Best SATA SSD For Cache or Storage on a NAS or Server – Synology / TerraMaster / QNAP etc

Following on from my recent TerraMaster upgrade posts, I have been looking at the best SSDs to use in a NAS.

Due to the configuration of the TerraMaster F4-422, I was specifically looking for a 2.5-inch SATA SSD to be used on the 5^th bay as a cache drive, and that is what I will focus on with this post.

However, if you have built a NAS / server with off the shelf component or have a higher spec NAS from the likes of Synology, you may have the choice to use an NVMe drive for even better performance. I will do another post for those drives later.

When it comes to servers and storage, the overall read/write throughput is not necessarily the most important, but the drive endurance and warranty.

To keep things simple, I have looked at the price of drives with a capacity of  500GB and 1TB (thereabouts) and their endurance ratings.

Best SATA SSDs for Cache & Storage

Notes:

• Pricing is taken from Amazon mid-February 2022
• Some drives have a smaller capacity, such as 480GB instead of 512GB.
• Most drives have the very similar IOPs, so I removed them from the list
• Read/Write speeds may not be 100% accurate as they change depending on capacity

What about data centre drives? Consider the Samsung PM893

Used data centre drives are frequently recommended on Reddit, and it is a good choice. For example, 1TB WD Gold doesn’t even use TBW, they just up to Petabytes Written with this one handling 1.4PBW or 1400TBW, but it costs over £250 new.

The Samsung PM893 is one semi-affordable option worth considering, it has a 3-year warranty with a 1.3 DWPD giving it a 683TBW which you can pick up for around £100 from Scan. The more expensive PM897 has a 2628 TBW but costs £150.

Highlights – The best consumer SSDs for cache

Basically, you get what you pay for.

Probably the best choice overall is the 500GB WD Red SA500 with 350TBW endurance at a surprisingly attractive £62. The 1TB model is more than twice the price so much less appealing than the are the Kingston KC600 and Samsung 870 EVO.

At the time of writing, the Samsung 870 EVO drives are more attractively priced vs Kingston. As always, Amazon prices vary a lot, and the Kingston drives have been cheaper.

The Samsung 870 EVO is, therefore, the best 1TB with its 600TBW and priced under £100

If those are too expensive, the WD Blue SSD is perhaps the stand out option for the affordable drives. You get 200TB/400TB TBW endurance and a 5-year warranty. Under £50 for 500GB is a bit of a bargain with that spec.

The dark horse is the Lexar NS100, it costs a touch more than the WB, and the warranty is less, but the TBW endurance is 20% higher.

Options to avoid are the PNY and SanDisk. These do not state a TBW and only have a 3-year warranty. They will be perfectly suitable for normal SSD drives and light usage but best avoided for things like a cache which will have high read/writes.

SATA SSDs Comparison Table

SSD	500GB / 1TB Price	Read/Write	TBW Endurance	Warranty
Kingston KC600	£70/£120	550MB/s read 520MB/s write	512GB — 300TB 1024GB — 600TB	5
Kingston A400	£41 / £81	500MB/s read 450MB/s write	480GB: 160TB 960GB: 300TB	3
Crucial MX500	£47 / £75	560MB/s read 510MB/s write	512GB — 180TB 1024GB — 360TB	5
Crucial BX500	£38 / £65	540MB/s read 500MB/s write	480GB — 120TB 1000GB — 360TB	3
Samsung SSD 870 EVO	£63 / £97	560MB/s read 530 MB/s	512GB — 300TB 1024GB — 600TB	5
Samsung 870 QVO	NA / £84	560MB/s read 530 MB/s	1024GB — 360TB	3
Western Digital WD Blue	£47 / £83	560MB/s read 530 MB/s	500GB — 200TB 1000GB — 400TB	5
WD Red SA500	£62 / £135	560MB/s read 530 MB/s	512GB — 350TB 1024GB — 600TB	5
Integral V Series 2	£37 / £78	520MB/s read 470 MB/s	480GB: 160TB 960GB: 300TB 1TB: 320TB	3
PNY CS900	£48 / £72	550MB/s read 500MB/s write	Not stated	3
SanDisk SSD PLUS	£56 / £86	540MB/s read 450MB/s write	Not stated	3
Lexar NS100	£52 / £95	550MB/s read	512GB — 240TB 1000GB — 480TB	3

Last update on 2023-09-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API