For the TL;DR folks, this post covers:
We have the most advanced computing technology now. The super computational power requires a much more efficient storage technology. Solid-state drives (SSD) which are many times faster, reliable, durable, and power-efficient are already replacing the conventional Hard Disk Drives (HDD). These flash-based SSDs have significant advantages over mechanical hard disks and gives a next-level computing experience. So, let’s find out why you should install an SSD in your PC.
What is a Solid State Drive (SSD)?
An SSD is a flash-based electronic (solid-state) data storage device that uses integrated circuits to store data persistently. These drives use an electrical charge to write and erase data from the semiconductors in an integrated circuit. These SSDs won’t have any movable parts like the conventional electromechanical drives hard disks and floppies.
How SSD will boost your Laptop performance?
SSDs are flash drives with applied HDD interfaces like SATA, mSATA, and M.2. so Operating Systems (OS) will recognize them as HDD. These interfaces and traditional HDD form factors exploit flash drive’s features and advantages to SSDs. And, boost your laptop performance by making it 10 times faster.
Benefits (Advantages) of Solid State Drive over Hard Disk Drive (SSD vs HDD):
Speed up your Laptop/PC
Speed is the major advantage of SSDs. In terms of latency, SSDs are 100 times faster with 35-100 microseconds of lower data access time where typical HDD has 5,000-10,000 microseconds of larger data access time. It will result in a speed up boot time and quicker response time while accessing applications and data.
The data transfer (read/write) speed of SSD can go up to 6.5 GB per second. On the other hand, a typical HDD has a maximum of 140 MB per second.
SSD improves your Laptop battery backup
SSD are much power-efficient storage devices than HDDs, as it uses electronic flash memory to store all your data. Typically, SSD consumes a 1:3 ratio less electricity when compared to HDD. Thus, your increased laptop battery life will help you to get most of your work done on the go.
SSD available in much smaller sizes
Typically SSDs are available in a much smaller size than the traditional hard disk drives. Especially, the ones with M.2. interface. If you’re using the latest laptop with an M.2. slot on its motherboard, you can install M.2. SSD that fits directly on to the motherboard slot without touching your existing SATA drive. SSDs are also available in regular HDD sizes like 2.5” and 1.8” with the Serial ATA interface to use them in already existed infrastructure.
This regular form factor and HDD interfaces let the most users opt for SSD for their desktops and laptops.
SSDs are shock-proof
Have you ever drop your hard disk by mistake? Then you are aware of what I mean to say. Shocks and vibrations cause misplace of movable parts, make scratches to the plotter, and damage the read/write head. SSD doesn’t have such problems, as it has no movable parts and light-weight. So, don’t worry if you/your kids drop it to the ground by mistake.
Avoid unwanted heating, noise, and vibration with SSD
Obviously, with no running motor and movable electromechanical parts, SSD will give fast and friction-free to your laptop. If you’re still using the older laptop with hard disk drive, then you’re very familiar with the noise and vibration issues.
Spinning platter and movable components in the mechanical HDD will make noise and vibrations as they move and change its speed. The friction between the movable parts generates the heat. So the heat decreases the lifespan of your electronics over time and makes it less reliable.
Ignore fragmentation
If you have probably have heard that ‘SSDs won’t have fragmentation problem’. If so, you heard completely wrong. The data block can also get fragmented even on an SSD, but it doesn’t bother much your PC performance like hard disk drives do.
As the flash drive has no movable parts and its quick latency/seeking times, fragmentation doesn’t affect the SSDs’ performance. Though, in HDDs where fragmentation of data blocks occurs on a physical plotter will result in extra head movements that will slow down data transfer and performance.
Disadvantages if SSD (completely ignorable)
Price Of SSDs
Yes, SSDs are expensive, but with the perks that come along with SSDs make its price completely ignorable. A 500GB of SSD costs more than a 1TB HDD. Find the best SSD for your needs below.
SSDs cannot be used as archived drives
It is unclear how long a flash drive can hold the data in archival conditions. But, a research paper from CMU explains, the leakage of charge occurs in semiconductors after a particular time period, it typically took a year at room temperature to data-degrade. So, it not advised to store data for longer periods (more than 1 year) in SSDs.
We recommend you use the SSD as your primary drive for the operating system, programs, and app to boost your computer performance.
5 Best SSDs for Desktop/Laptop Buy Online:
1# Samsung 970 Evo Plus
It is equipped with V5 flash, which provides a nice bump in performance up to 3.5 GB/s of sequential read throughput. It has hardware encryption support, a five-year warranty, and up to 1,200 TBW of endurance.
| Product | Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB |
| Pricing | $129.99 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 Single-Sided |
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 |
| DRAM | 512MB Samsung LPDDR4 |
| Encryption | Class 0 (256-bit FDE), TCG Opal 2.0, Microsoft eDrive |
| Warranty | 5-Years |
2# WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD
The WD Black SN750 is an M.2, x4 PCIe, NVMe SSD. This SSD uses 64-layer 3D (stacked, vertical, etc.) NAND with 3 bits per cell or TLC (Triple Level Cell).
There is 256MB of DRAM cache for every 250GB of capacity. It comes with a five-year warranty, and the drives are rated for 200TBW (TeraBytes Written) for every 250GB of capacity.
It is available in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB.
| Product | WD Black SN750 500GB |
| Pricing | $129.99 |
| Capacity (User / Raw) | 500GB / 512GB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 Single-Sided |
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 |
| Memory | SanDisk 64-Layer TLC |
| Warranty | 5-Years |
3# Samsung 860 Pro
It supports 560/530MB/s of sequential read/write throughput for all capacities. Random performance is at 100,000/90,000 random read/write IOPS.
It uses the MJX controller and fourth-gen V-NAND memory. The power consumption is just 2.5 volts. Also, It supports hardware encryption out of the box.
| Product | Samsung 860 Pro |
| Pricing | $139.99 to $1899.99 |
| Capacity (User / Raw) | 256 to 4 TB |
| Form Factor | 2.5 inch |
| Interface / Protocol | SATA 6Gb/s (compatible with SATA 3Gb/s & SATA 1.5Gb/s) |
| DRAM | 8GB LPDDR4 |
| Encryption | AES 256-bit Encryption (Class 0) TCG/Opal IEEE1667 (Encrypted drive) |
| Warranty | 5-Years |
4# Samsung 970 Pro
This SSD has the five-core Phoenix NVMe controller. The 64-layer V-NAND (3D) flash helps in lower latency.
The 970 Pros deliver 3,500MB/s sequential speed. Sequential write speed is at 2,300 MB/s (512GB) and 2,700 MB/s (1TB). Both 970 Pros write random data at 500,000 IOPS. The endurance rating is 600 TBW for every 512 GB.
| Product | Samsung 970 Pro |
| Pricing | $329.99 (512GB) |
| Capacity (User / Raw) | 500GB / 1TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 |
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 |
| Memory | Samsung V-NAND 2-bit MLC |
| Encryption | AES 256-bit Encryption (Class 0), TCG/Opal, IEEE1667 (Encrypted drive) |
5# Adata XPG SX8200 SSD
It sports a Micron’s 64L 3D TLC. It is powered by the SMI SM2262EN controller.
It also supports the NVMe 1.3 spec and comes with end-to-end data protection, a RAID Engine, and LDPC ECC to maintain data integrity over time. It also supports SLC caching which increases the performance.
The speed is at 3.5/ 3GBps of throughput in sequential read/write workloads. The random write/read speed is at 390K/380KIOPS. It ships in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB models.
| Product | XPG SX8200 Pro 512GB |
| Pricing | $114.99 |
| Capacity (User / Raw) | 512GB / 512GB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 D5 |
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 |
| Memory | Micron 64-Layer TLC |
| Part Number | ASX8200PNP-512GT-C |
| Warranty | 5-Years |
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