The cheap SSDs thread

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Elixer

Lifer
May 7, 2002
10,376
762
126
why so cheap? am i missing something? if i picked up the 960GB am i doing a mis service to anything/anyone?
Actually, the OCZ isn't a bad unit at all, pretty good for TLC.
I assume most of these planar TLC units will see price cuts, so the newer 3D TLC replaces them.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,352
10,050
126
AMD Radeon SSD Radeon R3 2.5" 240GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD

Ebay item # 302022635456

$55.99 FS

Newegg on ebay

See my previous post about Radeon R3 drives, for a Caveat Emptor. They apparently no longer have mfg support. Newegg is still selling them though. Front-page ebay deal.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
5,705
938
126
3d tlc has higher density. The initial drive cost might or might not be cheaper but when yield rate increases the price per bit will surely be lower than standard tlc. I'm hearing mix things on the performance per byte and still no clue on longevity (rewrite cycles)
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,352
10,050
126
BEWARE SCAM SALES!

There's a Chinese user with only four feedback "selling" Radeon R3 240GB SSDs for $25.00 US.

Newegg themselves, is selling them for $55.99, which is itself a good price.

But, if you compare the listings, all the Chinese user did was clone Newegg's listing, which is a SURE tipoff of a scam-sale.

Either, they were purchased with stolen CC numbers, or, much more likely, you won't get anything at all.

This is also a (good) reason why ebay links are banned in Hot Deals.

The mods let me slide a little bit, since I don't actually link to them, and only post info about reputable e-sellers, like Newegg, BestBuy, and AntOnline. I hope that continues, as Newegg sometimes "unloads" SSDs on their ebay site for less than their main site.

For example, Newegg recently listed Corsair Force LS REFURB 120GB for $34.99 and REFURB 240GB $56.99.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,352
10,050
126
Newegg on ebay has Corsair Force LE (planar TLC) 120GB *REFURB* SSDs for $29.99 FS.

Edit: On second thought, I think that I'm going to draw the line personally on refurb planar TLC drives. That's really scraping the bottom of the barrel, quality-wise. Refurb MLC, not so bad. Refurb or even new 3D TLC, not sure. But refurb planar TLC, no thanks.
 
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VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,352
10,050
126
Mushkin Enhanced ECO3 2.5" 480GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) M

Ebay item # 301883109683

Newegg on ebay

Mushkin ECO3 480GB planar TLC with DRAM cache, SMI 2256 controller

$100.99 FS

Don't know much about this one, although the Mushkin Reactor 1TB MLC with SMI controller is popular.
 
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Macgyversite

Golden Member
Dec 8, 2002
1,163
110
106
500 GB Samsung EVO SSD

Newegg Ebay store

$120 shipped

SAMSUNG 750 EVO 2.5" 500GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-750500BW
 
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VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,352
10,050
126
Pretty nice, since it's a samsung, but it's also only planar TLC, which is a lot cheaper from other vendors.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,352
10,050
126
Newegg on ebay has Corsair Force LE (planar TLC) 120GB *REFURB* SSDs for $29.99 FS.

Edit: On second thought, I think that I'm going to draw the line personally on refurb planar TLC drives. That's really scraping the bottom of the barrel, quality-wise. Refurb MLC, not so bad. Refurb or even new 3D TLC, not sure. But refurb planar TLC, no thanks.

These are back to $29.99 FS. Unsure if I should get some of them or not. Still iffy about refurb TLC drives.

Ebay item # 291883889862
 

stlc8tr

Golden Member
Jan 5, 2011
1,106
4
76
Is there a FAQ somewhere which explains all of the different flash types as well as guidelines on what's a good price for the various types and capacities?
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,352
10,050
126
Well, SLC is the fastest and most durable, but most expensive. Some SSDs treat a portion of the NAND as an SLC write cache, which is generally a performance and longevity optimization.

MLC, which used to be mainstream, is slower than SLC slightly, and has far less durability.

TLC, which is the current mainstream, is slower still, and has horrible longevity / cell durability. However, it's cheap to make, and with a firmware tweak to enable an SLC cache area, they can perform acceptably for most desktop users.

The new kid on the block, 3D NAND, in TLC form currently from Micron, is in the Crucial MX300 and Intel 600p M.2 SSDs, and the Adata SU800 Ultimate. Supposed to have better characteristics than just regular planar TLC. Lower power, faster, better longevity, possibility comparable to MLC.

Samsung also has been producing 3D V-NAND, which is a vertically-oriented 3D NAND cell. This is used in the 850 EVO, in TLC form, and the 850 Pro, in MLC form. Performs well, and has decent longevity, in Samsung's implementation, but you'll pay a premium for it.

There's talk about a QLC, quad-level cell, for write-once,. read-many applications, and archiving. I'm not aware of any products shipping with this yet though.

As of today, MLC is starting to dry out, and the only current MLC SSDs on the market, are Toshiba's VX550 drives that were just introduced.

The Mushkin Reactor is also MLC, as is possibly still the Kingston V300, and certain models of the Sandisk SSD Plus, although WD bought SanDisk, and is probably going to phase those out.
 
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you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
5,705
938
126
Aren't the 950 pro mlc ? Anyway the technology is quickly evolving (new technology every 6 to 12 months); so an mlc from 3 years ago might or might not be more durable than a tlc last year but it will dfinitly be a lot slower. Also a few of the ssd are quite buggy (esp at release). I've hard very bad things about the initial 750 (not sure if they have been fixed via firmware update) and I'm reading mix thigns about hte mx300.
-
Btw the 850 pro is a current model and it is also mlc (as you mentioned). Last but least there are a lot of enterprises models that are mlc - we have samsung, intel , seagate (avoid these firmware bug or at least make sure you get the fix), toshiba, sandisk, fuji all mlc.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,352
10,050
126
Now dropped to $29.99 on Newegg's ebay store - Corsair Force LS 120GB *REFURB* 2.5" SSDs.

Some people claim that they fail in one month or six, other people seem happy with them. I've used a few for budget builds, but don't have any long-term usage / quality data on them, I only installed the OS and used them briefly.
 

Mike64

Platinum Member
Apr 22, 2011
2,108
101
91
240gb for $50 shipped on Amazon using code YEMX8B5D

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CVDC3R6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1

DREVO X1 Series 240GB SSD 2.5-inch Solid State Drive SATA3 Read 550MB/S Write 470MB/S
Hey, who can pass it up with a description that promises:

  • Impressive improvement: Make everything sharper and more responsive
  • Magnificent efforts: Inject new life into the aging machine for HDD is the last remaining bottleneck in computers
  • Remarkable endurance: Using Hynix high quality memory, Drevo will last longer than all other components without slowing down

Even if the third most "helpful" review notes that "[t]he device was faulty and also, it had a visible bulge in the SSD when operated." :eek:/:D
 
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Macgyversite

Golden Member
Dec 8, 2002
1,163
110
106
Maybe we should use one at the same time along with Viagra.......

Seriously tho:

It is MLC. Its Amazon Primed. It has a 3 year warranty if the company is still around.