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KNOWLEDGE

Do SSDs really wear out after a few years?

The worry dates back to the early days of SSDs. Run the number from the datasheet once, and the fear turns into a figure, a reassuringly large one.

MythBeginner3 min readStorage

Rigmint, Updated

The short answer

No. A common one terabyte SSD is rated for 600 terabytes written. Even at 50 gigabytes a day that lasts almost 33 years.

Key points, with evidence

  • The Samsung 990 PRO is rated for 600 terabytes written at 1 TB and 1,200 at 2 TB according to its datasheet.

    SourcedStated verbatim, or as plain arithmetic, in the source given.Jump to source 1

  • At 50 gigabytes a day, 600 terabytes last almost 33 years.

    InferenceFollows from the source given, but is not stated there verbatim.Jump to source 1

  • The warranty ends after five years or the TBW limit, whichever comes first. That is a warranty limit, not a lifespan.

    SourcedStated verbatim, or as plain arithmetic, in the source given.Jump to source 1

  • The endurance testing complies with the JEDEC standard JESD218 according to the datasheet, so the figure is not a marketing claim.

    SourcedStated verbatim, or as plain arithmetic, in the source given.Jump to source 1

  • How often SSDs actually fail, and from what, cannot be answered with this source. No TBW figure replaces backups.

    Open questionCannot be answered from the sources at hand. Left open rather than guessed.

The myth

SSDs only survive a limited number of writes, so after a few years they are done. The sentence sounds like tech knowledge, and fifteen years ago it was not entirely wrong. Today it is misleading.

What is actually true

A common one terabyte SSD like the Samsung 990 PRO is rated for 600 terabytes written according to its datasheet, and the two terabyte model for 1,200. If you write 50 gigabytes every day, which is a lot for a home PC, 600 terabytes last almost 33 years. Most people write a fraction of that.

The warranty still ends earlier: for this model after five years or 600 terabytes written, whichever comes first. That is a warranty limit though, not a lifespan, just like a car does not stop running the day after its warranty expires.

The grain of truth

A memory cell really does survive only a limited number of writes; that is physics, not a rumour. The myth comes from the era of the first SSDs, when that number was much lower and the drives were far smaller: the same daily amount of data was spread across far fewer cells.

What to do instead

Check your SSD's datasheet for the terabytes written figure, usually abbreviated as TBW, and weigh it against your actual usage. Samsung states in the datasheet that the endurance testing behind it complies with the JEDEC standard JESD218, so the number comes from a defined test procedure rather than a marketing claim.

And keep making backups. Cell wear is not the only way to lose data, and no TBW figure, however large, protects you against theft, a defect or an accidental delete.

Review status

Last checked against its sources
Next review
Evidence density
4 of 5 key points carry a source
Open question
1 explicitly open question

Sources

  1. Publisher
    Samsung
    Published
    No publication date stated
    retrieved
    Supports
    TBW je Kapazität (600 TB bei 1 TB, 1.200 TB bei 2 TB, 2.400 TB bei 4 TB), fünf Jahre begrenzte Garantie, und in Fußnote 6 die Messung nach JESD218 sowie die Regel, dass Zeit oder TBW gilt, was zuerst eintritt.

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