# Good 1TB SSD for Storing Sample Libraries



## rockdoctor42 (May 9, 2019)

Hi all,

I have a 500GB SanDisk SSD that is quickly running out of space for all my libraries. Does anyone have any recommendations for a 1TB one that will serve the purpose?


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## whiskers (May 9, 2019)

what motherboard do you have? If you can support an m.2 slot, there's some nvme QLC drives from Intel (660p) and Crucial (P100) that have actually been cheaper than traditional SSDs, and should be plenty to suit your needs. If you're looking for traditional SSDs though, Can't go wrong with Crucial MX500 or Samsung 860 EVO.


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## Denkii (May 9, 2019)

The new Samsung QVO is even cheaper than the standard 850/860 EVOs.
Yes, it's a tad slower and comes with shorter warranty but honestly who cares if you're only going to dump libraries on there. It'll still be extremely fast.

You can find 1 TB for around 90-100€.
Could be worth looking at if you want to save some cents.

Edit: just in case people will jump on this suggestion: it is a budget option. Synthetic benchmarks will show that this one is substantially slower than their EVO counterparts. I still believe it is a very good option if you're on a budget. In my main rig I'm running one 850 Evo 256, two 860 EVO 500, and one QVO 1000. There are libraries on all of them and I cannot make out a difference in speed.
I have to admit that I'm not involved with fiddling around with the streaming from disk options though so I can not attest to the impact on that topic.


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## PaulieDC (May 10, 2019)

I have tons of SSDs, both SATA and NVMe. The answer is easy fir reliability and speed: Samsung. Model 860 EVO if you need a standard SATA 2.5", and 970 EVO if your MOBO supports M-Key PCI x4 M.2 drives, in which case you could keep the 500GB intact. M.2 drives are the ones that look like a ram stick with the connector on the end.

Another way to do it is with a PCIe adapter which holds M.2 drives, which will allow you to keep your existing SSD intact. I use two of the adapters for the NVMe drives (1TB Samsungs actually!), in addition to the two slots on my mobo. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01798WOJ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (This adapter) holds two M.2 drives, one NVMe and one SATA. For the SATA you still need a SATA cable and port on your mobo, the card just provides power. I mention that because SATA M.2 drives are cheaper but as slow as regular SSDs, but the card will handle both. But it does power AND connection for the NVMe drive, and NVMe drives are WAYYY faster that standard SATA. Just make sure you look in the mobo user guide and pick a PCIe slot that supports at least x4 speed. I suggest this solution because you can add an M.2 SSD (SATA or NVMe) and not give up your 500GB you already have.

This post is probably confusing as is most of what I write, lol, so here's a summary:
Keep your 500GB SanDisk and add an M.2 SSD to your motherboard if there's a slot. The manual will tell you if it handles regular SATA drives or also supports faster NVMe drives. SATA are called B-Key, NVMe are called M-Key. If your mobo doesn't have a slot or it does and it's the older style and not M.2, then grab that adapter and pop it into a PCI slot. You don't want to exchange your SanDisk, you'll be throwing away 500GB of storage. I'd never sleep at night, lol. Better to add.


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## dzilizzi (May 10, 2019)

I just picked up a QVO drive. Supposedly the read speed is the same as the EVO, but the write speed is slower. Seems to me that makes a perfect sample drive.


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## PaulieDC (May 10, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> I just picked up a QVO drive. Supposedly the read speed is the same as the EVO, but the write speed is slower. Seems to me that makes a perfect sample drive.


Yeah, that would! Write speeds aren't important in this case.


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## PaulieDC (May 10, 2019)

Denkii said:


> The new Samsung QVO is even cheaper than the standard 850/860 EVOs.
> Yes, it's a tad slower and comes with shorter warranty but honestly who cares if you're only going to dump libraries on there. It'll still be extremely fast.


Ha, this post came in when I was writing mine, didn't see it. I hadn't heard about the QVO series, that all sounds really good for sample streaming. Read speed is easy to engineer, fast write speeds are what cost $$$. Hence, $5.00 USB 3.0 thumb drives that have write speeds akin to a 5-1/4" floppy (that I used to use in my Commodore 1571 floppy drive in 1986... wow, we've come a long way in only 3 decades).

Good info on the new drives.


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 10, 2019)

My most recent drive is a 1TB SanDisk that I paid $100 for.


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## chimuelo (May 10, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> I just picked up a QVO drive. Supposedly the read speed is the same as the EVO, but the write speed is slower. Seems to me that makes a perfect sample drive.



You could actually have slower read speeds and it would work fine.
I started off with Samsung PRO SSDs and PRO NVMe’s because EVOs weren’t out yet and a 5 year warranty was excessive but appreciated.
I’ve bought so many various SSDs and NVMe M.2’s since then and have no regrets, but can conclude that ANY SSD or NVMe is fast enough for our needs, even my old SATA 3 Raptor (10k) HDDs can take whatever I throw at them.

Samsung’s have worked so well for me I pay no attention to anything but price.

It’s why I’ll grab 4 x QVO 1TBs on my next build.
I’m even going to buy the incredibly fast cheap i3 8350k for my next live rig build.
It’s not a DAW, just a lean ASIO Host w/ Kontakt (16 instruments), PianoTeq, ZebraHZ and Omnisphere.
Just want the fastest quads and the price is so cheap I can build a kick but rig for pennies on the dollar since AMD came back to torture Intel.

Life is good for us.


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