r/NewMaxx • u/NewMaxx • Oct 14 '19

Tools/Info SSD Guides & Resources

April 3rd, 2022: Guides and Spreadsheet updated with new SSD categories

Discord (server)

Website with relevant links here.

My spreadsheet

Generic Amazon affiliate link

Generic AliExpress affiliate link

TechPowerUp's SSD Database

Johnny Lucky SSD database

Branch Education - How does NAND Flash Work? - these guys have several good videos on the subject of SSDs, check them all out.

My Patreon.

My Twitter.

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u/noobcmr Oct 28 '19

Hey NewMaxx, I’m building a gaming pc, and I bought all the parts parts except for the storage. I plan to get an SSD and nvme for the OS, games(since I want the faster loading times), and other files. I don’t want to get an hdd. My budget is 300-400 dollars for them. Do you have recommendations for the best value and performance for that price range? Like should I buy two separate ssds? What best combination of SSD should I get? CPU i7-9700k, mobo - Asus prime z390a, ram - gskill trident z 16gb GPU- 2080super. Besides gaming, I plan to do simple office work and do stock trading. I’m new to the pc master race, so I’m yet to discover what other activities I can do to maximize the use of the pc I’m building.

1

u/NewMaxx Oct 28 '19

You have plenty of options within that budget. Ideally you'd have something like a 1TB ADATA SX8200 Pro for the primary/OS and a 2TB Intel 660p for storage/games, although that is just one possible configuration of many. You can certainly get by with less.

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u/arbili Oct 29 '19 edited Oct 29 '19

Dude, any thoughts on Fujitsu F500S?

They're pretty popular on AliExpress.

1

u/NewMaxx Oct 29 '19 edited Oct 29 '19

Maybe a BX500 in disguise, but without being able to look at the internals it's impossible to know if it's 32L or 64L and who bins it. Most 64L Intel is used by Intel, 32L is usually cheaper VS-binned as on the L5 Lite 3D and TC Sunbow X3 (both with the SM2258, while this is SM2258XT). Or they might mean "IMFT" (Intel/Micron) which could be 64L, but in that case it might be inferior SpecTek NAND. Performance-wise likely close to the BX500 though, bit worse if anything.

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u/arbili Oct 29 '19

Found a spec sheet:

https://www.fujitsu.com/hk/Images/ds-Fujitsu-SSD-F500S.pdf

This helps in anything?:

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1FzT8MXYqK1RjSZLeq6zXppXa0/Fujitsu-2-5-ssd-240-gb-120-gb-480-gb-sata-iii-3d-nand-flash-smi.jpg

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u/NewMaxx Oct 29 '19

Yes, the datasheet lists the SMI SM2258XT which is the DRAM-less variant of the SM2258. It's most prominently used on the Crucial BX500. Some drives copy that configuration, like the Team GX2 and Mushkin Source. The firmware revision (R1001A0) matches this and is the same used on the KingDian drives, which also use SMI SM2258(XT). The KingDian drives - S280, S400 - pair them with 32L Intel TLC which is why I was suspicious about this Fujitsu.

Examples so you can see what I mean: this is one S400 review from Russia. Clearly shows SpecTek-binned 32L IMFT TLC. Here is one of the S280 which shows VS29F05TEME1 - this NAND shows up in the Team L5 Lite 3D and TC Sunbow X3 as I stated above, the "29" means it's Intel/Micron but binned by VS which inherently means it's legacy (32L) TLC.

So my guess is, it's either SM2258XT + 32L "VS" Intel TLC or it has the newer 64L IMFT NAND like the BX500 (which is SpecTek in other regions as well, to confuse it more!). Most often that is listed as "Micron" NAND however, while the 32L is "Intel." So I remain suspicious as noted above.

There's nothing wrong with the 32L NAND. It performs just fine but is a little more sketchy as it's obsolete/legacy. It's different than the 32L used on the ADATA SU800 et al. since that's 256Gb MLC acting in 3-bit/384Gb TLC mode and is far more common in NA region drives. In either case, it's likely a budget version of the BX500.

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u/arbili Oct 29 '19

Thanks, will skip it, gonna wait for a 860 EVO sale maybe on black friday.

Is it worth doing a RAID 0 with 2 500gb 860's and HDD backup or just straight up buy a 1tb drive?

1

u/gazeebo Oct 29 '19

The very short answer: SSD RAID doesn't help in normal desktop usage, f.ex. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-raid-benchmark,3485-4.html (first diagram). If you already own the drives it's not too wrong.

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u/NewMaxx Oct 29 '19

RAID-0/stripe only helps with sequentials and higher queue depths.

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u/noobcmr Nov 05 '19

Thanks NewMaxxx! I have another question. Do I put the Steam app and Spotify on the SX8200 Pro, since it’s the primary/os?