Saw this earlier but just now responding... honestly, I've had some annoying issues with the high-end Samsung drives needing Magician for firmware, which is a total pain on Linux. If you want better value, you might find the SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen4 useful—it's usually $150-$160 and runs incredibly cool during long compiles. Check out the LVFS (Linux Vendor Firmware Service) website to see which drives have the best native support; it’s a lifesaver for avoiding proprietary junk! Pro tip: the Lexar NM790 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD is also a beast for under $135, though its firmware support isn't as proven as Hynix. Hope this helps!

Seconding the recommendation above! Honestly, I’m still a bit of a beginner with high-end Linux builds, so I was super nervous about firmware compatibility when I started my project. I ended up looking for something a bit more budget-friendly than the top-tier Samsung drives since I didn't want to overspend on my first "pro" setup.

I went with the Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe Gen4 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD. It's been really solid for my compile times, and I believe it handles TRIM perfectly on modern kernels. Actually, I saved about $30-40 compared to the WD_Black during a sale last month. That said, I'm always a bit cautious about firmware updates... I’ve heard horror stories about things breaking, but Crucial seems okay with fwupd. Still, it depends on your needs! Maybe check the Arch Wiki for specific kernel quirks? It works great for me so far, but I’m always backing things up just in case. Hope this helps!

In my experience, the WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD is perfect. It's rock-solid for heavy multitasking and the firmware updates actually work through fwupd. Seriously, it's been a total lifesaver for me.