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following my latest TerraMaster upgrade post, I’ve been looking for the best SSD to use in a NAS.
due to configuration TerraMaster F4-422I specifically looked for a 2.5″ SATA SSD for 5th b. as a cache drive, that’s what I’ll be focusing on in this post.
However, if you build a NAS/server with off-the-shelf components, or have a higher-spec NAS from the likes of Synology, you may choose to use NVMe drives for better performance. I’ll write another article for these drives later.
When it comes to servers and storage, overall read/write throughput isn’t necessarily the most important thing, but drive durability and warranty.
To keep things simple, I looked at the prices and their endurance ratings for 500GB and 1TB (approximately) drives.
The Best SATA SSDs for Caching and Storage
notes:
- Pricing taken from Amazon mid-February 2022
- Some drives are smaller, like 480GB instead of 512GB.
- Most drives have very similar IOPs, so I removed them from the list
- Read/write speeds may not be 100% accurate as they vary based on capacity
What about data center drives? Consider Samsung PM893
Used data center drives are often recommended on Reddit, and this is a great option. For example, 1TB WD Gold doesn’t even use TBW, they only use PB writes, and this one handles 1.4PBW or 1400TBW, but it costs over £250 new.
The Samsung PM893 is a semi-affordable option worth considering, with a 3-year warranty and 1.3 DWPD giving it a 683TBW, which you can buy from Scan for around £100. The more expensive PM897 has a TBW of 2628 but costs £150.
Highlights – Best consumer-grade SSD for caching
Basically, you get what you pay for.
Overall, the best option is probably the 500GB WD Red SA500 with 350TBW of battery life for a whopping £62. The 1TB model is more than double the price of the 1TB model, so it is much less attractive than the 1TB model Kingston KC600 and Samsung 870 EVO.
WD Red 500 GB NAS SSD 2.5″ SATA
- Fast access to large files: WD Red SA500 NAS SATA SSD…
- Give it your tough workloads: WD Red SSD’s…
- Work more efficiently: Built for NAS with…
- Use it for your demanding applications: drive…
At the time of writing, Samsung’s 870 EVO drives are more attractively priced than Kingston’s. As always, Amazon prices vary widely, and Kingston drives are cheaper.
So the Samsung 870 EVO is the best 1TB, 600TBW under £100
If they’re too expensive, WD Blue SSDs may be your best bet for an affordable drive. You get 200TB/400TB TBW durability and a 5-year warranty. 500GB under £50 is a bit of a bargain for that spec.
The dark horse is the Lexar NS100, which is a little more expensive than the WB and has less warranty, but the TBW has 20% longer battery life.
Options to avoid are PNY and SanDisk. These don’t state TBW and only come with a 3 year warranty. They are great for normal SSD drives and lightweight use, but best avoided for things like caches with high read/writes.
SATA SSD Comparison Chart
| SSD | 500GB / 1TB price | read/write | TBW Endurance | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston KC600 | £70/£120 | 550MB/s read 520MB/s write |
512GB — 300TB 1024GB — 600TB |
5 |
| Kingston A400 | £41 / £81 | 500MB/s read 450MB/s write |
480GB: 160TB 960GB: 300TB |
3 |
| Crucial MX500 | £47 / £75 | 560MB/s read 510MB/s write |
512GB — 180TB 1024GB — 360TB |
5 |
| Crucial BX500 | £38 / £65 | 540MB/s read 500MB/s write |
480GB — 120TB 1000GB — 360TB |
3 |
| Samsung SSD 870 EVO | £63 / £97 | 560MB/s read 530 MB/sec |
512GB — 300TB 1024GB — 600TB |
5 |
| Samsung 870 QVO | North America / £84 | 560MB/s read 530 MB/sec |
1024GB — 360TB | 3 |
| Western Digital WD Blue | £47 / £83 | 560MB/s read 530 MB/sec |
500GB — 200TB 1000GB — 400TB |
5 |
| Western Digital Red SA500 | £62 / £135 | 560MB/s read 530 MB/sec |
512GB — 350TB 1024GB — 600TB |
5 |
| Integral V Series 2 | £37 / £78 | 520MB/s read 470 MB/sec |
480GB: 160TB 960GB: 300TB 1TB: 320TB |
3 |
| PNY CS900 | £48 / £72 | 550MB/s read 500MB/s write |
no description | 3 |
| SanDisk SSD PLUS | £56 / £86 | 540MB/s read 450MB/s write |
no description | 3 |
| Lexar NS100 | £52 / £95 | 550MB/s read | 512GB — 240TB 1000GB — 480TB |
3 |
Last updated on February 21, 2022 / Affiliate Links / Image from Amazon Product Advertising API
