Choosing a Compatible NVMe SSD for your macOS Boot Drive

[c-o-pr]

A drive firmware update can break things as well as improve them.

I have a 980 Pro that worked well in a hack (Big Sur at that time) until a firmware update in early 2022, after which the problem with Trim stalls appeared.

Of 4 NVMe I've used (all 2T)

- Sabrent Rocket 4, speedy, but soon died lost all my data, replaced under warranty, replacement died lost all my data even faster.

- SN750 speedy and smooth, never a glitch. PCI3, whereas my kit supports PCI4.

- 980 Pro, trim stalls make it useless for running macOS, so not smooth, but it otherwise speedy.

- SK-HYNIX P41 Platinum, speedier and smoother. In daily use for 9 mos, and it moves. For me a good drive!

Re PCI3 vs 4: My opinion is that PCI4 capable kit has only upside, but perf gain by itself doesn't justify upgrading from PCI3. In daily driving no use case is limited by the bus speed.

 

[wladdych]

WD SN200 works fine with ventura

 

[brousseau6933]

WD SN200 works fine with ventura

Wow! 8 Tb data center NVMe!

 

[InsaneCultist]

I tried to upgrade the firmware with the SK Hynix data manager 2.60 app in Windows 10. But kept getting an I/O error. But my P31 seems to boot fine with no lag.

My P31 Gold 2TB has just now with OC 0.9.1 and Monterey 13.3 started to boot up reliably. Unclear what has changed, but thankful.

 

[dasboot5]

So here is a compatibility question for NVMe drives to be placed in the first slot (m.2_0) either the highest slot on MATX or ATX boards or the top of the board slot, on an ITX board, using a Z590 chipset.

If you use a 10th gen processor and the latest BIOS, usually this slot is TOTALY disabled from usage. However, if you use an 11th processor, the question is, under normal conditions, the slot would be unlocked for use, as this is an Intel rule or (architectural ELECTRONIC design relating to Gen 4 PCIe functionality). But, since the 11th gen processor has to be spoofed to be seen as 10th gen by the Mac OS to work, as the Intel/Arm switchover took place at 10th Gen, does the slot still function even with the spoof, as the interaction between the processor and the slot happens at Bios level before the OS takes over? Or does the spoofing then disable it, using Ventura, as the spoof would need to be present in the installer flash as well NOT ALLOWING THE DISK TO BE SEEN IN DISK UTILITY?

 

[brixx]

I will quote the relevant part of the OP's message for you :

I would believe you will be able to use the 980 Pro as a data drive without significant problems. Just not as a MacOS boot drive using APFS.

I would really like to understand better this topic. I'm a content creator and rely on my 980 pro as a data disk. After more than one year and about 65% drive space used it still reads and writes with proper speed. I would just like to know if trim is working or not... I mean if the drive has trim problems sure they're more visible as a startup drive...but still they would cause problems as a data drive as well in the long term

 

[brousseau6933]

I would really like to understand better this topic. I'm a content creator and rely on my 980 pro as a data disk. After more than one year and about 65% drive space used it still reads and writes with proper speed. I would just like to know if trim is working or not... I mean if the drive has trim problems sure they're more visible as a startup drive...but still they would cause problems as a data drive as well in the long term

You are on Monterey or Ventura? If I understand correctly, TRIM is broken for Samsung NVMe’s since Monterey. Before, it was fine unless I am mistaken.

Now, if on Monterey or Ventura, TRIM still works but takes a loooooong time but I don’t know if MacOS trims all disks at boot? You can see if TRIM is activated by looking in About this Mac - NVMe.

 

[brixx]

You are on Monterey or Ventura? If I understand correctly, TRIM is broken for Samsung NVMe’s since Monterey. Before, it was fine unless I am mistaken.

Now, if on Monterey or Ventura, TRIM still works but takes a loooooong time but I don’t know if MacOS trims all disks at boot? You can see if TRIM is activated by looking in About this Mac - NVMe.

I'm on Ventura, yes trim is "true" in system report. Just wondering if it could have potential problems in the long term, cause till now worked fast and flawlessly as a data drive

 

[brousseau6933]

I'm on Ventura, yes trim is "true" in system report. Just wondering if it could have potential problems in the long term, cause till now worked fast and flawlessly as a data drive

If S.M.A.R.T. attributes and life is fine, I wouldn’t worry and use it. You could check those infos if you have a Windows partition (Samsung Magician) or with smartmontools or DriveDX (cheap) on MacOS.

Excerpt: « Working with TRIM broken (can be used with TRIM disabled, at slower boot times, or as a data storage): ».

SSD hall of fame needs new entries · Issue #192 · dortania/bugtracker

Guide Anti-Hackintosh Buyers Guide (link) After our discovery of a severe bug in the TRIM implementation of practically all Samsung SSDs we spent time investigating which SSDs are affected by all k...

github.com

However, I don’t completely understand what TRIM broken means exactly… Slower, half-functioning, detrimental for the life and performance in the long run…?

 

[brousseau6933]

… and from right here: «
This is TRIM and APFS related. Disabling TRIM is not recommended. If you already own a Samsung NVMe, convert it to a Windows/Linux drive or a scratch drive. If you do need a "scratch" drive, also known as a cache/temp files drive, the Samsung 980 Pro really can't be beat. It's the most durable consumer SSD. Uses MLC NAND flash, the primary reason why they're so highly rated and are best sellers. One other option, put your Samsung M.2 NVMe into an external adapter and use it as a high capacity flash drive. See this post

Read about Acidanthera's research on the Samsung "TRIM Bug" by clicking here ».


Source: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/choosing-a-compatible-nvme-ssd-for-your-macos-boot-drive.323479/

Still not clear if TRIM works or not? Me, I always leave 7 percent free (not partitioned) as over provisioning for garbage collection anyway. Some recommend 10-20 percent but I avoid completely filling any SSD. When it happens, I buy a bigger one or another one to spread the data.