Old SSD failed

[GameChanger]

My old SSD has failed and I need a new one. The prices have gone through the roof since I last got one. Where are all the good drives gone? and wheres the good priced ones???

[Inland Aidan]

was it a sataIII or a NVME one?

[GlassKnight89]

I dont know. Will look inside

[JustMartin]

If it was me
Samsung 980 PRO 1TB NVMe SSD
Crucial P3 Plus 1TB NVMe SSD
WD Black SN770 1TB NVMe SSD

Quick take:
Samsung = top tier
WD SN770 = best balance
Crucial = cheapest decent option

[Lucy05]

Avoid Sandisk. I usually got for Samsung but crazy prices unless you can get a used one

[Highland Builder]

Avoid Sandisk. I usually got for Samsung but crazy prices unless you can get a used one.

I found the same thing. Not a life changer but it adds up

[Zero-Point]

Avoid Sandisk. I usually got for Samsung but crazy prices unless you can get a used one.

I found the same thing. Not a life c

That is the conclusion most people following it closely are landing on. That is my read on it anyway

[Bright Hermit]

Avoid Sandisk. I usually got for Samsung but crazy prices unless you can get a used one.

I found the same thing. Not a life c

That is the take I have had for a while. The squad depth is the real difference at the top level.

We will see how it plays out

[Totally]

If it was me Samsung 980 PRO 1TB NVMe SSD Crucial P3 Plus 1TB NVMe SSD [amazon=B08QB

Yep, agree with that. Proper useful that

[IronQuarry48]

Cannot really disagree with that. A lot of stuff sounds good until you actually spend a few hours with it.

Might go back to it

[MiniElliot]

I thought that at first but it changed after a few hours. Might go back to it.

The first question I always ask is what changed just before the problem started

[Paige_68]

There is something else going on in it I think. There is a lot more to say about this.

The event viewer usually tells you exactly what is happening if you know where to look

[Harry64]

Good point. I have been wondering the same thing.

Appreciate the discussion.

Background processes and startup items cause more problems than hardware failures in my experience

[StormForge89]

Yeah pretty much. Cheers

[Megan34]

Can't argue with that. Ha, fair enough

[BiscuitTin]

Fair enough. Nice one

[ThreadNecro11]

That jump in SSD prices caught me out as well. I went looking for a replacement after an old SATA drive died and suddenly the cheap reliable options had vanished.

The funny thing is the technology has improved massively, but the names have become confusing. A lot of people are now paying attention to TBW ratings and controllers instead of just grabbing the biggest number on the box.

For a normal desktop drive I would still look at the Samsung, Crucial and WD ranges first. There are cheaper brands, but a drive that stores your photos and projects is not where I would try to save the last few quid.

[TheRock25]

It feels like only yesterday when 1TB SSDs were dropping in price every few months. Now it feels like someone pressed the pause button.

I replaced an old SSD recently and ended up checking reviews from a few years ago because some of the models people recommended had quietly changed parts.

The advice I got was simple: check the exact model, not just the brand name. Manufacturers sometimes swap components while keeping the same product name, which can make old reviews misleading.

[Freddy]

The good drives are still around, they are just not always the bargain they used to be.

A friend of mine bought a very cheap SSD because the price looked great. Six months later it started throwing errors and he spent more time recovering files than he would have spent buying a better drive in the first place.

For an operating system drive I would rather have something boring and dependable. Boring storage is good storage.

[Kane72]

I remember when SSDs felt like magic because they were so much faster than spinning disks. The prices dropping made it easy to forget they were still quite expensive hardware.

One thing worth checking is whether the old SSD actually failed completely. Sometimes it is the controller, cable or power connection causing the problem.

If the data on it matters, avoid repeatedly powering it on and off. A failing drive can sometimes give you one last chance to copy important files.

[Hidden Sookie]

There is a bit of nostalgia involved here. People complain about SSD prices now, but I remember paying a fortune for a tiny drive that could barely hold a few games.

The market has changed though. Some manufacturers seem more interested in making cheaper drives than keeping the same quality standards.

Personally I would rather buy a slightly smaller premium SSD than a huge unknown brand drive with questionable specifications.

[Jamie]

The shortage of good drives is partly because the average buyer does not know what they are getting anymore.

Years ago you could search for a recommended model and be fairly confident. Now you have to check reviews, NAND type and whether the controller changed between batches.

It is a little frustrating, but there are still solid choices if you do a bit of homework.

[TheGame]

Funny how storage went from "I need more space" to "I need the right type of space".

I upgraded a machine recently and spent longer reading SSD reviews than actually installing Windows. The installation itself took minutes.

The best upgrade is probably still moving from an old hard drive to any decent SSD. The difference is huge, even with a mid-range model.

[Cantona]

I would not panic and buy the first drive you see. The prices move around quite a lot, especially between different capacities.

A 2TB drive can sometimes offer better value per GB than a 1TB model, but only if you actually need the space.

Also keep backups. A new SSD feels reliable, but every storage device can fail eventually. Learned that one after losing a drive full of old family photos.

[DeepInlet]

The old SSD market was easier to understand. You had a handful of models everyone recommended and that was about it.

Now there are so many variations that two drives with similar names can perform very differently.

My rule is to spend a little more on the drive where the important files live and use cheaper storage for things I can replace.

[Weary Wolfhound]

A failed SSD is a painful reminder that speed does not equal immortality. People hear that SSDs have no moving parts and assume they cannot die.

I had one fail with almost no warning. It worked in the morning and was completely invisible by the evening.

Since then I keep anything important in at least two places. It is a boring habit but it saves a lot of stress.

[HollywoodHogan02]

Prices have definitely been strange lately. I was looking at replacing a drive and found some older recommended models cost more than newer alternatives.

The trick is not getting trapped by old forum posts. A recommendation from five years ago might not represent the current version of that product.

Still, a decent SSD today is miles ahead of what we had before.

[Inland Aidan]

There are still good drives, they just do not get as much attention because everyone is chasing the cheapest deal.

A lot of people buy based on capacity alone. A 4TB bargain drive sounds amazing until you discover it is using slower components or has poor endurance.

Storage is one of those areas where paying a little extra usually hurts less than dealing with failure later.

[HollywoodHogan02]

The phrase "where have all the good drives gone" made me laugh because I had the same thought recently.

I remember recommending the same SSD model to everyone, then finding out it had changed internally years later.

Now I tell people to check current benchmarks rather than trusting old favourites. The market moves too quickly.

[ThreadNecro]

Before buying a replacement, I would check the warranty on the failed SSD. Some manufacturers are surprisingly good about replacements even when the drive has died.

It might not help if you need storage immediately, but it is worth checking the serial number.

For the new one, I would focus on reliability first. The fastest SSD on paper is not always the best everyday choice.

[Cobalt Sophie]

A failed SSD is annoying because it usually gives you no dramatic warning. No clicking, no grinding, just suddenly missing from the system.

I had one die and spent an afternoon checking cables, BIOS settings and different machines before accepting it was gone.

Hopefully the replacement lasts much longer. Sometimes spending a little extra for peace of mind is worth it.

[Sam92]

There is a lot of doom and gloom about storage prices, but I think we are spoiled compared with the early SSD days.

My first SSD was tiny and cost a ridiculous amount. Today you can get huge amounts of fast storage for a fraction of that.

That said, I do miss the days when one recommended model stayed good for years instead of changing every few months.

[Megan95]

I think some of the frustration comes from expectations. People got used to SSD prices falling every year and assumed that trend would continue forever.

When prices stopped dropping it felt like something had gone wrong.

The upside is that even affordable modern SSDs are usually very fast. The difference between a decent budget drive and an expensive one is often much smaller than it used to be.

[Anthony92]

If you are replacing an old SSD, it is worth looking at what caused the failure too.

Was it high usage, heat, a bad power supply, or just age? A new drive in the same environment might suffer the same fate.

I added better cooling to my PC after an SSD got unusually hot and the replacement has been running fine since.

[Highland Kev]

The funny part is that SSDs were supposed to make life simpler. No clicking noises, no failing motors, just install and forget.

Then one day a silent little rectangle decides it has had enough.

I have had more warning from old hard drives than some SSD failures, so backups are still the king.