When it comes to PC hard drives, solid state drives or SSDs provide greatly improved performance. By opting for flash memory over a traditional platter configuration, there’s increased read/write speed as well as reliability. Still, not all SSDs are equal. Learn about solid state drives, from what an SSD is to why you should use an SSD and what type of SSD to use!
What is an SSD – Solid State Drives Explained
An SSD is essentially a circuit board outfitted with memory chips. There’s some form of an input/output (I/O) interface. Most commonly, that’s SATA, but PCIe SSDs and solid state drives with alternative I/O interfaces exist. In a traditional hard disk drive (HDD), an actuator arm physically moves over a spinning magnetic platter. This actuator arm in turn reads or writes data. Certain HDDs are noisy enough to the point where this arm reading and writing data is audible. An SSD, on the other hand, lacks physical moving parts, and instead opts for flash memory, usually NAND.
Benefits of an SSD – Why You Should Use a Solid State Drive
There are a plethora of reasons to use an SSD instead of a HDD. For starters, lack of moving parts means more reliability. Bumps, drops, and impacts all may damage a traditional hard disk drive with its actuator arm. Flash memory, on the other hand, is virtually immune to impacts.
Then, there’s size. Although portable USB-powered HDDs are available, they’re still larger at their smallest than flash memory such as microSD cards and flash drives which come in up to 1TB capacities, with greater theoretical capacity. Even a comparably-sized SATA SSD is still lighter than its HDD equivalent.
Furthermore, SSDs boast far greater read/write speeds. In everyday use, this is apparent. Probably where it’s most evident is start up time. Booting up a PC from an SSD goes from completely off to usable in a matter of seconds rather than minutes with a hard disk drive. If that’s not enough, SSDs feature far reduced failure rates when compared with HDDs.
Why use an SSD:
- Lower failure rates
- Smaller in size and weight
- Faster read/write speeds
- More resilient to bumps and impacts
Downsides of Using an SSD
There are few reasons to opt for an HDD over an SSD. Solid state drives flaunt faster read/write speeds, smaller size and weight, increased resilience, and reduced failure rates. Still, the price per gigabyte of hard disk drives is extremely competitive. Ever since the advent of SSDs, HDD prices have plummeted. On sale, 10TB portable hard drives have hit the $140 USD mark. Sure, SSD prices, and flash memory overall, continues to become more affordable, with certain 512GB microSD cards available for $65 USD, and sub $100 1TB SSDs.
Nevertheless, for massive amounts of data such as a server environment, HDDs are the best option. My server is running 10TB, and the platter drives I purchased were far more affordable than the comparable SSD array required for that amount of storage space. My laptop and desktop both feature SSD boot drives for the operating system (OS) with a second HDD for data storage, a fantastic hybrid solution which affords the reliability and speed of an SSD for running the operating system and apps, with storage space for less essential items such as music and videos.
Downsides of using an SSD:
Cost per gig
What Types of SSDs Exist and What Solid State Drive Should You Use?
While SSDs are faster, more reliable, and overall better than HDDs, not all SSDs are the same. In fact, there’s quite a varied lineup of solid state drives. Everything from storage medium to form factor and I/O connector differs.
SSD Connection and Form Factor Types
I/O connector interfaces on SSDs range from SATA III and PCIe to M.2 and NVMe.
- Sata III: By far the most common SSD variety, SATA III or serial S ATA III SSD drives use the same interface as SATA III HDDs. You’ll find read/write speeds which hit several hundred MB per second, often at least 500MB/s. A 7200 RPM SATA HDD manages a fraction of that at around 100MBPS.
- PCIe: A PCIe, or peripheral component interconnect express solid state drive bests the performance of a SATA SSD. Data transfer rates may exceed 1GB per second. Rather than a SATA III interface, a PCIe SSD plugs into a PCIe slot.
- NVMe: Non-volatile memory express, or NVMe, is a groundbreaking SSD technology. NVMe yields optimal performance for data transfer rates and read/write speeds. NVMe makes it possible to maximize the capabilities of flash memory.
- M.2: For incredible performance at a fraction of the size, M.2 SSDs come in a different form factor. While SATA and PCIe refer to connection interfaces, M.2 instead is a size. Rather than a more traditional hard drive shape, it’s a thin, rectangular device that almost looks like a single-board computer. M.2 SSDs may be either PCIe or SATA III.
SSD Memory Types
Aside from SSD I/O interfaces and form factors, there are also different solid state memory types. First up, there’s single-level cell (SLC). As the name suggests, cells hold a single bit of data, a 1 or a 0, per cell. SLC memory is fast, low-power, and precise. Unfortunately, SLC SSDs are pretty pricey.
Next up, there are MLC or multi-level cell SSDs. Whereas SLC SSDs can only store one bit of data, a 0 or 1, per cell, MLC can handle two bits of data. For instance, this could be 11, 00, 10, or 01. As such, there’s a larger amount of storage available without a physical size increase. So MLC tends to be more affordable. At the same time, it’s a bit slower, less precise, and more power-hungry.
Finally, there’s triple-level cell (TLC) solid state drive technology. TLC can hold three bits of data, a combination of ones and zeroes, percell. Comparing SLC vs. MLC vs. TLC, triple-level cell SSDs are the most power inefficient and feature the slowest read/write speeds. But massive storage is available in a smaller form factor. Therefore, pricing is incredibly competitive.
- Single-level cell (SLC): One bit, a 1 or 0, per cell. Fast, precise, and energy efficient but expensive.
- Multi-level cell (MLC): Two bits, a combination of ones and zeroes, per cell. Slower, less precise, more power-hungry, but more affordable.
- Triple-level cell (TLC): Three bits, a combination of ones and zeroes, per cell. Slowest, least precise, and most power-hungry yet most affordable.
What is NAND?
When selecting an SSD, you’ll probably see the term NAND, which stands for Negative-AND. These memory chips hold memory cells, either SLC, MLC, and TLC. V-NAND, or vertical NAND, allows for stacking cells on top of one another at no performance loss. V-NAND makes 4TB SSDs possible by stacking NAND chips. As such, more storage space in smaller, more efficient form factors, is possible.
Should You Use an SSD and What Type of SSD Should You Get?
If you’ve been wondering whether you should use an SSD, the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, the only reason not to use a solid state drive is if you need a large amount of storage space, and for occasional use. For a backup hard drive or server, HDDs remain unrivaled for price per gigabyte. But for speed, reliability, and resilience, SSDs reign supreme.
The type of SSD you get depends on your physical space and I/O connectors. For top-tier performance, grab an SLC NVMe. But you might be limited by connection type, space, or both. For instance, by laptop only accepts a SATA III interface, so I’m relegated to using a SATA III SSD. While an NVMe SSD trounces a SATA SSD with performance, it’s still faster and more reliable than a SATA HDD.
All About SSDs – Final Thoughts
Solid state drives continue to become more affordable. Likewise, advancements in SSD technology such as NVMe and V-NAND allow for higher storage capacities in smaller footprints. As this point, the question is usually less should I get an SSD, but instead which SSD should I get. Granted, when working with large data sets, it’s impossible to match the price per gigabyte savings of a traditional platter drive. A 4TB SSD clocks in around $400, compared to about $200 for a 10TB external hard drive, or around $279 for a 10TB bare drive.
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