External disk for gaming (steam games)

[mastablasta]

we got a laptop with 250 GB NVME drive (Kubuntu 20.04). it has about 105 GB free now, but they would like to install more games (Steam Winter sale). my plan was (when the warranty expires), to replace the system drive with a bigger one (or add a new drive in) and add another 8 GB ram stick for dual channel ram.

But of course the requirements increased before that time (games are huge these days). so to not mess with the warranty i was thinking of an adding external disk that would plug to USB 3.0.

I was selecting among the followign options:
SanDisk Extreme Portable 500 GB - 100 EUR
Samsung T5 500GB USB 3.1 Gen2 V-NAND -- 115 EUR
My Passport Go 500 GB - 93 EUR

the larger ones are too expensive. if i go with rotating, they only have 5400rpm - i know these kind of disk from laptops only and to me they are sloooooow.
WD_BLACK P10 Game Drive 2TB for example has 140 MB/s (in lab) for 92 EUR
and My Passport 1 TB cost even less -- 62 EUR

but i am not sure are they any good for loading games or better to invest in external SSD ? i think USB3 doesn't loose too much compared to SATA in terms of speed, so i think it could work.

[TheFu]

You can get a sata ssd in a 2.5inch form, then put that into a $12 external, powered, usb3 enclosure that a spinning laptop drive would fit. I don't know if external power is required for an ssd used in this way. Better to have that covered. Or buy a usb3 "storage dock" with 1-2 slots for HDDs for $22. Often, these have computer-less cloning capabilities, which may be handy.
Here's one for $15 today: https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-Funct...dp/B08DKPG6WF/
I'd probably pick one with a name brand for a little ore money. I have a dual dock w/ eSATA-pm that has been working well for 10 yrs. It is not USB3. Had a single-slot no-brand usb3 dock that died after a few years of use. These things are great!

A 500gb samsung 860 is about $60. https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-500GB.../dp/B0781Z7Y3S
$54 today.

[tea for one]

You could consider buying a 500GB NVME drive (as you mentioned) + an external enclosure, which will use a USB3 port.

https://www.orico.me/product/nvme-m-...osure-m2pj-c3/

[mastablasta]

Excelent ideas. Never though of that. I immediately went to check option, but they seem to have matched the prices here to external drives.
Dock station - 22 EUR + ship.
860 EVO 500 GB - 73 EUR + ship.

Dock station saves a little bit, and has the option to add large 3.5" disk. but on the other hand it needs separate power supply, so is not really as portable. But it got me thinking for my next desktop project, because i think i might go with ITX board and one of these small form factors. i know they are a bit overpriced, but on the other hand Ryzen 4xxx series based "NUC" would satisfy my needs and would help me save some space.


Nvme enclosure Orico PFM2-C3 - 33 EUR + ship.

• Samsung SSD 970 EVO 500 GB - 90 EUR + ship.
• Gigabyte NVMe 512 GB, M.2 2280 - 75 EUR + ship.
• Kingston A2000 SSD disk, 500GB, M.2 - 67 EUR + ship. (on sale?!)

Enclosure saves money with not brands that are not Samsung

Then i checked 2.5" enclosures and they are 10 EUR + shipping. so that with a kingston brand disk does save a lot of money and i could get a 1 TB SSD for the price of 512 external samsung. or just get a cheaper 512 GB 2.5" ssd. hmm...

edit: wait, these disk enclosures don't need extra power? they have just one cable going out. why are they so much cheaper (disk+enclosure) than external USB drives it's basically the same thing.

[tea for one]

Branded Orico NVME enclosure via seller on Ebay UK was 16.00 GBP (approx EUR 18.00) including delivery to UK address.

[TheFu]

If it isn't externally powered, will it be slower? That's the big question. External doesn't always mean portable, sometimes it is just for convenient access, after all, disk arrays are "external" and they aren't portable at all. Having been burned by extremely slow external enclosures because there wasn't sufficient power, I wouldn't take the chance when seeking SSD performance.

I've been using an m.2 SATA SSD in a nearly indestructible USB3 enclosure for a few years. No external power needed, but the m.2 2242 format wasn't something I specifically selected - it was just the size pulled from a chromebook. Wish I would have purchased an m.2 2280 size instead for some flexibility. I don't know if Samsung ever made that type/size. I have a kingston, but it is only 16G, so not so useful these days.

Options:

• 2.5 inch SATA SSD
• m.2 SATA 2280 size SSD
• m.2 NVMe 2280 size SSD (2x the cost)

Just depends on how flexible you want the external "dock"/enclosure to be.

The 2x cost makes NVMe for USB3 not-worth-the-price to me.
I've had a few SSDs fail over the years. Be certain you know the SSD characteristics will meet your needs. To me, speed is less important than Endurance/durability specifications. But we are all different.

Often, external enclosure SSDs have much shorter warranties, so be certain to consider that. It isn't like these have any moving parts.

[mastablasta]

Branded Orico NVME enclosure via seller on Ebay UK was 16.00 GBP (approx EUR 18.00) including delivery to UK address.

that's wha they would do. the prices over here nearly match other EU country+postage

besides form UK they would now charge additional 5 EUR for customs services

If it isn't externally powered, will it be slower? That's the big question. External doesn't always mean portable, sometimes it is just for convenient access, after all, disk arrays are "external" and they aren't portable at all. Having been burned by extremely slow external enclosures because there wasn't sufficient power, I wouldn't take the chance when seeking SSD performance.

I've been using an m.2 SATA SSD in a nearly indestructible USB3 enclosure for a few years. No external power needed, but the m.2 2242 format wasn't something I specifically selected - it was just the size pulled from a chromebook. Wish I would have purchased an m.2 2280 size instead for some flexibility. I don't know if Samsung ever made that type/size. I have a kingston, but it is only 16G, so not so useful these days.

Options:

• 2.5 inch SATA SSD
• m.2 SATA 2280 size SSD
• m.2 NVMe 2280 size SSD (2x the cost)

Just depends on how flexible you want the external "dock"/enclosure to be.

The 2x cost makes NVMe for USB3 not-worth-the-price to me.
I've had a few SSDs fail over the years. Be certain you know the SSD characteristics will meet your needs. To me, speed is less important than Endurance/durability specifications. But we are all different.

Often, external enclosure SSDs have much shorter warranties, so be certain to consider that. It isn't like these have any moving parts.

i don't want to overinvest into a disk that will be bottlenecked by USB port. or to pay for brand and don't get much form it. like you have stuff that says "for gaming" and it is not necessary premium. you actually just pay more for all those LED lights made in the far east.

it will be for games, so if it gets corrupted, he can just re-download from steam on new drive or if it's wine we can just reinstall. i just saw that EVO and QVO can mean big difference in reliability and performance. i don't think he needs something super fast. Anything faster than SATA HDD 7200 rpm should be good and i think they actually all fit that option. he could also maybe get away with dock+3.5" drive, but it is not that portable if he want to also play at his grandfather. but i am seriously looking at that option for myself (maybe later on). so i need to look at descent reliability i guess and medium transfer speed and then price (he has a budget and is trying to save for RAM and some more games when summer sale comes).

i think i will still get him later new 1 TB nvme to replace the current laptop drive. but only after the laptop warranty is out.

[TheFu]

Of the 3 SSDs I've bought myself, 2 of those 3 are Samsung EVOs - 860 and 970. The other is a SATA m.2 SATA Micron 1100 with a fairly high endurance rating. All are 500G-512G sized.

I agree that when it comes to SSD reliability, Samsung seems to have the secret, but others aren't necessarily bad, just not as well-known and reputable. At some point, Samsung will probably mess up.

I think Crucial SSDs are made by Micron, so for a non-server desktop need, I wouldn't be too worried about using one of theirs. They seem to be mid-tier for consumer stuff. Think a 1TB is $80-ish.

I think SanDisk isn't as reputable in the SSD space as they are in the SDHC/Flash storage area. Has that changed?

WD is just buying stuff from other people in the SSD world. When they started selling "Red HDDs" that aren't really "Red" HDDs and marketing WD "Black" storage based on the case color, they lost my confidence. I have some true WD-Black drives here. They have been a bargain now they are 10+ yrs old.

Everything is a trade-off and a little luck. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[mastablasta]

EVO 860 500 GB + Orico 2159U3 Encolsure = 80,35 EUR (with shipping) = approx. 98 USD
Both items were on "sale". Enclosure has UASP and trim support.

works well so far. I haven't tested any games yet, but responsiveness is good.

i got another enclosure for the 3 yo WD black HDD they pulled out of my work laptop. the guy just gave it to me and said he has a bunch more in his desk. free storage, yay! they ran out of Ryzen 5 4xxx series NUCs, but i think i might get one during summer. I don't have time to build it right now, plus we wait for these Covid restrictions to life, so we can get a new office desk, where larger a monitor could fit. Ryzens are more than enough for some light gaming and internet stuff i do. Plus you can add nvidia prime or stadia and game that way. Well intel Core i5 are ok too, but they cost more. until the the uprade i stay on my now 17 year old single core.