• What is an SSD drive and why is it better than an HDD? SSD disk - what is it and what is it used for?

    Many of computer users periodically think about upgrading their equipment, and one of the modern and effective upgrade methods is to install a solid-state drive or SSD in tandem on a personal computer or laptop, and, as an option, instead of the already familiar HDD (hard drives or hard drives).

    But since large-scale solid-state drives have become widespread not so long ago, many users have a rather poor understanding of them. Should I buy it? SSD drive for a computer? Which one is better? There are a number of main differences that characterize SSDs. We will try to tell you about them. And then we will look at individual models from the main manufacturers.


    SSD is an abbreviation that translates into Russian roughly as “solid-state drive.” It is a non-mechanical data storage device. It has no moving parts, unlike the mechanical HDD we are all familiar with. The SSD consists of memory chips and a control controller. On average, the exchange speed when working with data (reading and writing data operations) of an SSD disk is 100 times higher than that of an HDD. For example, the response speed of hard drives is in the range of 10 – 19 milliseconds, and solid-state drives operate in the range of 0.1 – 0.4 milliseconds. For an SSD user, there are several strengths and weaknesses of such equipment.

    Positive points:

    • High data processing speed – both reading and writing.
    • Low power consumption and low heating during operation.
    • Complete absence of noise during operation.
    • Small dimensions of the device.
    • Resistance to mechanical damage, electromagnetic fields, temperature changes.
    • Stable speed of data processing, independent of the level of data fragmentation.

    Negative points:

    • High cost of the device.
    • Vulnerability to electrical shock.
    • Limited number of data rewrite cycles.
    • Possibility of losing information without the possibility of its recovery.

    SSD Key Indicators

    Storage capacity

    When purchasing an SSD, first of all, we pay attention to its capacity and must select it depending on the tasks that we plan to perform on such a device.

    When working in standard user mode as a home multimedia device with small toys and basic simple tasks, you can choose a small SSD - the operating system and software will be installed on it, and data archives such as photographs, films, documents, etc. can be stored on the second device – the good old HDD. An SSD with a capacity of 60-64 GB is quite suitable.

    If the user sets slightly more complex tasks for the equipment, such as working with video editors, design software and other professional applications, you will have to purchase a larger SSD. IN in this case We can recommend drives with a capacity of 120-128 GB of memory.

    In turn, the gamer will need an even larger drive, because modern games take up quite large sections of disk space. Here it would be better to take a closer look at an SSD with a capacity of 240-256 GB.

    In the event of a complete transition of the user from HDD to SSD, there are already high-capacity models of solid-state drives on the device market - 480, 960 GB and higher.

    Of course, first of all, you will have to focus on the financial capabilities and tasks that you personally set for your personal computer. The cost of solid-state drives directly depends on their volume. Simple storage of data that is not handled daily is still more advisable to store on more capacious and cheaper, although slower, HDDs.

    It is worth knowing about the following nuance of SSDs: the larger the capacity of the drive, the higher speeds it will operate. The difference in the speed of reading and writing data can increase two to three times depending on the amount of memory. For example, SSDs of the same model range, produced by one company, with a capacity of 128 GB will give us speeds of up to 200 MB/sec, and with a capacity of 512 GB - more than 400 MB/sec. This is due to the fact that during its operation the SSD controller accesses all memory crystals in parallel and, accordingly, higher capacity means higher number of crystals means more parallel operations.

    You can also pay attention to the fact that different manufacturers indicate different disk capacities for seemingly the same capacity group. For example, 120 and 128, 480 and 512. The fact is that these disks have a capacity of 128 and 512 GB, respectively, but the manufacturer, for one reason or another, reserves part of the memory of its drives (this reserve is usually intended to level out the wear of flash memory cells and to replace those cells that fail).

    Drive connection interface

    The speed of operation when upgrading a computer by installing an SSD drive on it directly depends on its connection interface to the motherboard.

    Many current SSDs come with SATA interface 3. If your motherboard has SATA 1 or SATA 2 controllers installed, the SSD connected to them will not be able to work with the full performance and speeds declared by its manufacturer. To solve this problem you need to install it on the motherboard SATA controller 3, otherwise the upgrade will be insufficient, or even almost imperceptible. Modern SSDs are ready to provide data writing speeds of up to 400 MB/sec, and reading speeds of up to 500 MB/sec. This speed can only be achieved by working with the SATA 3 connection interface, since SATA 2 is designed for data exchange speeds of up to approximately 270 Mb/s, and SATA 1 is even lower - no more than 150 Mb/s.

    In addition to the usual connection of the drive to SATA ports, SSD drives with a PCI-express connection interface have appeared, which are installed in the corresponding ports.

    There are M.2 form factor drives that can also be connected to PCI-express and PCI ports via an additional adapter.

    Drive controller

    Flash memory cells perform all their work with the rest of the systems of our computer through the controller chip built into the SSD. Many performance indicators of the drive depend on this controller, such as: operating speeds, memory lifespan, resistance to data corruption in cells, as well as support for various technologies that improve SSD performance. There are currently many controllers available, and even one manufacturer of solid-state drives uses different controllers in different models. It should be noted that currently controllers from manufacturers such as Marvell, Samsung, and Intel have proven themselves to be the best. Performs well in the middle class SSD controllers Phison and SandForce. It is worth paying attention to SSDs with reliable Indilinx controllers.

    Understanding the models of certain controllers is not always easy, so you should pay attention first of all to a well-known brand (due to the fact that the quality control of well-known manufacturers is still much higher), to the actual tests carried out on the specific drive model being selected, and to the declared manufacturer specifications.

    Drive memory type

    One of the most important technical indicators of an SSD is the type on which the drive is built. Modern manufacturers create their devices using three main types of memory, which differ in the number of memory bits per physical cell:

    • NAND TLC – 3 bits of information per 1 physical cell
    • NAND MLC – 2 bits of information per 1 physical cell
    • NAND SLC – 1 bit of information per 1 physical cell

    Both the cost of the drive and its “lifetime”, that is, the possible number of rewrite cycles, directly depend on the technology used to create memory. The cost of memory decreases as the number of bits per physical cell increases, but this reduces the possible number of rewrite cycles that a given cell can withstand. That is, in simple terms, a 128 GB SSD with type TLC memory will cost much less than an SSD of the same capacity, but with MLC memory type, but it will also survive a relatively small number of rewrite cycles. Approximate figures are as follows: the write limit on drives built on TLS memory is only 1000 cycles; on MLC memory – up to 3 thousand cycles; and the SLC type, in turn, can withstand from 5 to 10 thousand rewrite cycles.

    At purchasing an SSD seems the best option with NAND MLC type of drive memory, since NAND SLC type of memory is usually used in the most expensive segment of solid-state drives and, rather, is necessary for working on server stations where data is constantly being rewritten. At the same time, while delighting us with their cheapness, SSD drives with NAND TLC memory type can upset us by losing their performance much earlier than we expect.

    Modern technologies do not stand still, and to replace previous memory types, leading companies are already beginning to produce memory types for SSDs built on new types of architecture. After the previous flat-plane memory cells, Samsung, and after it Toshiba, together with SanDisk and Intel, together with Micron, are developing 3D NAND technology, which can significantly improve the performance of previous bit-cell construction models. Currently, SSDs with 3D NAND memory technology belong to the most expensive segment of the solid-state drive market.

    Drive clipboard

    The presence of a clipboard (cache) based on DDR3 memory somewhat speeds up the operation of an SSD drive, but also makes it more expensive for the buyer. The calculation is simple - for 1 GB of disk space, for optimal operation of a drive with this type of cache, there should be 1 MB of DDR3 memory. That is, an SSD with a capacity of 120-128 GB should have 128 MB DDR3 memory, with a capacity of 480-512 GB - 512 MB DDR3, and so on.

    Cheaper models of SSD drives have a clipboard based on older types of memory - DDR2. The difference in the speed of drives on different types of clipboard is not a significant indicator.

    Protecting the drive from blackout

    SSD drives whose clipboard is built on DDR3 memory should ideally be equipped with technology to protect against sudden power outages. The technology is called “Power Protection” and allows you to save data from the clipboard to memory in the event of a sudden power outage. An ordinary UPS (UPS) performs the same function, allowing you to correctly complete work with data. So if you have a UPS or an SSD clipboard that is not based on DDR3, this function is not particularly important.

    TRIM function

    Depending on the manufacturer, SSDs support a wide variety of technologies that are created to improve their functionality. The most important of these technologies for SSDs is the . Solid State Drive, not equipped with the TRIM function, when working with memory cells in which information was previously saved and then deleted, begins to work at a reduced speed. This happens because before writing again to previously used memory cells, the SSD is forced to clear them first. While the TRIM function clears previously used memory cells in advance at the time of not very active disk use. So the TRIM function is a “garbage collection” function and is important for conservation overall speed SSD operation during the second and subsequent rewrites of data into memory cells. Without TRIM, the speed of the drive decreases very noticeably.

    Understanding SSD manufacturers

    Let us next consider the main manufacturers of SSD drives. Does it make sense to purchase not-so-cheap new equipment made by completely unknown manufacturers, albeit at more attractive prices? It is rightly believed that well-known brands make higher demands on their production and care about the quality of their products much more than those who do not necessarily need to maintain a decent level of equipment released to the market. When buying a drive from an unknown company, we are simply purchasing a “pig in a poke.”

    Let us list the manufacturers under whose brand they produce reliable products that have long and firmly established themselves in the electronic devices market.

    • Toshiba is one of the oldest and most famous brands producing SSDs. They do not simply assemble devices, but also have their own production of flash memory and have proven themselves worthily in the long-term production of HDDs.
    • Samsung is a well-known company and one of the leaders in the SSD market. They have made and continue to make many developments specifically in the field of solid-state drives. The company supplies SSD flash memory and controllers of its own production.
    • Intel is also a leading company in the production of modern equipment and the latest technological developments. Devices produced by Intel, as a rule, belong to the expensive price segment, but are usually extremely reliable. Some SSD models are produced by it on its own controllers, and flash memory is created in its own production facilities (joint with other well-known companies). The five-year warranty from Intel also perfectly characterizes the equipment from this company.
    • Crucial is a brand used by the well-known company Micron in the production of SSD drives. Many users have long been familiar with Micron products and are accustomed to trusting them. Micron produces flash memory together with Intel, and the controllers it installs in its equipment are Marvell controllers. At the same time, Crucial drives in their price category are aimed at the budget segment of the market.
    • Corsair is a manufacturer that has long proven itself in the electronic equipment market. The SSD drives they produce are somewhat more expensive, but they still maintain the high quality of their model lines. Corsair is attentive to the components of its solid-state drives and uses SSD controllers from manufacturers that have proven themselves in this market - Phison, SandForce, LAMD. They produce several lines of SSDs.
    • SanDisk is a fairly popular brand that cares about the quality of its products. SSDs are equipped with flash memory, which is used by the already mentioned Toshiba. The company has long been engaged in the production of equipment one way or another related to solid-state drives - USB flash drives, memory cards.
    • Plextor – SSDs for this brand are manufactured by Lite-On. The quality, however, is very decent. SSDs from Plextor are equipped with Intel-Crucial (Micron) or Toshiba flash memory, and controllers are installed from the same Marvell. Drives marketed under the Plextor brand have some of the best speed and reliability.
    • Kingston is a company that has been firmly entrenched in the electronic equipment market for quite a long time. It is represented on the market by a fairly wide range of SSD drives, which are equipped with controllers from well-known manufacturers - Phison, SandForce.

    As we have already said, when purchasing a solid-state drive, you need to focus, first of all, on your budget and the tasks that you set for the new equipment. But there is no doubt that the equipment must be from a trusted manufacturer, with a sufficiently long warranty. The market for solid-state drives is large, however, let’s summarize our recommendations.

    1. It is better to purchase a well-known brand with a reliable long-term warranty.
    2. The controller manufacturer is no less important than the memory cell manufacturer.
    3. The higher the total disk volume, the higher its speed indicators.
    4. The lifespan of an SSD primarily depends on the technology used to create the memory cells. The optimal technology is MLC type of drive memory.
    5. When purchasing an SSD, you need to take into account how the new equipment will be connected, that is, the interface for connecting it to the system should be clear to you.
    6. TRIM function support is important.

    Understanding SSD prices

    Here are a few of the best, in our opinion, SSD options.

    Among the models designed for the average user with a capacity of 120/128 Gigabytes, you can pay attention to these SSDs, they can be purchased from 3.5 to 4.5 thousand rubles:

    • Intel SSDSC2KW120H6X1
    • Kingston SUV400S37/120G
    • Toshiba THN-S101Z1200E8

    Acceptable models with a capacity of 250 Gigabytes will cost from 5 to 10 thousand. You can pay attention to the following:

    • Samsung MZ-75E250BW
    • Kingston SV300S37A/240G

    A good choice would be larger SSD models (480/512 GB), the cost will be from 10 to 15 thousand:

    • Samsung MZ-75E500BW
    • Plextor PX-512M8PeY
    • Intel SSDPEKKW512G7X1

    Larger drives will cost more – the cost starts at an average of 20 thousand:

    • Samsung MZ-7KE1T0BW
    • Intel SSDSC2BX012T401
    • Samsung MZ-75E2T0BW

    If you have already begun to decide on specific SSD models to purchase, it is worth finding detailed user reviews on them on the Internet, and try to evaluate all aspects of specific models, even from well-known manufacturers.

    In conclusion, some brief tips on how to extend the life of your SSD.

    • Do not fill the disk to capacity - it needs 20-30% of free space for normal operation;
    • Take care of uninterruptible power supply– sudden shutdown is harmful to the SSD;
    • Temperature conditions - SSDs, like any electronic equipment, do not like overheating - take care of cooling.

    Solid State Drives (SSDs) are new and fast and a good alternative to HDD hard drives, but do you need one? Read on as we demystified the SSD. The last few years have seen a noticeable increase in SSD production and a decrease in prices (although, of course, prices between SSDs and traditional hard drives cannot be compared in this way).

    What is an SSD? In what ways will you benefit from purchasing an SSD drive? What should you do differently with an SSD? Read on to learn everything about solid state drives.

    What is a solid state drive?

    It may be hard for you to believe, but SSDs are actually quite old technology. Solid State Drives have been around for decades in various forms, the earliest being based on RAM and were quite expensive, and were only appearing in ultra-high-end and super computers. In the 1990s, the first flash-based SSDs were made, but they were again too expensive for the consumer market and were barely noticeable outside of specialized computing circles. Throughout the 2000s, prices for flash memory continued to fall, and by the end of the decade, consumer SSDs had entered the personal computer market.

    So what is a solid state drive? Here we must first highlight what a traditional hard drive (HDD) is. A hard drive is a collection of metal plates coated with a ferromagnetic material that spin on a spindle. Writing to the surface of magnetic plates is carried out by a tiny mechanical handle (drive lever) with a very thin tip (head). Data is stored when the polarity of the magnetic bits on the surface of the plates changes. This is, of course, a little more complicated, but suffice it to say that everything here is done by analogy with an automatic record player: its hand searches for a track on the record, and the drive handle and hard disk heads also search for data. When you want to write or read data from magnetic hard disks, the platters rotate, the hand searches and finds the data. It is as much a mechanical process as it is digital.

    Solid state drives, on the other hand, have no moving parts. Although the scales are different, and the storage area on an HDD is much larger, and the SSD has much more in common with a simple portable flash drive than with a mechanical hard drive (and, of course, much more than ever with a tape recorder! The vast majority of SSDs on the market are NAND flash, a type of non-volatile memory that doesn't require electricity to store data (unlike the RAM in your computer, which loses its stored data as soon as the power is turned off). NAND memory also provides significant speed increases far beyond mechanical hard drives, since time wasted with platters spinning and not searching for data is removed from the equation.

    Comparison of SSDs with traditional hard drives

    It's always good to know what SSDs are, but it's even more useful to compare them to the traditional hard drives you've been using for years. Let's look at a few key differences in a point-by-point comparison.

    Spin Time: SSDs do not have a "spin" time; The drive has no moving parts. Hard drives have different spin times (usually a few seconds); when you hear a click-whirrrrrr for a minute or two when you boot your computer or when accessing rarely used files, you always hear rotation hard disk.

    Data access time and latency: SSDs find data very quickly and are typically an order of magnitude 80-100 times faster than HDDs; bypassing mechanical spinning plates and data retrieval, so they can access data almost instantly. Fast retrieval of data on hard drives is hampered by the physical movement of the armature and rotation of the platters.

    Noise: SSDs are silent; no moving parts means no noise. Hard drives range from fairly quiet to very loud sound levels.

    Reliability: some production issues aside ( bad disks, firmware, questions, etc.) SSD drives have taken the lead in terms of physical reliability. The vast majority of hard drive failures are the result of mechanical failure; at some point after x tens of thousands of hours of operation, mechanical drive it just wears out. In a sense, the read/write cycle of hard drives is limited.

    On the other hand, SSDs have a limited number of write cycles. This limited number of write cycles is the main point of condemnation of SSDs, but the reality is that the average computer user is unlikely to be able to do many read and write cycles on an SSD. Intel's X25-M, for example, can process 20 GB of data for 5 years without failure. How often do you erase and write 20GB of data on your primary drive on a daily basis?

    In addition, SSD drives can be used further; When NAND modules have reached the end of their write cycles they become read-only. The disk then reads the data from the damaged sector and writes it to a new part of the disk. Short of lightning or a catastrophic design flaw, SSD failure is more like “old age, why is my bones aching!” rather than a sudden “boom! bearings in HDD!” and its stop. You will have enough time for backup your data and to purchase a new drive.

    Power Consumption: SSD drives consume 30-60% less power than traditional hard drives. Saving 6 or 10 watts doesn’t seem like much, but over the course of a year or two on a heavily used car, it all adds up.

    Cost: SSDs are not cheap. Traditional hard drive prices have fallen by about five cents per gigabyte of data. SSDs are much cheaper than they were 10-20 years ago (when they were limited to dedicated computer systems), but they are still quite expensive. Depending on the size and model, you can expect to pay somewhere between $1.25-$2.00 per GB.

    Caring for your SSD

    In management operating system, storing data, and interacting with your computer, the only difference you will notice as an end user when operating an SSD drive is the increase in speed. When it comes to taking care of your drive, there are a few rules that are critical.

    Don't defragment the disk. Defragmentation is useless for an SSD and reduces its lifespan. Defragmentation is a technique that finds pieces of files and optimizes them by placing them on hard drive platters to reduce search time and wear on the disk. SSDs are platterless and have almost instantaneous seek times. Their defragmentation consumes more write cycles. By default, defragmentation is disabled for SSDs in Windows 7.

    Disable indexing services: If your OS has any search-added tool such as indexing service, disable it. Read times on SSD are fast, which you don't actually need to create a file index and the disk indexing and index writing process itself will be slow on SSD.

    Your OS must support trimming. The TRIM command allows your OS to talk to the SSD and tell it which blocks are no longer in use. With this command, performance on the SSD will rapidly degrade. In this publication, Windows 7, Mac OS x 10.6.6+ and Linux kernel 2.6.33+ support the TRIM command. And registry hacks and additional programs exist to change more earlier versions OS such as Windows XP to semi-support the TRIM command. Your SSD drive should be paired with a modern OS for maximum performance.

    Leave part of the disk empty. Check the specifications for your device, most manufacturers recommend keeping 10-20% empty. This empty space helps the alignment algorithm (they pass data through the modules' NAND memory to minimize overall disk wear and ensure long term services and optimal characteristics drive). If you leave too little space, the alignment algorithms will cause premature wear on the disk over time.

    Media to Second Drive: SSD drives are expensive, so there is no point in storing your massive media files on your expensive SSD drive. You can choose traditional 1TB hard drives, and use a large secondary drive (if available) to store large and static files (such as movies, music collections, and other media files).

    Invest in Memory: Compared to the costs of SSDs, RAM is cheap. The more RAM you have installed, the fewer disk write cycles there will be. You can extend the life of your expensive SSD drive, ensuring that your system has adequate RAM installed.

    Solid State Drive for Me?

    On at the moment You've got a history lesson, a point-by-point comparison, and some tips for keeping your SSD in tip-top shape, but do you really need an SSD? Check all suitable options and prepare for the following:

    • Near-instant boot time: You can go from cold boot to web browsing in seconds with an SSD; You could often get to this same window in more than a minute with a traditional hard drive.
    • You want quick access for general applications and games: We've said it many times before, but SSDs are super fast.
    • You want a quieter, less power-hungry computer: As highlighted above, SSD drives are silent and consume significantly less power.
    • You'll be able to use two drives: one for the OS and one for files: if you're only storing a few family photos and a CD-Rip or two, you'll need the more affordable traditional HDD to store large files.
    • You are willing to pay a significant amount for an SSD drive: this is the highest amount per gigabyte to date, but at the same time the performance increase is huge at 3000%.
    • If your list looks more full than empty, and you want speed when working, then an SSD is for you!

    The appearance on the market of a relatively new data storage technology raises many questions among users. What is an SSD? Is it worth installing it instead of the usual hard drive? Is he as good as they say he is? After reading this article to the end, you will answer all the questions posed, which will allow you to decide whether you need to change anything in the operation of your computer.

    Let's start with a concept: An SSD is a solid-state drive that uses NAND memory, which does not require electricity to store data. Essentially, an SSD is a capacious flash drive that is characterized by high speed of writing and reading information.

    Comparison with HDD

    To draw parallels with usual hard disk, first you need to delve a little deeper into the theory and see how the HDD works.

    HDD is a set of metal disks rotating on a spindle. Information is written to the surface of the disks by a small mechanical head. When you copy something, create a new file, or run a program, the head moves, looking for where it was written. For clarity, imagine a vinyl record - only instead of a needle there will be a mechanical read head.

    Solid state drives do not have any moving mechanical parts.

    Other benefits of SSD:

    • Quick response to user actions.
    • Silent work.
    • Low power consumption (half that of HDD).
    • No overheating.

    These are just the main advantages of solid-state drives that the user can “feel”. However, the question is what better HDD or SSD, many users continue to ask, so let's compare the characteristics of these two types of drives:

    1. The speed of SSD operation is higher, since the stage of mechanical search for the desired location on the disk surface disappears. Data access time is reduced by 100 times – set to SSD system literally starts to fly compared to using an HDD.
    2. The absence of mechanical moving parts contributes to the silent operation of the drive and increases its life expectancy. HDD most often fails due to mechanical damage - this problem does not exist with SSDs.
    3. The SSD temperature is always kept at the optimal level, even if it is not cooled with a cooler. The HDD overheats without cooling, which leads to software and hardware problems.

    But let's be objective: SSDs also have disadvantages. First of all, this is the price, which still remains quite high and directly depends on the volume. Another problem is the limit on the number of rewrite cycles. The HDD can be filled with data and cleared as much as you like; SSDs have a limitation, but in practice it is difficult to achieve.

    All SSD drives have warranty period service life is 3-5 years, but they usually function much longer, so you should not focus on these numbers.

    If you cannot choose between SSD and HDD, then there is a hybrid option - SSHD. Such drives combine the advantages of both technologies, but you will notice the increase in operating speed only when loading the operating system. Data writing and reading will be performed at the same level as that of an HDD, so such hybrids are not particularly popular among users.

    Selection rules

    So, you’ve decided that it’s time to ditch the outdated hard drive and install a solid-state drive in your computer - you’ve figured out why it’s needed and what advantages it has over an HDD. However, another question arises here: how to choose an SSD?

    Stores offer drives with different form factors, controllers, and prices, so it's hard to figure out what's right for you. In order not to feel insecure in a conversation with a consultant who will probably want to sell the SSD at a higher price, try to choose a drive according to the parameters below.

    Volume

    As already noted, one of the main disadvantages of SSD is the price strictly tied to the storage capacity. The minimum capacity today is 60 GB. If you consider that installed Windows 7 requires 16-20 GB depending on the bit depth, then it becomes clear that 60 GB is only enough to install the system and a dozen programs necessary for operation.

    If you want to record games and heavy graphics applications like Corel or Photoshop on an SSD, then consider drives with a capacity of more than 120 GB.

    Speed

    Any drive (SSD is no exception) has two speed indicators: writing and reading. The higher these values, the better, but remember that the specifications usually indicate the maximum speed. The real meaning can only be found out in practice using special programs. If the drive has been on the market for a long time, then you can try to find its speed tests from users on the Internet.

    Interface and form factor

    Most modern SSD drives are manufactured in the 2.5 form factor with support for the SATA 3 interface. But there may be other, more expensive options:

    • PCI card installed directly into the motherboard slot.
    • External SSD drive.
    • Disk with mSATA interface for installation in laptops and compact computers.

    As for the interface: everything new SSDs are available with a SATA 3 interface, but if you have an older controller (first or second generation) installed on your motherboard, then the drive can still be connected. However, there is one limitation: the baud rate is determined by the smallest value. That is, if you connect SATA 3 to SATA 2, the speed will be determined by the throughput of SATA 2.

    HDDs for computers have a form factor of 3.5 inches, then for SSD installation 2.5 you will need a special adapter, often called a “sled”. It is a small shelf made of metal, which is suspended at the location where the disk is installed.

    By the way, using a special adapter you can install an SSD instead of a DVD in a laptop. Many users remove the unused drive and install a solid-state drive in its place, on which the operating system is then installed. A standard laptop hard drive is at the same time completely erased and then used as storage for personal files.

    Memory and controller

    There are three types of memory, differing in the number of bits of information in one cell - SLC (1 bit), MLC (2 bits) and TLC (3 bits). The first type is outdated and is now practically not used, so if you see it in the characteristics, pass by such a drive.

    MLC is the most common type of memory at the moment, choose it. It has its drawbacks, but there is no adequate alternative yet, since TLC is just beginning to appear on SSD market and is still very expensive.

    The situation is similar with controllers: the most popular among manufacturers and widespread among users is SandForce technology, which increases disk performance by compressing data before recording.

    But SandForce controllers have one drawback that may seem significant to some: if the drive is filled to the limit with information, then after cleaning it, the write speed does not return to its original state, that is, it becomes lower. However, this problem can be solved simply: do not fill the memory to the last byte, and the speed will not drop.

    There are other, more expensive options: Intel, Indilinx, Marvell. If your budget allows, it is better to pay attention to solid-state drives with controllers from these companies.

    Manufacturer

    The last parameter that requires your attention is the manufacturer. Of course, on various forums you can find many posts about whether it is better to choose Kingston or, say, Silicon Power, since they specialize in the production of various types of drives.

    However, this is not an entirely true statement: there are much fewer companies actually producing NAND flash memory than there are brands on the market. The following have their own production (and development department):

    • Intel.
    • Samsung.
    • SanDisk.
    • Crucial.

    OCZ, for example, did not have any developments until recently and only recently acquired controller manufacturer Indilinx. Therefore, it is better to pay attention to the above characteristics, and keep the manufacturers in mind last.

    Working with a SSD

    After a successful purchase and successful installation of the system on the SSD, you will turn on the computer and be surprised at how quickly everything began to work. To maintain such agility for as long as possible, follow simple rules for operating solid-state drives:

    • Install a system that supports the TRIM command (Windows 7 and higher, Mac OS X 10.6.6, Linux 2.6.33).
    • Try not to fill the disk completely - the recording speed will decrease and will not recover (relevant for the SandForce controller).
    • Store personal files on HDD. Do not remove the hard drive if it is working - store music, movies, photos and other data on it that does not require high speed access.
    • Increase the amount of RAM and avoid using the page file if possible.

    By following these simple rules, you will extend the life of your SSD and avoid premature slowdown.

    Advantages and disadvantages of solid state drives over HDDs... What are they?! Solid-state drives, or SSDs, having appeared on the market relatively recently, despite their high cost, have managed to gain popularity among users who value speed.

    A solid state drive is a storage device that uses memory chips. The SSD also includes a management controller. The memory on which solid-state drives operate is divided into two types: flash and RAM.

    Most often, SSDs are used in small devices (communicators, laptops, smartphones), where a significant requirement is the drive's resistance to shock and vibration, as well as its small size. The use of solid state drives in PCs provides a noticeable increase in performance.

    The popularity of SSDs is growing very quickly: their cost, although currently noticeably higher than HDDs, is gradually decreasing; Some companies, which include, for example, those that sold the hard drive manufacturing business to Seagate Samsung, have already completely abandoned the production of HDDs, switching to the development and creation of solid drives.

    History of the origin and further development of SSD

    Despite the fact that solid-state drives have become widespread only recently, the first prototype of such a storage medium was created back in 1978. The first semiconductor drive based on RAM memory was developed by StorageTek (USA). Four years later, another American company, Cray, began using SSD based on RAM memory in its supercomputers Cray-1 and Cray X-MP.

    The first semiconductor flash memory drive was developed in 1995 by M-Systems (Israel).

    Since 2005, laptops and netbooks containing SSDs have increasingly appeared on the market. The first company to release a device with a 4GB SSD was ASUS. Gradually, the speed and volume of devices increased. In 2008, the developers of Mtron Storage Technology (South Korea) presented a 128-gigabyte solid state drive with write and read parameters of 240 MB/s and 260 MB/s, respectively. In 2009, OCZ developed SSD capacity 1 terabyte.

    Benefits of SSD

    The advantages of solid-state drives are obvious. The absence of moving parts has led to their high mechanical resistance, fast reading of files, regardless of the location of their fragments, and absolutely silent operation. Read and write speeds are many times greater than the throughput of the best HDD interfaces, including SATA II, SATA III and others.

    The absence of magnetic disks has made it possible to significantly reduce the size of the SSD, as well as reduce the influence of external electromagnetic fields on it, which can easily cause harm to hard drives and the information stored on them.

    SSDs are also characterized by a wider temperature range and low power consumption.

    Disadvantages of modern SSDs

    The key disadvantage of solid-state drives, due to which not many people can afford to install them in a PC, is their high cost, which is directly proportional to their capacity. The price of HDDs that are more common today depends solely on the platters they contain and increases much more slowly as their volume increases.

    The main disadvantage of NAND SSDs (drives based on the use of non-volatile memory) is, first of all, a limited number of rewrite cycles: ten thousand for regular flash memory (MLC, Multi-level cell) and one hundred thousand for more expensive looking(SLC, Single-level cell). In order to prevent uneven wear, special circuits are built into the SSD: the controller stores information about which blocks are the least rewritable and, if necessary, begins to use them more actively. Number of cycles for RAM SSD and latest technology FRAM is almost limitless, enough for 40 years of continuous use.

    Inability to recover information

    Solid state drives do not allow data recovery due to the use of the TRIM command, so all recovery utilities become useless. In addition, information on the SSD becomes irretrievably lost if the voltage is exceeded or dropped. If in hard drives Most often, only the controller board burns out, the solid-state media burns out completely. A hardware failure of an SSD that occurs due to a failure of the controller chip or flash memory will result in information being lost without the possibility of recovery.

    SSD and choice of Windows operating system

    The acceleration of SSD wear is also affected by the use of outdated and even a number of current operating systems that do not take into account their specifics. The reduced service life of solid-state drives due to the operation of some OS services is due to the fact that they are designed only to work with HDDs,

    Therefore they are used on SSD technology, which speed up the operation of hard drives, but do not have any positive effect on the performance of solid-state drives, but on the contrary, reduce their service life.

    In the Windows OS family, optimization of work with SSDs was introduced only starting from the seventh version. On hard Windows drives 7 does not use defragmentation, as well as Superfetch and ReadyBoost technologies needed to speed up reading and writing on hard drives. Previous versions Windows, including the relatively new Vista OS, require additional settings to reduce SSD wear. First of all, you need to disable defragmentation, which still does not have any effect on the performance of solid-state drives.

    Setting up Windows 7 to work with SSD

    In order to prevent rapid wear of the SSD, you should disable some services and operations on the system.

    First of all, you should disable the use of the paging file in the system, which is designed to store temporary data, which is necessary when there is insufficient RAM. However, writing and rewriting to an SSD so frequently will cause the memory cells to wear out quickly. Therefore, if your memory exceeds 4 GB, the best solution will disable the page file. If the memory size is less than 4 GB, then the easiest way would be to move the page file to the hard drive or increase the amount of RAM.

    Indexing and caching SSDs are completely unnecessary operations, since the SSD is already very fast.

    Due to the fact that direct SSD access to files is very fast, defragmentation is unnecessary, moreover, it only harms the SSD cells.

    Another operating system component that became unnecessary after installing it on an SSD is Prefetch and SuperPrefetch, designed to speed up bootstrap and launching programs.

    To disable these services, open Windows registry and change the EnablePrefetcher and EnableSuperfetch values ​​to zero.

    SSD and alternative operating systems

    TRIM support for solid-state memory was introduced in Mac OS X version 10.7 (Lion). In 2010 Apple company launched Air computers, which included solid-state memory. Initially, at the buyer's request, the SSD could be replaced with regular hard drive, however, starting in 2010, the company completely abandoned the use of HDDs in this line to reduce the size of the computer case, as well as reduce its weight. The memory capacity in the Air line ranges from 64 GB to 512 GB.

    In 2012, it went on sale new MacBook Pro, powered by flash memory. Optionally, you can install up to 768 GB of flash memory into your computer.

    TRIM support for SSDs in operating rooms Linux systems appeared starting with kernel version 2.6.33. In the drive mounting settings, you should specify the “discard” option.

    SSD or HDD: what to choose?

    Currently, solid-state drives are increasingly gaining market share from hard drives. And although it is still too early to talk about the onset of the final transition to SSDs and removal of HDDs from sale, it is becoming clear that at some point this will become inevitable. Those who have installed a solid-state drive as a system drive have already seen the difference in performance, which is noticeable even without using special tests.

    Flash memory drives have fast access times, high speed information transfer and improved performance, which allows you to work with the operating system and installed applications much faster. In addition, the SSD is characterized by absolutely silent operation, reliability and low power consumption.

    At the moment, there are many solid-state drives from different manufacturers on the component market, so choosing the best option among them is not so easy. However, the speed of any SSD model, even the slowest and cheapest, is many times higher than the same one. hard parameter disk.

    Let's compare each of technical parameters SSDs and HDDs separately.

    Performance

    Almost every SSD is two or three times faster than a traditional hard drive in terms of interoperability. Launching programs and the operating system, resuming from sleep or standby mode, installing applications, working with files (copying, archiving, unzipping) is noticeably faster on solid-state drives.

    To determine a higher SSD performance, you don’t even need to take any measurements, since it is easy to notice even “by eye”. Launch software becomes much faster, the operating system also runs without delay. Particularly noticeable is the speed of entering and exiting standby or sleep mode.

    SSDs are an excellent choice for users who value speed.

    Comparison of HDD and SDD performance

    If you test for comparison purposes one of the currently best HDDs Seagate Barracuda XT with a capacity of 3 TB and a speed of 7200 rpm and Samsung SSD 470 Series from the previous generation, it becomes clear how noticeably different the performance of HDDs and SSDs is.

    Futuremark PCMark 7, simulating standard computer operation, demonstrates that in almost any type of work the SSD performs the task three to four times faster than hard disk. At the same time, this test takes into account system performance, taking into account the influence of the CPU and video card, which allows you to see a picture almost similar to that created during normal use.

    The only exceptions, when the results of HDD and SDD are almost equal, include working with video in Windows Movie Maker And Windows boot Media Center.

    The most striking example when a user can see and evaluate the speed of a storage medium is when transferring and copying data. On older computers, this time can take such a long period that the user is forced to sit in front of the screen and wait for file operations to be completed.

    A comparison of three media: SSD, 7200 RPM HDD and 5400 RPM HDD shows how much faster SSDs are. In this test, files were copied and transferred from one logical drive to another, resulting in the media being able to both read and write data.

    As you can see, the speed of an SSD when working with files and archives is several times higher than the capabilities of a hard drive.

    This test allows you to determine how noticeable the performance of the SSD will be when solving daily tasks that the user constantly faces. Two types of programs were selected for testing: 1) those that are most often used by users, 2) large packages, the installation of which usually takes a very long time.

    Testing has shown that the speed of installing applications on an SSD is two or three times faster than on an HDD. The only exceptions are Acronis programs and Office 2007.

    The advantage of the SSD also remains when launching applications, although in this case the time period is so short that it is unlikely to be very noticeable to the user.

    File capacity and storage capacity

    If you need storage media for large amounts of information, such as videos or movies, then it would be much better to opt for a hard drive. Purchasing an SSD to store files on it is an unnecessary luxury, since the cost of solid-state drives is noticeably higher and, moreover, directly depends on its volume. Even the smallest 128 GB model is very expensive, while a 500 GB hard drive can be purchased at a very low price.

    However, if you plan to use an SSD as a system one, then the current minimum volume of 128 GB will be enough for you. This volume is quite enough to create a working system where Windows 7, the necessary programs and even several games will be installed. And to store multimedia files and archives, you can install additional HDD. If you are going to install an SSD in your laptop, then you can purchase an external hard drive to store files.

    Reliability and resistance to shock and vibration

    A significant parameter of an SSD that distinguishes it from hard drives is its reliability in use, which is ensured due to the fact that the solid-state drive is absolutely insensitive to shock and vibration. This is especially true for laptops, which you often have to carry with you. Such devices are often subject to shock, and sometimes only the built-in accelerometer, which turns off the HDD when dropped, saves it from data loss or damage.

    Using an SDD allows you to forget about trying not to shake your laptop. For example, when the device barely begins to go into sleep mode (and at this time it is very actively writing data to the media), you can already put it in your bag. If you do this with a laptop with a built-in HDD, the hard drive will easily be damaged.

    Durability of SSD and HDD

    At the same time, SDDs are still inferior to hard drives in terms of their durability. Inexpensive first-generation SSDs installed, for example, on EEE PCs, have already begun to gradually fail. And if it is almost impossible to predict the mechanical wear of HDDs, then solid-state drives have a limited number of rewrite cycles, which is currently its main disadvantage.

    It is expected that the development of technology will lead to the fact that non-volatile memory will be made from other materials, such as, for example, FeRam, but such drives are not yet commercially available. In 2014, HP plans to begin selling drives based on ReRAM technology.

    Physical dimensions of both media

    For some users, a significant advantage of SSDs is their light weight and size. Solid-state drives are noticeably smaller than hard drives, which, firstly, makes it possible to significantly reduce the size of the device (this is especially true for laptops and netbooks), and secondly, it allows you to place a larger number of drives in a PC case rack.

    Cost of SDD and HDD in comparison

    Price is the parameter by which SSDs are hopelessly inferior to hard drives. Modern solid-state drives cost three to four times more than an HDD, which has three times the capacity.

    It's up to you to decide whether it's worth spending money on performance and speed. In our opinion, this only makes sense if your work with a PC or laptop is constant and active. In this case, you will save not only time, but also your nerves, getting rid of the irritation associated with the fact that the system and applications are very slow.

    What should you choose?

    Although SSD technologies are developing very actively, it is still too early to talk about the time when they will completely replace hard drives. Solid State Drives have no equal in providing more high performance and speed when using them as system drives, however, they are noticeably inferior to HDDs when it comes to storing files.

    For most of the tasks faced by home PC users, a configuration with two media is perfect: an SSD, where the operating system should be placed, as well as executable files and program caches, and a large HDD for storing movies, music, photos and documents.

    A budget option can do just fine without the use of solid-state drives, but computers that work exclusively with SSDs, due to their unreasonably high cost, are extremely rare.

    In this article I will try to explain to you, what is an SSD drive, how it differs from a regular hard drive, I’ll tell you about its advantages and disadvantages, and you will also learn by what parameters (criteria) you should choose an SSD drive when purchasing.

    This article today about SSD drives was not born by chance. It turned out that many readers have absolutely no idea what it is.

    So, after my description of the SSD life program, the vast majority of users rushed to check their usual hard drives, which caused confusion in the comments. There I promised to write in more detail about SSD drives - I’m doing it.

    What is an SSD drive

    In “dry language” the definition of an SSD disk sounds like this: solid state drive(SSD solid-state drive) - a computer non-mechanical storage device based on memory chips.

    It is unlikely that you are imbued with this meager definition. Now I’ll try to explain what an SSD drive is with a “wet tongue,” as they say, on my fingers.

    I’ll come from afar... First, you need to remember (or find out for the first time) what a regular computer hard drive is (it’s also called a hard drive).

    A hard drive (HDD) is a device in your computer that stores all the data (programs, movies, images, music... the operating system itself). Windows system) and it looks like this...



    Information on a hard drive is written (and read) by reversing the magnetization of cells on magnetic plates that rotate at wild speed. Above the plates (and between them) a special carriage with a reading head rushes like a frightened one.

    This whole thing is buzzing and moving constantly. In addition, this is a very “thin” device and is afraid of even a simple wobble during its operation, not to mention falling to the floor, for example (the reading heads will meet the rotating disks and hello to the information stored on the disk).

    But now the solid state drive (SSD) comes onto the scene. This is the same device for storing information, but based not on rotating magnetic disks, but on memory chips, as mentioned above. It's like a big flash drive.

    Nothing spinning, moving or buzzing! Plus - just crazy speed of writing/reading data!

    On the left is the hard drive, on the right is the SSD drive.

    It's time to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of SSD drives...

    Advantages of SSD drives

    1. Speed

    This is the biggest plus of these devices! If you replace your old hard drive with a flash drive, you won’t recognize your computer!

    Before the advent of SSD drives, the most slow device There was just a hard drive in the computer. He, with his ancient technology from the last century, incredibly slowed down enthusiasm fast processor and fast RAM.

    2. Noise level=0 dB

    It makes sense - there are no moving parts. In addition, these drives do not heat up during operation, so cooling coolers turn on less often and do not work as intensely (creating noise).

    3. Shock and vibration resistance

    I watched a video online - a connected and working SSD was shaken, dropped on the floor, knocked on... but it continued to work quietly! No comments.

    4. Light weight

    Not a huge plus, of course, but still, hard drives are heavier than their modern competitors.

    5. Low power consumption

    I’ll do without the numbers - the battery life of my old laptop has increased by more than one hour.

    Disadvantages of SSD drives

    1. High cost

    This is at the same time the most limiting drawback for users, but also very temporary - prices for such drives are constantly and rapidly falling.

    2. Limited number of rewrite cycles

    A regular, average SSD drive based on flash memory with MLC technology is capable of producing approximately 10,000 read/write cycles of information. But the more expensive type of SLC memory can already last 10 times longer (100,000 rewrite cycles).

    As for me, in both cases the flash drive can easily last at least 3 years! This is just the average life cycle home computer, after which the configuration is updated, components are replaced with more modern, faster and cheaper ones.

    Progress does not stand still and tadpoles from manufacturing companies have already come up with new technologies that significantly increase the lifespan of SSD drives. For example, RAM SSD or FRAM technology, where the resource, although limited, is practically unattainable in real life (up to 40 years in continuous read/write mode).

    3. Impossibility of recovering deleted information

    Deleted information from an SSD drive cannot be restored by anyone. special utility. There are simply no such programs.

    If during a large voltage surge in a regular hard drive, in 80% of cases only the controller burns out, then in SSD drives this controller is located on the board itself, along with the memory chips, and the entire drive burns out - hello family photo album.

    This danger is practically reduced to zero in laptops and when using uninterruptible unit nutrition.

    Bus capacity

    Remember, I advised you how to choose a flash drive? So, when choosing a flash drive, data read/write speed is also of paramount importance. The higher this speed, the better. But you should also remember about the bus bandwidth of your computer, or rather, the motherboard.

    If your laptop or desktop computer is very old, there is no point in buying an expensive and fast SSD drive No. He simply will not be able to work even at half his capacity.

    To make it clearer, I will outline the throughput of various buses (data transfer interface):

    IDE (PATA) - 1000 Mbit/s. This is a very ancient interface for connecting devices to the motherboard. To connect an SSD drive to such a bus, you need a special adapter. The point of using the described disks in this case is absolutely zero.

    SATA - 1,500 Mbit/s. It's more fun, but not too much.

    SATA2 - 3,000 Mbit/s. The most common tire at the moment. With such a bus, for example, my drive operates at half its capacity. He needs...

    SATA3 - 6,000 Mbit/s. This is a completely different matter! This is where the SSD drive will show itself in all its glory.

    So before purchasing, find out what bus you have on your motherboard, as well as which bus the drive itself supports, and decide on the feasibility of the purchase.

    Here, for example, is how I chose (and what guided) my HyperX 3K 120 GB. Read speed is 555 MB/s, and data write speed is 510 MB/s. This drive now works in my laptop at exactly half of its capabilities (SATA2), but exactly twice as fast as a standard hard drive.

    Over time, it will migrate to children's gaming computers, which have SATA3, and there they will demonstrate all their power and speed without limiting factors (outdated, slow data transfer interfaces).

    We conclude: if you have a SATA2 bus in your computer and do not plan to use the disk in another (more powerful and modern) computer, buy a disk with throughput no higher than 300 MB/s, which will be significantly cheaper and at the same time twice as fast as your current hard drive.

    Form factor

    Also, when choosing and purchasing a flash drive, pay attention to the form factor (size and dimensions). It can be 3.5″ (inches) - larger and slightly cheaper, but will not fit into a laptop, or 2.5″ - smaller and fits into any laptop (for desktop computers they are usually equipped with special adapters).

    Thus, it is more practical to buy a disk in the 2.5″ form factor - and you can install it anywhere and sell it (if anything) easier. And it takes up less space system unit, which improves the cooling of the entire computer.

    IOPS indicator

    An important factor is IOPS (the number of input/output operations per second), the higher this indicator, the faster the drive will work with a larger volume of files.

    Memory chip

    Memory chips are divided into two main types MLC and SLC. The cost of SLC chips is much higher and the service life is on average 10 times longer than that of MLC memory chips, but with proper operation, the service life of drives based on MLC memory chips is at least 3 years.

    Controller

    This is the most important part of SSD drives. The controller controls the operation of the entire drive, distributes data, monitors the wear of memory cells and evenly distributes the load. I recommend giving preference to time-tested and well-proven controllers from SandForce, Intel, Indilinx, and Marvell.

    SSD memory capacity

    It would be most practical to use an SSD only for hosting the operating system, and it is better to store all data (movies, music, etc.) on a second hard drive. With this option, it is enough to buy a disk with a size of ~ 60 GB. This way you can save a lot and get the same acceleration of your computer (in addition, the service life of the drive will increase).

    Again, I’ll give an example of my solution - special containers for hard drives are sold online (very inexpensively), which can be inserted into a laptop in 2 minutes instead of an optical CD drive (which I’ve used a couple of times over four years). Here's a great solution for you - old disk in place of the drive, and a brand new SSD in place of the standard hard drive. It couldn't have been better.

    And finally, a couple of interesting facts:

    Why is a hard drive often called a hard drive? Back in the early 1960s, IBM released one of the first hard drives and the number of this development was 30 - 30, which coincided with the designation of the popular Winchester rifled weapon (Winchester), so this slang name stuck to all hard drives.

    I'm just reviewing programs! Any complaints - to their manufacturers!

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