Recent Articles
VisionTek mSATA
VisionTek mSATA solid state drives are available in capacities of 60 GB, 120 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB and have maximum sequential speeds of 540 MB/s and 425 MB/s for random read and write respectively. Its low 4k random aligned write access stands at 60,000 IOPS. It is one of the SSD’s that utilizes […]
Read Article ›840 EVO mSATA
Samsung followed their 840 EVO SATA III SSD with an mSATA version of the drive of the same name. The 840 EVO mSATA is available in 120 GB, 250 GB, 500 GB and 1 TB capacities with a maximum throughput of 540 MB/s (sequential read) and 520 MB/s (sequential write). For random IOPS, the numbers […]
Read Article ›Extreme II
The SanDisk Extreme II is a solid state drive utilizing the SATA III 6 Gbps interface. It follows SanDisk’s Extreme SSD, also a SATA III device, but runs on SandForce’s SF-2281 controller. The Extreme II’s Marvell 88SS9187 controller gives this drive a maximum sequential read speed of 550 MB/s and a maximum sequential write speed of […]
Read Article ›840 EVO
Samsung introduces yet another solid state drive in the 840 family with the 840 EVO. This Client PC SSD is capable of reaching a maximum sequential read speed of 540 MB/s and a maximum sequential write speed of 520 MB/s (except for the 120 GB model which only reaches a maximum write speed of 410 […]
Read Article ›Force Series LS
With a sequential read speed of up to 560 MB/s, the Force Series LS from Corsair is a force to deal with. This SATA 6 Gbps solid state drive is available in three capacities namely, 60 GB, 120 GB and 240 GB. Each of these variants can reach a maximum sequential write speed of 535 […]
Read Article ›Q Series Pro
Toshiba adds to their collection of solid state drives with the Q Series Pro. The Q Series includes three models: 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB. Each of these models is rated at 554 MB/s sequential read speed and at 512 MB/s sequential write speed. The Q Series SSD follows the 7 mm […]
Read Article ›SSDNow E50
The SSDNow E50 is Kingston’s follow-up to the SSDNow E100 and like it, is also a SATA 3 6 GB/s solid state drive. Users can choose between 100 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB capacities with each capable of reaching a maximum sequential read speed of 550 MB/s and a maximum sequential write speed of 530 […]
Read Article ›Vector 150
The Vector 150 is a SATA 3 solid state drive capable of reaching maximum sequential read and write speeds of 550 MB/s and 530 MB/s respectively. Three capacities are available, namely: 120 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB. All capacities have IOPS random read speed numbers of 95,000. The steady state random write IOPS are […]
Read Article ›RealSSD P400m
The RealSSD P400m from Micron is a SATA III SSD aimed to provide storage solutions to enterprise workstations. This solid state drive is available in capacities of 100GB, 200GB and 400GB. The RealSSD P400m is capable of reaching a maximum sequential read speed of 380 MB/s and a maximum sequential write speed of 310 MB/s. […]
Read Article ›Seagate 600
The Seagate 600 is the company’s first entry into the SSD market. There are two models, a 5mm and a 7mm, both with available capacities of 120 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB. All drives use the SATA III 6 GB/s interface and utilizes MLC NAND flash modules. Seagate avoids giving exact numbers for the […]
Read Article ›Frequently Asked Questions
- SSDs vs. Hard Drives
A lot of questions have been raised about solid state drives or SSDs. Are they really that fast? Will they last for many years or are they easy to break? Will getting one be cost effective? Will they become the next staple in hard drive technology? All of these questions needs to be answered. This article will give you a short yet concise idea about the pros and cons of getting a solid state drive versus sticking to our old hard drive.
Solid state drives is an non-volatile array flash memory modules configured like a flash drive so that it retains memory even if there is no power. It is very much like your RAM but the RAM could not retain memory after power is taken away.
One of the key features of the SSD that makes it different from a conventional hard-disk drive is that it has no moving parts. The conventional hard drive relies on mechanical action to work. It has a magnetic platter that spins at really high rates (up to 7200 RPM) and a metal arm that writes and stores data on the platter.
With the SSD's architecture, booting your pc and accessing/storing data is faster because unlike the conventional HDDs , solid state drives can access data almost instantly for it does not wait for the platter to spin and for the arm to find where the data is located.
SSDs use less power mainly because it does not have a motor like the one used to spin the platter on an HDD. This is very good for notebooks because it will add more hours to battery life. Other advantages of not having mechanical parts is that they generate less heat and noise. It is also exempted from the wear and tear of those moving parts so it will have a longer lifespan.
How much longer depends on several factors including the controller and type of flash memory (SLC or MLC, 3x nm or 2x nm). This is mainly a factor for enterprise users, however; for most consumers, any modern solid state drive will likely outlive their computer's overall life span.