How Not to Buy a SSD • Hacker News Board

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#131

Post by bullen » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:10 PM UTC

Havoc wrote: post #116

bullen wrote: post #66

The best SSD purchases of my life was the last Intel X-25E (64GB 45nm SLC with 100.000 writes per bit from 2011) I found on ebay ~2021. I ordered one first expecting it to be used or fake, but the packaging looked good (original and untampered) and the Intel disk software said it had only factory number of read/writes so I went all in and bought all the disks they had... 30x at $100 instead of the original $1.000 pri…

Big fan of 2nd hand enterprise SSDs strategy too but wow not like that. The slightly more modern intel MLCs like S3700 crush the early SLCs across the board - including endurance. Would have cost you 1/3rd the price for vastly superior specs.

No MLC lasts 5 years tops.

I have 5x SLC (40-60GB) drives from 2010 still running. Not a single SLC has failed for me ever.

I also have 5x MLC (120-400GB ones) drives that failed. All MLC have failed for me.

The stats don't look too good.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#132

Post by ryankrage77 » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:17 PM UTC

stroebs wrote: post #15

I’d also like to point out that those Kingston A400’s are notoriously terrible and had a firmware bug that caused the behaviour you describe if you don’t update it before it happens. I purchased 10 genuine new from a verified vendor and 6 had to be RMA’d within the first year.

agreed, I don't think the drive is fake, they're just that bad. Only SSD I've ever had fail spontaneously on me (the one other SSD failiure was my fault for accidentally unplugging it during a firmware update).

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#133

Post by stavros » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:20 PM UTC

bullen wrote: post #118

stavros wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use SSDs, but the HDDs in my NAS started failing one by one after a few years. Whenever one failed, I just put a new one in, and that was it. ZFS rebalanced things automatically and I went on with my life. It just sounds like you spent $3k to solve a problem you could have solved with $200... Unrelatedly, does the name "Realms of Despair" mean anything to you?

HDDs make noise, you can only use them if you have more rooms than you need. Nope

But my argument was "a failing disk can just be swapped for another one with zero other hassle".

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#134

Post by alt227 » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:33 PM UTC

bullen wrote: post #118

stavros wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use SSDs, but the HDDs in my NAS started failing one by one after a few years. Whenever one failed, I just put a new one in, and that was it. ZFS rebalanced things automatically and I went on with my life. It just sounds like you spent $3k to solve a problem you could have solved with $200... Unrelatedly, does the name "Realms of Despair" mean anything to you?

HDDs make noise, you can only use them if you have more rooms than you need. Nope

Everyone has a closet or cupboard under the stairs where a NAS can live. it doesnt need a room of its own.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#135

Post by ndriscoll » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:34 PM UTC

criddell wrote: post #120

p1mrx wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ValiDrive is Windows-only and closed source. Does it have any advantages over https://github.com/AltraMayor/f3 ?

One advantage - it's much easier to get up and running. If you are on Windows, you can probably download it and be running it in less time than it's going to take to download the source code for f3.

`nix-shell -p f3` took about 1 second to run on my machine. I didn't even have to install Windows or sign up for an online account.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#136

Post by bullen » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:42 PM UTC

stavros wrote: post #133

bullen wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HDDs make noise, you can only use them if you have more rooms than you need. Nope

But my argument was "a failing disk can just be swapped for another one with zero other hassle".

It might work for file storage, but I don't think the OS drives can be raided in a way that is hotswappable?

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#137

Post by stavros » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:50 PM UTC

bullen wrote: post #136

stavros wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But my argument was "a failing disk can just be swapped for another one with zero other hassle".

It might work for file storage, but I don't think the OS drives can be raided in a way that is hotswappable?

If your OS supports ZFS, I think you can, but I always put a lightweight OS on a separate drive, as it's for a NAS.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#138

Post by justsomehnguy » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:54 PM UTC

bullen wrote: post #131

Havoc wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Big fan of 2nd hand enterprise SSDs strategy too but wow not like that. The slightly more modern intel MLCs like S3700 crush the early SLCs across the board - including endurance. Would have cost you 1/3rd the price for vastly superior specs.

No MLC lasts 5 years tops. I have 5x SLC (40-60GB) drives from 2010 still running. Not a single SLC has failed for me ever. I also have 5x MLC (120-400GB ones) drives that failed. All MLC have failed for me. The stats don't look too good.

Depends on the usage and the initial claimed DWPD.

I've seen Samsung 860 Pro (DWPD of 0.6) doing fine after years under LUKS (the worst case for SSD). As soon as you go for DWPD > 1 (real or effective) the wearout is not a problem.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#139

Post by abdullahkhalids » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:56 PM UTC

PeterStuer wrote: post #62

At the start of the eCommerce business, people flocked to Amazon because they had trouble trusting smaller retailers. These days it is the opposite. These brands went from trusted sellers to whitewashing marketplaces for the most dubious fraudulent drop-shippers by means of things like "sku-pooling" (you by design can not and never will know who shipped your specific item into the giant pool at Amazon). So now I shop…

Any digital platform (like social media or a marketplace), which satisfies the following conditions

- decides which wares (social media posts or products) by sellers are shown to users by automated algorithms

- Makes money when users engage with said wares

- Is owned by a large number of investors

Will, if you believe standard optimization theory and that sellers are clever, devolve into crap.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#140

Post by toss1 » Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 5:57 PM UTC

PeterStuer wrote: post #62

At the start of the eCommerce business, people flocked to Amazon because they had trouble trusting smaller retailers. These days it is the opposite. These brands went from trusted sellers to whitewashing marketplaces for the most dubious fraudulent drop-shippers by means of things like "sku-pooling" (you by design can not and never will know who shipped your specific item into the giant pool at Amazon). So now I shop…

YUP.

It used to be that people would use local brick & mortar stores to examine the item and then buy it cheaper on Amazon.

I now use Amazon to search, then go buy more reliably at the source company itself, a specialized online store, or locally.

It isn't just about getting ripped off, it's about actual personal and household safety. Many categories such as electronics and batteries, I NEVER buy from Amazon, and I also understand any health & beauty products are so rife with sometimes-dangerous counterfeits that they should be also avoided. This is only going to get worse with the current US regime actively dismantling regulation and H&S systems.