Advantages of SSDs:
Boot up time: A computer which has a HDD (Hard Disk Drives) has to wait for the disks (platters) to spin up to a specific rpm in order to read data.....usually 5400 or 7200 rpms. SSD contain flash (NAND) memory which is almost instantaneous when it comes to reading the operating system.
No Wear & Tear: A HDD contains moving parts.....the spinning disk or 'platter', the read/write armature or arm ...etc. These mechanical parts over time will wear out the more it is used. SSD's are made of flash memory which has no moving parts.
No Noise: Because SSDs contain no moving parts they are virtually silent compared to the noisy HDDs.
Cooler: Physics tell us that moving parts against each other cause friction....thus making heat.
Because of this, HDDs make alot more heat than SSDs. That's why many Chromebooks and netbooks have no fans as they use the cooler SSDs.
No fans mean less power usage....less power means more battery lifetime...see where I'm going with this?
No fans mean less power usage....less power means more battery lifetime...see where I'm going with this?
Speed / performance: On a HDD, files get erased and new files are replaced over a period of time. Eventually parts of one single word document are all over the hard drive. The read/write head must search the HDD for the entire file.
This is called 'fragmentation'. Reading files across an entire platter or disk takes time. In SSD there is no read/write head so data can be stored anywhere and access is almost instantaneous.
One of the disadvantages of SSDs is that the price per GB is 15-20 cents more than a HDD.
That means a 1TB SSD costs $200-$230 compared to a HDD of the same size which costs only $40-50.
Memory Wear Out:
One of the hottest discussions in the tech industry concerning SSDs is 'memory wear out'.
Flash memory is measured in write cycles, or program/erase (P/E) cycles. Because of the inherent nature of flash memory, the lifecycle of SSDs are limited in the number of times data is written.
When data is written on a block of memory, the entire block must be erased first. Depending on the type of NAND memory of the SSD, the write cycles may be from 30,000 writes to 100,000 writes.
Don't stress over this too much. A technology called "wear leveling" ensures data is written over a broad spectrum of memory blocks on the SSD so not one single block gets hit. Writing to a single block of flash memory 30,000 times would be the equivalent of you sitting at your laptop and pressing the "Enter" key 1 thousand times a day for an entire month.
Samsung and Intel are working on 3D NAND, and Intel may soon boast the worlds largest SSD at 10GB with the new technology.
Hard disk drives are still the king when it comes to size and price, however as SSDs become cheaper, expect more to show up on systems and will soon to overtake HDDs.
It's expected next year that 41% of laptops to arrive with SSDs and are expected to overtake HDDs by 2018.
Disadvantages of SSDs:
Price:One of the disadvantages of SSDs is that the price per GB is 15-20 cents more than a HDD.
That means a 1TB SSD costs $200-$230 compared to a HDD of the same size which costs only $40-50.
Memory Wear Out:
One of the hottest discussions in the tech industry concerning SSDs is 'memory wear out'.
Flash memory is measured in write cycles, or program/erase (P/E) cycles. Because of the inherent nature of flash memory, the lifecycle of SSDs are limited in the number of times data is written.
When data is written on a block of memory, the entire block must be erased first. Depending on the type of NAND memory of the SSD, the write cycles may be from 30,000 writes to 100,000 writes.
Don't stress over this too much. A technology called "wear leveling" ensures data is written over a broad spectrum of memory blocks on the SSD so not one single block gets hit. Writing to a single block of flash memory 30,000 times would be the equivalent of you sitting at your laptop and pressing the "Enter" key 1 thousand times a day for an entire month.
The future of storage
Solid State Drive technology is evolving quickly with different types of memory storage. SLC, MLC, TLC are different types of NAND, which is a type of flash memory that retains memory when the power is off.Samsung and Intel are working on 3D NAND, and Intel may soon boast the worlds largest SSD at 10GB with the new technology.
Hard disk drives are still the king when it comes to size and price, however as SSDs become cheaper, expect more to show up on systems and will soon to overtake HDDs.
It's expected next year that 41% of laptops to arrive with SSDs and are expected to overtake HDDs by 2018.
Originally published on 11/24/16
No comments:
Post a Comment
Any thoughts on this post?