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Rinkles posted:Is there an easy, clean way of getting rid of Windows system files without resorting to formatting the drive? (obviously, this would be for secondary drives, not the OS drive) Disk Cleanup can remove a lot of it. Load it up, click on "clean up system files," then select "previous windows installation" and whatever else shows up that seems safe to remove.
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Dec 22, 2021 01:26
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For awhile disk cleanup would remove Downloads folder stuff which was definitely loving stupid. The 'feature' disappeared sometime in the last year or 2
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Dec 22, 2021 05:39
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Klyith posted:For a laptop, the adata XPG SX8200 Pro is quite good for power efficiency and is currently $100, pretty good for that drive. Adata isn't a premium brand name but they're fine as far as reliability and such. Thank you for all this info, I didn't realize the compatibility was so strict. I was trying to read up more on SSDs so that I'm not accidentally missing something important before I make a purchase and I read that the average modern SSD only has a lifespan of about 5 years but I use my laptop all day nearly every day and my current SSD has lasted me about 8-9 years so far, would these last that long? I think I'm realizing that's probably my primary concern beyond reliability. And also I use my laptop basically the way most people use a desktop so I have it plugged in pretty much all the time, are these still the best choices if battery life isn't really a concern? I'm willing to pay up to around $200 and would rather pay more for a better one than less just for a deal but I don't want to be paying more if there's somehow something better for cheaper I think.
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Dec 23, 2021 07:20
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Most of the lifespan of an SSD is tied to how many writes per day it can do for the warranty period. Current QLC drives have a value around 0.1-0.2 (so for a 1TB drive you can write 100-200GB every day for 5 years without issues), while older TLC ones have a value of 1 or so. The TLC drives would probably also have been rated for 5 years, just with a higher WPD level. I don't remember though if that value is derived from the worst case (4K random writes use up the drive the most), or average (some mix with sequential). If you're writing that much data in a day, you're probably writing sequentially (assuming typical home usage).
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Dec 23, 2021 07:50
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sometimes poorly designed programs can impact it though, iirc there was a release of Java Minecraft that as part of its routine operation would constantly write and rewrite over some specific thing and it significantly reduced SSD longevity.
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Dec 23, 2021 17:34
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yellowyams posted:I read that the average modern SSD only has a lifespan of about 5 years but I use my laptop all day nearly every day and my current SSD has lasted me about 8-9 years so far, would these last that long? I think I'm realizing that's probably my primary concern beyond reliability. Wherever you read that was super wrong. SSDs in general are pretty long-lasting. Most drives have a warranty of 5 years, and will last for far longer. The two things things that make SSDs die are: 1) wearing out the flash. For average people this is of zero concern. Drives can write 100s of TB, and most people would take 100 years to go through that. 2) natural component failure. Various parts of the drive have a finite lifespan, which in the abstract should be decades. But maybe there's one tiny component out of 100 that's not perfect and will only hold up for 10. Or maybe even only 3 and you get a new one under warranty. That's impossible to predict and brand has very little bearing -- even the premium still have a failure rate. Every SSD I've ever bought still works, and that includes an OCZ (which were super unreliable) from like 2011. If there was a modern equivalent to OCZ I'd definitely warn you away from them, but there aren't really. Everybody is just a little bit shady -- many companies have been doing "revisions" to make drives cheaper and slower without changing the model name -- but almost nobody is completely awful. yellowyams posted:I'm willing to pay up to around $200 and would rather pay more for a better one than less just for a deal but I don't want to be paying more if there's somehow something better for cheaper I think. In that case I'd recommend that SK Hynix P31 at 1TB, or waiting around for post-christmas clear-outs to see if you can get a good 2TB for $200.
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Dec 23, 2021 18:21
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CoolCab posted:sometimes poorly designed programs can impact it though, iirc there was a release of Java Minecraft that as part of its routine operation would constantly write and rewrite over some specific thing and it significantly reduced SSD longevity. 1) Even if whatever program is really constantly writing data, it still takes a lot of writing to wear out a SSD. Even the most terribly designed program doesn't write 2 GB per second on accident. About the only thing I've seen that would actually do this is Chia, a dumb cryptocurrency that used drive space instead of processing. If you had a consumer NVMe drive with high sustained write speed, Chia could kill it. No normal program will be writing that much data. 2) This is the type of thing that tends to get discovered and spread around the internet by people with enough knowledge to look at process monitoring tools, but don't know enough about everything else involved. It's easy to use procmon see a program doing lots of writes, but to know how many of those writes actually hit the disk is another thing altogether. The OS caches writes, the drive caches writes, and most of the time when a program is "continually writing data" it's just overwriting the same info over and over. Like, your browser might be constantly writing the state of your windows and tabs to disk. That type of activity gets filtered through write caching and only a small percent of the apparent writes really happen. Here's the real story: if you have a SSD, get CrystalDiskInfo and use it to see how much data your drive has written over its lifetime. All SSDs have that info. Look at that number and be reassured that even if some programs are stupid, you have probably written less than a tenth of what your drive is warranted for, which itself is far less than it is likely capable of. Just don't mine Chia and you'll be fine.
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Dec 23, 2021 18:38
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Gen 5 drives are coming: https://videocardz.com/newz/adata-shows-off-pcie-gen5-m-2-ssds-with-up-to-14-gb-s-sequential-read-speed https://videocardz.com/press-release/samsung-launches-enterprise-pcie-gen5-ssd-with-up-to-13-gb-s-read-and-6-6-gb-s-write-speed Up to 14GB/s  (sequential read only)I believe Asus' stupidly overpriced top-end Z690 motherboard is the only consumer board on the market right now that has a gen 5 m.2 slot (and it requires you to run the x16 slots in bifurcated x8/x8 mode and then disable the second slot to use the m.2 slot in gen 5 mode). Everyone else will have to use a board that can support gen 5 bifurcation and then use a pcie to m.2 adapter, which is probably smarter than what asus is doing anyway. or actually you shouldn't bother with any of that because not even gen 4 does anything yet for the vast majority of regular users, let alone gen 5.
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Dec 23, 2021 20:41
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Yes, but number go up!
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Dec 24, 2021 06:06
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Why is gen 5 coming so quickly, when even gen 4 barely matters? Enterprise?
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Dec 24, 2021 06:16
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Hardware guys always looking for reasons to push new sales regardless of utilization, new use cases like CXL, overcompensating after the eternity between gen 3 and gen 4, etc.
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Dec 24, 2021 06:27
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Faster ethernet like 400/800GbE, DPUs (smart NICs) and ML/AI GPUs are the main drivers for the speed bumps in Gen5, and also hardware guys wanting to push new sales  . The addition of new storage tiers like CXL attached memory and accelerators. It's mostly driven by hyperscale/cloud guys (their bandwidth requirements double roughly every 3 years at current clip) then some enterprise and anything consumer is just getting pulled along for the ride because the IP is there so why not. In the case of SSDs it gives more flexibility - ie limited board space to layout high speed traces from the CPU, if they can get away with just using a bunch of x2 drives because the performance is still enough it just gives system designers that option to hang way more drives off a host. Gen6 will be coming pretty quick too, with another doubling of rates. It is switching to a new signalling format - PAM4 instead of NRZ so it can keep the edge rate the same (16GHz) and won't require getting into even more fancy/exotic PCB materials.
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Dec 24, 2021 08:06
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SAMSUNG 870 QVO Series 2TB for $130 with code EMCXHSSU46 Good deal even though it's QLC, right?
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Dec 24, 2021 09:56
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That’s basically the cheapest per gb an SSD has ever been. But it is QLC, so there is the regular “I probably wouldn’t use it as a boot drive and don’t fully fill it” caveats. Probably a good game drive though.
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Dec 24, 2021 10:05
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Cygni posted:That’s basically the cheapest per gb an SSD has ever been. But it is QLC, so there is the regular “I probably wouldn’t use it as a boot drive and don’t fully fill it” caveats. Probably a good game drive though. For booting because of reliability and longevity concerns? I wouldn't use this in my machine, but I know someone that could do with an HDD to SSD upgrade, and they refuse to do so without matching capacity.
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Dec 24, 2021 10:14
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Should be fine for PS4 (or BC on PS5) too, right?
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Dec 24, 2021 11:46
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QLC drives have been around long enough for the questions about endurance to be pretty firmly settled, and the answer is that it's still not a problem. There is no general reason not to use a QLC drive as a boot drive. There is nothing specific about hosting the OS that is a deal-breaker for QLC. (There may be particular reasons depending on your needs, some people do big writes frequently or other things that will hit the weaknesses of QLC. And small QLC drives are totally not worth it -- at least 1TB and preferably 2TB.) In terms of a drive replacement for someone that's still using a dang spinny HDD in 2021, a QVO is fine. Rinkles posted:Should be fine for PS4 (or BC on PS5) too, right? Yes
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Dec 24, 2021 15:28
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Thanks, I ordered it. BTW the code apparently won't work for everyone. If you didn't get the email, you won't get the promo.
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Dec 24, 2021 15:37
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Rinkles posted:Thanks, I ordered it. BTW the code apparently won't work for everyone. If you didn't get the email, you won't get the promo. The last time I saw one of those newegg promos, you could sign up for emails on the newegg account management page and then use the codes right away. They're not checking that you got the email, just that you've checked the box to receive spam.
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Dec 24, 2021 16:00
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Klyith posted:QLC drives have been around long enough for the questions about endurance to be pretty firmly settled, and the answer is that it's still not a problem. There is no general reason not to use a QLC drive as a boot drive. There is nothing specific about hosting the OS that is a deal-breaker for QLC. I’ve seen installing a game overflow the SLC cache on a QLC drive and plunge the speeds to sub spinning rust levels. Will that happen often/ever on your OS drive? Maybe not, but we live in a world with cheap TLC drives. If you absolutely gotta penny pinch for some reason, or if you have a case with no more space or something, yeah… there is no physical reason you can’t do it. Lots of bad prebuilts do it already. But single driving it with a SATA QLC is not somethin im gonna personally recommend unless you gotta.
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Dec 24, 2021 20:18
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Cygni posted:I’ve seen installing a game overflow the SLC cache on a QLC drive and plunge the speeds to sub spinning rust levels. Will that happen often/ever on your OS drive? Yup. Friend of mine got a Rocket Q for his new laptop a while back (I'd recommended two other options, but he saw the higher peak numbers on the Rocket and said "this one's faster for the same price  "). Imaging his old system to it took like an hour and a half.However: 1. QLC write has been improving. The new bait-n-switch QLC SN550 maintains 390MB/s, that's now comfortably above a consumer HDD, and more than twice a laptop HDD. (The QVO is crap though, unless they've improved it post-release.) 2. That's one reason I was firm on only larger QLC drives being ok. Bigger SLC cache is a big deal, and having a big drive that you won't overfill is good for any SSD but especially QLC. 3. The only time your game install scenario happens is when you've preloaded a new-release game and are doing a decrypt install. Otherwise, the QLC is probably faster than your internet can download. How often you are decrypting a preload (don't preorder videogames), imaging your system, or doing other huge writes, is variable but for most people isn't frequent. 4. What difference does this make when this is your OS drive? These aren't HDDs, they can read and write data at the same time! If you are installing a game on your drive and run out of SLC cache, the major effect is the game install is slow. The drive will still be responsive for opening programs and regular use. As long as the OS doesn't need virtual memory it's fine. quote:Maybe not, but we live in a world with cheap TLC drives. So that QVO deal is $50 cheaper than the 2TB TLC drives. That's a pretty big difference, and in my book buys the occasional slow game install. When it's a 10% discount, I'm right with you. I'm not super hot on QLC drives myself, as opposed to dramless NVMe where I'm firmly on record as "doesn't matter for almost everyone". I'd prefer TLC for my primary drive, but in the case of Rinkles' friend there ain't no TLC drive that's 2TB for under $180. Klyith fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Dec 24, 2021 |
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Dec 24, 2021 21:30
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Some hot e3.s gen 5 pics https://videocardz.com/press-release/samsung-launches-enterprise-pcie-gen5-ssd-with-up-to-13-gb-s-read-and-6-6-gb-s-write-speed
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Dec 25, 2021 02:39
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New portable Seagate I got is almost twice as fast as my six or so year old one (both Christmas gifts, my dad isn't very creative with presents). They're both USB 3.0 HDDs, and as far as I can tell both are 5400RPM. New one is 2TB, original was 1. Was the old one crappier, or is it a question of age?  This is the same ~2GB file.
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Dec 25, 2021 03:16
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Rinkles posted:New portable Seagate I got is almost twice as fast as my six or so year old one (both Christmas gifts, my dad isn't very creative with presents). They're both USB 3.0 HDDs, and as far as I can tell both are 5400RPM. New one is 2TB, original was 1. Was the old one crappier, or is it a question of age? Inside or outside of the drive will show that delta
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Dec 25, 2021 03:19
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Bob Morales posted:Inside or outside of the drive will show that delta Sorry, not sure what you mean.
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Dec 25, 2021 03:21
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Rinkles posted:Sorry, not sure what you mean. Writing in a different physical area could explain it. You're not controlling enough variables to give a good answer.
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Dec 25, 2021 03:22
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Oh right, I considered but forgot about that. The 2TB was empty. 1TB was half full. I didn't realize that could have such a big effect on speed.
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Dec 25, 2021 03:25
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Back to the QVO, not that these differences would matter often, but looks like the 2TB+ models are a fair bit better than the 1TB Double the SLC cache, and double the write speed when the drive runs out of it.
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Dec 25, 2021 03:43
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With game installs being 100GB+ now it's getting annoying being able to have only one game installed at a time, so I should take advantage of a Boxing Day deal to upgrade my 256GB Samsung 840 Pro. I haven't followed hardware stuff in a long time, is it just a matter of getting a 1TB 870 Evo, or are there better options to look at now instead of just going Samsung? These are going to be my options in $CAD: https://www.memoryexpress.com/Category/HardDrives?FilterID=f0839e00-ebc9-7d8e-7b98-67879ade4b67&InventoryType=InStock&Inventory=WpgW
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Dec 25, 2021 10:32
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Coxswain Balls posted:With game installs being 100GB+ now it's getting annoying being able to have only one game installed at a time, so I should take advantage of a Boxing Day deal to upgrade my 256GB Samsung 840 Pro. I haven't followed hardware stuff in a long time, is it just a matter of getting a 1TB 870 Evo, or are there better options to look at now instead of just going Samsung? These are going to be my options in $CAD: Does your motherboard have an m.2 slot? I'd look at an m.2 drive first and foremost. The ones classified as "NVMe" drives are much faster. Something like this would be more along the lines of what you want if your system can support it. It's much faster than the 870 Evo while also being cheaper.
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Dec 25, 2021 11:00
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Rinkles posted:Thanks, I ordered it. BTW the code apparently won't work for everyone. If you didn't get the email, you won't get the promo. You used to be able to get around this by calling Newegg directly and putting the order through on the phone but not sure if that's going to work today.
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Dec 25, 2021 15:40
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:Does your motherboard have an m.2 slot? I'd look at an m.2 drive first and foremost. The ones classified as "NVMe" drives are much faster. Something like this would be more along the lines of what you want if your system can support it. It's much faster than the 870 Evo while also being cheaper. My motherboard is an Asus P8Z77-V LX from 2013 so 6.0Gbps SATA is what I'm limited to, I'm afraid.
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Dec 25, 2021 20:22
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Coxswain Balls posted:My motherboard is an Asus P8Z77-V LX from 2013 so 6.0Gbps SATA is what I'm limited to, I'm afraid. In that case, the general recommended best value 2.5" SSD right now is the Crucial MX500. For some reason Memory Express doesn't carry it, but a bunch of other canadian shops do: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/h3tQzy/crucial-mx500-1tb-25-solid-state-drive-ct1000mx500ssd1 If you need to shop at memory express for some reason then the 870 Evo is still a very good pick. edit: vvvv oh yeah, go with that 1TB WD Blue Dr. Video Games 0031 fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Dec 25, 2021 |
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Dec 25, 2021 20:44
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Coxswain Balls posted:My motherboard is an Asus P8Z77-V LX from 2013 so 6.0Gbps SATA is what I'm limited to, I'm afraid. In that case the recommended options are the Crucial MX500 or WD Blue 3D, whichever is currently cheaper or more convenient to acquire. Those two and the 870 Evo are all as close in stats as makes zero practical difference, but the samsung retails for significantly more.
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Dec 25, 2021 20:50
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Thanks for the info. Memory Express is mostly for convenience since they're just down the street from me and it makes things easy if I need to do returns or price matching. How is the QVO series compared to the Evo drives if I'm stuck on SATA? I might be swayed to getting the 2TB QVO if there isn't going to be a noticeable difference.
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Dec 25, 2021 20:58
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Coxswain Balls posted:How is the QVO series compared to the Evo drives if I'm stuck on SATA? I might be swayed to getting the 2TB QVO if there isn't going to be a noticeable difference. We've discussed it a bit this page if you scroll up. Opinions vary, but the tl;dr is that 99% of the time it will be identically fast. 1% of the time, dogshit slow. How much weight you put on those 1% occasions will determine how you feel about QLC. However, the discussion upthread is in the context of getting a 2TB drive for $130. IMO those tradeoffs are only worth it if you're getting a great deal, and the price for the 2TB QVO at memory express isn't much of one. The Barracuda 120 2TB is $5 more, is a TLC drive, and is all-around better than the QVO. If you want a 2TB drive get that one.
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Dec 25, 2021 22:50
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That sounds fair. They only have one of those in stock so I'll see if it's still there when I'm able to swing by, but if not I'll grab the WD.
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Dec 26, 2021 00:37
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Rinkles posted:Oh right, I considered but forgot about that. The 2TB was empty. 1TB was half full. I didn't realize that could have such a big effect on speed. Yeah HDDs use zoned recording schemes that try to keep linear density approximately constant, and it's easy to have a factor of 2 difference in diameter (and therefore track length, and therefore capacity, and therefore transfer rate) between the inner and outer tracks. Also, a 2TB drive from today is likely to have higher recording density and thus transfer rate than a 1TB drive from many years ago. On the other hand it may be a SMR drive, they like to do that these days...
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Dec 26, 2021 10:17
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I'm currently eyeing the 970 Evo Plus 1TB for €118 but I only have one M.2 slot so I'm wondering if there's a 2TB SSD I could get for under €200 which is worthwhile. I've also never had a M.2 drive so I'm super confused on how to install it, I have a ASRock Fatal1ty B450 motherboard which states the slot is on the back of it?!
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Dec 26, 2021 23:02
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Ashex posted:I'm currently eyeing the 970 Evo Plus 1TB for €118 but I only have one M.2 slot so I'm wondering if there's a 2TB SSD I could get for under €200 which is worthwhile. What region of EU are you in, and does PCpartpicker have good coverage of your stores? (I selected germany as the example, change the dropdown at top right.) There may be options under €200 but it looks like they'll mostly be QLC drives. They can still be worthwhile depending on your usage patterns. quote:I've also never had a M.2 drive so I'm super confused on how to install it, I have a ASRock Fatal1ty B450 motherboard which states the slot is on the back of it?! It's an easy install, except for the part where your mobo put it on the back because I guess it's an ITX board? Those are the sacrifices you make for ITX, it's never fun to work with. It's a zero-force socket -- you slide the drive in at a ~30° angle which requires no real pressure, then fold it down and use the retention mechanism on the mobo (normally a screw).
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Dec 26, 2021 23:23
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