HP FX700 2 TB

[W1zzard]

The HP FX700 2 TB is our first review of a solid-state-drive using YMTC's 232-layer QLC NAND flash. Performance results are much better than expected, and the drive is able to compete and beat high-end TLC SSDs from other vendors, at much more affordable pricing.

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[lexluthermiester]

Not terrible, but as you mentioned in the conclusion, still QLC. I've said this before and I'll say it again, manufacturers need to engineer into the firmware a way for us users to directly and actively choose the mode the NAND operates in. SLC, MLC, TLC or QLC. Yes I understand that comes at the cost of storage capacity, but overall speed and durability are important concerns.

I would happily buy one of these drives IF the option to put it into a 512GB SLC mode or 1TB MLC mode was available. Simple utility based access would be excellent!!

 

[ShogoXT]

The scary part is they are going to start parts replacing this into everywhere now though. Before it was nice getting the TLC only from there now you won't know considering how everything is changed.

 

[W1zzard]

now you won't know considering how everything is changed

QLC can be easily identified by the low write speeds once cache is exhausted, and the relatively lower endurance rating. Once it's really indistinguishable, does it matter anymore?

 

[lexluthermiester]

Once it's really indistinguishable, does it matter anymore?

Well yeah, durability and drive life are important. I've done some testing. Bandwidth speeds above about 1800MBps really aren't very useful(for general consumers). So drive/NAND makers really need to focus on drive durability instead of speeds at this point in time.

 

[W1zzard]

So drive/NAND makers really need to focus on drive durability instead of speeds at this point in time

That's not the reality of the industry though. Everybody just focuses on GB/s sequential at high QD (for consumers)

 

[Gucky]

As a normal user, I will never be able to reach the TBW limit of the QLC drive. MY most used drive is my windows drive, where I only put windows on (and savegames).
It is an old 512GB PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSD with around 10-12TB data written on it per year, with 62TB total written in 5-6 years.
I also have a SATA SSD for my data storage, that has a little less then that per year.
If I combine ALL my data written on all drives, I am at around 30TB per year. With a single QLC SSD that is still >20 years lifetime...the drive will be out of date before then...

My use case is a gaming PC / media center.

 

[lexluthermiester]

That's not the reality of the industry though. Everybody just focuses on GB/s sequential at high QD (for consumers)

While true, practicality should have at least some consideration.

As a normal user, I will never be able to reach the TBW limit of the QLC drive.

You would be shocked how quickly you can hit the cell durability threshold of QLC. It happens a lot. This is why QLC based drives fail much more frequently than TLC based drives.

 

[Tahagomizer]

I hear a lot of "QLC drive will explode, burn you alive and kill your cat", and here am tempting fate with multiple QLC SSDs in the thousands of hours and my "cheap and trashy" Intel 660p approaching 22 000 hours with no problems or warnings at all. While it's true that, on paper - which most of the fear mongering seems to come from - they have lower P/E cycle limit, in practice it doesn't matter for the vast majority of consumers. The disk's lifespan/warranty period will likely exceed the lifespan of the computer it's in, so who cares?
Anecdotally, the only QLC drive which died on me was the one I dropped and stepped on when my cat decided that me peacefully walking is an act of aggression. 1:0 for cat vs QLC, i guess.

Other than that, thanks for the review. I very much enjoy low cost storage.

 

[lexluthermiester]

The disk's lifespan/warranty period will likely exceed the lifespan of the computer it's in, so who cares?

Some people keep using drives even after upgrading systems.

 

[QUANTUMPHYSICS]

4TB for $200!. Not bad!

 

[Broken Processor]

Qlc drives are interesting for media storage. They won't be written to a lot and the price to capacity is getting there. I'll wait for the price to capacity to make it worthwhile to swap out my 12tb spinning rust. But 4tb for $200 is heading in the right direction.

 

[Muser99]

The important 4K Random 50:50 R/W performance is not good and only just better than SATA3.

 

[minami]

My concern is how long the data can continue to be retained without power.
We once did a long-winded test where a Sumsung SATA drive with about 3TB of total writes was put to rest for 5 years, and out of 100,000 image files, about 1,200 were corrupted.

 

[W1zzard]

My concern is how long the data can continue to be retained without power.
We once did a long-winded test where a Sumsung SATA drive with about 3TB of total writes was put to rest for 5 years, and out of 100,000 image files, about 1,200 were corrupted.

Since you always have backups, most probably daily incremental, this is a non-issue?

 

[minami]

Since you always have backups, most probably daily incremental, this is a non-issue?

If the characteristics are understood and operated correctly, problems are rarely encountered.
However, it is not only those who understand correctly.
There are many who are satisfied with having copied data to a USB-connected SSD and leave the SSD for a long time.
At the very least, the data retention period needs to be explained to the purchaser so that he or she can understand it.
Otherwise, there will be many people who will say, "I didn't do anything to it, but it's broken!"
The OS does not always notify you that a file is corrupted.

As an aside, SEGA's Genesis-mini uses SLC-Flash. It will work even if it has not been turned on for about 10 years. However, this is not the case with game consoles that do not use SLC.
"It was brand new and unopened, but it was already broken!"

It's already happened.

I, too, would gladly buy an SSD with a choice of operating modes.

 

[W1zzard]

I, too, would gladly buy an SSD with a choice of operating modes.

Yeah I'd love to see such a choice, too, but most people will probably switch it to PLC and wonder why their 4856487654 TB drive is so slow

 

[chrcoluk]

@W1zzard GB MB mixup. Can wipe my post after you fix, no worries. Write intensive page.

Filling the whole capacity completed at 168 GB/s on average, which is one of the lowest results we've seen in this testing, only the SATA-based Samsung 870 QVO is slower here.

 

[W1zzard]

@W1zzard GB MB mixup. Can wipe my post after you fix, no worries. Write intensive page.

Fixed, thanks!

 

[lexluthermiester]

Qlc drives are interesting for media storage. They won't be written to a lot and the price to capacity is getting there. I'll wait for the price to capacity to make it worthwhile to swap out my 12tb spinning rust. But 4tb for $200 is heading in the right direction.

Exactly! For incidental storage QLC is great. Just not for high-write usage.

 

[ShogoXT]

It's not about the rated or reviewed speeds. I know SEVERAL of the reviewed dramless Phison e21t SSDs that at 1tb that were fine and dandy micron TLC. Then suddenly because I was looking for 2tb they were slipping in QLC instead. It was shady as hell and completely changed the results.

 

[THU31]

I don't get it. The Lexar NM790 has two TLC chips and this has four QLC chips. Both have the same controller. This is only $10 cheaper. Is there any point in QLC existing?

 

[lexluthermiester]

but most people will probably switch it to PLC and wonder why their 4856487654 TB drive is so slow

The ignorant will continue as such until those of us in the know enlighten them. I would happy to buy a 4TB QLC drive and set it into an MLC mode, resulting in 2TB of space.

What would be REALLY cool is if they made a split-mode operations configuration.

I'll explain;
Let's take a 4TB "QLC" drive. In SLC mode it would be 1TB and that's it. But if we split the drive into 50% SLC and 50% MLC modes and partition as such, we would get 512GB in SLC and 1TB in MLC mode. Or even 75% SLC and 25% TLC, which equates to 768GB & 768GB respectively. How about 50% MLC and 50% TLC for a result of 1TB & 1.5TB respectively. 50% MLC and 50% QLC? 1TB & 2TB respectively.

The possibilities are very compelling! Imagine 6TB or 8TB of QLC in split mode?

(And before anyone chimes in saying that such a thing isn't possible, just hush and go fetter your ignorant, small-minded nonsense elsewhere!)

 

[chrcoluk]

Its possible, in another thread on here, someone has posted screenshots of a tool used by OEM's to configure their drives, it allows switching between different psuedo modes or the native mode on the flash. QLC being able to run as pSLC, pMLC, pTLC would be amazing.

If I remember right the tool can also make it so native mode has no pSLC as well as changing the size of the pSLC, so all writes could be native.