All time low!
Controller: Variable
Memory: Variable
DRAM Cache: None
Sequential Read: 3500 MB/s
Sequential Write: 2800 MB/s
Random Read: N/A
Random Write: N/A
Endurance (TBW): 640 TB
Warranty: 3 Years
CamelCamelCamel.
we are not only talking about the speed, but lottery
ELFK0S.x：E21T + KIOXIA 112L TLC 512Gbit 2-Plane (250GB/500GB/1TB)
ELFK1N.x：E21T + KIOXIA 112L TLC 1Tbit 2-Plane (1TB/2TB/4TB)
ELFKAN.x：E21T + SanDisk 112L TLC 512Gbit 2-Plane (250GB/500GB/1TB)
SBI0310x：SM2267XT + KIOXIA 112L TLC 512Gbit 2-Plane (250GB)
SBI0210x：SM2267XT + KIOXIA 112L TLC 512Gbit 2-Plane (500GB/1TB)
SBK0010x：SM2267XT + KIOXIA 112L TLC 1Tbit 2-Plane (1TB/2TB)
SBJ0110x：SM2267XT + SanDisk 112L TLC 512Gbit 2-Plane (250GB)
SBJ0010x：SM2267XT + SanDisk 112L TLC 512Gbit 2-Plane (500GB/1TB)
SBM0210x：SM2267XT + Intel 144L QLC (1TB/2TB)
lottery
4.8 stars from 4.7k reviewers, no drop in the last 5 months, looks like a win
Also, there's already QLC that beats TLC in both speed and endurance
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/solidigm-30tb-ssd-delivers…
NV2 from Amazon would be lottery on the controller and the NAND. 2TB has a higher chance of getting QLC. Tom's Hardware elected to review only the QLC version of the SSD to highlight this lottery issue.
As for the TechPowerUp review, the reviewer reviewed a much earlier batch. I do have a Phison E21 1TB TLC version and I am unable to re-produce the same results so it's best to assume TechPowerUp's result as "best case" and do not expect to get the same result (furthermore, the chance of you getting Phison E21T 2TB version is low - see below).
When I visited a local store about 4 months ago to have a look at the 2TB version, I noticed AU stock already started SM2267XT version (the "cost effective" batches had landed here). We need people who purchased NV2 2TB here recently to run a test for us to determine whether it is TLC or QLC. 3 year warranty is also a concern (the price should be even lower for this SSD due to the shorter warranty period).
Amazon AU is basically matching Centrecom price.
TechPowerUp review on Sep 2022
Tom review on Jan 2023
You can assume the worst case on the Tom's review.
Remember peer reviews >> one review
As an owner of both NV2 Phison E21 and SM2267XT versions, SM2267XT version is inferior. Also, I have mentioned, when I visited a store 4 months ago, I can tell the 2TB model circulating at the time was the SM2267XT version. TechPowerUp tested Phison E21 version, Tom's Hardware tested SM2267XT version (yes, that happened to be a QLC version). Even my Phison E21 batch (TLC, purchased last year) was inferior to TechPowerUp's so I am not going to recommend TechPowerUp's results (because TechPowerUp got the SSD before me).
The main issue is price and if no OZBers with 2TB versions here are willing to come forward and provide more details on what they received, relying on 2022 reviews is unsafe. We know component swaps generally happen after most reviewers got theirs. If people want to numb their brains with earlier reviews, it's fine. Component swaps is so common for SSDs nowadays, even flagship models are getting component swaps.
The most recent 3 SSDs I purchased, care to guess how many of them have the same components as the reviews? The answer is zero.
@netsurfer: staying away from kingston and any manufacturer that does swaps like this out of principle
@furythree: It's a shame that they are able to get away with essentially changing the whole product and selling it under the same name.
Do you know of any manufacturers not doing component swaps?
@furythree: The problem is manufacturers that have been caught doing swaps are: Samsung, WD, Crucial, Kingston, Silicon Power, PNY, all Chinese SSD makers. Is it safe to assume the others have not done so?
The real question is, if someone bought one of these, went home, tested it and found that it has:
SBK0010x：SM2267XT + KIOXIA 112L TLC 1Tbit 2-Plane (1TB/2TB)
Would people want to get it or people will hold on to boycott swaps principle?
Samsung, WD, Crucial, Kingston, Silicon Power, PNY, all Chinese SSD
so who does that leave lol
corsair?
Lots of variables.
Good drive to use in enclosure?
Wondering the same, do you really need DRAM for using in a enclosure?
I would assume DRAM matters even more in an enclosure as you won't be able to use Host Memory Buffer to make up for it (unless the enclosure connects via native PCIe, e.g. TB).
Is it worth spending an extra $100 for DRAM?
If you value longevity and burst speeds, then yes.
If you just want a drive for non OS things and you are OK with it going bust someday (sooner than ones with drams) then it's perfectly fine with non-dram.
Cheers mate
What is the longevity difference between the haves and have nots in a SSD? (i.e. with DRAM vs. non-DRAM, assuming holding read/write load constant)
Difficult to specify exact TBW numbers with dram involved since the point of dram is to take hits instead of the ssd flash storage so it "saves" the TBW of the storage itself.
But for comparison. Samsung 980 pro 2tb is rated for 1,200 TBW (Terabytes Written) compared to this (640TBW) which is still a lot relatively speaking. But this will take all the hits directly to the storage instead of the dram so its end of life will come faster vs if it has dram.
What about if you use something like Primo Cache? I have 128GB of ram and a UPS so I use a 32GB primo anyway with a 5 minute write delay on main drive. Could even make it infinite write delay if needed.
Yeah that will work too. If you have RAM to spare then you can have it take the hit. Crucial had a software solution that reserves RAM to act as dram for their ssd.
DRAM flagship class, assuming you don't mind waiting is $37 and that one has 5 years warranty.
Even if you opted for Kingston KC3000, it is $72, not $100.
Which one is the $37 one?
Silicon Power, but I need to get more info from other OZBers. It looks like Silicon Power has changed both the controller and NAND. Still better than NV2, but I am a bit unsure about the NAND to recommend. Sorry, just got info from someone who bought that SSD about the component swap.
Is this good enough to do photo editing on?
Yep.
Mmmmmm cheap pc games drive… Very tempting… My board is gen 3 so I'm sure this would be fine in it…
all 4.0 works in 3.0 at 3.0 speed
I know, my point is it'd be less wasteful than getting something like a Samsung 980 pro for example. For the intended purpose and my current spec, even moving to a 4.0 board this would be sufficient for gaming as we don't have the tech like the Ps5 has where it can actually use all of the crazy speed.
im pretty sure 980pro or 990 pro will last longer. but this price is also acceptable to me.
or maybe wait for 970 evo plus deal or something similar.
@javawoo: Yeah, I do usually go for better/higher end options. Actually trying to decide if I get a 980 pro or similar for my Ps5 and take the 1tb I pit in it out and use that in my pc instead. Already got a 512gb samsung nvme OS drive and a 2tb Samsung qvo ssd in my pc, it's just always full, lol.
I’ve had this drive for months as a second drive on an ITX board and it works perfectly fine. I use it as a Steam / GOG / Epic Games overflow drive.
Is there something better for about the same price?
What do you guys think of Silicone Power P34A60?
About 5$ extra but PCI 3.0
Silicon Power swaps components, even on their flagship models.
But, for that model, it has to be priced lower than NV2 before you would even consider.
Ok thanks
Is this good for (video) file storage and general file and download drive.
for storage why not sata? it's sometimes 8tb $5xx
I want to replace 265GB Intel SSD in a 7-years old laptop. I'm guessing even this cheap Kingston will outperform it and should work well enough as a system drive?
My mobo has 2 gen 4 m.2 slots. Would this be suitable for the secondary drive for games/downloads?
What M.2 would be a good boot drive?
Thanks!
This particular drive is absolutely fine as a boot drive and as a storage drive.
Boot times barely change between the fastest and slowest SSDs 👍
Thanks mate. I figured in real world scenarios differences would be negligible.
I have the Kingston A2000 1TB as the main drive of my PC. Would this Kingston NVME 2TB be better than my current A2000?
for system drive, A2000 should be better.
thanks mate. I will pass.
Is this ps5 compatible?
Officially, it is below specs. However, since PS5 does not require the SSD to meet the minimum recommended speed, it is technically usable in PS5. PS5 currently only checks the SSD supports PCIe gen 4 x4 because Sony didn't anticipate SSD makers would sell low end PCIe gen 4 x4 SSDs with PCIe gen 3 x4 like performance.
hi Netsurfer - what about the WD_BLACK 2TB SN770 NVMe - that seems great value too
Depends. That drive is not discounted often and currently the 2TB SSD market is very muddy:
SN770 reviews well, but from a tech point of view, it should be priced much lower.
@netsurfer: Ah wow….thx for detailed response!….I’m currently considering which SSD to get for use as a primary drive in a mini PC such as a Beelink/Minisforum Ryzen 9 setup….
@Rizzler: That's a good question and honestly I don't have a good solution. First of all, for Beelink / Minisforum, we need to know which model as there are Ryzen 9 APUs which only support PCIe gen 3 x4. However, fundamentally, with a NUC like MiniPC, there is only 1 m.2 / NVMe slots (even for latest Intel NUCs, the other m.2 slot is SATA only). Gaming, honestly, with a mobile class APU, it is very hard to sugarcoat PCIe gen 4 x4 SSD would make a huge difference. Video editing, well, not exactly impressive on a NUC like mini PC.
So far, I've used what I considered a decent PCIe gen 3 x4 SSD (with DRAM and 5 years warranty). Quality PCIe gen 4 x4 SSDs are getting cheaper so they are enticing. My Intel NUC does support PCIe gen 4 x4.
NV2 could have been a cost effective option if it is the TLC version. For 2TB though, SN570 (TLC) actually beats NV2. SN570 2TB has a surprising large dynamic SLC when the SSD is empty (not the 1TB version though). The cheapest 2TB TLC SSD (PCIe gen 3 x4) is $115, but that one has component lottery just like NV2.
Why do some people call these drives 'disposable'? Are they prone to failure?
Because they are almost throwaway toys like USB sticks and low capacity memory cards
When you have 1 model number with 9 different variations and counting, this is not a drive you would store valuable data on
Kingston are actively scraping the bottom of the barrel for anyone and everyone who is willing to sell them cut price B tier parts so they can cobble these drives together
The only reason they are not even cheaper is because they have not used the banned Chinese YTMC NAND as Kingston obviously values their business in the US
Just to add. As an owner of NV2, based on my tests, I think Tom's Hardware sums it up pretty well:
The 2TB Kingston NV2 is a dirt cheap NVMe SSD and not much more. Performance is fairly bad, the drive runs hot, and you cannot be certain of the hardware. It makes for a cheap secondary drive but is not ideal for laptops or for use as a primary drive.
Without getting into too much tech details, basically, Kingston knows how to cut cost on NV2 SSDs. However, personally, I have a need for SSDs which I would use temporary on one system to try out stuff, then use that SSD on another system to try something else. NV2 serves that purpose. I just want to try things which I am not willing to do on my main SSDs. The data on my NV2 SSDs is disposable. The 3 years warranty is a concern. Let's say you are lucky enough to get the TLC version, do you really think 3 years from now, when Kingston replaces it with a NV2 at that time, it will still be TLC?
Disposable because the expectation on NV2 is low. It is (or should be) the cheapest PCIe gen 4 x4 SSD. Don't get me wrong, I wanted NV2 to exceed expectation, but the more I use it, the more I feel you get what you paid for.
I think currently it's hard to pick a 2TB NVMe SSD because of the competition:
NV2 2TB, if you get the TLC version, at this price, it is fine (don't get me wrong, last year, this price would be a bargain, but we have to re-evaluate SSD weekly nowadays). Honestly, QLC SSDs are usable, but it can get quite ugly at times in writes (some forum posts showed really poor result for NV2 QLC version - granted, that was a full drive write test AFTER some other benchmark tests).
Even though I considered it "disposable", it doesn't mean it is trash. I have used a NV2 on a Thunderbolt enclosure multiple times. For my Mac, I need a disposable SSD because SSD upgrades on Macs are very expensive. Also, all storage devices cannot be trusted so regular backups are needed.
Cheers all @ChatGPT and @netsurfer, that all makes sense. I'm after a 2 or preferably 4tb m.2 drive for a spare mobo slot, as either my main data drive (os and programs are on a different drive) or as a weekly scheduled backup drive. Im in no hurry though so will see what else comes up over the coming months.
Basically, if you are writing hungry and deal with important data, you wanna TLC storage but also more expensive.
If you are more reading hungry, QLC is the way to go.
I must be getting old, I'm reading comments for this deal and have no-idea what people are referring to! 😀
$117.95 now.
Before anyone craps all over this drive, here are the real world, rather than useless synthetic tests. It's pretty darn fast
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/kingston-nv2-1-tb-m-2-nvm…