SSD compatability

Cougrrcj

Looking to add a SSD to my several-year-old desktop PC. Asus P867LE motherboard, Intel Core i5 3.2GHz, 32G ram, etc. When I had built this system several years ago, it maxxed out all speed tests except hard drive access times. My computer's case broke (power button won't work), and I'm transferring everything over to a new case, and thought I might want to add a ~500Gb SSD to the mix now while I'm at it. Not sure which to get. 3-bit or 4-bit?

PowerSpec_MichaelB

Greetings Cougrrcj, this is a great question. The 3-bit and 4-bit refers to the type of flash installed and can impact both the speed and durability of the SSD. Typically, 3 bits per cell is referred to as Triple-Level Cell or TLC flash. At one point in time, it was considered the cheapest and least durable until Quad-Level Cell (QLC) came to be, which is 4 bits per cell. If you can afford to go with TLC, I would recommend going that route. Do not be confused by MLC, which was often 2 bits per cell in the past. Some SSD manufacturers advertise 3 bits per cell as MLC despite it technically being TLC.

Due to the age of your board, it won't support any M.2 based SSD's, however it should support any 2.5 inch SSD just fine.

JoeyRay

I'll toss in my vote for any one of the Inland drives that MC carries. The 2.5" form factor would be what you'd look for and the cost per gig is pretty great, AND it's something you can move on into another configuration when it becomes time to upgrade the old processor/mobo combo you currently have.