Even budget new computers and laptops now have an SSD as a system drive. No wonder: such a drive works much faster than conventional HDDs, and it makes sense to put it, if not as the main storage of information, but at least in the role of a system disk. And high speed is what the user needs. But SSDs can be of different formats, sizes, with different interfaces – how to figure it all out?
What is the best form factor?
SSDs come in four form factors: M.2 (NVMe), 2.5-inch (SATA), U.2 (NVMe), and PCI-e expansion module (NVMe). Let's briefly talk about each of them in order to form at least a superficial impression of what to choose from.
Let's start with the most advanced consumer M.2 solutions.
M.2 Solid State Drives : These SSDs, which are shaped like slats of RAM, have already become the standard for ultra-thin laptops. They are also supported by desktop PC boards.
Most M.2 drives are made in standard sizes 22×80 cm, but sometimes they are shorter or, on the contrary, longer (it is not difficult to determine by markings in the names of drives – 2280, 2260, 22110 …).
But the most interesting thing is different: some boards offer two or more M.2 connectors, which will allow you to organize a RAID array from fast SSDs, adding even more performance to your computer when manipulating data. In particular, if we take two flagship drives from the main memory manufacturers and combine them into a zero level RAID, then instead of the previously announced read and write speeds of up to 6.6 GB / s and 5.0 GB / s, we will get a doubling to 13.2 GB / s and 10 Gb / s.
2.5-inch SATA SSD : Still a common storage type that mimics the shape of traditional hard drives of a similar form factor and uses a similar interface, SATA 3.0, for connection.
To install them in your laptop or system unit, there must be a direct SATA connector and a place for such a drive (in the case of a PC, you can use a 2.5-inch adapter for installation in 3.5-inch baskets designed for large HDDs).
PCI-e SSD Expansion Modules : These drives are potentially faster because they operate on the PCI Express bus, not SATA, which was developed over a decade ago for connecting HDDs. Such devices are connected to the connectors on the motherboard, where video cards are usually installed, and the more PCI-e lanes an SSD can use, the faster its speed will be. The only caveat: they can only be installed on a desktop PC.
U.2 SSDs : These solutions are visually similar to SATA drives as they come in a 2.5-inch form factor. However, they use the PCI Express interface to connect to a PC. Typically, these solutions offer more capacity and are used in server solutions that can benefit from this form factor: at the very least, it requires less upgrade costs with a multiple increase in speed.
Which interface to choose: SATA or PCI-e?
2.5-inch SSDs use the SATA interface that was developed for HDDs in 2000. M.2 drives work with a faster PCI Express interface that offers more bandwidth. But it's that simple. M.2 SSDs can run either over SATA or PCI-e, depending on the drive. And then there is the NVMe specification designed for today's fast solid state solutions. The tricky part is that M.2 drives can be SATA-based, PCI-e-based without NVMe support, or PCI-e-based with NVMe support. The choice is made easier by the fact that most of the fast M.2 SSDs released in recent years support the NVMe protocol.
So, if your day-to-day tasks include surfing the web and running simple office applications, most NVMe SSDs won't be noticeably faster than less expensive SATA models.
For those who use resource-intensive software for editing photos, transcoding video materials, compressing data, unpacking archives, as well as copying and writing large files, it is more logical to choose an NVMe solution, since in the scenarios mentioned they will work 5 times faster than a SATA SSD.
Most manufacturers of solid-state solutions (such as Micron, Intel, Samsung, etc.) are gradually starting to reduce the production of SATA SSDs, which is associated with the growing popularity and cheaper prices of more compact and faster NVMe devices. And here's something else to pay attention to: NVMe PCIe 3.0 devices were previously considered the fastest SSDs, but with the advent of the new PCIe 4.0 system standard, even more powerful solid-state drives have appeared that take full advantage of the capabilities of the advanced data transfer protocol. True, if we talk about upgrading existing assemblies or laptops, not every motherboard has an M.2 connector.
And if there is M.2, but the board only supports PCIe 3.0, is it worth buying an SSD with PCIe 4.0? Definitely yes. Due to backward compatibility, it will work on your PC, but with a larger upgrade or changing your computer to a more modern one, you will no longer have to buy a new drive.
As for ultrabooks, they mostly support M.2 drives, since traditional 2.5-inch SATA drives simply do not fit into them. Keep in mind that some manufacturers solder the drive directly onto the laptop's motherboard, which prevents storage upgrades. Therefore, before purchasing the same laptop, it is better to consult with the seller about the possibility of replacing components.
Capacity: which one to choose?
Alas, SSDs are still quite expensive, and the issue of capacity depends mainly on the budget. For example, a 1 TB drive is suitable as a universal option. This is enough for both system needs and information storage. For example, the Crucial P5 Plus with impressive speeds of 6,600 MB / s read and 5,000 MB / s write will cost about 17,000 rubles.
If your budget is not ready for such an expense, you can take half the amount. The price will also be almost 2 times less: already 9,000 instead of 17,000. SATA solutions are even cheaper: a drive from the same manufacturer of the same volume costs about 5,000 rubles. But the speed, as we have already noted, is much less.
SSD and power consumption: how important is it?
You've probably heard more than once that SSDs are less power hungry because they have no moving parts like traditional platter hard drives. At the same time, desktop owners looking to maximize performance are unlikely to rate power consumption as a significant issue.
This characteristic is really important for ultrabook owners, as it directly affects the final autonomy of a compact computer. Some SSDs can draw in excess of 1 Watt in standby mode, while more efficient SSDs can only draw milliwatts. In addition, in addition to information about the average power consumption, such a characteristic as performance per watt is important, which makes it possible to assess the “gluttony” of the drive under load. If battery life is a key factor when buying a drive, be sure to check the power benchmarks of your chosen device so you know what to count on and make the right decision.
What controller should your SSD have?
Essentially, your drive's controller is like the central processing unit of your computer. It is responsible for the distribution of read / write operations and other tasks to ensure the performance and maintenance of the drive. You can delve into the detailed characteristics of the controllers, but for most users it is enough to know the following: as is the case with your PC's CPU, the more cores a controller has, the better for high-performance SSDs with large capacities (from 1 TB or more).
And what about the service life?
Most shoppers don't need to dive into the jungle of memory types and MTBFs. To put it simply, all flash memory has a limited lifespan. This means that after a memory cell (and there are a lot of them on one memory chip) is written a certain number of times, it will stop storing data. Typically, SSD manufacturers indicate the rated longevity of their products in terms of Terabytes Written (TBW) or Writes Per Day (DWPD). For example, for the Crucial P5 Plus, that's 600 TB with a five-year device warranty. Imagine: if you record 1 GB of information every day, in 5 years you use less than 2 TB, and the resource is 600.
At the same time, it should be understood that on such high-capacity drives, taking into account their cost, a kind of “backup technology” is implemented. That is, when, after a few years, the memory cells begin to become unusable, the SSD will begin to move data from the worn-out cells to newer ones, thereby significantly extending its service life.
And one more thing: if an SSD is not overwritten in 24/7 mode, its life can reach 7-10 years. The conclusion seems to be obvious: the less actively the “disk” is used, the longer the duration of its “life”. This means that the 5-year warranty does not mean at all that the drive will completely wear out after a couple of months after the specified period has been exceeded.
Summing it up …
The best choice for today is an NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Even if your computer only has PCIe 3.0, it is worth buying just such an SSD. If there is no M.2 either, you will have to settle for a SATA SSD: if you switch to it from a regular HDD, the difference will still be impressive. As for the volume, it makes sense to take at least 256 GB: such solutions are not very expensive today. If you want to use the drive not only as a system drive, but also for storing information, take options from 500 GB.
Read also:
- How to connect an SSD drive to a computer: step by step instructions
- How to optimize RAM performance
