I associate their brand with Sandforce controllers, and I
associate Sandforce controllers with drive failure.
Whether these associations are informed by and backed
by data or not, they are among the points that steered me
into the arms of Intel and Samsung
All other things being equal (quality of NAND, workload, etc) the NAND on Sandforce drives will last longer because of their write compression. Of course, most drives will be replaced or retired before that point anyway.
I think Sandforce had a bit of a bad rap for a while because they were the go-to controller for brands like OCZ who competed on price. Their actual silicon is great. In the hands of a manufacturer like Intel (or even OWC - not to be confused with OCZ) who puts quality and stability first, Sandforce controllers really shine.
> All other things being equal (quality of NAND, workload, etc) the NAND on Sandforce drives will last longer because of their write compression.
The write compression is the reason why I associate Sandforce with "I'm being punished for using full-disk encryption". I could never convince myself to buy any drive with a controller where one of the main advertised "advantages" was completely useless for my usecase.
All other things being equal (quality of NAND, workload, etc) the NAND on Sandforce drives will last longer because of their write compression. Of course, most drives will be replaced or retired before that point anyway.
I think Sandforce had a bit of a bad rap for a while because they were the go-to controller for brands like OCZ who competed on price. Their actual silicon is great. In the hands of a manufacturer like Intel (or even OWC - not to be confused with OCZ) who puts quality and stability first, Sandforce controllers really shine.