# How reliable are SSD as external storage?



## Flanker (Mar 10, 2020)

Are SSDs more reliable than mechanical drives? I just need something to stick into my 2.5in enclosure, it will spend most of the time sitting in a drawer, I back things up every couple of months. Obviously I can get more space with a mechanical drive but that will most likely be space I will never use. So, from a purely reliability standpoint, are SSDs better?


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## Ahhzz (Mar 10, 2020)

I found a nice article here (https://therevisionist.org/reviews/ssd-vs-hdd-one-reliable/), and to summarize, 50% of typical Hard Drives are expected to last past 6 years. We don't have the longevity to speak with reliability on SSD life-span, but it is expected by the article (and other sources linked within) to have SSDs last close to 20 years.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Mar 10, 2020)

Ahhzz said:


> I found a nice article here (https://therevisionist.org/reviews/ssd-vs-hdd-one-reliable/), and to summarize, 50% of typical Hard Drives are expected to last past 6 years. We don't have the longevity to speak with reliability on SSD life-span, but it is expected by the article (and other sources linked within) to have SSDs last close to 20 years.


Just wondering, that's aimed at plugged in ,used drive's, does the fact that the SSD might not be plugged in for a few months endanger data stability?.


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## Ahhzz (Mar 10, 2020)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> Just wondering, that's aimed at plugged in ,used drive's, does the fact that the SSD might not be plugged in for a few months endanger data stability?.


Good question! I found an article here (pdf) that seems to indicate that standard use of a drive (8 hours a day at 40C), and then storing it for a year at 30C should still retain data, but increasing the temp or length past that risks data loss. Storing at approx 22C should give you a couple of years. A lot of data in there, but the main thing I drew, that I believe it was trying to stress, is that SSDs are _not _archival, any more than HDDs.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Mar 10, 2020)

Ahhzz said:


> Good question! I found an article here (pdf) that seems to indicate that standard use of a drive (8 hours a day at 40C), and then storing it for a year at 30C should still retain data, but increasing the temp or length past that risks data loss. Storing at approx 22C should give you a couple of years. A lot of data in there, but the main thing I drew, that I believe it was trying to stress, is that SSDs are _not _archival, any more than HDDs.


I use an external nvme enclosure, it's safe for transportation of files in general from experience I have lost no data but I was wondering if cap leakage eventually affected SSD nand memory, cheers for the link.


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## Frick (Mar 10, 2020)

Another thing is that when HDDs fail you might have some time to copy the data over. As in, you notice when they go bad. SSDs have (as far as I know anyway) a tendency to just die when they die.


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## Ahhzz (Mar 10, 2020)

Frick said:


> Another thing is that when HDDs fail you might have some time to copy the data over. As in, you notice when they go bad. SSDs have (as far as I know anyway) a tendency to just die when they die.


That has been my experience. A dead SSD is dead dead dead, whereas at least 50% of the drive failures I've dealt with allowed me to recover some, most, or all data before complete failure.


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## newtekie1 (Mar 10, 2020)

There are pros and cons to both of them. IMO, if you are going to be backing up to it and then putting it in a safe place until the next time you're backing up, use an HDD.  If you are going to be carrying it around with you, use an SSD.

The reason I say that is the SSD is less sensitive to impact and vibration.  You drop an HDD and there is a good chance it's dead(though data is likely still recoverable by a recovery service).  However, MLC SSDs all have issues with the cells losing their charge over long periods without power.  We really saw this issue when the first batches of TLC drives hit the market.  Some of those would start to have trouble reading data from the drives after just a month or so powered down.  The issues gotten a lot better, but it is still there and I wouldn't trust my data to still be there on an SSD after a year or more without power(it might still be there, I'm just saying I personally wouldn't trust it).


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## Flanker (Mar 11, 2020)

Thanks guys. Looks like I will get a mechanical drive since it will be powered off in a drawer most of the time.


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## seagate_surfer (Mar 11, 2020)

Flanker said:


> Thanks guys. Looks like I will get a mechanical drive since it will be powered off in a drawer most of the time.



As others have said above, one thing to keep in mind is that moving a mechanical drive (even though you wont be using it often) could lead to unwanted vibrations and possibly affect its performance. A SSD does not have this problem. 

A good backup plan has these components.

3 copies of any data you don't want to lose.
2 different mediums it's stored on (so 2 different drives in your computer, for example).
1 copy kept offsite, to prevent against disaster. Let's say an asteroid strikes your house or a tornado hits it, you want a copy somewhere else so you can retrieve it.


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## John Naylor (Mar 11, 2020)

1.  About 8 years agao, we switched to SSHDs.  Most builds have (1) SSD and (1) SSD, about a third have 2 of each.  In those eight years, we have had 3 SSD Failures and 0 SSHD failures.  In last 5 years, no failures at all.  One of the SSDs failed under warranty and was replaced ... the replacement also failed.

2.  I don't recommend enclosed external devices.   We use BlacX Storage docks which accommodate both 2.5 and 3.5 drives.  One reason you can use multiple drives in the same dock.  The second is, easier to store the drives , pop them out, stick in original bag and place in draw or safe.  Third, can alternate backups and if  a drive fails, you still have another.


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## kapone32 (Mar 11, 2020)

The best thing about using an SSD as external storage vs an HDD is if you drop it chances are it will still work. Unfortunately unless the enclosure is Esata or USB C you will not see anywhere near the speeds vs an internal.


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## EarthDog (Mar 11, 2020)

I wouldn't expect these to be much if any different reliability wise as external. If anything, it may last longer as it isn't constantly power cycled and used... but realistically, the difference isn't much.



kapone32 said:


> The best thing about using an SSD as external storage vs an HDD is if you drop it chances are it will still work. Unfortunately unless the enclosure is Esata or USB C you will not see anywhere near the speeds vs an internal.


The connector, USB-C in this case, doesn't matter here, but the bandwidth behind it. 

I'm assuming it is a simple SATA based SSD in the 2.5" enclosure, so USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports (10 Gbps)  will offer plenty of bandwidth and not choke a SATA based ssd. USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) will slow the SSD a bit... but still faster than a HDD.


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## kapone32 (Mar 11, 2020)

EarthDog said:


> I wouldn't expect these to be much if any different reliability wise as external. If anything, it may last longer as it isn't constantly power cycled and used... but realistically, the difference isn't much.
> 
> The connector, USB-C in this case, doesn't matter here, but the bandwidth behind it.
> 
> I'm assuming it is a simple SATA based SSD in the 2.5" enclosure, so USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports (10 Gbps)  will offer enough bandwidth. USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) will slow the SSD a bit... but still faster than a HDD.



I am not disagreeing but while an Internal SSD saturates the SATA interface real world USB speed is never close to what the ratings are.


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## EarthDog (Mar 11, 2020)

kapone32 said:


> I am not disagreeing but while an Internal SSD saturates the SATA interface real world USB speed is never close to what the ratings are.


True... but even with that in mind you can still easily reach ssd speeds with gen 2 type-a... here are gen 1 results... 









						USB 3.2 Speed Comparison & Real-world Performance
					

Since the introduction of USB 3.0, making sense of USB marketing names has been a source of frustration for consumers.  This is largely due […]




					www.everythingusb.com


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## John Naylor (Mar 12, 2020)

kapone32 said:


> The best thing about using an SSD as external storage vs an HDD is if you drop it chances are it will still work. Unfortunately unless the enclosure is Esata or USB C you will not see anywhere near the speeds vs an internal.



External drives are primarily used as back up .... the backups occur while sleeping so speed is a non issue

I am astonished that hot swap drive bays are not "a big thing".    In the Antec D85, there was a 2.5 external bay and all the 5.25" bats had a backplane and you could swap drives w/o opening the case.


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## newtekie1 (Mar 12, 2020)

kapone32 said:


> I am not disagreeing but while an Internal SSD saturates the SATA interface real world USB speed is never close to what the ratings are.



My USB 3.0 SSD easily hits 450MB/s, so pretty darn close to a SATA drive.


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## moproblems99 (Mar 12, 2020)

seagate_surfer said:


> A good backup plan has these components.
> 
> 3 copies of any data you don't want to lose.
> 2 different mediums it's stored on (so 2 different drives in your computer, for example).
> 1 copy kept offsite, to prevent against disaster. Let's say an asteroid strikes your house or a tornado hits it, you want a copy somewhere else so you can retrieve it.



I dunno, there were some good threads around here at one point on why backups aren't needed.  There was even a spewtube video made about it so you know it is true.  I'll have to see if I can dig those up.


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## EarthDog (Mar 13, 2020)

moproblems99 said:


> I dunno, there were some good threads around here at one point on why backups aren't needed.  There was even a spewtube video made about it so you know it is true.  I'll have to see if I can dig those up.


***dont even link it and give that clown more hits. Let his channel die. Lol.


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## moproblems99 (Mar 13, 2020)

John Naylor said:


> About 8 years agao, we switched to SSHDs. Most builds have (1) SSD and (1) SSD, about a third have 2 of each. In those eight years, we have had 3 SSD Failures and 0 SSHD failures. In last 5 years, no failures at all. One of the SSDs failed under warranty and was replaced ... the replacement also failed.



I have an sshd in my laptop and it is utter trash.


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## Ahhzz (Mar 13, 2020)

moproblems99 said:


> I dunno, there were some good threads around here at one point on why backups aren't needed.  There was even a spewtube video made about it so you know it is true.  I'll have to see if I can dig those up.


Please don't. 

Some good info here, guys, stick to the OP request and topic, don't spread useless info


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## Mussels (Mar 13, 2020)

Flanker said:


> Are SSDs more reliable than mechanical drives? I just need something to stick into my 2.5in enclosure, it will spend most of the time sitting in a drawer, I back things up every couple of months. Obviously I can get more space with a mechanical drive but that will most likely be space I will never use. So, from a purely reliability standpoint, are SSDs better?



 I use a 240GB samsung external SSD as my portable storage these days and swear by it. 450MB/s reads and writes sustained, not short little bursts.

Unlike USB sticks they can handle long term use without dying, and unlike mech drives they can handle being knocked around.


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## Flanker (Mar 13, 2020)

Mussels said:


> I use a 240GB samsung external SSD as my portable storage these days and swear by it. 450MB/s reads and writes sustained, not short little bursts.
> 
> Unlike USB sticks they can handle long term use without dying, and unlike mech drives they can handle being knocked around.


How often do you plug it in?


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## Jetster (Mar 13, 2020)

This is the one area mechanical drives has some advantage. They die sooner but slower. Its very dificut to recover data from a failed SSD


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## Mussels (Mar 13, 2020)

Flanker said:


> How often do you plug it in?



i often forget it and leave it powered on 24/7 to my android TV... hasnt had a single issue.
Its used to move 4K video content and steam games around the house (no ethernet, SSD on USB 3.1 craps all over even AC3200 wifi)


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## freeagent (Mar 13, 2020)

I’ve got ssds that have been in service since 2011, no problems. Also have a first gen wd black that I bought new in 2007 and has about 70k hours on it, runs great. I’ve got some newer low capacity 2.5 hdds that much my old black drives performance, which is impressive.


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