Solid state drives (SSDs) have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their fast speeds and lack of moving parts. One specification that is often used to measure SSD lifespan and endurance is the terabytes written (TBW) rating. This refers to the total amount of data that can be written to the drive before performance starts to deteriorate. So is a 100 TBW SSD considered good in terms of longevity? Let’s take a closer look.
What is TBW?
TBW stands for terabytes written. It refers to the total amount of data that can be written to an SSD before the drive begins to fail or lose significant performance. For example, a drive with a 100 TBW rating should be able to write 100 terabytes of data in total before needing replacement. The TBW rating is based on writing at the drive’s maximum sustained write speed in a worst-case scenario until failure.
TBW ratings are determined through drive endurance tests performed by manufacturers. The tests write data continuously to the entire capacity of a drive until it can no longer reliably store data. Higher TBW ratings generally indicate a more durable SSD that can withstand more write/erase cycles before wearing out.
What affects TBW ratings?
There are several factors that influence an SSD’s TBW rating:
- NAND flash technology – Higher density NAND flash such as 3D NAND is more durable and long-lasting than older planar NAND.
- Over-provisioning – Having spare NAND capacity allows for better wear leveling and endurance.
- DRAM cache size – Larger DRAM buffers improve write performance and reduce wear on the NAND flash memory.
- Controller specs – More advanced controllers with better error correction help improve endurance.
- Workload – Drives subjected to heavy write workloads will wear out faster than those with lighter usage.
Manufacturing process node size is also a factor. Smaller process nodes tend to be less durable. However, accompanying controller improvements can help compensate for this to some degree.
100 TBW Endurance Levels
Now that we understand what TBW ratings represent, how good is a 100 TBW SSD? Here is a rough guideline for different TBW endurance levels:
- 0 – 100 TBW – Low endurance
- Entry-level consumer SSDs
- Light workloads
- 100 – 300 TBW – Moderate endurance
- Mainstream consumer SSDs
- Performance SSDs
- Mixed consumer workloads
- 300 – 600 TBW – High endurance
- Prosumer and enthusiast SSDs
- Heavy write workloads
- 600+ TBW – Very high endurance
- Datacenter and enterprise SSDs
- 24/7 operation under intensive workloads
Based on these broad categories, a 100 TBW SSD falls into the low to moderate endurance range. It can provide adequate endurance for light everyday workloads, such as boot drives in basic home or office PCs.
Factors to Consider at 100 TBW
While a 100 TBW rating may be sufficient for light use, there are some factors to take into consideration at this endurance level:
- Actual workload – If your daily workload exceeds 20-30GB of writes per day, a 100 TBW drive may wear out faster than expected.
- Over-provisioning – Try to choose a drive with at least 10% over-provisioning for better endurance.
- Warranty coverage – Look for at least a 3 to 5 year warranty covering total TBs written.
- Use case – For frequently written data, caching, or other write-intensive tasks, consider a higher endurance SSD.
While 100 TBW can provide several years of service life for light workloads, the drive will wear out faster under heavier usage. Understanding your specific use case and workload requirements is important when evaluating TBW ratings.
Expected Lifespan at 100 TBW
It’s hard to provide an precise expected lifespan for a 100 TBW SSD, since usage patterns vary widely. However, we can come up with a reasonable lifespan estimate based on some assumptions:
| Assumptions | Values |
|---|---|
| Average data written per day | 20GB |
| Days in a year | 365 days |
| Total TBW rating | 100TB |
With 20GB written per day, it would take 100TB / (20GB * 365 days) = 13.7 years to write 100TB to the drive.
Therefore, under typical light workload conditions, we can expect a 100 TBW SSD to last approximately 10-15 years before reaching its endurance limit. The actual lifespan could be longer or shorter depending on the usage pattern.
100 TBW vs Higher Endurance SSDs
When compared to SSDs with higher TBW ratings, a 100 TBW SSD has both advantages and disadvantages:
Potential Advantages
- Lower cost per GB – More affordable overall cost.
- Low entry pricing – Ideal for basic computing needs.
- Adequate for light workloads – Sufficient endurance for boot drives or light usage.
- Low power consumption – Uses less power than higher endurance SSDs.
Potential Disadvantages
- Shorter lifespan under heavy writes – Higher TBW SSDs last longer.
- Lower performance – Reduced speeds and higher latency.
- Less over-provisioning – Less spare area for wear leveling.
- Not suitable for write-intensive tasks – Poor choice for applications requiring heavy daily writes.
In summary, 100 TBW SSDs provide a cost-effective option for light workloads, while higher endurance models are preferable for write-intensive environments and maximum longevity.
Ideal Workloads for a 100 TBW SSD
Here are some ideal workload scenarios to take advantage of a 100 TBW SSD, without exceeding its endurance limits:
- Operating system drive – Used as a boot drive for light home/office computing. The OS generates mainly small writes.
- Single-user PC – GENERAL everyday computing for one user, including web browsing, document editing, media playback.
- Low-volume database – Small database servers that receive light transactional workloads.
- Network attached storage – NAS devices for home media streaming and backup, without heavy file editing.
- Secondary internal storage – Adding internal storage capacity to a PC for files, media, backups.
The key is to choose applications and use cases centered on light write workloads, read operations, or sequential data writes. This allows a 100 TBW SSD to provide many years of solid performance within its endurance limitations.
Write Intensive Applications to Avoid
Here are some examples of write-intensive applications that can prematurely wear out a 100 TBW SSD:
- Caching drive – Caching generates constant random writes which quickly consume drive writes.
- Video editing scratch disk – Requires constant reading and writing of large video files.
- Server applications – Databases, web servers, infrastructure servers are write-intensive.
- Virtual machine drive – The multi-tenant nature results in substantial writes.
- Transactional workloads – Online transaction processing (OLTP) causes heavy random writes.
For these types of high write applications, choosing an SSD with 300+ TBW provides extra endurance headroom. Or supplement with a RAM drive, caching software, or separate log drives to reduce writes to the main SSD.
Maximizing the Lifespan of a 100 TBW SSD
Here are some tips to help maximize the lifespan and endurance of a 100 TBW SSD:
- Enable TRIM – The TRIM command clears unused blocks and improves write efficiency.
- Minimize file deletes and overwrites – This causes write amplification which consumes drive endurance.
- Run defragmentation periodically – Consolidates data and reduces write fragmentation.
- Use a larger SLC cache SSD – The larger cache buffers writes and reduces long-term wear.
- Limit torrenting and other heavy writes – Legal torrenting in particular can cause extensive random writes.
- Back up your data – Allows replacing the SSD if it does wear out.
Following best practices for maximizing SSD longevity can help a 100 TBW drive last for many years even under moderate write workloads. Proactively monitoring drive health stats also helps avoid unexpected failures.
Example SSDs with 100 TBW Endurance
Here are some examples of well-known SSD models that have 100 TBW endurance ratings:
| SSD Model | Details |
|---|---|
| Crucial MX500 | – SATA III SSD for consumers – 100TBW rating for 250GB and 500GB models |
| Western Digital Blue 3D NAND | – Entry-level NVMe SSD – 250GB and 500GB models have 100TBW rating |
| Samsung 870 QVO | – Mainstream SATA SSD – 100TBW for 1TB capacity |
| Kingston A2000 | – Budget friendly NVMe SSD – 100TBW for 250GB model |
There are also many other SATA and NVMe SSD options from various manufacturers with 100TB total bytes written endurance levels. These provide a sampling of well-reviewed and popular consumer SSDs at this TBW spec.
Conclusion
In summary, a 100 TBW endurance rating offers adequate lifespan for most mainstream consumer SSD uses. It provides solid performance and value for light workloads like booting an OS, general home/office tasks, or running a low-volume database server. However, for write-intensive applications, SSDs with higher TBW ratings are recommended.
When evaluating SSDs with 100TB total terabytes that can be written, factors like workload, over-provisioning, and warranty coverage should be considered. Following best practices can maximize lifespan, but performance will still decline after 100TB of writes. Overall, 100 TBW SSDs hit a sweet spot of affordability and endurance for casual everyday computing needs.