about.
 
UsandThem

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
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Elixer said:
I rather see people spend the $$$ on multiple backup devices (or cloud backups) than one unit.
It is also far more expensive to recover data from a SSD than a HD if there is a catastrophic failure in the device where you can't access the unit anymore, and it is also possible that a hardware encrypted device won't be recoverable at all.
Click to expand...

This what I do. I have both mine and my wife's entire music collection, family photos and videos, and documents we cannot lose.

I also do backups on two unattached hard drives, and I am finally ready to sign up for one of the "cloud" services, as I haven't heard of any major security issues with them lately. Now I just have to decide which one I trust the most.....
 
UsandThem

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
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Elixer said:
For those that want to test the waters for cloud backup, there is currently a pretty darn good deal at Humble Bundle, https://www.humblebundle.com/pc-lovers-software-bundle $6 for 6 months @ BackBlaze.
Click to expand...

I bought the bundle, and giving Backblaze a try. I wish they had a manual file/folder option to back-up my files, but after installing the software it starting uploading everything automatically. The upload speed to them hasn't been the greatest, but now the estimated back-up completion time has decreased from 12 days to 4 days. Hopefully as it does it's thing overnight without anybody using the internet, it will speed up (only getting around 3.27 Mbits/s right now).

I was looking at Amazon Drive (I'm heavily linked to Amazon services) since they offered a free 3 month trial and then $59 a year after that. However, the transmission and storage of the data is not encrypted (you have to encrypt files manually), so that was a deal killer for me.

Thanks again for the link, as that is nice being able to try them out for a $1 per month before really committing to their product as a long-term solution.
 
I

Igo69

Senior member
Apr 26, 2015
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What is the life expectancy of my SSD Sandisk Extreme Pro?:

https://postimg.org/image/bzzku1ivz/

bzzku1ivz

bzzku1ivz
 
D

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
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Igo69 said:
ok but what is the life expectancy? :)
Click to expand...

10 years and 1 day. Proof: the warranty. :)

It's now reasonable to use a SSD for "live" storage in your PC, like to have all of your games and music available and for daily short-term backups. For longer term storage an external USB hard drive makes sense and is 1/4 - 1/5 the cost for 1 TB. Cloud is also good since it's off-site and has built-in redundancy (they don't just store your files on one single drive)
 
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I

Igo69

Senior member
Apr 26, 2015
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A thought came to me recently if the SSD is not a good way unpowered long-term storage how come they sit in the depots or retail stores for weeks and months with out a problem?
 
UsandThem

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
16,068
7,383
146
Igo69 said:
A thought came to me recently if the SSD is not a good way unpowered long-term storage how come they sit in the depots or retail stores for weeks and months with out a problem?
Click to expand...

Do they have data stored in the NAND when they sit on those shelves? That's the difference.

Anyways, I'm in the camp right now that believes there isn't a big issue with leaving SSDs unpowered for long periods creates data loss. That being said, most people who use a SSD for backup purposes probably power it on a least a few times a year to use it.

I will say that if a person's goal is to backup data and store it unused for many years, a regular HDD is a better choice and there is less risk involved with data retention. Even data on DVDs and Blu-rays will eventually degrade, although they generally last the longest out of all the backup media.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9248/the-truth-about-ssd-data-retention

http://www.audioholics.com/audio-technologies/cd-and-dvd-longevity-how-long-will-they-last
 
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