NAND Flash Chip Grades Explained

Today I will touch back on the subject of bad flash drives. You may have heard some people talking about flash chip grades or tier 1/2/3 chips. Formally there are three grades for flash chips A, B, and C and unofficially D. All flash chips start their life on a silicon wafer and are cut from this wafer. Chips that have not passed quality control are pushed aside automatically by the machine cutting the wafer.