I feel there are too many brands out there offering SSDs nowadays. While it is good for us, i.e. we have more options, however, there are some manufacturers with inconsistent SSD performance even though they may be using the same hardware under the hood. Kingston is one brand that I will avoid because previous SSDs don't seems to offer performance that is consistent or close to competitors even with fairly similar hardware. That to me points to potential firmware issues. For me, good does not equate to MLC, TLC or QLC. Neither does it relates to DRAM or DRAMless SSDs. People buying QLC or DRAMless SSD should ideally know the pitfalls, and thus, buying because it is in their budget, and/or, meet their usage needs. They are not cutting edge SSDs, but still faster than a mechanical drive by a significant margin.
Changing of SSD parts seems to be common these couple of years. Even though I think it is a despicable move, it seems to be unavoidable. Despicable because they are swapping out parts, that are not like for like in performance, but is always a downgrade. They are getting away with it because they are advertising these storage as "up to XXXX speed". And because nobody is holding them accountable, more and more manufacturers are doing it. The supply shortage may be one of the cause, but I believe another reason is to use this as a way to reduce cost. At the end of the day, I would say buy if you need it. Its been 2 years since this supply issue started, and with all the negative news on shortage here and there, increasing cost here and there, I am also getting tired looking at hardware now. The last few sales, I did not buy a single PC component like I used to during year end.
very sensible remarks.
