Intel 660p series M.2 2280 512GB SSD $52

Mac29

n00b
Joined
Jan 10, 2015
Messages
22
The egg has a promo ending 7/27 for this SSD, using promo code EMCTCVA22. Free s/h, not sure but prob have to use a link to get it. Sign up for their eBlast ? or similar emails.
 
My suggestion to anyone considering this deal is to stretch the budget a little bit or save up some cash for the 1TB version. Not only is the 1TB drive cheaper in terms of GB/$, they have been on sale several times under $90, but the way the drive works there is a larger SLC cache and more usable space with fast write speeds on the 1TB version. Further, having more nand to spread out the writes on means that the 1TB drive should last longer than this one. So unless there's a case where the extra room will simply never be used, the 1TB drive is the better option.
 
The egg has a promo ending 7/27 for this SSD, using promo code EMCTCVA22. Free s/h, not sure but prob have to use a link to get it. Sign up for their eBlast ? or similar emails.
Do not buy this drive. The endurance of the QLC memory used on these is utter trash. Something like 200 TBW for the 1 TB version that costs 90 bucks.

The one you want to get is the Inland 1TB, Microcenter drive that retails for about 102-105 bucks on Amazon right now. Roughly 3,400 MB per sec transfer speeds after firmware update. It has a TBW rating of 1600, yes, 1,600 TBW. Easily rivaling or exceeding a Samsung 970 for a third (or in my case 1/4 what I paid for mine). I have two of the Inland 1TB drives and they are just as fast as my Samsung 970 if not better.
 
Do not buy this drive. The endurance of the QLC memory used on these is utter trash. Something like 200 TBW for the 1 TB version that costs 90 bucks.

The one you want to get is the Inland 1TB, Microcenter drive that retails for about 102-105 bucks on Amazon right now. Roughly 3,400 MB per sec transfer speeds after firmware update. It has a TBW rating of 1600, yes, 1,600 TBW. Easily rivaling or exceeding a Samsung 970 for a third (or in my case 1/4 what I paid for mine). I have two of the Inland 1TB drives and they are just as fast as my Samsung 970 if not better.

First of all, yes the endurance of QLC nand is certainly less than the endurance of TLC, as TLC's endurance is less than MLC, and so on. This does not make QLC endurance "utter trash". For many people, 200TBW is plenty of endurance for many years of use. I have a Micron M600 1TB drive, made in 2014, that has less than 20TBW. It's the sole drive in a probook 6570b, the primary PC that I work from as a SQL DBA. Based on that, a 1TB 660p in my work laptop would become obsolete way before it would wear out.

Now, the larger issue is the blanket statement that the Phison E12 drives (such as the Inland 1TB NVME) are better than the Intel 660p. This is simply not correct for all use cases. For example, in a USB drive enclosure or a laptop or other mobile device with limited cooling capability, the Intel drive is very likely the superior choice. The E12 drives run hot, while the single sided 660p runs much cooler and consumes less power, yielding better battery life.

For a desktop PC, sure the Inland is the one I'd go with - as I did when I built my wife's gaming rig. But my point is that there are definitely situations where the Intel is the better choice, when performance is not the overwhelming top priority.
 
First of all, yes the endurance of QLC nand is certainly less than the endurance of TLC, as TLC's endurance is less than MLC, and so on. This does not make QLC endurance "utter trash". For many people, 200TBW is plenty of endurance for many years of use. I have a Micron M600 1TB drive, made in 2014, that has less than 20TBW. It's the sole drive in a probook 6570b, the primary PC that I work from as a SQL DBA. Based on that, a 1TB 660p in my work laptop would become obsolete way before it would wear out.

Now, the larger issue is the blanket statement that the Phison E12 drives (such as the Inland 1TB NVME) are better than the Intel 660p. This is simply not correct for all use cases. For example, in a USB drive enclosure or a laptop or other mobile device with limited cooling capability, the Intel drive is very likely the superior choice. The E12 drives run hot, while the single sided 660p runs much cooler and consumes less power, yielding better battery life.

For a desktop PC, sure the Inland is the one I'd go with - as I did when I built my wife's gaming rig. But my point is that there are definitely situations where the Intel is the better choice, when performance is not the overwhelming top priority.

It's kinda funny with endurance worry.. I have a couple of machines that had MLC/TLC drives and when I checked last they were at 99% health. I did wear out one TLC drive at least according to the rating but it was still working fine when I sold it.
 
I just picked up a Corsair MP510 960gb from newegg canada for around $130ish American. I know that is a little over the 100 mark... but 3500 mb/s read 3000 write 610k random read 570k write... and 1700TB write endurance.

Considering most people are going to run 1 nvme perhaps 2... might as well bump the budget imo. I considered the cheap 660p 1gb as a second storage drive... but the terrible endurance on those made me reconsider. Likely never have a problem... but as with all computer parts its about managing odds. (I didn't find it hard to justify a 20% price premium over the 1gb 660p)
 
First of all, yes the endurance of QLC nand is certainly less than the endurance of TLC, as TLC's endurance is less than MLC, and so on. This does not make QLC endurance "utter trash". For many people, 200TBW is plenty of endurance for many years of use. I have a Micron M600 1TB drive, made in 2014, that has less than 20TBW. It's the sole drive in a probook 6570b, the primary PC that I work from as a SQL DBA. Based on that, a 1TB 660p in my work laptop would become obsolete way before it would wear out.

Now, the larger issue is the blanket statement that the Phison E12 drives (such as the Inland 1TB NVME) are better than the Intel 660p. This is simply not correct for all use cases. For example, in a USB drive enclosure or a laptop or other mobile device with limited cooling capability, the Intel drive is very likely the superior choice. The E12 drives run hot, while the single sided 660p runs much cooler and consumes less power, yielding better battery life.

For a desktop PC, sure the Inland is the one I'd go with - as I did when I built my wife's gaming rig. But my point is that there are definitely situations where the Intel is the better choice, when performance is not the overwhelming top priority.
My statement about garbage might have been a bit too harsh. I understand your statements about the right use cases and all. It's just that for a primary computer I use every day, i have typically killed any drive that had a rating of 300 TBW or less in roughly a year's time. I have had no less than four drives fail on me with lower TBW ratings. We can get lemons in any drive, however, my statements really were based off of price, performance & endurance. There are better options for laptops than using the Intel solution, just purchase a lower performance drive with good durability.
 
Now, the larger issue is the blanket statement that the Phison E12 drives (such as the Inland 1TB NVME) are better than the Intel 660p. This is simply not correct for all use cases. For example, in a USB drive enclosure or a laptop or other mobile device with limited cooling capability, the Intel drive is very likely the superior choice. The E12 drives run hot, while the single sided 660p runs much cooler and consumes less power, yielding better battery life.

The Phison drive gets hot even with the limited speeds of running through a USB enclosure?
 
My statement about garbage might have been a bit too harsh. I understand your statements about the right use cases and all. It's just that for a primary computer I use every day, i have typically killed any drive that had a rating of 300 TBW or less in roughly a year's time. I have had no less than four drives fail on me with lower TBW ratings. We can get lemons in any drive, however, my statements really were based off of price, performance & endurance. There are better options for laptops than using the Intel solution, just purchase a lower performance drive with good durability.

What exactly is your use case? We've put quite a few of these drives out there for office work and light gaming with no issues. Are you editing video?
 
My statement about garbage might have been a bit too harsh. I understand your statements about the right use cases and all. It's just that for a primary computer I use every day, i have typically killed any drive that had a rating of 300 TBW or less in roughly a year's time. I have had no less than four drives fail on me with lower TBW ratings. We can get lemons in any drive, however, my statements really were based off of price, performance & endurance. There are better options for laptops than using the Intel solution, just purchase a lower performance drive with good durability.

tbh that sounds more like a specific use case issue then anything else.. even my boot drive with 14010 hours on it just passed 17.6TBW. my game drive has 13546 hours on it with 1,684GBW.. for the general users i think people put way to much weight into the endurance numbers when the reality is the drive will probably be obsolete before they ever get near those numbers.
 
I agree. Those endurance numbers are usually the worst case scenarios. People used to worry a lot more when SSDs first came out and they had these low numbers (compared to spinners). But after a few years, people noticed that 1) they write to their drive far less than they thought and most never even come close to those numbers and 2) the drives usually last way longer than the worst case scenario numbers would suggest.

I have the M2 1TB version. I am sure this thing will last a long time considering I paid $100 for it.
 
I agree. Those endurance numbers are usually the worst case scenarios. People used to worry a lot more when SSDs first came out and they had these low numbers (compared to spinners). But after a few years, people noticed that 1) they write to their drive far less than they thought and most never even come close to those numbers and 2) the drives usually last way longer than the worst case scenario numbers would suggest.

I have the M2 1TB version. I am sure this thing will last a long time considering I paid $100 for it.

Sitting in front of me right now is a 120GB OCZ Vertex 2 SATA II SSD. It still works.
 
I agree. Those endurance numbers are usually the worst case scenarios. People used to worry a lot more when SSDs first came out and they had these low numbers (compared to spinners). But after a few years, people noticed that 1) they write to their drive far less than they thought and most never even come close to those numbers and 2) the drives usually last way longer than the worst case scenario numbers would suggest.
The problem is that now that people are comfortable with ssds, the 'shady solder' type of companies are jumping in and their build quality may be the determining factor in how long the ssd lasts more than anything else. And a lot of them don't have the best track record with respect to annual failure rates on any of their products moreless drives. Something to keep in mind.
 
Back
Top