Angela Marina
An SSD specialist using special software was able to turn a low-cost SSD on 3D QLC NAND flash memory into a high-performance SLC drive with a high level of reliability.
Image source: Vishnu Mohanan/Unsplash
Software Engineer and SSD Specialist from TechPowerUp Gabriel Ferraz recently made another successful attempt to change the standard consumer SSD. This time he took a 512GB Crucial BX500 SSD and converted memory from quad-level cell (QLC) NAND to pseudo single-level cell (pSLC) NAND.
This SSD model first uses four Micron NY240 flash memory crystals, which are designed to operate at a speed of 1600 MT / s (mega transactions per second). The SSD is based on a Silicon Motion SM2259XT2 controller, which can work with two channels at a speed of 800 MT/s. However, in real conditions, the speed is limited to 525 MT/s in this SSD.
Process switch to SLC need to use special MPtools software for Silicon Motion SM2259XT2 controller. The enthusiast carefully modified the configuration files to make the flash memory behave like SLC. He then changed the firmware of the drive to match the new settings.
As a result, SSD capacity decreased from 512 GB to 114-120 GB. However, storage life has increased significantly. The memory chips used in the Crucial BX500 are originally rated for 1,500 program/erase cycles (P/E cycles) in FortisFlash and around 900 cycles in Mediagrade. Switching to pSLC increased these numbers to 100,000 and 60,000 cycles, respectively.
The rewriting facility is increased almost 30 times – up to 4000 TBW (terabytes of rewriting). In addition, the performance of both sequential read/write and random read/write has increased significantly, which is made possible by the characteristics of SLC memory, which is more stable.
Thus, using low-end software and its deep knowledge of solid-state drives, Ferraza SSD was able to turn a low-cost consumer SSD into a high-performance professional solution.
