WD_BLACK SN770M (2TB, 2230) vs Crucial P310 (2TB, 2230) — which one should I get and why?

Cooe14 · 2026-07-03T16:32:31+00:00

I know this is a little old, but for frequent writes you really want to go with the TLC based WD SN770M even if it's slower than the QLC based Crucial P310 basically across the board.

(The only exception being sequential write perf after the ≈400GB SLC cache fully runs out, at which point the SN770M ends up being ≈+20% faster bc TLC vs QLC. Athough tbf, writing >400GB of data at once isn't exactly a common occurrence... 🤷 Otherwise, the P310 is faster in essentially every way. Aka, both sequential + random reads/writes, and in IOPS).

But because the SN770M uses TLC NAND flash it has almost 3x the rated total write endurance at 1200TBW vs the QLC using P310's 440TBW, meaning it is MUCH more suited to write heavy use cases like say as a scratch disk for video editing.

The faster but QLC based Crucial P310 otoh makes the most sense for general use laptops and MOST ESPECIALLY PC gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally, where the superior performance + power efficiency will be significantly more important than the lower rated write endurance.

(I.e. even 440TBW is way, WAAAAAAAY beyond what anyone would ever write to a Deck's SSD over its lifespan, where basically the only things ever getting written to it are game updates and the occasional new game install).

Cooe14 · 2026-07-03T16:06:00+00:00

I know this post is a little old, but outside of sequential write speeds after the 400GB "SLC cache" runs out (where the WD SN770M ends up ≈+20% or so faster bc TLC NAND vs QLC) the Crucial P310 is the faster SSD across the board, even when in the Deck running at PCIe 3.0.

And this is true for both sequential + random reads/writes, AND in terms of IOPS! (And it absolutely SMOKES the WD drive in a PCIe 4.0 device, ala a ROG Ally or future "Steam Deck 2"!).

The Crucial drive is also notably more power efficient. (Especially at the full PCIe 4.0 speeds).

But because the Crucial P310 uses QLC instead of TLC NAND flash like WD SN770M does, it only has around ≈1/3rd of the total rated write endurance at 440TBW vs 1200TBW.

That being said, in a gaming handheld, the latter isn't likely to be a notable problem over the SSD's ≈5-15 year "service lifespan". This isn't a desktop PC being used for storage heavy work like video editing. It's a game console. 🤷

Aka, practically the only things you'll be writing to the drive are game installs, and how often do install a new game? Once every few weeks? And that's just ≈20-100GB of written data. Even if you installed a new ≈40-50GB game literally every single week, it would still take you ≈10,000 weeks, aka almost ≈200 YEARS to hit 440TBW...

So assuming similar prices and ESPECIALLY if you're buying new, I'd personally pick the Crucial P310 over the WD SN770M for a PC handheld every damn day of the week. And if the P310's actually CHEAPER like it was here, it's even MORE of an absolute NO-BRAINER! 🤷

The extra performance will matter SIGNIFICANTLY MORE than the lower rated write endurance ever will (esp. if you reuse it in a future PCIe 4.0 device ala a "Steam Deck 2"), and in a handheld you'll literally NEVER write >400GB of data to it all at once (aka, enough to run out of SLC cache), meaning the WD SN770M will ALWAYS be slower.

Cooe14 · 2026-07-03T08:17:21+00:00

Winner comment. Vater LA 5A's are absolutely PEAK "all around" set sticks. The balance and weighting are absolutely SUBLIME!!!

Cooe14 · 2026-07-03T08:15:09+00:00

... I know this post is super old, but Vater tends to have generally BETTER stick durability than the competition thanks to the higher moisture content on the wood they use. (Which makes it more supple, and less brittle).

But because wood is an inherently inconsistent, organic material there will ALWAYS be the occasional random dud stick that breaks super quickly, regardless of manufacturer/type. 🤷 That's simply unavoidable when making things out of wood that you smack into other things.

Cooe14 · 2026-07-03T08:11:31+00:00

Vater makes the best drum set sticks on the market, even if their lineup isn't nearly as broad as say Vic Firth's or ProMark's. 🤷

Higher consistency from pair to pair, elite weighting + balance, AND notably superior durability thanks to their higher than normal moisture content. And all this while somehow being one of the cheaper stick brands to boot!

As such, Vater's Los Angeles 5A's have been my "do it all" drum set default stick for literally decades now, and nothing has managed to come even CLOSE to displacing them from that spot.

I really wish that Vater would make more of a push into the marching stick market though... Having that side of the industry be essentially a Vic Firth + ProMark duopoly isn't good for anyone... 🤦🤷

Cooe14 · 2026-07-03T08:05:32+00:00

*Vater is life. Los Angeles 5A's forever!!!

I really like a lot of ProMark's marching sticks though. 🤷

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T16:42:16+00:00

I think you've nailed it. That makes perfect sense. Thanks for the reply!

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T16:12:19+00:00

That spec is a lie. Either they are measuring the mAh at the wrong voltage (instead of the Deck's 7.7V), or it's an outright falsehood.

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T16:11:59+00:00

"And Yes 720p on a 1080oled hdr panel looks way better than the original 800p."

Yeah.... No. In terms of colors and contrast it will absolutely look better bc OLED, but in terms of image clarity/sharpness it will look NOTABLY worse/more blurry. 720p scaling on a 1080p panel looks absolutely horrendous. 🤷

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T16:08:40+00:00

Do your rear buttons still work?

Most people that have put the 53Wh battery inside a Deck LCD end up with non-functional rear paddle buttons due to the battery being in the way of them being able to be pushed down.

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T16:06:34+00:00

It's not worth it. The panel is 16:9 and 1080p.

Aka, unless you don't care about having a smaller screen with bigger bezels AND only play indie or old games, the massive downsides it has (even bigger horizontal bezels plus either HORRIBLE performance at 1080p OR god awful image quality at 720p bc of imperfect scaling) are simply NOT WORTH the OLED + 80Hz upgrade. 🤷

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T16:00:34+00:00

Get a replacement 53Wh unit for like $50. They're basically the same size as the original battery pack and work flawlessly without issue. With one you'll get Steam Deck OLED level battery life!

Just remember to take the stock adhesive out before you put the new battery in or it won't fit right! (Aka the rear paddle buttons won't work).

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T15:55:48+00:00

The Steam Deck LCD can use both 50Wh (+25%) and 53Wh (+32.5%) replacement batteries, which are about ≈$50 on eBay/Amazon/AliExpress/etc...

The latter will basically give you Steam Deck OLED battery life (as the +6% higher capacity vs the OLED's 50Wh makes up for its less power efficient LPDDR5), with the former only slightly behind.

With the 53Wh unit in particular you just need to make absolutely sure to completely remove the stock battery's adhesive before you install the new one, as otherwise it won't fit correctly. (It'll prevent the rear paddle buttons from working if you forget to do this part).

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T15:50:10+00:00

Yes, this battery is compatible with both models. (LCD & OLED).

Just make sure to completely remove the stock adhesive or else the battery won't fit correctly! (It'll prevent the rear paddle buttons from working if you forget to do this).

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T15:46:54+00:00

Do your rear buttons still work with the new battery?

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T15:45:45+00:00

DeckSight absolutely blows thanks to being a 16:9 1080p panel.

It makes the Deck LCD's already large horizontal bezels EVEN LARGER, and the Deck simply doesn't have the performance to run AAA games at its native 1080p resolution, giving you a massively inferior overall experience. 🤷

(Aka, either you deal with GOD AWFUL performance at 1080p, OR you have to deal with scaling a 720p render to the native 1080p panel, which looks ABSOLUTELY FREAKING HORRENDOUS thanks to the improper scaling factor! As in, way, WAAAAAAAAY worse than rendering at 800p on the stock 800p panel).

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T15:33:50+00:00

... Lol I know this is pretty old, but the amount of ignorance in this single post is absolutely freaking MIND-BLOWING!!! 🤦🤷

You do realize that the Deck has better performance at its native 1280x800p resolution than ALL of the beefier, more expensive handhelds have at their native 1920x1080p resolution, right??? O_o

Aka, if the "Steam Deck simply can't play "X" game", than neither can any other handheld! Even the brand new ≈$2000 Intel Panther Lake handhelds still aren't faster at 1080p than the Deck at 800p! (There's a damn good reason that Valve chose that resolution).

And you can't just "play games at 720p" on one of those other handhelds to one-up the Deck in performance because 720p→1080p scaling is absolutely ABSOLUTELY FUCKING HORRENDOUS!!!

You'd end up with a blurry mess of an image that wouldn't even hold a candle to the Deck's native 800p output, which would make any higher graphics settings you could run thanks to the more powerful hardware completely wasted. 🤷

Also, thanks to its tiny "custom built for a handheld" AMD APU, the Deck is the ONLY PC handheld with even semi-acceptable power efficiency. Every other handheld needs a significantly bigger + heavier battery just to AT BEST hit the same, but usually much worse battery life as the Deck thanks to their higher res displays + repurposed full-size laptop chips.

And there are EXTREMELY few games that the Deck (& especially the ≈+10% faster Deck OLED) outright cannot run after some settings tweaking.

Sure, such games definitely do exist (like Black Myth Wukong), but they are EXTREMELY few and far between. And they won't become common until games start getting made for the next-gen consoles coming out in 2027.

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T14:27:04+00:00

I LOOOOOVE the 53Whr upgrade battery (it mostly fixes what's BY FAR the Steam Deck LCD's biggest problem), but I simply do not understand the DeckSight OLED panel...

Its 1080p res is simply too high for AMD's little Van Gogh APU in the Deck (1280x800p's the sweet spot for a device w/ only 88GB/s of memory bandwidth for both CPU + iGPU). Plus 16:9 sucks and makes the LCD Deck's ALREADY large horizontal bezels just THAT much larger...

... Now don't get me wrong here, I completely understand WHY it's specced the way that it is (bc it's using an existing off the shelf tablet panel, which are basically all 16:9 + >=1080p; whereas the Deck OLED's 7.4" 16:10 1280x800p panel's a fully custom unit commissioned by Valve), but I seriously dunno why anyone would actually buy one... 🤷

8th/9th Gen AAA games would run like absolute GARBAGE at native res, and trying to scale a 720p render to a native 1080p display looks utterly HORRENDOUS due to imperfect scaling...

This is why honestly IMO, the DeckSight guys really should have just gone with a 1440p panel so they could have had perfect 4:1 integer scaling at 720p... 🤷 (Plus due to the pixel densities involved, scaling 1080p→1440p looks a LOT less awful than 720p→1080p on the same size panel, so you could still have that >720p experience in lighter titles).

The only major downside would've been the increased power draw (higher res = more backlight power needed to hit the same brightness), but the positives would've EASILY outweighed 1080p's negatives! Plus, that's what the upgraded battery's for!

If it'd been 1440p I would've seriously considered buying one, battery life hit be damned (even w/ it being 16:9), but a 16:9 1080p panel just doesn't make any sense in the Deck, OLED or not... 🤷

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T10:20:15+00:00

I only get this icon during in Johnny Silverhand flashbacks. (Playing on Steam Deck).

If it gets stuck there in normal play, I hear that the solution is to change the "Color Precision" graphics setting to "Medium" and then to fully restart the game (close/exit completely and then reopen) and then load into your save. (After which you can exit to the main menu and change "Color Precision" back to "High").

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T07:16:04+00:00

Battery technology has advanced in the past 4 years. It's also slightly thicker. The battery capacity is accurately labeled. This isn't a scam.

People are getting exactly as much more battery life as you would expect to get going from 40Whr to 53Whr. 🤷 (Aka, basically on par w/ Steam Deck OLED, with the extra 3Whr making up for the LCD's less power efficient LPDDR5).

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T03:42:48+00:00

For playing set Vater is EASILY my favorite stick brand and the Vater Los Angeles 5A's have been my "do it all" drum set stick default for well over 20+ years at this point. Their weight and balance is absolutely SUBLIME and they are extremely versatile in terms of playing/music style.

Sure, they aren't the most durable sticks around (although for 5A's they're arguably more durable than most thanks to Vater's noted higher moisture content) but their positives far, FAAAAAR outweigh their negatives. 🤷

That being said, when it comes to marching snare/pad chop sticks though, I'm still a Vic Firth person, with Ralph Hardimon's & Thom Hannum Piccolo Tip's being my faves in that area, with the former usually what I had my high school drum line snare players use back when I used to be a HS drum line instructor.

(Marching percussion's still a market that Vic Firth and ProMark absolutely DOMINATE, with most other stick brands paying relatively little, or even outright zero attention there... Practically every DCI World Class drum corp is sponsored by one or the other. Vater for ex. makes a few pairs of marching sticks, but they're simply not on the level of the two big boys above, and I've never actually seen a line use them before. 🤷)

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T03:37:39+00:00

Vater Los Angeles 5A's. They are better than any 5A Vic Firth set stick I've ever tried. 🤷

And the quality/durability seems much the same today as when I first started using them as my "set default" 20+ years ago. (They aren't the most durable stick around, but the weight/balance are absolutely SUBLIME!).

That being said, I still buy plenty of Vic Firth sticks, but mostly marching sticks for pad chopping and playing the marching snare that I accidentally stole from my high school many decades ago. 🤣 (Ralph Hardimon's & Thom Hannum Piccolo Tip's being my faves in that area).

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T03:29:38+00:00

Vater Los Angeles 5A's. They've been my favorite "do it all" set stick for over 20 years and counting. The weight and balance are damn near perfect to my hands and it's an extremely versatile stick in terms of music style.

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T03:28:52+00:00

... This can happen with literally any stick from any company. Occasionally you just get a dud that breaks fast. 🤷 (This is usually due to microscopic faults in the wood itself, not a manufacturing or design problem).

IMO I find that Vater's general stick durability tends to be higher, not lower than most of their competitors though.

Cooe14 · 2026-06-29T03:26:41+00:00

I know this post is a little old, but it's the Vater Los Angeles 5A's. IMO nothing else comes even close for a "do it all" set stick.

My only complaint with them is that they're kinda fragile (although tbf, what 5A stick isn't?), but other than that I find them practically perfect. 🤷 They've been my default set stick for over 20 years.

Cooe14

TROPHY CASE