What Do Solid-State Drives Do?
A solid-state drive (SSD) serves the same function as a traditional hard drive in your computer. Whether using it internally to store data, or as an external drive to use portably, SSDs hold and allow you to access your data. Solid-state drives store its data or information inside of an integrated circuit. It is stored directly into microchips, which give you almost instant access to your data. There are no moving parts inside of a solid-state drive. Many newer computers come with SSDs already installed for optimal performance.
SSD vs. HDD
A HDD uses moving parts to access data. A mechanical spinning disk and a moving read/write head accesses and writes data. In a SSD, a memory chip will read and write data. This makes a major difference in the speed of your drive. Solid-state drives are far faster than hard-disk drives since there are no moving parts. Data retrieval is nearly instantaneous on solid state drives. SSDs are also far more durable than HDDs. Dropping an HDD can render the drive unusable, while SSDs are far more durable to incidental damage. The other major difference that you’ll notice as a consumer is the price. Hard-disk drives are far cheaper and usually offer larger storage space. SSDs are much more expensive, and are usually more compact while offering less storage space. In addition to the price, another disadvantage of solid-state drives is the inability to recover old data. Because of the way a SSD works, it is nearly impossible to recover lost data, unlike on a HDD. The price for a solid-state drive has significantly reduced over the last few years as technology has improved. With all of the recent advancements, you can expect to see SSDs become both more advanced as well as more affordable in the future. Most people would agree that a solid-state drive is far better than a hard-disk drive if you can afford it. Faster speeds can make all of the difference on your computer, whether you’re a gamer, content creator, or just a professional in the office.
Types of SSDs
All solid-state drives are not equal. Let’s dive into some of the technical features of SSDs.
- PCIe, or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express SSDs, are solid-state drives that don’t use a computer’s motherboard SATA Chipset interface.
- NVMe, or nonvolatile memory express SSDs, deliver the highest throughput and quickest response times. You’ll generally see PCIe used for many server and connectivity solutions, while NVMe SSDs are going to offer the best read and write speeds. They are used in instances where speed is crucial.
You’ll also see different kinds of SSDs when browsing the market. mSATA and SATA III solid state drives are very similar. The main difference is that SATA III drives are thicker compared to mSATA drives. A SATA III is housed in a 2.5” casing, so it only works in larger devices. The mSATA is roughly the size of a business card. Due to this, mSATA drives are usually used in drives with smaller storage capacities. Read and write speeds on these two kinds of SSDs are very similar.
Benefits of SSDs
The most obvious benefit of using a solid-state drive is the speed. If you’re upgrading from a hard-disk drive, you’ll instantly notice how much faster your computer will run. You can expect faster boot up times and better system responsiveness if you are using your SSD as an internal storage device on your computer. If using an SSD as an external storage device, you’ll experience much faster read and write speeds for your data. SSDs are also far more efficient than HDDs, and you can expect to see better battery life out of a machine using a SSD. If durability is important to you, then a solid-state drive is the way to go. Whether you have the drive inside of a laptop, or you’re using it externally, a solid-state drive can handle a fall much easier than a hard-disk drive. Since SSDs don’t have moving parts, you won’t experience shock damage like you would on a HDD. In addition, you won’t have to worry about the wear-and-tear of the moving pieces over time like you do with a HDD. There aren’t any moving parts in an SSD, you can expect to see much more compact sizes and lighter weight drives. Smaller sizes mean that they’re easier to carry, no matter if you are using it internally or externally with your computer. In fact, you can even find some 4TB SSD drives that are capable of fitting in your pocket. This would be unheard of for a hard-disk drive.
What are SSDs Used For?
- Gamers: Gamers love SSDs for how quickly games launch, as well as load between levels. Having an SSD can also help prevent “hitching” in open world games. This is when the game can’t load fast enough for your gameplay, causing a pause to buffer. It is recommended that gamers have two hard drives — one HDD to use for general storage, as well as the largest SSD you can afford to store all of your games on. Of course, two SSDs would be the best way to go, but this can get expensive in a hurry.
Business Professionals: Business professionals use SSDs in both their desktop and laptop computers. A solid-state drive can be used to help computer applications boot up quicker and become more responsive. In addition, SSDs are excellent for multitasking, when you may need to switch between numerous applications quickly. A SSD can also be used externally to store data or information. Since SSDs have no mechanical parts, they are considered far better to use for sensitive data, where the data can’t be recovered once it is deleted.
Content Creators: For content creators, SSDs offer superior running speeds for programs that require a lot from your computer. If you have an internal SSD, programs will start up quicker and become more responsive. When paired with an external SSD as well, your photos, videos, or other files will load much quicker, allowing you to execute quicker edits, exports, and renders. Since the read and write speed of SSD drives is also much quicker, you can use them to back up your data, and you don’t have to worry about the internal parts of a HDD that break down over time. Overall, creators can expect their workflow to be greatly improved if upgrading to a solid-state drive.
Whether building or upgrading your gaming PC, this SSD is an excellent choice, offering 3400MB/s read speed and 2900MB/s write speed. A sleek heatsink intensifies your gaming setup while also maintintaing peak performance of your computer. This SSD is intended to be used with desktop PCs where performance really matters. Picking out the right SSD is going to depend on what you intend to use the drive for. Gamers, professionals, and content creators will all love the benefits you’ll receive from your new SSD. There is a lot to learn about solid-state drives, but one thing is for certain – upgrading from a hard-disk drive to a solid-state drive is sure to improve the speed and responsiveness of your computer.
