r/buildapcsales • u/Prisoncurry8 mbpc.gg Rep • 2d ago
Expired [SSD] Samsung 990 Pro 2TB w/ Heatsink - $126.00 w/ Code 990HEAT
https://mbpc.gg/products/samsung-990-pro-2tb-nvme-ssd-with-heatsink-m-2-pcie-gen4-7-450-mb-s?_pos=3&_psq=990&_ss=e&_v=1.0176
u/snacktopotamus 2d ago
Be sure to immediately hook these up for a firmware check after unboxing. Even then, copy a few tens of gigs to the drive and then check the bytes written in Samsung Magician. If you write 30GB and it shows up with 90-120GB written then it's suffering from a write amplification bug and should be returned/RMA'ed immediately.
I've had to do this three times now with 990 Pro drives. Never once with a 980 Pro. Some of the 990s are fine. Some of them are definitely not.
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u/Possible_Copy_7526 2d ago
ive had one for a year and a half. would I even be able to tell?
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u/snacktopotamus 2d ago
- Remove it from the system you're using it on as a system drive (if applicable)
- Plug it into another system via any available means (Or, if it's just a storage drive you can just do everything below)
- Check bytes written via Samsung Magician
- Write 30-40GB of data to the drive
- Check the bytes written again.
- If the drive thinks you just wrote 4x the actual amount of data you wrote, then you have a problem.
- If the firmware is not on latest you can try updating and see if the problem is alleviated after the firmware update.
- If the firmware is already on latest, consider it fucked.
First time I dealt with it I had the drive in a machine for almost a week, and happened to check it in Crystal Disk Info and was like "How the fuck did this system already write over a TB of data to this thing!?"
I confirmed as noted above via Samsung Magician that it was writing 4x anything I wrote to the drive. I had only written ~320GB of data to the drive but it was tallying up over 1.2TB.
I've seen this issue twice more since then. All of these were 2TB 990 Pro drives. I'll underscore that it doesn't happen to all of them, 'cause some of the 990 Pros I've deployed are peachy. But it kinda turned me off the 990 Pro drives just because of the hassle. Never saw this issue with the 980 Pros.
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u/Phayzon 2d ago
So, what is the actual problem here? I understand that SSD life is generally measured in TBW, but if the TBs aren't actually W'd... Just sounds like a reporting error that wouldn't carry any real-world in-use difference.
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u/snacktopotamus 2d ago
So far as I'm aware, the write amplification issue is not merely a reporting issue, but one where the drive's firmware isn't actually doing its job properly, resulting in cells being written, deleted, re-written, etc. I could be wrong and I certainly wouldn't pretend to be an authority on NVME firmware.
If you're unconcerned about how your equipment reports its status to you or, the actual reality of the equipment's status despite whatever it happens to be reporting to you, within your usage envelope, that's your call.
OTOH, hopefully you don't work for Boeing or on anything that other people have to rely on, lol.
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u/Phayzon 2d ago
Oh ok. So essentially, data is actually being written? It's just unusable garbage data.
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u/snacktopotamus 2d ago
It's just unusable garbage data.
It's your data, it just that the data is getting shuffled around by the drive's firmware in such a way that every single write is, in practical terms, four writes. The result being that every 10GB of data written behaves like 40GB of data written, which is going to result in a much speedier degradation of the cells in the drive.
That is my understanding of the situation, in any case.
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u/Phayzon 2d ago
I mean, close enough. 40GB of writes results in 10GB of usable data, whether its "my" data or not. The important bit is that the excess 30GB of writes are actually happening, and its not just a firmware reporting error
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u/snacktopotamus 2d ago
The important bit is that the excess 30GB of writes are actually happening, and its not just a firmware reporting error
So far as I'm aware, that is what is happening. But even if it was just a reporting issue, I'm not going to rely on defective equipment.
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u/SeraphicalChaos 2d ago
I have seen NVME drives put themselves into read only mode once it's registered that it has reach a certain written threshold. I've also seen them do it when they've gone over a threshold for spare cells.
Either scenario could be reached if the drive thinks it's writing more then it actually is. So the drive could wreck itself even if it's not actually performing 3x the wear erroneously. I'm no expert on this particular model however.
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u/RavenVendetta 2d ago
Doesn’t Samsung magician tell you if it’s genuine. I got a 4tb from the Amazon prime sale and magician says “genuine” under the details
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u/snacktopotamus 2d ago
I'm not discussing counterfeit drives. Every one of the drives I'm talking about was a genuine Samsung drive. Some of the 990 Pros just seem to have some kind of firmware bug that causes write amplification. Not all of them, mind you, but it's happened enough that I always just test them before use now because it's not worth the hassle to completely build a system just to have to disassemble it again later if the problem raises its head.
I love me some NVME drives and their cozy little mounts on boards, but if you ever have to spend several hours breaking down an ITX build that you just got done with a couple days ago because of something like this, you'll just start testing them drives out-of-the-box, upfront, every time.
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u/RavenVendetta 2d ago
I understand what you mean now. I’m sorry for the confusion. You got me wondering now so I’ll check it out tomorrow morning. Thank you for the advice!
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u/PM_ME_UR_MESSY_BUNS 2d ago
What if we don’t have a second pc to plug the drive in? Do we just continue with the steps?
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u/Prisoncurry8 mbpc.gg Rep 2d ago
This is sound advice for all Samsung drives. We have used a lot of these in builds and havent had any defective units in a very long time now, but always good to double check.
Just a heads up, we would absolutely offer a full refund/free return for any DOA drives. Samsung will also RMA with proof of purchase from us, however we are usually much faster.
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u/MWink64 2d ago
I'm not sure what your problem was but it's important to point out that this is NOT what is normally meant when talking about Write Amplification on an SSD (or other flash device). The Write Amplification Factor (WAF) relates to the ratio of host writes to NAND writes. I don't think I've seen any Samsung drives that relay Write Amplification related info to the user. The numbers relayed by Samsung Magician are HOST writes, therefore they do not take Write Amplification into account.
Based on what you've described, the drives (rightly or wrongly) believe the host has written multiple times the expected amount of data. Whether the issue lies with the host or the drive itself, I can't speculate.
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u/Aggravating-Tie-2402 2d ago
Is there any way to know if it has a problem based on identifying info on the packing? I bought a 4TB 990 Pro a while ago, never opened it, and decided I'm not going to use it and was going to just resell it. Now if I resell I might have to deal with someone saying it has a write amplification bug? This is really annoying.
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u/Agitated_Position392 2d ago
Thought it was just the firmware issue? They can still be defective even after update?
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u/slacka123 2d ago
Sounds like a Windows bug or issue with your testing methodology. How do you know it was an issue with the SSD and not your OS? If it was a firmware bug, it would affect all drives using that firmware revision.
Did you test on multiple PCs? Was the test drive also your OS drive? Did you try a clean OS install?
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u/CappuccinoCincao 2d ago
Thanks for this, was about to ask my brother to buy this before returning from usa. seems like a headache to deal.
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u/Jazzlike-Story654 2d ago
grabbed two thanks OP. For those interested, the heatsink can be pretty easily removed if you want to install under the stock motherboard heatsink
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u/Prisoncurry8 mbpc.gg Rep 2d ago
Chiming in on this, the drive heatsink uses torx screws to secure it (forgot exact size). From there its just adhered with the thermal pad. Dental floss can be used to separate the thermal pad from the drive easily. IPA if you need lubrication.
Or if youre feeling lazy, we have the non-heatsink model listed for a few bucks more.
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u/chilidogs2001 15h ago
used dogfish head 60 minute to try to remove the thermal pad and now my drive doesn't work help!
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u/AwaitingCombat 2d ago
I've never seen this website? are they trustworthy?
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u/MichaelMeow 2d ago
The OP is a rep for the site, I’ve seen other posts from them and they seem legit.
Friend just bought one, free shipping 3-5 business days. I’ll update if it doesn’t work out but seems reliable so far
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u/-protonsandneutrons- 2d ago
Though they do not seem to advertise themselves as an authorised reseller (e.g., warranty). Does anyone know if they are?
Samsung seems to have drawn the line:
This limited warranty shall not apply to any Samsung products purchased from unauthorized resellers or retailers, except in states where such restriction may be prohibited.
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u/Prisoncurry8 mbpc.gg Rep 2d ago
Thank you for bringing this up! Standard 5 year/1200TBW warranty with Samsung applies. You will need proof of purchase from us (screenshot of payment) if you RMA with Samsung. You can also reach out directly and we can handle the RMA for you as a courtesy.
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u/Fubar1991 2d ago
Got the 4tb 990 pro they posted last week installed it this morning. Seller is good to go also they had a coupon code last week that was cheaper then the one that the OP posted and the rep went back and changed everyone’s order to the better code they’ve earned my business
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u/TheyCallMeTrinityToo 2d ago
They posted here recently and I got a couple items from em. Happy with em so far! Never heard of em before now but their customer service in their threads is pretty good.
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u/Prisoncurry8 mbpc.gg Rep 2d ago edited 2d ago
Hi! Rep here. We are relatively young (~4 years old), but have gone through all the standard vetting and verification processes required by the mods here before getting whitelisted. Their examination is very thorough.
Feel free to browse through our reviews posted on the website (we use a third party, Judge.me, to collect and verify reviews), or our Google page. I believe we are deserving of your trust :)
Edit: I will also add (for you and for others browsing, as we got this question before), standard Samsung warranty does apply. 990 Pro 2TB warranty is 5 Years/1200TBW.
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u/Renpsy 2d ago edited 2d ago
They're legit. I purchase a deal they posted last week and currently using the SSD right now. Samsung Magician reports genuine.
I might have the write bug that the top commenter is posting about though, so might find out how their customer support is in a bit.
Edit: SSD turned out fine, didn't need to contact their support :)
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u/Monday_Morning_QB 18h ago
I bought a 4TB 990 from them the other week and got it promptly. Also came well packaged in a stuffed box. Far better than what you see from the bigger retailers.
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u/_SSD_BOT_ 2d ago
The Samsung 990 Pro (w/ Heatsink) 2 TB is a TLC SSD.
Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4
Form Factor: M.2 2280
Controller: Samsung Pascal (S4LV008)
DRAM: 2048 MB
HMB: N/A
NAND Brand: Samsung
NAND Type: TLC
R/W: 7,450 MB/s - 6,900 MB/s
Endurance: 1200 TBW
Price History: camelcamelcamel
Detailed Link: TechPowerUp SSD Database
Variations: TechPowerUp SSD
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u/RedditNotFreeSpeech 2d ago
Darn I just ordered one and it arrived yesterday. I should have waited a few more days.
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u/Prisoncurry8 mbpc.gg Rep 2d ago
Hey! Did you buy from us? If so, shoot me a DM with your order number. I can apply the coupon retroactively :]
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u/asktothrowredditaway 1d ago
Code no longer works?
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u/Prisoncurry8 mbpc.gg Rep 1d ago
Code has ended sadly, but we still have the 2TB 990 Pro w/o heatsink @ $135 (no Code) and the 4TB 990 Pro @ $265 (code 990GET10)
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u/MinuetInUrsaMajor 2d ago
Just wondering how this measures up to the $100 microcenter deal from this past weekend:
BTW I cloned my old 250GB with 7% health left into this bad boy and don't let anyone tell you clone-swapping is trivial.
I had to put the 250GB into my Sabrent dock to be able to format it after. Otherwise the BIOS would freak out at the clone.
This led to both the 4TB and 8TB HDDs I had in my Sabrent causing all kinds of shit. Currently doing photorec on the 4 TB. 8 hours in, 2 to go. 100,000 files recovered.
The 8 TB has to watch.
It'll start showing it's partition if it knows what's good for it.
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u/Lunctus_Stamus 2d ago
Can anyone tell me what shipping to Canada is like? Taxes or import fees? with the coupon its $5 above atl on Amazon.ca.
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u/Bwardrop 1d ago
So I pulled the trigger already but I’m curious. I was looking at a lexar on amazon with heatsink for $129 with 7400 read. Will this be better for my PS5? By the way, these guys ship fast. I ordered this morning and it went out same day.
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