I picked up a couple of the 500GB model when I saw them on sale. I originally got them to use with the Hackboard 2, but ended up cancelling my order for it due to some of their changes. They were understandable changes thanks to hardware shortages, but wouldn’t do what I wanted anymore so I cancelled. When I ordered the Framework I realized it’d make sense to use one of them here instead for the power savings.
Wow, this looks significant. I’m not sure I can see any real-world benefit from something like the SN850 or the 980 Pro - but I still kind of want them for bragging rights.
Well, one gives you real world benefit and could be bragged about (doubt it’ll be a huge difference but if I get another 15 minutes battery life I’ll brag about it), the other can be bragged about until some jerk like me comes along and points out how meaningless it is .
But seriously, there is a value to the speed of a SN850 or 980 Pro, it really is just a question of which matters to you, storage IO performance or battery life. My gaming desktop has a 980 Pro for a reason. I care about those millisecond faster loading times being there, but on my daily driver laptop it won’t make a difference in my day to day, but that extra couple minutes of battery might. As with a lot of things, it’s a pro’s and con’s, Pepsi or Coke decision.
@JP_Powers Do you know if the SK Hynix P31 supports self-encryption? I’ve seen conflicting reports that it does and that it does not. Whatever drive I get, I’d want to encrypt but would prefer to not use LUKS dm-crypt and avoid the CPU handling the encryption/decryption.
@Enjewneer I believe it does not support self-encryption. I rely on Bitlocker for Windows and LUKS for Linux for encryption, and I’ve poked around a bit and don’t see anything about it. Intel specifically has had AES-NI built into almost all their CPUs for years now, which will handle the encryption the vast majority of the time. While the CPU handling it does technically hinder performance still, from some benchmarking I’ve seen in the past it’s rarely enough to bother me at least. Specifically, an article I recall is: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=2019-linux-encrypt&num=3
I agree with the synthesis at the end:
For most of the real-world workloads, the cost of full-disk encryption on modern hardware is between minimal and a justifiable level for knowing your data is protected especially if frequently transporting your laptop.
It’s a bit older, but the situation (should have) only gotten better, not worse. Certainly, depending on your workload, the performance hit might be untenable, though. That said, if you’re looking for that specifically, then looking at the faster drives may make the decision easier since in my shopping experience it’s a bit more common to see self-encryption support as something of a checkbox feature to further justify the cost.
@JP_Powers Thanks for letting me know! From benchmarks I’ve seen run of dm-crypt using memory only, I see about 4000MB/s with the i7-1165G7, so LUKS wouldn’t bother me on something like the Hynix P31 as that is above its theoretical max sequential R/W. Still, I would prefer a SED because of the ability to erase it in a cryptographically secure manner in an instant.
Anyone serious about security wouldn’t trust (closed source) hardware encryption as there have just been too many backdoors bugs and master passwords. I use truencrypted containers for vital files AND my backups are also encrypted BTW which is equally important.
I am more interested in the possibility of two NVME drives and sockets perhaps one on top of the other and possibly closer to the thicker part of the laptop because of the increased thickness. The design ship has probably sailed on this one as well but may still be a possibility for an AMD motherboaed when one comes out (as it has too as I won’t be buying in until it does or Intel’s core/thread count matches AMDs as I couldn’t justify the framework price to performance ratio compared to cheaper but less flexible AMD alternatives! When it does though I will be all in!!).
Haven’t used it but I just looked at a review by Tom’s Hardware-seems fine
checks all the boxes as far as I’m concerned
Has DRAM
Is available in larger capacities if desired
Is fast enough for me (I use a Gold p31 for the battery life)
Manufactured by a reputable company
There is zero reason to do this, unless they’re offering some manufacturer combo rebate. Hell, even with among SSDs in the datacenter, we’ve been moving to more of a mix-and-match deployment. Just to reduce the odds that we have a lot of simultaneous failures.
I just put in a Crucial P5 Plus 2TB (running the most current firmware) into my batch 4 i71165G7 with a fresh install of Windows 11 with the Framework drivers. I installed the Crucial Storage Executive and activated the Momentum Cache, which was giving me issues logging in from Sleep Mode. Once I turned off Momentum Cache, everything was working fine.
I’ve got the Sabrent 4TB installed in my newly arrived DIY and it is working well so far (after two days). This is after a terrible six months of trying to get it to work in my HP Spectre x360. Constant crashes in Windows which I couldn’t resolve. I haven’t tried pushing it hard, but under normal use it seems to be working just fine under Windows 11. Makes me just love the Framework as the option to buy it sans any storage means I could reuse my Sabrent and salvage what was seeming like a very expensive mistake (buying the 4TB NVME).
I just wanted to share my experience here, I was trying to setup my framework with the Crucial P5 2TB I ordered (non plus). Windows 11 + Ubuntu 21.10 dual boot with encryption. The setup went well after I replaced one of my ram stick which was deffective. But now I’m having resume from sleep error (this kind: Solid state drive/NVMe - ArchWiki) I tried pretty much everything I could find online for a couple days (updating firmware, disabling APST, software iommu, deep sleep mode, reinstalling everything). Nothing fixed the problem, everytime the laptop resumes from sleep the disk is mounted read-only with hundreds of IO errors on dmesg.
I ended up trying the exact same ubuntu installation (same encryption method, etc…) on another SSD I had lying around (a Samsung 970 Evo 500GB) and did not notice any problem with the resume here. So I tend to believe there is an issue with this SSD or at least a compatibility problem with the motherboard. I am currently ordering a new SSD (Samsung 980 Pro 2TB) as a remplacement, I’ll copy everything there and see if it works better.
I can thoroughly recommend the WD Black SN850 for use with Windows 11. Hits nearly the 7000MBps max no sweat. I got a 1TB one and slapped a 1mm thermal pad I had laying around on top to mate it to the keyboard plate. No issues with heat. I’ve done some benches and I think 50 degrees was the hottest it got.
I was going to put in a WD RED Nvme for the extra endurance but that was out of stock when I went to buy and the Samsung 980 Pro (my next choice) went up £20 on the day, so the third choice SN850 won out. I’m happy.
For the record after switching from the Crucial P5 to the Samsung 980 Pro (copied byte for byte) I had no problem with the sleep/resume this time. So definitely +1 for the 980 and -1 for the P5.
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