Idiots Guide to NVMe SSD Guide - Before You Buy
Summary
TLDRThis video offers an in-depth guide to purchasing NVMe SSDs, highlighting crucial considerations. It differentiates between M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe, emphasizing the importance of PCIe generations for performance. The discussion covers durability, indicated by TBW and DWPD ratings, and the impact of NAND types like TLC and QLC on capacity and endurance. Over-provisioning, NVMe revisions, SSD lengths, and thermal management are also key points for ensuring optimal SSD performance and longevity.
Takeaways
- 😀 NVMe SSDs differ significantly from traditional hard drives and SATA SSDs, offering much higher performance.
- 🔍 When purchasing an NVMe SSD, ensure it's M.2 NVMe, not M.2 SATA, as they have different performance capabilities.
- 🚀 PCIe generation is crucial; Gen 3 x4 offers up to 32 Gb/s, while Gen 4 x4 doubles that, impacting SSD performance.
- 🌡 Durability and lifespan of NVMe SSDs are affected by heat, so consider drives with good thermal management.
- 💾 Terabytes Written (TBW) and Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD) are key metrics indicating the SSD's endurance and warranty terms.
- ♻️ Over-provisioning can enhance SSD performance by allocating extra storage space for internal management.
- 📦 NAND type (SLC, MLC, TLC, QLC) affects capacity, performance, and cost; TLC is a good balance for most users.
- 🔌 NVMe interface revisions like 1.4 offer improved performance and features over older revisions.
- 📏 SSD length (e.g., 2280, 2210) determines physical size and may affect compatibility with your system.
- ❄️ Heat management is vital for NVMe SSDs; consider using heatsinks or ensuring adequate cooling in your system.
Q & A
What are the key differences between M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe SSDs?
-M.2 SATA SSDs utilize the SATA protocol, offering around 6 gigabits per second connectivity, which maxes out at approximately 600 megabytes per second. In contrast, M.2 NVMe SSDs use the PCIe protocol and can reach speeds of thousands of megabytes per second, currently up to around 7.5 gigabytes per second.
Why is it important to check for 'PCIe' when purchasing an M.2 NVMe SSD?
-The presence of 'PCIe' indicates that the SSD is an NVMe type, which offers significantly higher performance compared to SATA-based SSDs. PCIe is crucial for achieving the high-speed data transfer rates that NVMe SSDs are known for.
What does PCIe generation mean for the performance of an M.2 NVMe SSD?
-The PCIe generation (Gen 3x4 or Gen 4x4) determines the maximum theoretical bandwidth of the SSD. Gen 3 provides up to 32 Gbps (4,000 MB/s), while Gen 4 offers double that, up to 64 Gbps (8,000 MB/s). It's essential to ensure the SSD and the system's slot are compatible in terms of PCIe generation to avoid performance bottlenecks.
How does the durability of an NVMe SSD affect its performance over time?
-Durability, influenced by factors like heat and constant writing, can degrade the components over time, potentially leading to a decrease in performance. Manufacturers often provide TBW (Terabytes Written) and DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day) ratings to give an estimate of the SSD's lifespan and sustained performance within warranty guidelines.
What is over-provisioning in the context of SSDs, and how does it benefit performance?
-Over-provisioning is when a portion of the SSD's storage is reserved as a buffer zone to improve internal data handling and performance. This can lead to better IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second), especially for enterprise-level tasks.
Why is the type of NAND used in an SSD important for its performance and endurance?
-The NAND type (SLC, MLC, TLC, or QLC) affects the SSD's capacity, endurance, and performance. SLC and MLC offer higher endurance and performance but at a higher cost and lower capacity. QLC provides higher capacity at a lower cost but with reduced performance and durability. TLC is generally considered a good balance for consumer use.
What is the significance of NVMe revision in relation to SSD performance?
-The NVMe revision (such as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4) indicates the version of the NVMe protocol, which can affect performance, power handling, and the interface's efficiency between the SSD and the system. Higher revisions like 1.4 offer improvements over older ones.
Why do some SSDs come with specific length designations like 2280, and how does this affect capacity and compatibility?
-The length designation (e.g., 2280) refers to the SSD's size, with the first two digits representing width and the last two representing height in millimeters. Longer SSDs can accommodate more NAND chips, thus offering higher capacities. However, not all systems can physically accommodate longer SSDs, so it's important to check compatibility.
How does heat affect the performance and longevity of an NVMe SSD?
-Heat can degrade the SSD's components over time, potentially reducing performance and longevity. SSDs can throttle their performance when temperatures exceed certain thresholds to prevent damage. Using heatsinks or ensuring proper ventilation can help maintain optimal temperatures.
What role do firmware updates play in the performance and functionality of an SSD?
-Firmware updates can improve the SSD's performance, fix bugs, and add new features. They are crucial for maintaining the drive's optimal operation and ensuring compatibility with the host system's firmware and NVMe revisions.
Outlines
💾 Introduction to NVMe SSDs
The video begins with an introduction to NVMe SSDs, emphasizing their significance in the data storage world. The host highlights the differences between traditional hard drives and NVMe SSDs, noting that they are not the same despite similar appearances. The focus is on the importance of understanding the distinctions before purchasing an NVMe SSD. The video promises to cover eight key considerations for buyers, starting with the difference between M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe, which is crucial as they operate on different protocols with significant performance differences.
🚀 Understanding PCIe Generations
This paragraph delves into the intricacies of PCIe generations, which are vital for the performance of NVMe SSDs. The host explains the difference between PCIe Gen 3x4 and Gen 4x4, noting the substantial increase in bandwidth from 32 Gbps to 64 Gbps. The discussion underscores the importance of matching the SSD's PCIe generation with the system's slot to avoid bottlenecks. Backward compatibility is mentioned, but it's cautioned that using a higher generation SSD in a lower generation slot will limit performance.
🔥 Durability and Performance of SSDs
The focus shifts to the durability and performance of SSDs, particularly NVMe SSDs, which can degrade over time due to heat and constant use. The host introduces the concepts of TBW (Terabytes Written) and DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day), which are metrics provided by manufacturers to indicate the expected lifespan and performance maintenance of SSDs. These figures are crucial for understanding how long an SSD will maintain its performance before wear and tear become significant.
♻️ Over-Provisioning and NAND Types
The video discusses over-provisioning, a technique where a portion of an SSD's storage is reserved for internal tasks to enhance performance. The host explains how this can affect the advertised storage capacity and why some SSDs might show less storage than their actual size. Additionally, the importance of NAND types (SLC, MLC, TLC, QLC) is highlighted, with a focus on their impact on capacity, performance, endurance, and cost. TLC NAND is presented as a balanced choice for most users.
🔌 NVMe Interface and SSD Lengths
This section covers the NVMe interface revisions and their impact on SSD performance and compatibility. The host mentions that while older revisions are still functional, newer revisions like NVMe 1.4 offer improved performance and power handling. The discussion also includes the physical length of SSDs, with a focus on the standard 2280 size and the implications of choosing shorter or longer drives for different systems.
🌡️ Managing Heat for Optimal SSD Performance
The final paragraph addresses the heat generated by NVMe SSDs and its impact on performance. The host stresses the importance of using heatsinks or fan-assisted heatsinks to dissipate heat and maintain optimal performance. It's noted that high temperatures can cause SSDs to throttle their performance to prevent damage, so proper cooling is essential. The video concludes with a reminder of the importance of considering all discussed factors when choosing an NVMe SSD.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡NVMe SSDs
💡M.2
💡PCIe
💡Gen 3x4 and Gen 4x4
💡Durability
💡TBW (Terabytes Written)
💡DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day)
💡Over Provisioning
💡NAND
💡3D NAND
💡Heatsink
Highlights
Introduction to NVMe SSDs and the importance of understanding their specifications before purchase.
Difference between M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe SSDs, emphasizing the distinct protocols and performance capabilities.
Explanation of PCIe and its role in enabling high-speed data transfer in M.2 NVMe SSDs.
Detail on PCIe generations and their impact on SSD performance, specifically Gen 3 x4 and Gen 4 x4.
The significance of durability in SSDs, including the effects of heat and write cycles on performance and lifespan.
Importance of TBW (Terabytes Written) and DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day) for assessing SSD endurance.
Over-provisioning in SSDs and its effect on performance and data handling.
The role of NAND technology in SSD storage capacity, endurance, and performance.
Different types of NAND cells (SLC, MLC, TLC, QLC) and their impact on SSD characteristics.
Advantages of 3D NAND technology for increasing storage density and performance.
NVMe interface revisions and their influence on SSD performance and compatibility.
The physical length of SSDs and how it affects capacity and compatibility with different systems.
The necessity of heatsinks for NVMe SSDs to manage heat and maintain optimal performance.
Practical advice on choosing the right NVMe SSD based on the discussed factors.
Offer of free advice for viewers needing further assistance in selecting an NVMe SSD.
Transcripts
[Music]
hello and welcome back to another before
you buy the video where we look at a
particular subject in the world of data
storage or networking or whatever and we
go through all the very very very
important things you need to bear in
mind before you lay down the cache so
today we're talking about nvme ssds the
subject we talked about quite a lot in
summer 2021 here on the channel because
so so so many releases have gone out
there and so many of you are finding
yourself in a position where you've got
to go out and buy one of these ssds for
the very first time and it's kind of a
whole new world this isn't like hard
drives and stuff like that these are
completely different kettles of fish
compared to that of traditional hard
drives there so in today's video i'm
going to go through eight very important
things that you need to bear in mind
when buying one of these devices it's
going to be a little longer than my
usual before you buys the reason being
is this is such a big subject that a
number of you have genuinely come into
with next to no knowledge and the
knowledge you do have may be somewhat
out of date so let's get straight into
our first point
the first thing to bear in mind is that
although these ssds are available in a
number of different places they're not
all the same and indeed you may hear the
letters m two or m two key in
conjunction with one of these ssds and
then think they are all the same and
they're really not nvme ssds come in a
multitude of different faceted versions
that we're going to talk about later on
but one of the key big distinctions
where you're going to make one of your
earliest and biggest mistakes is the
difference between m sata and m2 mvme
now m santa or m2.2
sata because in terms of size that can
be mixed up
these are very different protocols with
m2 sata or msata giving you something in
the region of around 6 gigabits per
second connectivity which can max out at
around 600 megabytes per second give or
take m2mvme can reach the thousands
currently up to around seven and a half
thousand megabytes but that's because
they use very different protocols they
look the same as these but m sata as it
makes as it may sound and then to salter
utilize sata a very old connection
that's been around since hard drives and
is still used today now it means it's a
lot more widely accepted and compatible
because of that connection although
internally it has to be said that they
are a middle ground mtar m sata and m2
sata between sata hard drives and ssds
and m2mvme so it's incredibly important
when buying an nvme ssd do you look for
one of two things one obviously the
letters nvme but the other key one to
look out for is pcie they are known as
pcie ssds or m2 pcie if you see pcie
next to the m2 you're looking at an nvme
and not a starter one if you see the
word sata anywhere on that one line next
to that pcie or the m2 you're not
looking at nvme there that is not what
you need to go for so make sure you look
out for that
next it would be remiss to talk about
pcie without going into more details yes
pcie is what enabled these m2 ssds to
really reach the bandwidth they got to
now pcie in terms of pcs and computers
have been around for decades it's a
lovely little slot that allowed you to
upgrade your systems indeed it was all
the way back to the days of ibm
releasing pcs that allowed people to
customize them some might say that mate
or made or broke that company it has to
be said but pcie upgradability in pc
chassis is what has allowed people to
really change and adapt computers in you
know even now in 2021 however in terms
of m2 nvme the thing you really need to
focus on with pcie is the gen you may
notice most modern m2 nvmes right now
are being broken into two different
categories they are pcie gen 3 times 4
or gen four times four now there is an
enormous difference in terms of
performance between these two now
pcie that bit at the beginning normally
comes in generation also pcie gen one
gen 2 gen 3 or gen 4 with gen 5 being
danced around with right now in very
early commercial stages now that is
effectively the throughput that's
possible there there's other things like
power and handling and packets but we're
just focusing on the performance pcie
gen 1 is
250 megabytes pcie gen 2 is 500
megabytes pcie gen 3 is a thousand
megabytes and pcie gen 4 is 2 000
megabytes now remember that at the
beginning pcie gen 3 times 4
that means that that pcie bit there at
the beginning john 1 2 gen 2 gen 324 is
being multiplied there so in the case of
gen 4 it's four times the original
number so in the case of pcie gen 3
times 4 gen 3 is a thousand times it by
four thousand and that's the bandwidth
that's the maximum throughput possible
on that pcie gen four lane it doesn't
necessarily mean that this ssd is going
to crack out 4000 megs and in most cases
it definitely won't but
pcie gen 3x4 allows that channel think
of it as the pipe and think of the ssd
throughput as the water going through
the pipe okay so when you're looking at
an ssd if it says gen three times four
or gen four times four the difference
there is four thousand to eight thousand
megabytes per second bandwidth to play
with there
so when you're looking at an ssd it's
important to know what is the pcie
gen and times numbers on both the ssd
you're buying and on the slot that
you're occupying on your pc or console
system there so it's very important to
understand the distinction between those
pcies because although they are
completely backwards compatible if you
stick
a pcie gen four times four ssd inside a
slot that's gen three times four it will
immediately bottleneck in and you won't
be able to get anywhere near the full
performance that these ssds are putting
out
next a concern that's been thrown around
for a number of years in the terms of
ssd storage as performance has got
harder faster and harder and just busier
and busier is the question of durability
now durability has never really been
something people have looked at when it
came to traditional hard drives or even
early sata ssds
because these ssds weren't really able
to push through the kind of performance
for most users where durability was a
concern i.e how long it's going to last
and how long it's going to maintain that
performance and that's really the key
thing nvmes
being much much smaller and unlike these
ssds that come in big heat dissipating
cases with lots more heatsinks embedded
on on top
these ssds arrive they're great they're
more bare bones occasionally you'll get
heat sink included that we'll talk about
in a bit but in most cases you have to
factor in that these are going to get a
lot of electricity pass through them and
they do get quite hot the result is that
the components the chips on board known
as the nand the controller and the
memory all that stuff there
can over time wear down because of the
heat that's been generated or more
commonly in the case of nand had it been
written to constantly slowly wears away
at those components so in that case the
lifespan of the drive and its durability
will be affected but more importantly it
is about the performance so as time
wears on and these drives are written to
constantly constantly constantly you can
start to lower the overall performance
and that big number they promised at the
beginning can start to drop down now
a lot of ssd vendors make a very clear
point of highlighting two factors tbw
terabytes written and dwpd
drive rights per day now
this is kind of a promise from the
manufacturer that as long as you work
within these guidelines this ssd will
maintain that full performance for the
full length of the warranty typically
five years so in the case of terabytes
written the number they present to you
is in terabytes that number is basically
them saying that this drive can
withstand the writing of this much data
with deletion in between of course
throughout that five year period and it
won't drop in performance or break in
terms of drive rights per day it is
presented as a decimal place 0.3 0.5 1.0
and that is
basically at the fraction of the drive
so for a one terabyte drive if the drive
writes per day was 0.5 from a one
terabyte drive that would be
500 gig so half of one terabyte the
result is that they are saying that you
can use this drive and write to it up to
500 gigabytes on this one terabyte drive
per day every day for five years and it
will work to the best of its ability
but it's worth bearing in mind that the
controller that little chip there on
board that's the brain
keeps track of everything that's done to
that drive and manufacturers in order to
enforce this and say that our drive will
only last that period of time but if it
breaks we want to know that you've not
overused it they have now linked
terabytes written to the warranty so
once you have a drive if it has a five
year warranty and it breaks it slows
down it stops working and you send it
back to the manufacturer within those
five years they will check whether you
have kept within those guidelines have
you been writing to it every single day
constantly with things like surveillance
or live streaming or have you kept
within those boundaries so it's
important to stay on top of terabytes
written and drive pipes to drive rights
per day
next up over provisioning a number of
you may or may not be know that know
that when you buy an ssd even though it
seems pretty clear-cut you know 500 gig
1tb 2gb some ssd brands have a tendency
to either say that their drive has 500
gigabytes of storage or they'll say 480
when you get to one terabyte they'll say
960 or one terabyte instead of 2tb it'll
be 1.92 terabytes why do they do that
well that is over provisioning some ssds
in order to get better performance
better handling of data internally what
they do is they take a percentage of the
storage inside that's available so say
it deals 500 gig they take a fraction of
that storage and then they use it as a
kind of buffer zone to work within the
ssd to help handling of tasks internally
that's known as over provisioning and a
lot of ssds arrive with over
provisioning taken into consideration
particularly drives are going to be used
in more enterprise level settings the
result being that often you'll see two
ssds at the same price but one will show
500 gig and another will show 480.
depending on more enterprise task or
higher iops which is accessing lots of
small things very very quickly otherwise
known as individual input outputs per
second
it's sometimes useful and beneficial to
go for a drive that includes over
provisioning alternatively you can get a
standard class drive and install
software or have system services that
will set up over provisioning for you
but ultimately it's typically the same
price for two drives in the same brand
one without and one with over
provisioning because the hardware
remains the same
next up i've talked about nand a great
deal in this video but it's worth
highlighting the importance of nand now
of all the chips that are on here the
big chunky identical ones are known as
nand they are the chips that have the
storage generally each block will be
maybe 100 gig or 200 gig it depends on
the capacity of the drive maybe even
smaller that can also mean that some
drives have nothing on the back and some
of them have chips on either side now
with nand nan comes in and with the
storage that's on there remember going
back to when drives are being read and
written to quite a lot
they have layers on them now that the
cell that is the chip of nand that's on
there can be a number of different kinds
of cell now that can be slc mlc tlc and
qlc currently slc single layer cell mlc
multi-layer cell tlc triple layer cell
and unsurprisingly qlc is quad level
quad layer cell now the result of this
is they can compact more data
into these ssds if they have more layers
there now it does introduce something
called 3d nand where it works in two
directions we're just going to
bank that for now we're just going to
focus on those four one two three four
layer cells now
the reason we're talking about nand is
the first two slc and mlc
they give you the lowest possible
capacity they give you the best
endurance and they give you the best
performance but much much much smaller
capacity and the price
rockets up at the other end of the scale
you have drives that are qlc these are
ones that have got the most capacity
they can fit eight terabytes on
something like this really really easily
however the performance is much much
lower and the durability is much much
lower the price is lovely and low too
but its longevity its durability and
ultimately its overall performance is
much much lower that's why the industry
standard and kind of the agreement
between brands and consumers alike is
tlc nand so if you look at an ssd and
you want the best middle ground for
price performance and capacity go tlc
nand and of course 3dtl scene and much
much you've got the layers here they've
taken advantage of 3d architecture and
build of data inside these so you've got
a better way to get more data and
performance inside but you can get 3d
tlc nand and 3d qlc nand
next this one is slightly less important
because it's not a lot of people don't
have a lot of control over this but it's
worth remembering a lot of modern ssds
they not only have firmware updates that
you can install manually using a pc to
upgrade what's on there but on top of
that you've got nvme revisions so that
little connector there at the top m2
nvme there the key
that uh connector there that interface
will be in its own revision now nvme is
currently available in revision 1.4 and
even there's revision 2.0 being spoken
about at the time of this video but a
lot of older ssds will have revision 1.1
1.2 1.3 1.3 c
now these are still very good and they
do the job but as time goes on the nvme
revision just like hdmi for teles gets
better usb for your ports and stuff gets
better same goes for nvme they're able
to get better performance better power
handling and basically improving the
interface between the drive and your
machine now your machine your pc your
console whatever has its own firmware
updates it will have a certain revision
inside which in a lot of cases but not
all can be updated so do bear in mind
that when you buy an ssd
there's a good chance you're fixed at
the nvme revision inside but not on your
host system so it's good to make sure
that you upgrade your system to the
maximum nvme revision but on top of that
if you can go for an ssd particularly in
2021 right now to go for an nvme 1.4 or
higher because you will get the best
kind of interaction performance and low
latency from the drive that you possibly
can
and now we're getting into the home
stretch just a couple of points left and
this next one is about the length of
ssds now you may notice that a lot of
ssds arrive on the market now have four
little numbers banned on the end two two
eight zero two two eight zero
corresponds to the length of this ssd
nearly all modern ssds right now are two
two eight zero in length now there are
exceptions you can get smaller ssds much
shorter and a classic example of a
device that's using smaller right now
would be the steam deck it's not been
released at the time i've recorded this
video but the steam deck utilizes a much
shorter length i think it's two two
three zero but don't come commit me on
that might be two four zero length ssd
inside that means these ssds have got
less physical space to put all of the
nand and the chips and their capacity is
generally lower or when the capacity is
higher they're much much more expensive
than larger versions there another
example is the xbox series x and x
series s they use a proprietary uh
seagate drive that is their expansion
there's only seagate that supply them
and they too use a much smaller length
ssd they also use a pcie
gen four times two drive which already
as we've learned earlier in this video
lowers the overall possible performance
but
in the other direction nvmes get longer
now the longest kind of standard
accessible length is two two one one
zero it's the next one up from here it's
about yay longer and that allows bigger
capacities right now now conventionally
at the time of recording you can get
eight tb drives uh two two one one zero
length ssds but not all current pc and
particularly smaller pc builds can
actually get that longer drive and you
might buy a drive that's got more
capacity
but it won't fit in your system so
double check what the lengths are
available to you on your pc or console
system and whether you can go for a
longer drive and save you a bit of
research ps5 does go as high as two two
one one zero ssds also there are of
course longer ones known as ruler drives
some of them are 30 centimeters in
length which have ridiculous um
performance and capacity these are
enterprise they cost tens of thousands
of pounds and i don't have truck with
them in this video
finally it's a big consideration i've
already kind of touched on it already
heat these drives get hot the faster
they get the better the bandwidth
they've got the hotter they get anyone
that's ever utilized a laptop that's got
one of these inside or a console system
that's quite small with without great
fan control these ssds can get
extraordinarily hot in use and that's
why it's highly recommended that you use
a heatsink a heatsink you can slot the
drive inside there's some thermal
padding either in and then when you put
this inside your system
this isn't a fan although some of them
do have fans on side what this is to do
is to draw heat from the components on
that nvme and it pulls the heat into
this giant
uh sometimes copper sometimes aluminium
largely metal design here and it
dissipates the heat out sometimes
there's a fan kind of keeps things cool
and to help dissipation of the heat
within the larger
chassis structure of your pc or console
but predominantly these are for
dissipating the heat off of these nvmes
to keep them working well why is that
necessary well
although the nand on these drives likes
to be a bit warm warm nand works quite
well
the controller or the brain kind of like
the cpu on a computer works at its best
when it's as cold as possible and that's
why these heat sinks will dissipate the
heat to the benefit of the controller
and therefore the nand's a little bit
warm it's not so bad and keeps things
working well now
it isn't to say that when these things
are hot they're not going to work indeed
if you keep an ssd between
around about you know lower than
maybe 65c they should work well but it's
worth mentioning that once you hit
50c um um
celsius what will happen is the drive
will slightly bottleneck itself
internally not all ssds do but
definitely after 50 some ssds will
purposefully lower their performance
internally because they don't want the
negative degradation effects of the heat
affecting the larger ssd there so make
sure you either get a heat sink or a fan
assisted heatsink or keep your pc or
console system in a nice air controlled
environment there and that will maintain
the temperature and therefore the
performance of your ssd but this has
been before you buy about nvme ssds
there's so much more to this subject
than this video covers but i hope these
eight points have helped you choose your
right ssd if you still need help take
advantage of the free advice section
over on nas compares linked in the
description below is you know you can
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next time
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