I can't see this as an advantage over Mushkin's Reactor Armor3D SATA SSDs which are 3D MLC drives that don't suffer from endurance and performance penalties associated with TLC AND are cheaper than the MSRP for WD/SanDisk offerings. In fact, in general terms, TLC doesn't appear to really offer a cost advantage over MLC at the moment at least where SATA drives are concerned.
Mushking MLC seems like a godlike dinosaur about rat sized mammals. A shame that industry force users to forget about MLC. With current tech we should have 256-512 SLC drives either sata or nvme.
I think that's the key to mushkins success. If their drives were better known there wouldn't be enough MLC to meet demand.
For people in the know, it's a no brainer to buy Mushkin drives. Half their lineup still uses MLC.
And I've been saying what we all have noticed for years. TLC isn't bringing prices down. It's just padding margins if anything. Only in the tech sector could the industry collude to force users into an inferior technology at the same or higher (is the global nand shortage even real?) prices.
Oh joy! It's another small, over-priced SSD crippled with slow transfer speeds! I have to hand it to them though, at least they've got the form factor half-right and unlike many of their competitors these drives are only going for about two and half times what they're worth. I simply can't wait for the reviews so we get to measure how much worse WD's controller is than everything else on the market.
Probably never. I don't think the motherboard support ever took off enough to convince manufacturers to make many (any?) drives. Also, M.2 drives work in desktops and laptops, so the manufacturer only has to make one product.
SATA Express is dead. It only provides two PCIe lanes, which isn't enough for high-end NVMe drives. And the thermal limits of M.2 SSDs are often greatly exaggerated. It's extremely rare to find any real-world desktop workload that triggers thermal throttling.
The U.2 standard does exist for 2.5" hot-swappable PCIe x4 SSDs, but don't expect it to ever get much traction outside of the enterprise market.
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BrokenCrayons - Friday, August 4, 2017 - link
I can't see this as an advantage over Mushkin's Reactor Armor3D SATA SSDs which are 3D MLC drives that don't suffer from endurance and performance penalties associated with TLC AND are cheaper than the MSRP for WD/SanDisk offerings. In fact, in general terms, TLC doesn't appear to really offer a cost advantage over MLC at the moment at least where SATA drives are concerned.Lolimaster - Friday, August 4, 2017 - link
Mushking MLC seems like a godlike dinosaur about rat sized mammals. A shame that industry force users to forget about MLC. With current tech we should have 256-512 SLC drives either sata or nvme.Hairs_ - Saturday, August 5, 2017 - link
Mushkin drives aren't as readily available, so in terms of the market, performance isn't terribly relevant if people can't buy the product.Samus - Saturday, August 5, 2017 - link
I think that's the key to mushkins success. If their drives were better known there wouldn't be enough MLC to meet demand.For people in the know, it's a no brainer to buy Mushkin drives. Half their lineup still uses MLC.
And I've been saying what we all have noticed for years. TLC isn't bringing prices down. It's just padding margins if anything. Only in the tech sector could the industry collude to force users into an inferior technology at the same or higher (is the global nand shortage even real?) prices.
PixyMisa - Sunday, August 6, 2017 - link
The mobile phone makers are buying up all the RAM and flash chips they can get their hands on. That's why prices stopped going downMagichands8 - Friday, August 4, 2017 - link
Oh joy! It's another small, over-priced SSD crippled with slow transfer speeds! I have to hand it to them though, at least they've got the form factor half-right and unlike many of their competitors these drives are only going for about two and half times what they're worth. I simply can't wait for the reviews so we get to measure how much worse WD's controller is than everything else on the market.smilingcrow - Friday, August 4, 2017 - link
It uses a Marvell controller as per the article.Lolimaster - Friday, August 4, 2017 - link
For sata slow transfers is not an issue since everything will reach 500MB+.You will only feel and need a 2GB+ drive if you move heavy data for high res video editing. That's basically the only usage for an HEDT user.
Lolimaster - Friday, August 4, 2017 - link
I mean, most demanding to the drive.Chaitanya - Saturday, August 5, 2017 - link
overpriced? its cheaper than Samsung 850 Evo and seems to have better endurance rating(advertised) at all capacities.Glock24 - Friday, August 4, 2017 - link
What is the incentive to get this instead of an 850 EVO? Price it 15% lower and it might sell.Drazick - Saturday, August 5, 2017 - link
When will we see SATA Express drives?I prefer those on M.2 as they should behave thermally much better (We can install them away from the Mother Board).
cfenton - Saturday, August 5, 2017 - link
Probably never. I don't think the motherboard support ever took off enough to convince manufacturers to make many (any?) drives. Also, M.2 drives work in desktops and laptops, so the manufacturer only has to make one product.Billy Tallis - Saturday, August 5, 2017 - link
SATA Express is dead. It only provides two PCIe lanes, which isn't enough for high-end NVMe drives. And the thermal limits of M.2 SSDs are often greatly exaggerated. It's extremely rare to find any real-world desktop workload that triggers thermal throttling.The U.2 standard does exist for 2.5" hot-swappable PCIe x4 SSDs, but don't expect it to ever get much traction outside of the enterprise market.
Drazick - Sunday, August 6, 2017 - link
This is really bad.I don't want all my drive to be on the Mother Board.
I want them far away.
sonicmerlin - Saturday, August 5, 2017 - link
Is this DRAM-less? Those drives don't seem to last long.Bullwinkle J Moose - Sunday, August 6, 2017 - link
GOOD NEWSSamsung 850 Pro 40nm MLC / 256GB / 10 Year Warranty is BACK ON SALE @ Newegg
Why spend $100 for a slower drive with a 3 year warranty?
For $10 more you can have the fastest SATA SSD on the Planet and a 10 year Warranty
The 850 went OFF sale on August 3rd and is now back ON SALE!
I have a feeling this portends big changes coming soon from Samsung or they wouldn't be doing this
Would they???
Bullwinkle J Moose - Sunday, August 6, 2017 - link
The current sale for the Samsung 850 Pro @ newegg appears to be for EVERYONE!The sale last week was most likely for newegg insiders only