Is it worth to buy a second hand SSD?
Posted by Beginning_Nature157@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 198 comments
I only have a 1TB M.2 (KC 3000) and it's great but not enough. But 2 or 4 TB versions are very expensive. Is it safe to buy a used one?
I mean if there are viruses on it it could cause problems I guess.
MT_76@reddit
If it has a significant price difference, why not? Just check the lifetime and get it from a trusted source.
No-Astronomer-3535@reddit
What trusted sources?
Substantial_Ice_5720@reddit
Like ebay make sure they have a ton of reviews, no bots and good ratings
Agreeable-Sky9590@reddit
No. Storage is one of those things that you dont buy used just like a PSU. 1. you dont know what Kind of malware could be on there 2. You dont know how long it is in use and how good the speeds are Holding up 3. Used storage is nearly the same price as New so its just not worth the risk
Mr_SlimShady@reddit
No. Storage is the safest thing you can buy used because it is quite literally the only item in an entire build that will self diagnose and show you the results.
Throw it in the machine and wipe it with a live USB.
You can read the SMART data. That will tell you the life remaining, power-on hours, as well as an array of other things.
That is YMMV territory.
I don’t understand how can people keep regurgitating the same thing over and over. Storage is the safest thing you can buy used. You just have to test it, which is something you’re supposed to do with every used thing you buy anyway.
Disastrous_Poetry175@reddit
Naw. If someone is inexperienced enough to ask if they should buy used storage when its cheap new anyways I absolutely recommend buying new.
TheMinionBandit@reddit
Well now the game has changed man…. Also I started building PCs when SATA SSDs were brand fucking new tech so my info on “is it safe to buy a second hand NVME drive?” Is super dated because I know you don’t buy a hard drive or or a SATA ssd second hand but I wondered if NVME was different. and that’s why I’m here now…. Fuck AI data centers…
Substantial_Ice_5720@reddit
I buy second hand hard drives and they've been doing great for me!
PeaGlobal7000@reddit
Not in this shortage..
Difficult_Bit_1339@reddit
Sure, in person. But the people here want to learn, so I'd rather they know all of the options as well as the preference of professionals.
If you can get cheap storage and understand that it could have wearing issues or shorter life and know how to check for those things... Then you can find some good deals.
Dreadnought_69@reddit
It’s because these PC subs are riddled with ignorance, and people who overestimate their own knowledge and ability.
SexualCaramel94@reddit
I feel like most people underestimate their abilities and are too scared to try something new.
Individual_Push_7562@reddit
You genuinely summarised 90 percent of reddit comment right there, people who know no better than you do(normally 12yr old nvidia fanboys) will comment bullshit on a post for the attention. Genuinely infuriating to see all this misinformation and bullshit knowing I can't do much against the masses of retards.
Gemblan@reddit
You can do reset of SMART data. And sell fully used ssd as brend new. There is lot of scammers on ebay and ohter sites. So if you are looking at ssd of 1tb+ with low power on hours and small number of tbw. Its scam 100%. Like who tf buys 1tb+ ssd if he wont use evry gb out of it.
lemozest@reddit
Smart data can be reset, so you can only trust it if you trust the seller.
guigouz@reddit
So you buy a used SSD, smart shows thousands of hours of usage and speed is 1/3 of the original, what do you do? is that fine for saving a few bucks?
Plus, new SSDs have 3-year warranty
HeggenRL@reddit
You test the drive before you buy decide whether to buy it. You do not test afterwards.
vinegar-and-honey@reddit
It's a solid state drive with no moving parts at all. How is it slower after extended use? It has no moving parts to degrade.
This is a legitimate question. After I wipe a SSD so there's no previous data on it - how does it's prior use slow it down?
Mishabeer@reddit
Even wiped they can still pull some data off of it.
Personally I am not against buying second hand storage, I am however against selling it.
purekillforce1@reddit
You can perform military grade wipes on drives. Plenty of free software that does this. Basically writes over the entire drive a few times, preventing recovery of anything that was on there.
Mishabeer@reddit
Even so. If there was even a hint of anything whatsoever I don't want to get to the outside world I personally destroy the drive.
If it contained nothing but games I wouldn't care. To me the little value it has is irrelevant. In my country 8TB can be bought second hand for €50.
For others it might be different, this is just for me.
purekillforce1@reddit
Destroying the drive is unnecessary, but if it prevents you from worrying, then it's your drive. And I guess depending on what you had on it, you might worry a lot? Seems overkill.
And yeah, that's pretty cheap, even for a basic HDD. I was picking up used WD Reds for about that amount at 4tb a go. You tend to pay about £10/Tb here, used. About double for new, or more for performance drives.
Mishabeer@reddit
The only drive I actually destroyed was a 2TB 2,5" SSD. It had data like my SSN, bank details and more private information that I wouldn't wanna risk in any way shape or form.
Again, it's for me personally. For others it might be worth it even if it's only a tenner.
danielv123@reddit
Bank details and private information sure - but don't all SSNs get leaked every few years anyways?
Mishabeer@reddit
Not in the Netherlands atleast
thrwaway070879@reddit
The secure erase option in most PC's/Laptops is Nist 800-8 compliant, but you would want third party if you need wipe certs.
Wendals87@reddit
Not with an SSD. Deleted data is gone and can't be retrieved once TRIM has run (after formatting it runs)
vinegar-and-honey@reddit
That wasn't my question but hey thanks for answering one I didn't ask with an answer I already knew
guigouz@reddit
Sorry for the bad info, I corrected the statement. I still don't think it's worth buying a used drive considering wear and warranty.
Narrheim@reddit
That edit cannot be considered as correction...
vinegar-and-honey@reddit
No worries, we all learn and grow :-)
Mr_SlimShady@reddit
If you buy the SSD after seeing those results, then that's a decision you made dude.
creepingfour@reddit
You’re wrong though because drives last 100000 hours if not more
purekillforce1@reddit
I bought used drives that had 5+ YEARS of up time. Absolutely fine. Been working 24/7 for over a year, now, and I paid a third of the price for each of them (bought 4).
itonlytakes1@reddit
I’ve got spinning drives in a server that have been running 10 years, still ok. However, pretty sure there’ll be some failures soon. Solid drives will last even longer.
purekillforce1@reddit
Yeah, 10nyears is usually the expected life. Although one of the ones I threw away had been going 12 years. Just no longer needed a 1tb external drive! And while SSDs might last longer, HDDs will fail slower, usually giving you warnings and a chance to backup the drive before it goes completely. When SSDs fail, they fail immediately and completely.
danielv123@reddit
Wear related SSD failure usually just forces them into read only mode.
Catastrophic failure and you are SOL though.
Mr_SlimShady@reddit
Well that is what I implied. Power-on hours is not the red flag that the other person thinks it is.
Xjph@reddit
I have a WD Black NVMe with >29,000 power on hours, 84TB total bytes written, and counting (a little over 3 years old, on basically 24/7).
Its current health reported by SMART is 97%.
Used SSDs are fine unless they've been brutally abused.
ExacoCGI@reddit
I had Kingston A2000 500GB, died in almost 4 years, but that's with my intense workloads, haven't even had a chance to look at the TBW, got NV3 500GB from the RMA.
My current 970 Evo Plus 1TB has already 149TB written in just \~12 months or 6.7K hours.
Xjph@reddit
Sure, but 149TB in 12 months is an extreme case. That's equivalent to a sustained write of almost 5MB/s, 24/7. Normal usage is typically less than that by orders of magnitude. Plus, checking the SMART data will reveal that usage.
ExacoCGI@reddit
I guess it's normal case when you do some sort of content creation e.g. opening Photoshop alone can write like 100GB to scratch disks if you open large file, video editing and 3D software can also write a bunch of cache, let alone the paging file.
If you're mostly just gaming and browsing then of course your SSD will be barely used and it will more likely die from wear than TBW.
Xjph@reddit
Oh yeah, absolutely. Normal for that use case. Pretty extreme compared to the average user.
Mightyena319@reddit
Yeah I have a crucial MX300 from around 2016 that still claims 88% lifetime remaining despite being an OS drive with pagefile. Write endurance really isn't something the average Joe needs to worry about.
That said, the two SSDs that just upped and died were both used, so it really depends
Xjph@reddit
That's another thing in particular that people worry about way more than they need to. The "extra wear" from putting your page file on an SSD.
It barely makes a difference, and performs so much better there that even if it did make a meaningful difference would probably be worth doing anyway.
Wendals87@reddit
Maybe when ssds were first released it was an issue but not so much anymore when the TBW is measured in the hundreds
Wendals87@reddit
It's also worth mentioning that the technology is always improving so newer drives will last longer than an older one (generally)
Narrheim@reddit
Actually no. Some russian website did some testing years ago. They have written data onto the drives continuously either until the drives gave up or until certain point. IIRC Samsung SSDs were all able to handle >4x the total amount of TBW specified by manufacturer and Crucial SSDs were able to go >2x. All budget drives failed to even reach their TBW (although it´s important to note, that some budget SSDs have TBW limits out of this world - far above and beyond some of the highest quality SSDs out there).
Risk of encountering faulty SSDs increases only with age. Last year, i’ve disposed of my trusty old Crucial MX100, partition of which started disappearing intermittently. It´s entirely possible it was a fixable issue (maybe some cap malfunctioning due to age), but not worth to do from financial perspective. Because despite SSDs don´t have moving parts, they have lots of electronic parts and all of them are affected by silicon lottery.
iris700@reddit
People should have downvoted you the second you suggested that speed degrades. That's such a moronic idea.
MWink64@reddit
Actually, it's technically correct. Whether the average person will notice the difference may be another story.
MWink64@reddit
Actually, speed DOES degrade as the amount of wear on the NAND (resulting from P/E cycles) increases.
purekillforce1@reddit
The number of read/writes on these drives now are so large you don't need to worry about it. Unless you're using it in an application where it's constantly writing and overwriting (CCTV DVR, for example) the used drive will be fine for general use.
cat1092@reddit
Nor do I feel it wears with sitting unused. Just installed a Samsung 850 Pro (512GB) with only 2.1TB written on it & even after at least 5 years in its original box, runs like new!
Some will say that the cells wears while in storage, however I’m not sure of this, assuming the SSD (or NVMe) was healthy before storage, as mine still is.
Narrheim@reddit
I´ve yet to encounter used or older SSD with degraded speed...
Memory wears out, but that´s only due to the SSD having a write limit specified in TBW. If you mean DRAM, that´s a new one...
smk0341@reddit
Then ask for a screenshot of the SMART, and don’t buy it….
dertechie@reddit
And yet, outside of the immediate aftermath of Chia coin going public, I almost always see secondhand drives advertised with 90%+ (usually 95%+) writes left.
It is way harder to burn through a drive’s TBW than most people think, outside of super cheap QLC ones.
Maxwe4@reddit
If it's anything other than what the description says you return it and get your money back lol. Have you ever bought anything used before?
creepingfour@reddit
You’re wrong used ssd still provide thousands and thousands of hours of use price for performance cost as much as a McDonald’s meal over the lifespan and usage you’re so uneducated buying anything used is fine almost if you’re not dumb
RChamy@reddit
You ask for the diagnosis data before purchasing to not get scammed
misteryk@reddit
and spend more on gas than would take you to buy a new one
Halbzu@reddit
I've never seen speed degradation with empty drives.
HSR47@reddit
It’s not just wear—it’s also HWIDs.
If you buy an SSD that was used by a cheater who got banned from a game you play, there’s a non-zero chance that the game’s anticheat will summarily ban you as soon as you try to play using a machine containing their old drive.
It’s just not worth the risk.
Wendals87@reddit
A hwid is a combination of different parts. If you get a used drive your hwid is still different
HSR47@reddit
Word on the street is that, at least some games (e.g. EFT) use the HWID of the player’s storage drive(s).
Colonelwheel@reddit
I'm pretty sure they're never ID'd by the drive. Just the motherboard
Narrheim@reddit
Isn´t HWID stored on a motherboard?
Colonelwheel@reddit
I thought so too
Mr_SlimShady@reddit
That is the first time I’ve heard of a game ID-ing your drive, so I really can’t speak to that. I’ll have to look it up because I genuinely do not know anything about this.
Thanks for the info.
FilteringAccount123@reddit
I would bet real money it comes from "totally 100% innocent" people asking the internet what keeps them getting banned without getting "got what you deserved, cheater" as an answer. So like somebody who sticks their current windows install in a different computer without doing a clean install/wiping the registry and doesn't understand why they got banned again, and that turns into "I bought a used SSD and it got me banned!"
LincolnshireSausage@reddit
I’ve experienced a few times where SMART data is totally wrong. I’ve had it say a drive was 100% fine and then it failed a few days after. That’s happened twice. I’ve also had SMART report a bad drive and it is still running 2 years later with no issues. I have everything backed up if it fails. I’ve sometimes seen SMART work as intended.
Dreadnought_69@reddit
I’ve had a new drive fail after 2 weeks, and the replacement is currently sitting at 69k power on hours.
It doesn’t predict the future.
midnightblade@reddit
SMART isn't magic. It's only as good as what it's been programmed for. There's a ton of healthy information that is not part of SMART and SMART can't warn you of failure like a cap short or sudden die failure if the firmware isn't designed for it.
Nemshi354@reddit
Regarding malware. I heard there can still be stuff even if you wipe it. Anyone with more knowledge maybe can shed some light ?
Dreadnought_69@reddit
You’re probably thinking about rootkits at the BIOS level on the motherboard.
purekillforce1@reddit
If you wipe it, even a basic wipe, you erase the existing file system and while it would be possible to recover any files on it, your pc won't see or use them, bor will they be able to execute or do any virus-y things.
Wipe the drive and you're good. If SMART check comes back Healthy; the drive is good. Nothing wrong with a used drive. I've got an 8x drive array, and most of those drives are used 4tb drives with 5+ years of uptime on them and they are perfectly fine and have been working in my server for a year.
Any "new" drives I've purchased in the past have been certified reconditioned drives. I've only ever had one drive fail, and I've disposed of plenty of drives that just became too outdated to be worth keeping.
Jaybonaut@reddit
SMART data has never been compromised on a drive by scammers /s
ExacoCGI@reddit
I agree.
The only concern would be if that malware is actually an hardware soldered onto the main SSD so it persists even after wiping the SSD but I guess such things would be used with target in mind, not just giving away to some random buyer.
That's a HDD thing, SSD has TBW rating and will show how much TB is written which is the main and best factor for lifespan expectancy. Also SSD's often have quite long 3-5 year warranties, so you only need a proof of purchase from the seller.
cat1092@reddit
Great Answer to OP’s questions!💯
creepingfour@reddit
That’s correct
d4_H_@reddit
This aged so fucking poorly :(
falconn12@reddit
Why not psu lol, my 3 mining rigs and my own system is used psu's. Unless you buy garbage tier psu's u are good to go. As you know most good psus are warranty for 7+ years. (My 3 rigs using hx1200 and my system is 850GQ all used for 2+ years I bought them half price of msrp)
Ratiofarming@reddit
Wave20Kosis@reddit
Laughs in 48tb HDDs from ServerPartDeals
You can get 48tb right this second for $292 from SPD. 5yr warranty.
People buy used storage ALL the time. Those data center drives don't go to landfills just because they've been spun up for a while.
Aech40@reddit
Me who has bought both used storage and a used PSU.
1mz99@reddit
What about open box PSU from best buy
thrwaway070879@reddit
Open box comes with a return period but I think Best Buy is only 15 days.
EnforcerGundam@reddit
uhmm kinda
1) can easily be checked for using sandbox in vms/etc. windows now comes with a sandbox functionality built in and defender is pretty damn good.
2) good thing cystaldiskinfo and smart exist that tell you exactly that including rough estimate of the drive life, bad sectors and how long it was used for.
3) also not true, enterprise HDD can be almost half the price of the brand new disk of same model type and usually they are manufacturer certified(2-3yrs of warranty).
your advice for psu is also wrong, as long as it's in warranty and seller has shown proof of it working and delivering correct voltages. its fine !!
let's not give fear mongering advice, used market can be a good place for those on budget to save money. as long as the seller does their research and takes proper precautions
Mishabeer@reddit
I doubt anyone selling a PSU has the gear to show/test voltages.
RecalcitrantBeagle@reddit
Hobbyist electronics isn't as common nowadays, but a lot of people still have multimeters if they have a house they do maintenance on and such. It's not entirely far fetched.
Mishabeer@reddit
A multimeter isn't a proper tool to diagnose fully correct voltages, drips etc.
It can help, but it is not a great tool for it
EnforcerGundam@reddit
its available on amazon in price ranges of 10\~50 bucks....
they are useful of diagnostic purposes.
Mishabeer@reddit
I know they're cheap and can be useful. I am just doubting anyone selling a singular PSU once every 10+ years bothers with buying one. Over 99% of people would just dump it at a repair shop or w/e if something breaks
Narrheim@reddit
I own one and i use it before inserting any new PSU into a build, just to check whether it has proper voltages.
However, there is still a chance for it to be faulty and blow up within hours/days of plugging into a system.
Mishabeer@reddit
Yes, but do you sell them?
And again, I'm suggesting majority of sellers
cat1092@reddit
I’ve purchased at least 20 1TB WD RE4 HDD’s on Amazon & eBay used, most from a reputable seller, some SATA-2 in the earlier years, SATA-3 later on & have had no issues with the 1st one. Lately, the same with 2 & 4TB versions at the same price. Most had few startups, although long time usage. These drives are tough as nails & quieter than WD Blacks of the same sizes.
Of course I do run the WD tool to wipe the drives myself, as well as perform firmware updates if needed. There’s also a WD idle tool to disable parking, normally happens every 8 seconds, of course instead can be set to as high as 300 seconds. Found disabling to work the best for my usage. These are great drives for around $40-50 for 4TB models. Beats paying for its replacement, the WD Gold, of which I paid $139 each for two 2TB each at Newegg on promo in 2017.
SiEgE-F1@reddit
"you dont know what Kind of malware could be on there" Then just format it ffs.
"You dont know how long it is in use and how good the speeds are Holding up" Just ask the seller to run the crystal disk mark. There are edge cases,
"Used storage is nearly the same price as New so its just not worth the risk" Highly depends, and totally opposite most of the time.
Still, ssd/hdds are considered a consumable, and you might as well just consider that it'll crumble to dust the very next day. I had several freshly bought(not second hand) disks just die on spot, for no apparent reason, in less than a year.
thedarklord187@reddit
This is terrible advice , You can cleanly format and wipe used storage. Ive used countless used SSD's / NVME's over the years in various builds. All you need to do is wipe it.
BlastMode7@reddit
You're partly right.
Maxwe4@reddit
How would there me malware or a virus? Why wouldn't you wipe the drive before use?
flameofanor2142@reddit
I mean, it's spectularly common to buy refurbished HDDs because why the fuck not, but that's a bit more niche I suppose. And you get it from a more reputable seller and not just some guy on craigslist.
creepingfour@reddit
It’s common because they work and cheap
creepingfour@reddit
Shut up you have no clue what you’re on cleaning drives is a thing partitioning drives is a thing you can wipe a drive but you can’t unencrypt the drive so wipe it
Moist-Knowledge7535@reddit
Electronics in general should not be bought second hand if you're gonna use it regularly.
AnthonyW0lf@reddit
used cpus and gpus can be significantly cheaper than new, so sometimes its just not worth buying new when used is much cheaper
buying used should be an option when budget is low
Dimo145@reddit
What, no. Second hand cpus, GPUs are all relatively safe, as there's always people upgrading their rigs, looking to recuperate some of the costs. For budget builds for example, the 3080ti second hand for about 400-450 is a super good pickup
Booliano@reddit
Hard disagree, plenty of safe electronics to buy used especially in pc gaming.
Electric-Mountain@reddit
On your second point. Yes you can see how long it was used and how much.
Long-Patient604@reddit
You can buy a 2TB Western digital for 150$.
gatornatortater@reddit
You can get a 2tb for under $100 on amazon and most other places now.
iFunny-Escapee@reddit
Mannnnn, I wish this was the case now…
Long-Patient604@reddit
Bud 2TB is 2x the limit of a cheap wifi/month such a massive storage isn't gonna be cheap don't you think ¯_(ツ)_/¯
The cheapest 2TB I could find on Amazon (India) is 110$ with 550mb/s read and ride. Btw I am really curious to see which models are available under 100$ in your country :)
gatornatortater@reddit
US Amazon
RAMONE40@reddit
you can now buy 500gb for that price if you are lucky
Long-Patient604@reddit
Good old days.
noelgoo@reddit
And I just got a used 4TB for less than $5 (had under 9 power-on hours)
Is $150 supposed to sound cheap?
These-Principle-8354@reddit
El consumismo de usar y tirar hay que cambiar. Así va el planeta. Compra con vendedores fiables con valoraciones positivas, seguro que para el uso que le vas a dar con un mecánico te sobra. además reciclas.
bir4y@reddit
I wouldn’t worry too much about malware, especially if the drive has been formatted beforehand. However I would advise against used storage, can be pretty unreliable. Why not get a big HDD? What are you storing?
prevenientWalk357@reddit
If some piece of malware embeds itself in the device firmware, unlikely as that may seem, you’re cooked…
LifeIsOnTheWire@reddit
The only such virus that ever existed in storage drive firmware was IrateMonk, which was an NSA tool over a decade ago. It was only possible because legacy SATA had no security features.
Also today, the vast majority of SSDs are self-encrypting. The only way a malicious firmware virus could harm someone is by planting files onto the drive, which isn't possible with encrypted files.
FrshFX@reddit
Bootkits plant themselves in the system partition.
prevenientWalk357@reddit
The only one that was documented, so far.
Supply chain attacks are a serious issues considering the increasing aggression many state actors are displaying towards each other.
bir4y@reddit
The chances of that happening are basically non existent. That’s like saying you’re never going to drive again because there is chance you might get into a car crash.
MedicalArt3983@reddit
I have never bought new storage in my whole life learning about building PCs. I've now built 5 builds in around 5 years and I've bought all kinds of drives and storage sizes from 2 TB NVMEs to 8 TB HDDs and everything under and in between. I have yet to have an issue because I request for hard disk sentinel info when buying and I then pick the best bang for buck. Afterwards, I make sure to completely wipe the drive with disk management CMD. You won't find me buying any new drives for the foreseeable future.
reefun@reddit
I wouldnt because of security reasons. You never know what you will be buying. Might as well just open all your ports and change all your usernames and passwords to admin admin.
Savings-Extension714@reddit
Without a essay... Don't skimp and buy new!! Plenty around that are cheap enough. Least you can insure a nice clean system once installed straight put the manufacturer.
whatsyanamejack@reddit
Black friday/cyber monday is coming up. I'd recommend getting yourself a wdblack or samsung 990pro 2tb. It's $230CAD at the moment, but I wouldn't doubt being able to get one for $150 during those sales. Like some others mentioned, you do not want to buy used storage devices.
Abdielec121@reddit
Just buy it bro. People on eBay resell WD black NVMe and some even run it through their little data check/benchmark software and post the results… can get you a $200 SSD for $100. Some people are just paranoid about things. It’s just better that you buy from a seller that is really about their business and not randoms, but even then buying used from a dad that just wants to upgrade his setup is also great. Just buy used man!
opensrcdev@reddit
I would advise against buying second-hand storage devices.
Wave20Kosis@reddit
I would advise not listening to anything this person says as they're an idiot.
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Ok-Pack-7088@reddit
I think its worth to check it. But seller should show screenshots, benchmarks, receip of ssd, be aware of fake ssd - I saw fake samsung ssd, it was cheaper but didnt look like from photos, stick was susp. Its better to choose good, reliable brand - there is list, model than some cheap shit with qlc, or ssd that have high failure rate - check forums, because store page reviews are not reliable. For example lexar, samsung, wd, kioxia, crucial(but not mx300) are pretty trustworthy, if you have asrock mobo they can be unsupported due to pin mismatch(fuck you asrock, all good and budget ssds are not working). In my country second hand pc parts market is kinda shitty - old or used parts are little bit less than new with warranty or even are more expensive than new. For example 32GB of ram, best I could find is used 200$ from two previous owners, no receip, while new cost 209$. Same with ssd, in previous year they were insane cheap, but today prices are back to be expensive and honestly second hand are not that cheap and worth it, where people sell junk models.
Rosee2121@reddit
Where I live it's pretty common to buy good brand used Ssds!/NVMes been using them for years had no issues, mostly purchased using Samsung with around 98% health.
57thStilgar@reddit
Nope.
IGunClover@reddit
No.
YouOnly-LiveOnce@reddit
Only data center ones honestly and they aren't that great bang for the buck, usually u.2
Imgema@reddit
SSDs? No.
Hard disks though? Yes.
fapimpe@reddit
They're so cheap that you can just buy new. If you must, run disk doctor and verify each cell. It'll take a few hours and give you a health report at the end.. but for real, just buy new.
onebit@reddit
Format it and buy a HDD backup.
gatornatortater@reddit
Depends on what you're paying and what you're getting for it.
VIruses should be a non issue, since you should be completely formatting the drive before you use it.
ArLOgpro@reddit
NEVER buy used storage
MacDaddyBighorn@reddit
Yes, but buy used enterprise grade drives if you want reliability. They have features that consumer grade drives don't have like power loss protection, much better endurance, and 10x less data errors rates. They also usually have 2 million hour MTBF ratings. Plus if you buy used you know you've skipped the first side of the bathtub curve for failure rates, so you have them for the long haul.
noelgoo@reddit
Holy fuck what is everyone's problem with buying used/secondhand?
It's insanely cheaper and only incurs a small amount of risk, especially if you're careful about it.
If you've got the money to burn, by all means, burn. But not everyone will want to do the same.
Eclipse914@reddit
I'm gonna go against the grain here and say maybe? I would really try to vet the drive first though. Get some CrystalDisk snippets of TBW, drive health, etc etc. I will echo the advice that really, no one else can make the decision for you. If you feel comfortable buying it, and are confident it is working and will work for the future, I say go for it. Used parts are always a gamble IMO, but if you win, you really win lol
NotRoxxia@reddit
Used parts are fine, even storage. Just make sure to reformat the drive when you get it.
Before I completely upgraded to a i9 12900k build I was just upgrading my old x58 build on an as needed basis. If you don't know what x58 is... It's the chipset from the first gen of Intel i7. Enthusiast meant something back then and the difference between how that rig started to how it ended is crazy.
That said, there were only two NVME drives ever created that had a legacy ROM. One was the Samsung 950 Pro, which I was able to scoop from eBay for nothing.
That computer has been going for what feels like 20 years and now my kids use it.
nbmtx@reddit
I think it's generally (like statistically) gonna be fine, but you could have a bit of bad luck and buy one that's burnt through its endurance being sold by an a-hole.
I have unused SSDs that would be fine to buy, but am too lazy to sell. I should repurpose them, etc. Basically, when I build a PC, I tend to buy whatever the quickest my board can support is, which also usually involves more capacity, and then the old one just lies around.
That, or I install a new one so I can keep using my current pc while building (since I usually do custom loops, it's not a <1hr thing).
BabyLiam@reddit
Just buy an external. You can move things if you need to. I have a 1tb nvme, a 1tb SATA SSD and a 4tb external HDD. I use nvme for windows and my VR games, I put all my other games on the SSD and use the external HDD for everything else.
justa-Possibility@reddit
If it was the 80s or 90s, I'd say, "Heck, NO!" But nowadays it's completely safe. SSDs are way better than the old drives of the past. They don't degrade with writes like old drives did. They last quite a bit longer. They just need to be tested before you put them in your new system.
Preferably, you have a way to hook up to USB before installing so you can actually test it and check for malware or viruses. But if not you can scan it with your new system. Microsoft Windows has malicious software removal tools and testing tools built in that work better than the paid versions of Norton, McAfee, etc... Those guys are only out for money and call each other malware.
OllieDodle325@reddit
Depends what kind of pics and banking/crypyo wallets were kept on it
NaethanC@reddit
It entirely depends on your needs.
If you need a storage drive purely for putting your Steam games on or something else that can fairly easily be recovered, second hand drives will be mostly fine.
As long as you reformat a second hand drive before using it, you shouldn't have to worry about potential malware.
Annihilating_Tomato@reddit
Every one of my hard drives are pre owned and substantially cheaper than what I would have spent new. They’re all also backed up on other used hard drives. Haven’t had an issue in 10 years.
VegasVator@reddit
The ssds from best buy on eBay have been great. One was new in package and the other showed only a few hours. They have been in my server for cache use for about a year now with no problems.
mlcarson@reddit
You can and it's safe -- just format/repartition. I've been using Samsung 1TB SSD's for 5 years that were in a server my employer decomissioned at that time. These were free in my case. The SMART data will show you the state of the drive. The reason that most people don't is because it's something where capacities are rising and prices are falling. Why buy something where a warranty has expired or is only good for original owner, has a portion of it's lifetime used, and there are larger sizes available? A new 2TB SSD is not expensive -- $110; 4TB is \~$215.
Infamous-Comb-9549@reddit
when u get a virus you’re gonna regret not paying full price lol
Important_String_281@reddit
I wouldn't. An SSD has a limited number of writes to it, and before buying you don't know how much it has been used. I would go with a high speed HDD and migrate data between your drives for things that need the speed of an SSD (games and such). Saves you a good bit of money, and you can get a ton of storage fairly cheap. But that's coming from a guy with 3 10tb HDDs, so I might just be a shill for high capacity cheap drives.
Ishydadon1@reddit
Storage isn't too bad. Depends on the read and write lifecycle of the drives. Enterprise drives are a beast for life cycle.
Warcraft_Fan@reddit
used SSD without SMART data showing usage is unwise. If the seller is honest and included SMART data, you can decide if the SSD has plenty of life or if it's a few GB away from being bricked.
I've bought used SSD, rarely though as I tended to favor new SSD anyway. Used HDD are fine if they are enterprise level as those are meant to last for many years.
gen_angry@reddit
Used datacenter SSDs from a reputable vendor could be worth it. Their life spans are typically several times higher than even the best consumer drives out there and if the vendor is a good well known group like goharddrive or serverpartdeals, they aren't likely to wipe the SMART data and offer a warranty. But for typical home usage, there's not much of a reason to pay more for datacenter drives anyways.
Consumer SSDs? No.
JustSomeDudeGuy1@reddit
It depends on what you are using it for. I would wipe in in disk management too and reinitialize it
lightofpluto@reddit
Buying a used SSD is taking a gamble... It's also like putting on someone else's used and sweaty underwear... A risk!
lol_camis@reddit
Totally. I exclusively buy that kind of stuff used. Especially stuff with no moving parts is a pretty safe gamble
CompanyTraining4514@reddit
how is this such an argument just use a program to wipe it, or buy it new, not a huge price difference
killer_corg@reddit
Not so much of an issue of the storage space, but what could be already on the device. Not a risk id take.
No_Sympathy_3970@reddit
For me it's too much of a hassle to make sure a used SSD is worth it. I'd just buy a new one, storage is very cheap rn anyway
definitlyitsbutter@reddit
Yes. Lifetime of an SSD is measured in TBW (so how many data has been written on) so check what the manufactuere says and then look for sales on ebay with a picture of crystaldiskinfo or similar programms to get an idea of the life left. But most ssd will live with everyday use foir 10-20 years, so if it has not been abused a used one should have left a klot of life in it.
akaitatsu@reddit
This is the way. Buy from a seller that provides a screenshot of the diagnostic data then verify it yourself when you receive the drive.
New or used, all drives should be considered unreliable. Look up "3-2-1 backup" and if you don't follow that strategy any data loss is 100% on you.
audigex@reddit
Viruses are always a risk with a used drive, and it's usually worth having an old air-gapped laptop available to format the drive
But other than that, the only risk is a shorter lifespan due to it being used and having no warranty. As long as the price reflects that, used drives can be great
thedarklord187@reddit
ITT: People who don't know what they are talking about. If your just using it for secondary storage buy used and just format it when you get your hands on it. NVME and SSD's take millions of read write cycles before any hint of degradation appears. Ive been in the IT world for over 13 years and have never seen used SSD/NVME drives fail in normal application now datacenter drives sure but those are whole other animals to what we are talking about here.
PsyOmega@reddit
Ive purchased multiple second hand SSD's from ebay.
It's hit or miss. Many are "consumer device" pulls and TBW was low.
A few were apparently pulled from servers, and TBW was high, but they're going strong in my servers today.
I wouldn't buy from a seller that won't disclose the SMART data's TBW value.
NewArtDimension@reddit
Even if you bought a second hand ssd why would not format it straight away anyway ?
You need to have a good think
SirTrinium@reddit
Buying enterprise level HDD at a steeeeep discount because a company is going under, sure. Buying SSD or nvme, I wouldn't. My logic is this, aside from failure who really ever removes nvme or SSD from their system. Even if it's an upgrade they removed the used drive because it was no longer meeting their minimum requirements and I want to be better than the minimum requirements. Yes I'm insane with no technical backing for this.
Also now want a t shirt that says I'm better than the minimum requirements
sangedered@reddit
Bought a second hand 4T. Ran some health tests. Passed. Two years later still working great.
I’ve also bought new SSDs that failed in less than 6 months.
It’s always a gamble
creepingfour@reddit
Yep
azeunkn0wn@reddit
No. don't trust 2nd hand storage. I've only seen really old or fake HDD and SSD on 2nd hand marketplace here. Storage are cheap now and you should just get a brand new one.
Howdy_Cheeks@reddit
Ssd no
Hdd yes
Nacs0sz@reddit
would never buy used ssd
bedwars_player@reddit
do you need that much space in just SSD? 4tb hard drives are pretty damn cheap off amazon.
IAmRyanGosling2049@reddit
Brother no! it's quite risky (unless you bought it from a trusted friend), and not really worth it since storage is pretty cheap these days. The only component worth buying used are CPUs and GPUs since they tend to last very long and the price difference is worth it.
Geek_Verve@reddit
If my budget restrictions only allowed the purchase of a used drive, it's a risk I would take.
chandr@reddit
You can buy a 2Tb m.2 ssd for less than 150$ canadian. Probably close to 100$ US? Don't buy that second hand
Solocune@reddit
Short answer is yes for me personally.
Long answer is: go on the Internet, look how often you can rewrite SSD block or how much data can be written in total. Get the smart values of the SSD you want to buy and check how much it has been used. Most SSDs that have been used for a little bit of office work will still be fine for a couple of years.
RoLLy_s@reddit
2x1tb 860evo for 80 bucks. Nice
Deep_Razzmatazz2950@reddit
I wouldn’t say it is or isn’t safe to buy a used SSD but there are more concerns when buying one in comparison to a GPU. I’ve bought SSD’s second hand and have never had an issue but I wouldn’t advise others to do the same without doing extensive research first. The last thing you want is a modded SSD that claims to be 2TB but only holds 256GB and suddenly all your data is corrupted
PMARC14@reddit
Used storage can be value but I would advise against it for consumers. Idk how much you value your data or whatever you are storing, but for me risking any of that on a potentially bad drive is not worth it at all. The used storage I buy is mostly for prosumer things, where they are used for backups or storage of non-ultra important data (rips of some Blu-Rays) with redundancy in mind, bought from usually data centers or other prosumers upgrading, so you know it has been treated relatively well and they will give you data on how used the drives are. If you find a similar source it could be worth it just for more game storage, but nowadays I don't think the price differential between a used and new one in this storage range is enough to be worth considering assuming you are in the US or EU
Remnant_Echo@reddit
I wouldn't put too much thought into the fear mongering listed here. Personally I would avoid used PSUs, but basically anything else is ok to get used. Just do your research, buy from reputable dealers, and only entertain SSDs that the seller has posted SMART data for. Plenty of eBay sellers have it listed in the description, and make your choice based off that.
Headingtodisaster@reddit
Yes, it's fine to do so, could you make sure to check the SMART data though?
For those worrying about total read/write and operating hours, please look up your SSD's specification and warranty. Most are rated far higher than what an average person will use.
Using my drive(2TB Inland Performance) as a reference, my SSD is rated for 1.7 million hours, with an endurance of 3700TBW(TeraByte Written) and a warranty of 6 years. That's equivalent to me writing 1.6 TB of data every day for 6 years.
Quendillar3245@reddit
I bought 1TB last year for like $80, I wouldn't get a used SSD unless you know the person and they can assure you it isn't damaged
420KillaNA@reddit
get a bigger SSD - NVMe is best for main OS drive and/or storing new games - but only the ones that require SSD which is like maybe all of 25 games tops - play Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo 4, Cyberpunk & all the shit you need to store on NVMe - Microsoft Flight Sim is another good one... all older games & emulator shit (besides *some PS3-PS5 and some Switch titles is the ONLY emulator games that would be better off on faster storage options but most are fine on HDD) -- but as said, all that older shit Atari 2600 to Dreamcast/Gamecube/OG Xbox & PSX/PS2 + NES/SNES/N64, SMS/MD/Genesis/SegaCD/32X/Saturn - all the old shit is fine on a 7200rpm HDD maybe even a 5400rpm - but ngl most games but literally maybe 15-25 games total that really really require an SSD (and a slow SSD @550mb/sec read speeds - not even a NVMe m.2 > 2500mb/sec read speeds is required for anything yet... not even close)
actually ngl for insane size productivity workloads "yes" there are things that matter in AutoCAD & Photoshop renders and shit like that when you're dealing with images over 1gb+ BUT definitely not gaming - there's hardly a need for SSD - literally they released new tech and a few years later NVMe replaced traditional 2.5" SSDs... you could also get a NVMe gen 3 instead of a gen 4 or gen 5... but in any case saving up for a larger "faster" gen 4 or gen 5 is well worth it for a 2tb+ drive - like Samsung 990 Pro gen 4 or a better gen 5 drive as top end of gen 4 ends with Samsung 990 Pro followed by WD SN850X and those both are around 7200mb/sec read or faster (think the 990 Pro is a hair faster at like 7350-7400mb/sec) and gen 5 tops out around 14,500mb/sec read (but usually requires optimal cooling options as gen 5 gets extremely hotter)
but in any case - as said, nothing requires NVMe by far and generally a traditional 2.5" SSD will suffice - although if used to NVMe you will notice a bit more bleh when loading off traditional SSD vs anything stored on your NVMe drive - although isn't too bad as nothing really surpasses the need but a few things - and if you're just gaming - you have nothing to worry about - get a larger 4tb-8tb SSD and store games on that and delete all but Windows 10 or 11 off the NVMe drive - besides maybe two larger games like GTA V or CoD BO6, Diablo 4, Baldur's Gate 3 etc - and still hold enough space aside for updates and plenty for Windows itself to grow
tbh I have two 1tb Samsung 980 Pro gen 4 NVMe - a 500gb Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SSD, 3x WD Black 1tb 7200rpm HDDs, 1x WD Black 640gb 7200rpm HDD, an old Seagate Momentum 250gb 5400rpm HDD, a 1tb WD Passport external HDD, and a 32gb SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 flash drive - and literally have everything between Atari 2600 & PS3 cartridge, CD, DVD, handhelds and more - including a few MAME arcade PCBs, thus I use the PC for all kinds of older emulation - and mainly for League of Legends - besides Baldur's Gate 3 being the only game I play that truly requires SSD (but does have a "slow HDD compatibility mode" in options, although I wouldn't know but have heard it's a joke and you still mostly want it and "a few other games" on the fastest drive you have - although at present, it really isn't many games
ConstantWin253@reddit
Hell NO! Just like HDDs SSDs must be new.
m4tic@reddit
I wouldn't buy a used disk unless factory refurbished. I would not buy a used SSD as a function of the hardware is to physically degrade while auto migrating blocks to fresh parts of nand flash.
Malware typically only runs on execution. This was a huge thing with external storage; autorun should have been disabled 20 years ago. Plug in the disk and reformat. That's not to say it's impossible to imbed the disk controller with some nasty bits.
SupFlynn@reddit
Anything that is too expensive to test is risky to buy other than that you are fine. This means you just dont buy PSU, other than that ssd, rams and such is the safest thing that you can buy.
LawlesssHeaven@reddit
Yes it is safe. For SSDs you are looking at TBW and bad sectors if any. That's it, power on hours don't really matter. Just format drive after you get it
abcmecba@reddit
I wouldn't. How much are you saving? I checked where I live - and they are not much cheaper - well, some might be but like others say - it's a risk since you don't know what they did with their drive. Drives and power supplies are risky to buy used.
Is there any 2 TB nvme ssds in your budget? If so, which ones?
AdEnvironmental1632@reddit
My go to is 2 1tb ssds and then I have a 4 tb hdd to put games I don't play often on
Joestke@reddit
Depend on the power on time and TBW
ap0r@reddit
Do not buy used storage. Not much savings to be had, could be full of malware and you have no way of knowing until you plug it in, also you risk getting scammed (test results of a disk that is nearly brand new but you get one that is at end of life).
Comprehensive-Dog815@reddit
no.
just check prices of mp44l, sn580, vp4300 lite, nm790, transcend 250s, spatium m482, etc
Material_Tax_4158@reddit
You shouldn’t buy a used ssd. There could be malware or spyware on it and used ssds are usually just a bit cheaper than new
Thulack@reddit
I personally wouldn't buy a used SSD. Even if it was wiped. You don't know how long it's been used or what issues it might have.