News WD Blue SN550 SSD Performance Reportedly Cut In Half When SLC Runs Out - Tom's

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UsandThem

UsandThem

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https://www.tomshardware.com/news/wd-blue-sn550-ssd-performance-cut-in-half-slc-runs-out
Western Digital's Blue SN550 M.2 NVMe SSD, which is hailed as one of the best SSDs on the market, may be in danger of losing its spot. Chinese news outlet Expreview reportedly discovered that Western Digital may have swapped the flash on its Blue SN550 SSD, which negatively affects its performance when the SLC (single-level cell) cache is depleted.
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Big-name brands, including Adata, Patriot and more recently, Crucial have swapped the components from some of their most popular SSDs. It seems that Western Digital is the latest name to join the club.
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The companies who are doing this kind of practice is getting really annoying. If I have to guess what version I will receive, along with not knowing the actual performance I will see, makes these products a no-buy for me.
 
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Shmee

Shmee

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Yikes. Well as long as the Blacks are not affected, those are decent. SN850 is still a great drive I hear.
 
coercitiv

coercitiv

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I

Insert_Nickname

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Not again. This is simply unacceptable behaviour. If a manufacturer has to change components for some reason, at least have the dignity and decency to change the model name.

My 2c worth of opinion.
 
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aigomorla

aigomorla

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WD didn't learn there lessons..
i think the CEO needs to be seriously evaluated.

Fool me once... shame on you... fool me twice shame on me.
 
blckgrffn

blckgrffn

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aigomorla said:
WD didn't learn there lessons..
i think the CEO needs to be seriously evaluated.

Fool me once... shame on you... fool me twice shame on me.
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Can't fool me three times.

I am sad about these shenanigans from the "go to" brands for reliable performance/value.

Samsung, ball is in your court! How are you going to betray us?

Can't wait for the PCIe 4 drives that are slower than two year old value drives but have way better "specs" on paper. Powerful controllers and cheap/dense flash. Yay.
 
Z

zebrax2

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Statement from WD. Basically "You got us but hey we also silently updated the data sheet when we did it. Next time we promise we will inform the customers ;)"

A Western Digital spokesperson confirmed to Ars that the company had replaced the NAND flash and updated the firmware in the WD Blue SN550 beginning in June 2021 and updated the drive's data sheet to reflect the changes. "For greater transparency going forward, if we make a change to an existing internal SSD, we commit to introducing a new model number whenever any related published specifications are impacted," a company spokesperson told Ars. "We value our customers and are committed to providing the best possible solutions for their data storage needs."
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https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...tals-budget-ssd-may-lower-speeds-by-up-to-50/
 
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DrMrLordX

DrMrLordX

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Any word on if Sabrent has pulled any similar stunts? Crucial and Adata are also suspect.
 
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Leeea

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So the list of bad venders are:
Crucial
Adata
WD
Sandisk ( owned by WD)
HGST ( part of WD )
Sabrent ( https://smile.amazon.com/gp/custome...ef=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B07MTQTNVR )
Kingson ( swapped on V300 model )
Silicon power ( randomized controller chips on P34A80 )

Unknown:
Kioxia (WD currently in talks to buy)

Questionable:
Samsung ( swap upgrade/downgrade on 970 evo )

Not sure:
Intel ( drive division purchased by SKHynix )
SKHynix ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5hKD_G_47w0 )
Teamgroup

Known good vendors:


Profoundly frustrating subject for any potential purchaser.

Edited after post below
 
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blckgrffn

blckgrffn

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Leeea said:
That is some dodgy crap.

Upgrade one part, nerf the other.
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I expect tons of next gen PCIe 4 drives to be like that. Strong controllers and SLC caches covering for dense, low performing nand. Hopefully we at least get greater capacity at a given price point out of the deal.
 
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aigomorla

aigomorla

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well i guess we can just buy the enterprise brand... hey we can all use the 1000 PB writes on nvme's right? and im sure they wont pull a swap on us.
Only expect to pay for it.... and i really mean PAY for it.

But isn't that the story for PC gamers this day and age?
 
DrMrLordX

DrMrLordX

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coercitiv said:
How is Samsung known good? @DeathReborn just posted info on how they replaced NAND in 970 EVO.
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Isn't it only the 970 EVO Plus? The older 970 Evo should be unchanged, as should the 980s. And the change was well-documented.

@Leeea

That's a shame about Sabrent. They had good deals on their products, and some of them reviewed really well.
 
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