Given my past experience with Silicon Power SSDs, you're going to need it. Maybe this uses a better controller or more reliable flash chips, but every single SP SATA SSD I've owned has died within a year. I had one DOA that Amazon thankfully replaced, but the others died long after the return window and SP would not stand behind them.
As compelling as a $100 2TB thumb drive with good performance is, I'll pass on this brand.
I had 3, 2 of them live to this day, with about 5 years each and one died under 3 months, and was replaced easily. I have 60TB on A55, 512, and I have no way to check the other one, right now. They were fairly slow, and I did not use them for anything important. I am not sure if you are to harsh on them or not, but I don't think they are as bad as you say. They are fair for their price. Usually something like 10-15% cheaper if I remember.
You're free to live in clown world and replace everything you own just to get a new connector. Dont be surprised when the rest of the world doesnt chug alongside you.
The spammers have been going absolutely nuts today. The spam filters are reporting they've rejected 10x as many comments as normal.
As it stands we're already using almost every service known to man. To some extent it's just a numbers game, so enough posts and something will get through.
"Silicon Power confirmed the use of SK hynix 3D TLC NAND in our sample, but did mention that they reserved the right to use any NAND with similar performance in future production runs"
Soooo... they are just giving themselves an easy-out excuse upfront for when they pull the ole bait & switch routine by advertising one set of parts & then switching to cheaper parts & upping their profit margins when the product finally ships...
You’re mistaking a nice gesture on the part of the manufacturer as malice. Given the nature of the question their response gave extra information that warranted a similar note.
Swapping out commodity parts is the norm for many practical & necessary reasons for products. If Silicon Power was advertising the specific type of NAND that would be a different thing entirely. Anything that meets that specs their advertising is suitable. Keep in mind they may not have the option to even buy the specific NAND in 6 months they are using right now.
This in no way indicates anything you're saying about a “bait & switch”. (yes, I’m well aware of this happening).
Nor did they “advertising one set of parts”. They simply answered a question. Would you rather they just not answered?
The OWC Aura Pro has come down in price to roughly match the market; I the link to Amazon shows it at roughly $110. It has a full metal construction and both USB A and USC C.
The Envoy Pro Mini, the one shown for comparison in this review.
The price in this review shows it currently at USD $481, but if you click on that price, the linked Amazon page lists it at $120.
I have the Thunderbolt 4 (?) version, the Envoy Pro FX. It's a solid aluminum brick, you can do some damage with that thing. In a good way.
OWC sells products at a premium above market price, but I have found their support and return service to likewise be exceptional. So I thought the price parity was worth a comment here - then screwed up the product name. Sorry!
(I have no connection with OWC, just a customer. Goodness I think I started buying SCSI cables from that guy in 1993...)
Two questions: 1.is that SP SSD-on-a-stick IP anything rated? 2. What is the difference in weight (mass) between the two attributed to? The OWC weighs more, but that doesn't seem to help with heat dissipation. It would be interesting if SP would have allowed you to open it up, also to see what if any heat pad or thermal paste was used.
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artifex - Thursday, December 21, 2023 - link
5 year warranty seems pretty aggressive, too.kaidenshi - Thursday, December 21, 2023 - link
Given my past experience with Silicon Power SSDs, you're going to need it. Maybe this uses a better controller or more reliable flash chips, but every single SP SATA SSD I've owned has died within a year. I had one DOA that Amazon thankfully replaced, but the others died long after the return window and SP would not stand behind them.As compelling as a $100 2TB thumb drive with good performance is, I'll pass on this brand.
deil - Friday, December 22, 2023 - link
I had 3, 2 of them live to this day, with about 5 years each and one died under 3 months, and was replaced easily.I have 60TB on A55, 512, and I have no way to check the other one, right now. They were fairly slow, and I did not use them for anything important.
I am not sure if you are to harsh on them or not, but I don't think they are as bad as you say.
They are fair for their price. Usually something like 10-15% cheaper if I remember.
artifex - Saturday, December 23, 2023 - link
I'd never bought SP before but had been thinking about it. Thanks for the warning.ciparis - Thursday, December 21, 2023 - link
Please call me when someone finally ships a device that is not USB-A native.Techie4Us - Thursday, December 21, 2023 - link
2nd that ! I'm so tired of seeing these so-called "new" devices, only to see the pics & learn that they are built with the old style connectors...Gimme USB-C everywhere, or gimme death !
mark625 - Tuesday, January 2, 2024 - link
This will happen when PCs start coming with 8-10 USB-C ports and only 2 or 4 USB-A ports. In other words, another 10 years or so.TheinsanegamerN - Wednesday, January 3, 2024 - link
Just buy dongles.kylothow - Friday, December 22, 2023 - link
People that don't exclusively use toy computers still mostly rely on the more affirmed and retro compatible standard.aebiv - Sunday, December 24, 2023 - link
I’m sorry you’re trapped in the past.TheinsanegamerN - Wednesday, January 3, 2024 - link
You're free to live in clown world and replace everything you own just to get a new connector. Dont be surprised when the rest of the world doesnt chug alongside you.TheinsanegamerN - Wednesday, January 3, 2024 - link
Call me when the vast majority of USB ports are type C instead of A (here's a hint: decades from now).But hey, you can just buy dongles! Dont let your type C dreams be dreams!
robl - Thursday, December 21, 2023 - link
Spam to interesting response ratio is poor - perhaps time for some better spam blockers on comments?Ryan Smith - Thursday, December 21, 2023 - link
The spammers have been going absolutely nuts today. The spam filters are reporting they've rejected 10x as many comments as normal.As it stands we're already using almost every service known to man. To some extent it's just a numbers game, so enough posts and something will get through.
Threska - Thursday, December 21, 2023 - link
Throw some AI at it.Techie4Us - Thursday, December 21, 2023 - link
"Silicon Power confirmed the use of SK hynix 3D TLC NAND in our sample, but did mention that they reserved the right to use any NAND with similar performance in future production runs"Soooo... they are just giving themselves an easy-out excuse upfront for when they pull the ole bait & switch routine by advertising one set of parts & then switching to cheaper parts & upping their profit margins when the product finally ships...
NO thanks :(
Skeptical123 - Thursday, December 21, 2023 - link
You’re mistaking a nice gesture on the part of the manufacturer as malice. Given the nature of the question their response gave extra information that warranted a similar note.Swapping out commodity parts is the norm for many practical & necessary reasons for products. If Silicon Power was advertising the specific type of NAND that would be a different thing entirely. Anything that meets that specs their advertising is suitable. Keep in mind they may not have the option to even buy the specific NAND in 6 months they are using right now.
This in no way indicates anything you're saying about a “bait & switch”. (yes, I’m well aware of this happening).
Nor did they “advertising one set of parts”. They simply answered a question. Would you rather they just not answered?
rUmX - Friday, December 22, 2023 - link
You sound like you're an employee of the company bro.Skeptical123 - Friday, December 22, 2023 - link
It may sound a little corporate because I was trying to be polite.drajitshnew - Friday, December 22, 2023 - link
No, I agree that the OEM is displaying honesty and as long as they keep their word-- no switching TLC with QLC I would say it's okMDD1963 - Friday, December 22, 2023 - link
I think this same sentence appeared a month or so back in another article....*Booting Windows 10
The read-write bandwidth recorded for each drive in the *boo* access trace is presented below."
Boo access is indeed a critical needed measurement! :)
watersb - Friday, December 22, 2023 - link
The OWC Aura Pro has come down in price to roughly match the market; I the link to Amazon shows it at roughly $110. It has a full metal construction and both USB A and USC C.Ryan Smith - Saturday, December 23, 2023 - link
The Aura line is SSDs. I'm assuming you mean the Envoy Pro Mini?watersb - Saturday, December 23, 2023 - link
Oops, yes, thank you:The Envoy Pro Mini, the one shown for comparison in this review.
The price in this review shows it currently at USD $481, but if you click on that price, the linked Amazon page lists it at $120.
I have the Thunderbolt 4 (?) version, the Envoy Pro FX. It's a solid aluminum brick, you can do some damage with that thing. In a good way.
OWC sells products at a premium above market price, but I have found their support and return service to likewise be exceptional. So I thought the price parity was worth a comment here - then screwed up the product name. Sorry!
(I have no connection with OWC, just a customer. Goodness I think I started buying SCSI cables from that guy in 1993...)
Ryan Smith - Sunday, December 24, 2023 - link
Nah, you have nothing to apologize for. They are good drives.Funny enough, that was also the Christmas gift to the AnandTech IT team this year. I sent all of them EPMs.
Thud2 - Friday, December 22, 2023 - link
Historical perspective from an old guy. I remember paying $4.75 a GB to get a "fast" Raptor drive.[email protected] - Friday, December 22, 2023 - link
Rough idea of the TBW for the MS70? Guessing 1200TB or less?eastcoast_pete - Sunday, December 24, 2023 - link
Two questions:1.is that SP SSD-on-a-stick IP anything rated?
2. What is the difference in weight (mass) between the two attributed to? The OWC weighs more, but that doesn't seem to help with heat dissipation. It would be interesting if SP would have allowed you to open it up, also to see what if any heat pad or thermal paste was used.