Tech enthusiast Gabriel Ferraz converted his Crucial BX500 512GB SSD from QLC (4 bits per cell) to SLC (one bit per cell). This reduced the drive’s capacity to 120 GB, while increasing the SSD’s performance and durability.
The Crucial BX500 512GB SATA SSD uses the Silicon Motion SM2259XT2 controller and Micron’s QLC NAND memory and is an inexpensive solution. However, QLC storage has a reputation for low performance and questionable durability. Sometimes drives have a DRAM or SLC cache, or use part of the RAM to make them faster and longer lasting.
The Silicon Motion SM2259XT2 controller has a single-core 32-bit ARC processor clocked at 550 MHz and two 800 MT/s (400 MHz) data channels without DRAM cache. This SSD uses four Micron NAND Flash dies with part numbers NY240. Each two dies have their own channel. These NAND Flash crystals were designed to operate at 1600 MT/s (800 MHz), but are limited to only 525 MT/s in this SSD.
The average endurance of these dies is 1,500 program/erase cycles for NAND FortisFlash and about 900 cycles for Mediagrade. Converting the same drive to SLC increases these numbers to 100,000 and 60,000, respectively. To reprogram the SSD, the MPtools program for the Silicon Motion SM2259XT2 controller was used, where it is important to enter the correct memory chip labeling, as well as enter and verify a number of other parameters and modify software files. The case-sensitive configuration file is modified to allow the chips to operate as SLC NAND Flash. The process is described in detail in the video.
As a result, the drive capacity is reduced from 512 GB to 114-120 GB, and the SSD endurance is up to 4000 TBW (terabytes of write writes), which means about 3000% increase (30 times). Performance has also increased, but it is largely limited by the SATA 3 interface and controller, but latency and access times have been significantly reduced.
It is better not to repeat these manipulations without careful preparation and knowledge. Inaccurate parameters or manipulations with files can «kill» the drive. Also, the method works only on some SSDs. The enthusiast notes that before the experiment, he consulted with experts on how to do everything and demonstrate it in the video.
Sources: TechPowerUp, Tom`s Hardware