Question Which M.2 SSD should I consider?

[7beauties]

Friends, I currently have a 512GB Samsung EVO PRO M.2 SSD. Intel's 2TB 660p M.2 SSD sells for a mouthwatering $182. But Samsung's 2TB 960 EVO M.2 SSD sells for $320, and its 2TB 970 EVO M.2 SSD sells for about $450. Kingston's 2TB M.2 SSD is similarly priced as the 970 EVO. Since they're all the same capacity, the same TLC NAND process, why is Intel's offering so much cheaper? My other question is trickier. How do I transfer everything over to a new, 2TB M.2 SSD? I have my Windows 10 license key printed out. Too bad there isn't a device that copies everything on one M.2 stick and pastes it onto another. Thank you.

 

[ItsAlive]

The Intel 660p is QLC NAND its much slower.

 

[7beauties]

Euh ... much slower isn't as bad as that it's QLC. I'll stick with no less than TLC. Thank you, ItsAlive.

 

[ItsAlive]

The QLC drives like the 660p really show their poor performance when transferring large amounts of data where speeds can decrease to almost platter drive speeds. Something I personally would be very unsatisfied with when considering the cost compared to a traditional platter style HDD.

If I were in the market for a good affordable 2TB drive I would consider the HP EX950.

 

[thor23]

It's only slower when writing hundreds of gigs at a time. At 2 Tb the slc cache will be huge, unlikely you'll ever exhaust the write cache. In all other metrics the 660p is quiet fast, it's what I'd get.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

In all other metrics the 660p is quiet fast, it's what I'd get.

Just keep in mind it's a first generation QLC product. Issues -may- crop up over time. Remember the Samsung 840EVO (first gen TLC drive) fiasco?

My other question is trickier. How do I transfer everything over to a new, 2TB M.2 SSD? I have my Windows 10 license key printed out. Too bad there isn't a device that copies everything on one M.2 stick and pastes it onto another. Thank you.

Depends on what you have now. If it's a regular 2.5" SATA drive, just remove power from it. Plug in your new M.2 drive, install Windows. Then reconnect power (while the system is powered off... ), restart, and move your data onto your new drive.

You can also use a USB3-to-SATA adaptor. Like f.x. https://www.startech.com/HDD/Adapters/USB-3-SATA-adapter-cable-with-UASP~USB3S2SAT3CB Also handy for laptops.

You don't actually need your Windows key. Windows gets activated with a digital certificate tied to your mainboard. Just choose "I don't have a key" during install, and it'll activate when you connect to the internet.

 

[arandomguy]

Just keep in mind it's a first generation QLC product. Issues -may- crop up over time. Remember the Samsung 840EVO (first gen TLC drive) fiasco?

840 EVO was 2nd gen. First gen was the 840. They never even acknowledged the 840 had the same issues and it was just glossed over at large.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

840 EVO was 2nd gen. First gen was the 840. They never even acknowledged the 840 had the same issues and it was just glossed over at large.

You're right of course. I meant the 840. Just used to tack an EVO behind a Samsung TLC drive.