Idiots Guide to NVMe SSD Guide - Before You Buy

Summary

This 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

00:00

💾 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.

05:00

🚀 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.

10:01

🔥 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.

15:07

♻️ 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.

20:08

🔌 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.

Keywords

💡NVMe SSDs

NVMe SSDs, or Non-Volatile Memory Express Solid State Drives, are a type of storage device that utilize the NVMe protocol to communicate with a host computer. They are known for their high performance and fast data transfer speeds. In the video, the host discusses various aspects of NVMe SSDs, emphasizing their differences from traditional hard drives and SATA SSDs, and why they are becoming increasingly popular for those seeking high-speed storage solutions.

💡M.2

M.2 is a form factor for internal storage devices, particularly SSDs, that use an M.2 slot on a motherboard. It is characterized by its small size and flexibility in terms of interface types, which can include both SATA and NVMe. The video script clarifies the distinction between M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe SSDs, highlighting that while they may look the same, they offer significantly different performance capabilities.

💡PCIe

PCIe, or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard used to connect various hardware components. In the context of NVMe SSDs, PCIe is crucial as it enables these drives to achieve their high data transfer rates. The video explains the importance of looking for 'PCIe' when purchasing an NVMe SSD and distinguishes between PCIe generations, which directly impact the SSD's performance.

💡Gen 3x4 and Gen 4x4

These terms refer to the PCIe generation and the number of lanes used by an NVMe SSD. 'Gen 3x4' indicates a PCIe Generation 3 SSD with four lanes, offering a maximum throughput of 32 Gb/s, while 'Gen 4x4' refers to a PCIe Generation 4 SSD with four lanes, doubling the throughput to 64 Gb/s. The video script uses these terms to illustrate the performance differences between different generations of NVMe SSDs.

💡Durability

Durability, in the context of SSDs, refers to the lifespan and reliability of the drive. It is influenced by factors such as the number of write cycles the drive can handle before wearing out. The video emphasizes the importance of considering durability when selecting an SSD, especially with the high-performance NVMe drives that can experience more wear due to their faster speeds and higher workloads.

💡TBW (Terabytes Written)

TBW stands for Terabytes Written and is a metric provided by SSD manufacturers to indicate the total amount of data that can be written to the drive over its lifetime before it experiences a drop in performance. The video script mentions TBW as a key factor in understanding the durability and expected lifespan of an NVMe SSD, with the manufacturer guaranteeing performance within the TBW limits for the warranty period.

💡DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day)

DWPD, or Drive Writes Per Day, is another metric used to express the endurance of an SSD. It represents the amount of the drive's total capacity that can be written to the drive daily over a three-year period. The video explains DWPD in the context of SSD warranties, where manufacturers ensure the drive maintains performance within specified DWPD limits.

💡Over Provisioning

Over provisioning is a technique where a portion of an SSD's total storage capacity is reserved by the manufacturer and not available to the user. This reserved space is used internally by the SSD controller to improve performance and manage data more efficiently. The video script discusses over provisioning as a feature that can enhance the performance of an SSD, though it reduces the actual usable storage space.

💡NAND

NAND is a type of flash memory used in SSDs for data storage. The video script delves into different types of NAND, such as SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC, which differ in the number of bits stored per cell. NAND type significantly affects the SSD's performance, endurance, and cost, with SLC offering the best performance and endurance but at a higher cost, while QLC provides higher storage density at a lower cost but with reduced performance and endurance.

💡3D NAND

3D NAND is an advanced form of NAND flash memory where memory cells are stacked vertically in layers to increase storage density in a smaller footprint. The video mentions 3D NAND as a technology that allows for higher capacity SSDs while maintaining or improving performance. It is particularly relevant to the discussion of TLC and QLC NAND types, where 3D architecture is used to maximize storage within the constraints of these multi-level cell technologies.

💡Heatsink

A heatsink is a device used to dissipate heat generated by electronic components, such as the controller and NAND chips in an SSD. The video script highlights the importance of heatsinks for NVMe SSDs, which can become very hot during operation, especially in confined spaces like laptops or consoles. Proper heat management is crucial to maintain the performance and longevity of the SSD, as excessive heat can lead to thermal throttling and reduced lifespan.

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

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