Solid State Drives Are the Future
As I have mentioned in previous articles, solid state drives (SSDs) are a promising technology in the area of computer storage. For years, notebooks have been saddled with relatively slow hard disk drives (SSDs) when compared to faster offerings on the desktop. When desktop HDDs were spinning at 5,400 RPM or 7,200 RPM, mobile HDDs were stuck at 4,200 RPM. Now that we have desktop HDDs spinning at 10,000 RPM, the fastest available mobile HDDs are spinning at 7,200 RPM.
Despite the steady increase in spindle speeds for mobile HDDs, there is still room for improvement. Mobile HDDs are susceptible to shock, while the faster 7,200 RPM HDDs are noisy, add vibrations to the notebook chassis, and are often power hungry. This is where SSDs come in to save the day.
SSDs were once reserved for military and government use due to their high-tech features and exorbitantly high price tags. Over the years, SSDs have steadily dropped in price, although they still are priced much higher than HDDs on a price/gigabyte ratio. However, that price premium also brings superior read write speeds, lower power consumption, silent operation, and immunity to shock and vibration that would otherwise be harmful to HDDs.
The ASUS Eee PC 4G was the first notebook to really introduce the general consumer to the idea of SSDs as a primary storage system. Although the Eee PC 4G was equipped with a relatively slow processor, the notebook’s 4GB SSD more than made up for the processor’s deficiencies and made for snappy desktop performance in both Linux and Windows XP.
As the public has begun to warm up to the technology, storage manufacturers have opened the flood gates for SSDs which cater to both consumer and business markets. Since SSDs are offered in both 2.5†and 1.8†form factors, they are easy drop-in replacements for HDDs.
Until recently, the best performing SSDs have been those which rely on single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory. These drives offer fast and consistent read/write speeds and superior longevity when it comes to cell life. Multi-level cell (MLC) SSDs, however, are flooding the SSD market while at the same time bringing prices to a more affordable level.
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For example, a 64GB SSD (SLC) can be found for roughly $550 online – on the other hand, a 64GB SSD (MLC) can be had for less than $150.
Although the pricing of MLC drives is definitely more affordable than comparable SLC offerings, their write speeds and MTBF are often not very competitive. Manufacturers of MLC SSDs, however, aren’t sitting idle when it comes to the development of memory controllers to improve write performance and longevity.
Companies like OCZ and Super Talent have recently announced new MLC-based drives at competitive price points that aim to dispel the notion that MLC drives can’t compete with SLC drives on all performance fronts. Intel is also throwing its hat into the MLC optimization front and offers its X-25M and X-18M SSDs which meet or exceed the performance of the fastest SLC drives on the market.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to SSDs and it’s a great time for businesses to begin implementing the technology into existing notebooks or with future purchases. Falling prices are reason enough to make the switch, but the impending release of Windows 7 maybe give consumers and businesses alike the motivation to make a clean break from our traditional HDDs.
