Amazon has
2TB PNY CS900 3D NAND 2.5" SATA III Internal SSD Solid State Drive (SSD7CS900-2TB-RB) on sale for
$61.99.
Shipping is free.
B&H Photo Video also has
2TB PNY CS900 3D NAND 2.5" SATA III SSD Internal Solid State Drive (SSD7CS900-2TB-RB) on sale for
$61.99.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to Community Member
CrazyHorse for sharing this deal.
Key Features:
- 2.5"/7mm Form Factor
- SATA III 6 Gb/s Interface
- Up to 530 MB/s Sequential Write Speed
- Up to 550 MB/s Sequential Read Speed
- Triple-Level Cell NAND Flash Memory
- 2 Million Hours MTBF
- TRIM Support (OS Dependent)
- 2.5mm Spacer Included for 9.5mm Bays
- Windows, Mac, Linux & Ubuntu Compatible
- Limited 3-Year Warranty
Top Comments
Of the Phison drives, the PNY CS900 (96-layer Kioxia TLC) generally outperformed the Team Group CX2 (96-layer Micron TLC). These drives have a very small static pSLC cache (~7-20GB). Once the pSLC was filled, sequential writes dropped to ~81MB/s and 71MB/s respectively.
Of the SMI based drives, the Team Group Vulcan Z (112-layer SanDisk TLC) greatly outperformed the Silicon Power A55 (144-layer Intel QLC). These drives have a massive dynamic pSLC cache that uses the entirety of the free space (so, 1/3 of the free space for TLC or 1/4 for QLC). Once the pSLC was full, sequential writes tanked to an average of ~55MB/s and 38MB/s respectively. Both drives spent periods writing at only 6MB/s but occasional spikes brought up the average. I also noticed something interesting with these SMI based drives. It appears they may not begin to flush the pSLC cache until it reaches roughly 80%+ full, even if the drive is given ample idle time. I wonder if leaving the drive empty enough (no more than 1/4 full for TLC or 1/5 full for QLC) would result in it functionally acting as a pSLC drive.
If I had to pick a favorite of the four, I'd probably pick the PNY CS900. It had the best direct-to-TLC writes and I've previously had good luck with these drives that pair the Phison S11 with Kioxia/Toshiba NAND. I've installed a number of these drives (sold under the Inland/Micro Center brand) and they've been operating as system drives for years, without issue. In contrast, I've had several issues with drives using SMI controllers, worst of all the Crucial BX500.
tl;dr -- if you aren't getting the real 'name' brand, choose on warranty and customer service, not familiarity.
The controller seems to be faulty on a lot of their products.
The price is right, but the reputation is not.
30 Comments
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank HappyAccident
tl;dr -- if you aren't getting the real 'name' brand, choose on warranty and customer service, not familiarity.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank KushConnoisseur
The controller seems to be faulty on a lot of their products.
The price is right, but the reputation is not.
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Who said that they trust Teamgroup or Silicon Power?
SK Hynix, Samsung, and Crucial have been good in my personal experience. My (different products I know) PNY flash drive performed poorly and didn't last long. Silicon Power SD card lasted a few months. Never even tried Teamgroup.
I'd take any other brands over pny atm
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank MWink
tl;dr -- if you aren't getting the real 'name' brand, choose on warranty and customer service, not familiarity.
Of the Phison drives, the PNY CS900 (96-layer Kioxia TLC) generally outperformed the Team Group CX2 (96-layer Micron TLC). These drives have a very small static pSLC cache (~7-20GB). Once the pSLC was filled, sequential writes dropped to ~81MB/s and 71MB/s respectively.
Of the SMI based drives, the Team Group Vulcan Z (112-layer SanDisk TLC) greatly outperformed the Silicon Power A55 (144-layer Intel QLC). These drives have a massive dynamic pSLC cache that uses the entirety of the free space (so, 1/3 of the free space for TLC or 1/4 for QLC). Once the pSLC was full, sequential writes tanked to an average of ~55MB/s and 38MB/s respectively. Both drives spent periods writing at only 6MB/s but occasional spikes brought up the average. I also noticed something interesting with these SMI based drives. It appears they may not begin to flush the pSLC cache until it reaches roughly 80%+ full, even if the drive is given ample idle time. I wonder if leaving the drive empty enough (no more than 1/4 full for TLC or 1/5 full for QLC) would result in it functionally acting as a pSLC drive.
If I had to pick a favorite of the four, I'd probably pick the PNY CS900. It had the best direct-to-TLC writes and I've previously had good luck with these drives that pair the Phison S11 with Kioxia/Toshiba NAND. I've installed a number of these drives (sold under the Inland/Micro Center brand) and they've been operating as system drives for years, without issue. In contrast, I've had several issues with drives using SMI controllers, worst of all the Crucial BX500.
I'd take any other brands over pny atm
Of the Phison drives, the PNY CS900 (96-layer Kioxia TLC) generally outperformed the Team Group CX2 (96-layer Micron TLC). These drives have a very small static pSLC cache (~7-20GB). Once the pSLC was filled, sequential writes dropped to ~81MB/s and 71MB/s respectively.
Of the SMI based drives, the Team Group Vulcan Z (112-layer SanDisk TLC) greatly outperformed the Silicon Power A55 (144-layer Intel QLC). These drives have a massive dynamic pSLC cache that uses the entirety of the free space (so, 1/3 of the free space for TLC or 1/4 for QLC). Once the pSLC was full, sequential writes tanked to an average of ~55MB/s and 38MB/s respectively. Both drives spent periods writing at only 6MB/s but occasional spikes brought up the average. I also noticed something interesting with these SMI based drives. It appears they may not begin to flush the pSLC cache until it reaches roughly 80%+ full, even if the drive is given ample idle time. I wonder if leaving the drive empty enough (no more than 1/4 full for TLC or 1/5 full for QLC) would result in it functionally acting as a pSLC drive.
If I had to pick a favorite of the four, I'd probably pick the PNY CS900. It had the best direct-to-TLC writes and I've previously had good luck with these drives that pair the Phison S11 with Kioxia/Toshiba NAND. I've installed a number of these drives (sold under the Inland/Micro Center brand) and they've been operating as system drives for years, without issue. In contrast, I've had several issues with drives using SMI controllers, worst of all the Crucial BX500.
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Who said that they trust Teamgroup or Silicon Power?
SK Hynix, Samsung, and Crucial have been good in my personal experience. My (different products I know) PNY flash drive performed poorly and didn't last long. Silicon Power SD card lasted a few months. Never even tried Teamgroup.