960GB ADATA Ultimate SU650 3D NAND 2.5" Solid State Drive Expired

The following was posted on Reddit by a very knowledgeable user:

ADATA's SU650 is a budget/entry-level SSD built with the (http://i2hard.ru/wp-content/uploa...%B1/09.jpg) DRAM-less controller and 32L 3D TLC NAND (Intel/Micron/IMFT). It is the cheaper sibling to ADATA's SU800 which also sports 32L NAND but has the SM2258 with DRAM cache. The SU650 has additional overprovisoning which puts it at 960GB. It's similar, if not identical, to the SU655, at least in the NA market.

Although the controller does have some SRAM, generally speaking the lack of DRAM cache in the SU650 means it performs worse in many cases, for example as an OS/boot or mixed-use drive (many, smaller writes). Smaller DRAM-less drives can make an affordable upgrade to ancient machines but otherwise, and especially at higher capacities like this, they are better used for storage/games. Many modern SSDs, especially TLC-based ones, rely on a fixed amount of SLC cache where there will be significant performance drop-offs if it gets filled. This occurs with large, sustained writes, but ADATA's newer drives tend to devote (https://avatars.mds.yandex.net/ge.../scale_600) to the cache. Likewise, the additional overprovisioning acts as user protection to keep the drive from losing performance as the drive becomes full.

This drive, along with the 2TB Micron 1100, tend to be the best values for games/storage drives. There are many alternatives such as DRAM-less 64L drives (e.g. Inland's 480GB) and other budget choices but the SU650 is a known entity. Worth mentioning is that 64L QLC-based drives may fill this space in the future but currently, and in recent months, this has been the best all-around value for a Steam SSD.

To answer other anticipated questions: yes, this will (https://www.tweaktown.com/article...ndex2.html). No, it's not much slower than a SSD with DRAM or 64L for that. No, NVMe isn't substantially faster than a SATA SSD, either. No, you likely won't see FPS gains, but your experience as a whole may be more consistent due to quicker loads. If you're looking for a cheap, 1TB solution to throw at your game collection, this is a pretty solid choice.

I just checked on the website. It's $239.99 - $36 = $203.99. Yes the OP just probably just made a mistake.