Best SSD drive ( Spec ) for Audio work?

[aidan o driscoll 754]

On another post I asked about Cloud Storage for backup of Kontakt instruments, samples, vsts and project work etc.

Now at this post I am wondering about replacing my 2TB hybrid drive with a proper SSD. I see from many many websites, posts elsewhere etc there is debate over different types of SSD drives and transfer processes etc

eg "QLC type flash which is much slower than normal MLC or SLC flash"

Obviously older type SSDs are a bit cheaper but slower maybe, older tech 

So just wondering WITHIN REASON ( price wise .. compromise even ) what would be a good SSD drive to look at for Audio work in CW, Ableton & using likes of Kontakt etc

I know it is very easy to get hung up about the tech, as usual with tech here everything is not as it seems  .. but I am willing to compromise based on price and tech. Things to look out for ..

Edited February 15, 2021 by aidan o driscoll

[CoveCamper 286]

First thing to find out is what type SSD is compatible with your computer. For instance mine only will accept Sata SSD's.

You can go here and put your computer brand and model number and they will throw out what they have that is compatible with it.

 

https://www.crucial.com/store/advisor

 

[aidan o driscoll 754]

6 minutes ago, CoveCamper said:

First thing to find out is what type SSD is compatible with your computer. For instance mine only will accept Sata SSD's.

You can go here and put your computer brand and model number and they will throw out what they have that is compatible with it.

https://www.crucial.com/store/advisor

Yes .. mine would be SATA only also.

I think you are referring to the SATA vs NVMe debate which I am only learning about at the moment

For others learning:

NVMe:

 

SATA:

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by aidan o driscoll

[CoveCamper 286]

8 minutes ago, aidan o driscoll said:

Yes .. mine would be SATA only also.

I think you are referring to the SATA vs NVMe debate which I am only learning about at the moment

 

 

Yes, I upgraded to SSD about a year ago. But even a Sata SSD makes my average PC run faster and boot up quicker and buys me more time before I have to upgrade the PC. Plus I keep my old drive as a backup in case the SSD fails.

Edited February 15, 2021 by CoveCamper

[aidan o driscoll 754]

8 minutes ago, CoveCamper said:

Yes, I upgraded to SSD about a year ago. But even a Sata SSD makes my average PC run faster and boot up quicker and buys me more time before I have to upgrade the PC. Plus I keep my old drive as a backup in case the SSD fails.

Indeed. But as i am noting now when researching .. not all SATA SSDs are the same. The devil is in the detail it seems. Some of that detail may matter more to AUDIO than to other types if data for example. Especially stugg like Kontakt loading, UVI and all of that

Edited February 15, 2021 by aidan o driscoll

[Bajan Blue 987]

I use crucial 2tb drives for data  - loading is VERY quick - I have a 1TB crucial  as my system drive which gives very quick load and start - my machine is pretty old and these drives have given a totally new lease on life!

[aidan o driscoll 754]

1 hour ago, Bajan Blue said:

I use crucial 2tb drives for data  - loading is VERY quick - I have a 1TB crucial  as my system drive which gives very quick load and start - my machine is pretty old and these drives have given a totally new lease on life!

What model Crucial drive do you have? Do you find it good loading likes of kontakt libraries etc?

[Bajan Blue 987]

I am pretty sure the model number is MX500 - I have both 1 and 2 Tb drives

[Kevin Perry 805]

Samsung are good (EVO Pro).

Note that M.2 slots can take either NVMe drivers (PCIe speed, no SATA layer) or SATA based SSDs (still fast of course, just not *as* fast as NVMe drives).

[craigb 4,746]

Just get a couple of these (two just in case one spontaneously and randomly dies - just ask Paulo!). 😁

https://www.zdnet.com/article/worlds-largest-ssd-hits-100tb/

 

[DeeringAmps 1,658]

I like the Samsung EVO's, (I have several) also have a WD Blue SSD in one rig. Haven't used SSD for audio; yet.
May put a WD Blue in (for audio) next time I have the Cat in for a CbB update...

t

[aidan o driscoll 754]

9 hours ago, craigb said:

Just get a couple of these (two just in case one spontaneously and randomly dies - just ask Paulo!). 😁

https://www.zdnet.com/article/worlds-largest-ssd-hits-100tb/

 

See my much cheaper solution at my other thread re backups in cloud

https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/24003-any-one-use-cloud-storage/

 

[craigb 4,746]

4 hours ago, aidan o driscoll said:

See my much cheaper solution at my other thread re backups in cloud

https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/24003-any-one-use-cloud-storage/

 

Well, my main computer already has 22 TB's between SSD's and spinner hard drives, plus I have the top-level Carbonite plan with the following cloud storage: Dropbox, Google Drive and One Drive (rarely used).  Almost enough, ya? 🤷‍♂️

[aidan o driscoll 754]

On the verge of buying a 2TB Samsung 870 QVO SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive. Best  I can find my neck of woods is at amazon dot de ( im in Ireland, Rep of .. so in EU ) for €183 ( $221 approx ).

Are samsung a good bet SSD wise? I see this one is

Read speed - 560 Megabytes Per Second

Write speed - 530

I currently have a 2TB seagate firecuda and its driving me nuts. Not much better than a standard sata TBH. Plus it very occasionally hangs and needs reboot.

I take it I should notice a big difference with the samsung above and cakewalk usage with Kontakt, UVI etc?

My system is a 17" i5 inspiron, 16gb Ram, 2GB nvidia graphics card. Does NOT have NVMe capability

Edited February 21, 2021 by aidan o driscoll

[Bruno de Souza Lino 296]

On 2/15/2021 at 2:09 PM, aidan o driscoll said:

Yes .. mine would be SATA only also.

I think you are referring to the SATA vs NVMe debate which I am only learning about at the moment

For others learning:

NVMe:

 

SATA:

 

Nvme can be PCIe too. And you also have M.2 SATA.

[aidan o driscoll 754]

To bookend this thread .. I went and bought a Samsung 2TB EVO 870 SSD for €208 on amazon dot de ( In Ireland ( we are in the EU ) so cant really use dot co dot uk anymore after Brexit .. attract excise etc ). Ordered last Wednesday, arrived today.

Currently attached via USB 3 port to my laptop CLONING using the Samsung Clone software. About 4 or 5 hours to do.

Did a bit of research on all of this and the Samsung EVO range comes out tops especially if your system ( like mine ) cannot take an NVMe.

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B08PC5ZYB1/

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by aidan o driscoll

[Tezza 452]

Should be able to put at least 2 drives in that laptop I think.

[aidan o driscoll 754]

2 minutes ago, Tezza said:

Should be able to put at least 2 drives in that laptop I think.

@Tezza Are you referring to the process of using a DVD Drive bay converter caddy?

 

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by aidan o driscoll

[Tezza 452]

It depends on the laptop and what age it is but 17 inch  laptops usually have at least 2 internal bays. I use the Latitudes and Precisions, not used an Inspiron. On my 17 inch precision, I could have had 3 internal drives plus the DVD drive converter to make it 4.   But I only used 3.

[aidan o driscoll 754]

12 minutes ago, Tezza said:

It depends on the laptop and what age it is but 17 inch  laptops usually have at least 2 internal bays. I use the Latitudes and Precisions, not used an Inspiron. On my 17 inch precision, I could have had 3 internal drives plus the DVD drive converter to make it 4.   But I only used 3.

I have an Inspiron 7000 series 17" .. the 7377. Im afraid it only has space for 1 HD right of the battery looking underneath. The other way is via a HD Caddy which replaces the DVD drive unit

Im not sure how good these are BUT for about $10 or so its surely worth a punt.

I wonder has anyone else got one of these here?

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by aidan o driscoll