How to choose a solid-state hard drive for a laptop. How to transfer an operating system to an SSD drive? Selection by volume

And so on. The time has finally come to move from words to action and see (or keep an eye on) which SSD drive for a laptop to choose for the planned upgrade. Because there is no need to convince anyone that in terms of speed characteristics, solid-state drives are preferable to conventional hard drives. I will divide the material into 2 parts, and in the first of them we will focus on SSD drives of the M.2 form factor.

Selection criteria

As usual, let's outline some criteria. First of all, let's decide on the purpose of the disk. The SSD drive will have to work as a system drive with all the ensuing consequences.

Next, I will consider those models that are currently on sale (end of April 2017), leaving out of the review semi- and completely unknown drives that are offered in abundance on Ali and other similar sites.

Another criterion is capacity. In my opinion, a 240-256 GB drive is by far the best option in terms of sufficient space and cost of such a drive. If you have the opportunity to buy a more capacious option, that’s good. As a last resort, you can stop at the 128 GB version, but this should be done with a limited purchase budget or if, in addition to the OS and the bare minimum of programs (office, browser, messenger), nothing else will be installed.

Perhaps that's all. Go.

Which interface do you prefer?

I have already written about SSD drive interfaces, in particular in the M.2 format, and I will briefly repeat that such drives can operate on two buses: SATA or PCI-express. They differ in the key in the connector, and also in the fact that if the laptop has an M.2 connector operating on the SATA bus, then drives designed specifically for this interface can be installed in it. Models designed for the PCIe bus will not be suitable, including mechanically.

If the installed M.2 connector operates on the PCIe bus, then, as a rule, you can use SSD drives with a SATA and PCIe interface. The possibility of installing a SATA drive must be clarified in the specifications. Another thing is that it is not entirely reasonable to attach a slow SATA drive to a high-speed interface.

If your laptop model is equipped with an M.2 connector that supports the PCIe bus, then it is better to use SSD drives designed for the same bus. They are much faster than their counterparts running on the SATA bus, although they are more expensive. True, not always, and we will see this when we look at specific models.

SATA

If we talk about ordinary hard drives, then the capabilities of this interface in the SATA III version are too many for them. Strictly speaking, even SATA II is quite enough for most hard drives.

SSD drives are another matter. They quickly exhausted the capabilities of this interface, which is clearly seen from the characteristics of solid-state drives. Almost all of them have a stated read speed that corresponds to the maximum interface throughput – approximately 520-560 MB/s. It must be said that the real reading speed, at least linear reading, is really close to the declared values.

The difference is manifested in the read/write speed on blocks of different lengths, with random read/write, as well as when working with a large request queue and with mixed loading, when read and write operations alternate. True, this no longer depends on the interface used, but on the characteristics of the memory used, the capabilities of the controller, the quality of firmware optimization, etc.

Models with memory made using TLC or MLC technology are available. Considering that one of the main tasks facing manufacturers is to reduce costs, the process of actively replacing MLC with TLC is underway, whether someone likes it or not. As reliability tests of drives with this type of memory show, including the test I conducted of the Plextor S2G drive, this memory is not as terrible as they say.

A few words should be said about capacity and why it makes sense to consider models with larger capacity. Most manufacturers offer SSD drives of different capacities within the same model. If you look closely at the characteristics, you will notice that such a parameter as the TB recording resource (also known as TBW), which shows the maximum amount of information that can be guaranteed to be written to the drive, changes.

So, for more capacious models this parameter is usually higher. For example, for a 128 GB capacity this parameter has a value of 75 TB, and for the same model, but with a capacity of 256 GB it is already 150 TB. Stress testing shows that these numbers have substance. So, my drive “gave up” after recording a little over 300 TB, and the tested 256 GB drive withstood more than 400 TB.

With some limitations, but we can say that the more capacious the drive, the more reliable it is, i.e. you pay not only for the available capacity, but also for more durable memory chips.

Let's move on to the review of the models.

And the table contains the main characteristics. Values ​​are for drives with a capacity of 240-275 GB. For modifications with other volumes, the numbers may differ.

Model	Intel 540s Series	Western Digital Green	Samsung CM871a	Western Digital Blue	Patriot Ignite M2
Available volumes, GB	120, 180, 240 , 360, 480, 960	120, 240	128, 256	250 , 500, 1000	120, 240 , 480
Controller	Silicon Motion SM2258	Silicon Motion SM2258XT	Samsung Maia	Marvell 88SS1074	Phison PS3110-S10
Memory	SK Hynix 16nm TLC NAND	SanDisk 15nm TLC NAND	TLC NAND	SanDisk 15nm TLC NAND	Toshiba 15nm MLC NAND
Buffer	DDR3-1600	—	—	LDDR3-1866,	DDR3-1600
Last read, MB/s	560	540	540	540	560
Last recording, MB/s	480	430	520	500	320
	74000	37000	97000	97000	90000
	85000	68000	57000	79000	70000
Resource (TBW), TB	—	80	—	100	—

Model	Crucial MX300	A-DATA Ultimate SU800	Plextor M7VG	Kingston SSDNow G2	Transcend MTS820
Available volumes, GB	275 , 525, 750, 1050	128, 256 , 512, 1024	128, 256 , 512	120, 240 , 480	120, 240	120, 250 , 500, 1000
Controller	Marvell 88SS1074	Silicon Motion SM2258	Marvell 88SS1074	Phison PS3110-S10	—	Samsung MGX
Memory	Micron TLC 3D NAND		Toshiba 15nm TLC NAND	Toshiba 15nm MLC NAND	TLC NAND	Samsung TLC V-NAND
Buffer	LDDR3-1600, 256 MB		DDR3-1600 256 MB	DDR3-1600	DDR3-1600, 256 MB	LPDDR2-1066,
Last read, MB/s	530	550	560	550	550	540
Last recording, MB/s	500	300	530	330	420	520
Production speed reads, IOPS	55000	50000	98000	79000	78000	98000
Production speed records, IOPS	83000	75000	84000	79000	78000	87000
Resource (TBW), TB	80	—	160	300	—	75

Intel 540s Series, estimated cost - 5500 rubles. One of the cheapest storage options based on the Silicon Motion SM2258 controller. The main advantage of this model is the price, and the main disadvantage is performance. This is one of the slowest drives on the market, and this is not due to the budget of the controller used. You can even get good performance out of it, as evidenced by the Plextor S2G SSD, for which the firmware has been significantly rewritten. As a result, performance has improved significantly, although the drive still remains in the budget class. In this case, only a big name can serve as an argument in favor of a purchase.

Western Digital Green, estimated cost - 5500 rubles. In fact, it’s practically analogous in capabilities to the previous drive from Intel.

SamsungCM871a, estimated cost - 6100 rubles. A budget option in everything, including speed indicators.

WesternDigitalBlue, estimated cost – 6200 rubles. Unlike the very budget Green series, this model is positioned as a mid-level drive, which, in particular, can be indicated by the controller used - Marvell 88SS1074. The disc has good reading characteristics, a little worse at writing, but, nevertheless, fully corresponds to the positioning. It’s quite a solid mid-range product, and considering the recording resource (TBW) of 100 TB, it’s also a very reliable model. In general, a worthy candidate for purchase.

PatriotIgniteM2, estimated cost – 6200 rubles. The use of the Phison PS3110-S10 controller in this case means that this is a reference model from the manufacturer Phison, and Patriot only packages and sells a ready-made solution under its brand. Another strong mid-ranger, and one that works with the MLC memory type, if that’s important to anyone. Considering the potential reliability, performance and price, this model is highly recommended for consideration as an option.

Crucial MX300, approximate price – 6400 rub. A very worthy model for the money. It doesn't match the Samsung 850 EVO, but it outperforms many of its competitors using planar TLC memory. The used controller does a good job of autonomous “garbage collection,” which can be useful if the TRIM command cannot be used for one reason or another. It's worth taking a closer look at this drive.

A-DATA Ultimate SU800, approximate price – 6400 rub. This is the first drive with 3D memory from this manufacturer. If we talk about speed indicators, they are more than decent, and, starting with the 256 GB version, the drive shows everything that it is capable of. The younger version, with a capacity of 128 GB, loses in terms of speed due to the small volume and limitations of the degree of parallelism of flash memory (by the way, another argument in favor of not paying attention to the youngest modification of the SSD drive). Due to the weak controller, this model cannot correspond to the class of productivity solutions; however, the SU800 performs very well in mixed loads and in write operations. The disadvantages appear during random read operations. In this respect, it is similar to the Crucial MX300 drive, built on the same memory. Overall, a more than interesting model for reasonable money.

Plextor M7VG, approximate price – 6400 rub. The pluses are the Marvell 88SS1074 controller and its ability to automatically carry out such an operation as “garbage collection”, which is useful in those systems where the TRIM command does not work. Overall, it’s a very worthy model that doesn’t set any records, but is quite productive. Problems arise only under intense load; however, such modes are rare on a home computer. It's worth taking a closer look at this drive.

Kingston SSDNow G2, approximate price – 6500 rub. Based on the Phison PS3110-S10C controller, it has good read performance, a little worse write performance, but overall it is a balanced model based on a reliable type of memory.

Transcend MTS820, approximate price – 6700 rub. For some reason, the manufacturer is heavily “encrypted”, carefully hiding the controller used and the type of manufacturer of the memory used. In some places it is indicated that the controller is a Marvell 88NV1120, in others it is a Silicon Motion SM2256K. It’s also unclear about the memory; apparently, it’s a Samsung K9BFGD8U0D, made using a 16nm process. Memory, so to speak, is far from the fastest. The model does not stand out as anything special and, given the presence of competitors with similar performance and for less money, is not of great interest. The choice of SSD for this model, in my opinion, is very controversial.

Samsung 850 EVO, estimated price - 6900. For many manufacturers it remains a benchmark in terms of performance, although the model is no longer new at all. At the same time, it is one of the most expensive SSD drives; it justifies the cost with its capabilities. However, we must make a reservation that the younger models with capacities of 120 and 250 GB are not as fast as their more capacious counterparts. Nevertheless, if the issue of saving is not urgent, then you can take it, you won’t go wrong.

If we sum up the intermediate results of drives with the SATA interface, then using even the most budget-friendly of them will give a very noticeable increase in performance compared to a conventional hard drive. If we talk about purchasing options, then it probably makes sense to choose either the cheapest option, which is enough for use as a system drive in a laptop in most cases, or take a closer look at the top options, which will allow you to achieve maximum performance and full using all the capabilities of the rather slow SATA bus.

PCI-Express

More and more laptops are appearing with an M.2 connector using the PCIe interface. There are several versions of it, these are PCIe 2.0 with two or four lanes, and the new PCIe 3.0 with four lanes and the NVMe protocol. These drives are for enthusiasts for whom SATA speeds are absolutely not enough, and who want to get everything these drives have to offer from an SSD drive.

Manufacturers of controllers, memory, and even SSD drives themselves are naturally “in trend”; all controller developers presented their models for this interface. Accordingly, drives are announced that differ in performance and price. This is good, because it allows you to choose a model that suits your “wants” and “wants”, that is, with the required level of performance and the allocated budget. So, let's see what the stores offer us. The transfer will be in ascending order of the average price.

First, I will summarize the main characteristics in a table. Speed ​​indicators, buffer memory capacity, etc. are indicated for versions with a capacity of 240-256 GB.

Model	Intel 600p	Patriot Hellfire	Samsung 960 EVO	PNY CS2030	Plextor M8PeGN
Available volumes, GB	128, 256 , 512, 1024	240 , 480	250 , 500, 1000	240 , 480	128, 256 , 512, 1024
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x4
NVMe	+
Controller	SMI SM2260	Phison PS5007-E7	Samsung Polaris	Phison PS5007-11	Marvell 88SS1093
Memory	Intel TLC 3D NAND	Toshiba MLC NAND	Samsung TLC 3D V-NAND	Toshiba 15nm MLC NAND	Toshiba 15nm MLC NAND
Buffer	LPDDR3-1600,		LPDDR3-1600,	—	LPDDR3-1600,
Last read, MB/s	770	2700	3200	2750	2000
Last recording, MB/s	450	1100	1500	1500	900
Production speed reads, IOPS	35000	130000	330000	201000	120000
Production speed records, IOPS	91500	205000	300000	215000	130000
Resource (TBW), TB	72	115	100	—	384

Model	Kingston HyperX Predator	Corsair Force MP500	Plextor M6e Gen2x	OCZ RD400	Samsung 950 Pro
Available volumes, GB	240 , 480, 960	120, 240 , 480	128, 256 , 512	128, 256 , 512, 1024	256 , 512
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x4	PCIe 3.0 x4	PCIe 2.0 x2	PCIe 3.0 x4
NVMe	—	+	—	+
Controller	Marvell 88SS9293	Phison PS5007-E7	Marvell 88SS9183	Toshiba TC58NCP070GSB	Samsung UBX
Memory	Toshiba 19nm MLC NAND	Toshiba 15nm MLC NAND	Toshiba 19nm MLC NAND	Toshiba 15nm MLC NAND	Samsung MLC V-NAND
Buffer	DDR3-1600	LPDDR3-1600,	DDR3-1600	LPDDR3-1600,	LPDDR3-1600,
Last read, MB/s	1400	3000	770	2600	2200
Last recording, MB/s	600	2400	580	1150	900
Production speed reads, IOPS	160000	250000	105000	21000	270000
Production speed records, IOPS	119000	210000	100000	140000	85000
Resource (TBW), TB	415	349	—	148	200

Intel 600pSeries, approximate price – 7200 rub. As in the case of SATA drives, the first product is from Intel. There is probably some kind of pattern in this, because in terms of price and performance this drive, although it uses high-speed PCI Express 3.0 with the NVMe protocol in addition, is rather a competitor to SATA drives. Its performance is rather dull, and it is prone to overheating. But the price... If the budget is very limited, but you definitely need a PCIe drive, then why not. There are no other arguments in favor of this disc.

PatriotHellfire, approximate price – 7700 rub. The weak point of the drive is reading with a small depth of requests, i.e. exactly the situation that is most typical for home computers. However, it doesn't go down to Intel 600p levels. We can say that this is a budget drive for the PCIe bus. Considering the price, a better option than the previous model.

Samsung 960EVOSeries, estimated cost - 8700 rubles. You expect incredible power from Samsung, but in this case it is a budget-class drive, with its own characteristics. One of its features is that in terms of speed, the younger model (250 GB) is the slowest. When recording, when the SLC cache is exhausted (admittedly, it is by no means small, 13 GB), the speed is very low, and in this parameter it is inferior even to the Samsung 850 PRO SATA drive. Although he is good at reading, he does not cope very well with a mixed load. And again, only the oldest version with a capacity of 1 TB shows decent results. Overall, I would think carefully before buying this particular drive, and if you decide in its favor, then take at least the 500 GB model. If you need a drive with a capacity of around 256 GB, then perhaps this is not the best option, primarily due to recording problems in the younger model. The terabyte version is very fast, as befits a Samsung. With all due respect to the manufacturer, in this case there are more interesting proposals.

PNY CS2030, approximate price – 9000 rub. The new model is very similar in configuration to the Patriot Hellfire. However, despite the same Phison PS5007-E7 controller, the performance is noticeably higher, and in general, the drive looks very, very attractive.

Plextor M8PeGN, approximate price – 9000 rub. Available in two versions, with and without a heat-dissipating cover. The drive is prone to overheating under heavy load, so a heatsink is desirable, although it increases the thickness of the drive, which may cause it to not fit into the intended slot in the laptop. Overall, it’s a very good option for quite reasonable money.

Kingston HyperX Predator, approximate price – 9000 rub. This is quite an old model, using not the latest Marvell 88SS9293 controller. With a comparable price to the same Plextor M8PeGN, it loses to the latter in all respects. At the moment, the drive no longer justifies its price, because there are more tempting offers.

Corsair Force MP500, volume – 240 GB, memory – MLC, estimated price – 10,000 rubles. Another model based on the rather successful Phison PS5007-E7 controller. The drive shows very good read/write performance. Although the 240GB model is slower than higher-capacity options, there are still pros and cons to choosing the 240GB SSD model.

Plextor M6eGen2x, approximate price - 11,300 rubles. Quite an old model, with good linear read/write performance, considering the fact that it uses PCIe 2.0 with two lanes. In my opinion, there are currently no arguments in favor of this particular drive; it has already outlived its usefulness.

OCZ RD400, approximate price - 11,400 rubles. The Toshiba controller is used, which is, in fact, a modified Marvell 88SS1093, which in itself is not bad. And even very good, because in terms of the totality of qualities it is inferior only to the recognized leader - Samsung 950 PRO, and in some disciplines it is even ahead of it. In particular, the RD400 performs very well in mixed loads, i.e. in the most typical situation encountered when operating a regular computer. A more than worthy candidate for purchase, if the price doesn’t bother you.

Manufacturers offer drives for the PCIe bus to suit every taste, at any price and with different levels of performance. The cheapest ones show results that are at the level of good SATA drives, the most advanced ones raise the performance bar to a completely different level. True, you have to pay a considerable amount for this. You should also take into account the fact that performance tends to increase with increasing capacity, and the same model, for example, 128 GB and 512 GB, can differ significantly.

I do not have a Samsung 960 PRO drive listed, because the minimum capacity is 512 GB, which somewhat does not fit into the selected criteria. However, if you are ready to shell out about 22,500 rubles. for the junior model, you will get a truly top-end drive with the highest operating speeds.

Conclusion. SSD drive for laptop in M.2 form factor

SATA has practically exhausted itself, and, by and large, there is no fundamental difference between SSD drives on this bus. Yes, MLC memory is faster and more reliable, but TLC is cheaper and, by and large, also quite reliable. There is practically no difference in reading, especially with linear reading; problems can only arise when writing, especially with mixed loads (which is typical for a home computer) or with a large queue of requests (which is NOT typical for a home computer).

The future belongs to the PCI-Express interface, which is confirmed by the increased interest of manufacturers in this segment. Surely in the near future we will see new models and modifications of such drives. Here the difference is much more noticeable, especially since such drives are often purchased by those who know exactly what and how much they want. If only for the sake of it, there are cheap options, although among them there are very interesting models; for those who are not ready to make compromises, there are top-end solutions. The only question is the cost.

In recent years, the cost of SSD drives has dropped significantly and today, in 2017, you can buy a good SSD for less than $100. Of course, this will be a modest capacity, 120 or 128 gigabytes, but it is quite enough for a system drive. So, it is already possible and even necessary to switch from old mechanical to new electronic disks.

Why you need to use SSD drives

Advantages of SSD drives over old HDDs:

• Less electricity consumption.
• Less heat generation.
• No noise because there are no moving mechanical parts.
• Higher reliability due to the absence of moving mechanical parts.
• But the most important thing is several times higher writing and reading speeds. The best SSD models have read and write speeds that exceed even the throughput of the SATA III standard, which is approximately 570 MB per second. That is, the speed of the best SSD drives is higher than the speed of the SATA interface. For HDD speed limits are 130 - 140 MB per second.

Higher writing and reading speeds are the most important advantage of SSD drives, because it is the speed of the drives that has always been the bottleneck in the overall speed of a computer. Relatively speaking, if the disk can work three times faster, then the computer will work twice as fast. Moreover, using an SSD can give speeds even higher than the limit of the SATA interface. Since these are electronic disks and are essentially just boards with microcircuits, they can be made, for example, with a PCI-express interface, and this already provides speeds of more than a gigabyte per second.

For some time, at the beginning of the production of SSD drives, there was a problem with their short life (short compared to HDDs). But today, good models from the best manufacturers can work for years. It is not uncommon for a manufacturer's warranty on these discs to last 5 or even 10 years. So, the only argument against SSDs today is the higher price for 1 GB of capacity. One gigabyte of SSD capacity still costs six times more than HDD. However, this problem can be solved in the following way - use HDD to store large files (videos, etc.), and SSD for the system and programs.

How to choose a good SSD

Now let's move on to the topic of the article. When choosing an SSD, you need to look at two main characteristics - speed and reliability. Speed ​​depends on the components (memory and controller) used in the drive. And reliability depends on the components (memory type) and the manufacturer. Further, this article will discuss in detail all the primary and secondary characteristics of electronic disks.

Characteristics of SSD drives

This part of the article will describe the most significant characteristics of SSD drives. Technical parameters that improve or worsen the consumer quality of SSD drives.

Main characteristics of SSD

These are the SSD parameters that most influence the consumer quality of the drives.

Manufacturer

SSD drives are made by many companies. Even more companies sell them under their own labels without manufacturing them (OEM production). But there are only a few companies whose discs are safe and secure to buy.

• Intel. The company, together with Micron, produces flash memory. Thus, it makes its own disks from its own memory and selects the best memory copies for its disks. It is no coincidence that they provide a 5-year warranty on their discs.
• Micron(trademark Crucial). The company, together with Intel, produces flash memory. Thus, it makes its own disks from its own memory and selects the best memory copies for its disks. The difference from Intel is that Micron (Crucial) focuses on the budget segment of the market. Lower price, shorter warranty period. But the wheels are good.
• Samsung. One of the leaders in the SSD market. And not only in terms of sales volume, but also technologically. The company produces its own flash memory and its own controllers. The disks are 100% proprietary - both memory and controllers, everything is our own.
• Plextor. A Japanese company famous for its laser drives. In fact, the SSD is not made by itself - Lite-On makes them for it. But the discs are very good.
• Corsair. An American company known for the high quality of various products - RAM, power supplies. The company's products are aimed at so-called "enthusiasts", people willing to pay more for higher quality and speed.
• SanDisk. An American company, one of the leaders in the production of flash drives and SSD drives. Partner of Toshiba in the production of flash memory chips. Thus, the disks are made from its own flash memory.
• Toshiba. The Japanese company is, among other things, a manufacturer of flash memory chips. Thus, the disks are made from its own flash memory.

SSD disk capacity

SSD drive manufacturers indicate this difference in the specifications of their drive models. Therefore, before buying a fast drive, carefully read its specifications; perhaps the size you have your eye on is not as fast as you expect.

That's when size matters.

There is one more feature related to the capacity of SSD drives. There are groups of models based on capacity, but not all models in this group have the same capacity. Example. Group with a capacity of 120/128 GB. Some models in this group have a capacity of 120 GB, while others have a capacity of 128 GB. What is this connected with?

The fact is that in fact all disks in this group have a capacity of 128 GB, but on some models 8 GB is reserved both to level out the wear of flash memory cells and to replace failed cells.

Some manufacturers may not be entirely sure of the quality and lifespan of the flash memory used in their model and therefore make such a reserve. Some people make such a reserve simply for greater reliability. For example, the quality of flash memory in Intel drives is very high, however, the company is playing it safe by making a reserve of cells.

Controller used in the disk

The best controllers are considered Marvell 88SS9187, Samsung MDX. More details about controllers later in this article.

Write speed degradation (garbage collection)

Reduced writing speed on an SSD disk after it is completely full and data will be deleted after filling. That is, writing to reusable memory blocks. Read more about this in the section.

Minor SSD Features

Hardware encryption with support for TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE-1667 standards. This makes it possible to use hardware encryption but manage it from the OS. For example, it will be possible to offload the central processor when using Windows BitLocker.

Power Loss Protection. Some SSD drive models have protection against sudden power failure. Usually these are just capacitors, the charge of which is enough for the disk to complete the necessary write operations to the memory cells.

Interfaces

This part of the article describes the interfaces through which SSD drives are connected to a computer.

SATA

Today (2016) all SSD drives are available with a SATA 3 interface. However, there are still many computers with SATA 2 (SATA 300) and even SATA 1 (SATA 150) controllers installed on their motherboards. Is it possible to install a new SSD drive in such a computer?

Of course you can. However, you need to understand that in this case the new SSD drive will produce real speed significantly lower than its rated characteristics.

Modern SSD drives can typically perform read operations at speeds of over 500 MB per second. And recording speeds are more than 400 MB per second. This speed can be fully realized on computers with a SATA 3 controller (SATA 600), for which the practical data transfer speed limit is approximately 570 MB per second.

But for SATA 2 controllers, practical speed is limited to approximately 270 MB per second. Accordingly, for SATA 1 controllers it is even lower - less than 150 MB per second. So, if you put a new SSD drive into an old computer, it will run slower than it can.

So for a new SSD drive you need to buy a new computer? No.

There are other options to get full speed on your old computer. You can install a SATA 3 controller made on a PCI or PCI-express board. And then connect the SSD drive through this controller.

PCI-express

In addition, there are now models of SSD drives that are made in the form of a PCI-express card, for example Plextor M6e. So you don’t need to buy anything else, just insert the disk card into the PCI-e slot and that’s it. You can also install an M.2 form factor SSD into the PCI-e slot, but through an adapter card from M.2 to PCI-e.

M.2 (Next Generation Form Factor, NGFF)

Also, a new, faster interface for peripheral devices has now been approved - M.2. You can buy an M.2 adapter made on a PCI-express board and then install an SSD drive with an M.2 interface there. The disk mentioned above Plextor M6e, just such an option is a PCI-express card with an M.2 adapter, on which a disk with an M.2 interface is installed.

The new M.2 interface (Next Generation Form Factor, NGFF) is essentially a PCI-express bus, only the connector has been changed - it is adapted not for expansion cards, but for small devices. SSD drives in the M.2 form factor are already on sale. This interface should give data transfer speeds higher than the practical limit for SATA 3 - 570 MB per second. The M.2 interface specification assumes the use of 4 PCI-express lines. For SSD drives in the M.2 form factor, 2 PCI-express lanes are used so that theoretically the exchange speed with the drive can reach 2 GB per second.

Memory

There are two types of flash memory (flash-memory) - NAND and NOR.

The difference between NAND memory and NOR is that the cells are combined into blocks and processed in blocks. While in NOR, each cell is processed individually. NAND memory has longer access times to memory cells, but is significantly cheaper to manufacture.

In the production of SSD drives, NAND type flash memory is used.

NAND flash memory manufacturers

Memory for SSD drives is manufactured by only a few companies - Intel and Micron (general production), Toshiba and SanDisk (general production), Samsung, Hynix.

The first such memory was created by Toshiba in the late 80s of the last century. Thus, it is the oldest NAND flash manufacturer. Based on the type of pin layout in the chip package and subsequent access from the controller, NAND flash is divided into two types:

• Synchronous and asynchronous ONFI. It is manufactured by Intel and Micron, Hynix
• Asynchronous Toggle Mode. It is made by Samsung, Toshiba and SanDisk.

Types of NAND Flash Memory Cells

Today (in 2016) SSD drives use NAND flash memory with three types of cells:

• NAND SLC(single-level cell) - flash memory in one physical cell which stores one bit of information.
• NAND MLC(multi-level cell) - flash memory in one physical cell which stores two bits of information.
• NAND TLC(triple level cell) - flash memory in one physical cell which stores three bits of information.

The difference between these types is that as the number of bits stored in one cell increases, the cost of memory in terms of its capacity decreases. That is, relatively speaking, 128 GB of MLC memory is cheaper than the same 128 GB, but of the SLC type. And 128 GB of TLC memory is cheaper than the same amount of MLC.

However, you have to pay for everything. As the number of bits per cell increases, the number of write cycles that cell can withstand decreases. For example, SLC type memory can withstand up to 5000 - 10,000 rewrite cycles. And the writing limit for MLC memory is up to 3000 cycles. For TLC type memory this limit is even lower - 1000 write cycles.

That is, as the number of bits per cell increases, the lifetime of this cell decreases.

Basic parameters of flash memory for SSD

The main characteristics of flash memory for SSD drives are:

1. The number of write cycles that a single cell of this memory can withstand. This parameter determines the lifespan and reliability of flash memory.
2. The technical process by which the flash memory crystal is manufactured.
3. Type of flash memory cells.

The second and third flash memory parameters directly affect the first parameter. The dependency is as follows:

• Reducing the process technology reduces the lifespan of flash memory.
• Increasing the number of bits per cell reduces the lifetime of flash memory.

That is, MLC type memory will have a shorter lifespan than SLC type memory. Memory manufactured using a 25-nanometer process will have a longer lifespan than one manufactured using a 19-nanometer process.

Memory capacity (size)

Indicated in gigabytes. The peculiarity of SSDs is that larger capacity disks provide faster data exchange speeds, especially when recording. The difference in writing speed between a 120/128 GB disk and a 480/512 GB disk can be up to two or three times.

For example, a disk with a capacity of 120/128 GB can give a maximum recording speed of less than 200 MB per second, and a disk of the same model, but with a capacity of 480/512 GB will give a writing speed of more than 400 MB per second.

This difference is due to the fact that the SSD disk controller works with all memory crystals simultaneously (in parallel). And one disk model uses the same memory crystals. Accordingly, the difference in capacity is the difference in the number of crystals. Fewer memory crystals means less parallelization of operations and lower speed.

There is no need to confuse memory crystals and memory chips. One chip can have from one to four memory crystals. That is, in disks of different capacities the number of microcircuits may be the same - 8, but the number of crystals will be different.

Manufacturers of SSD drives indicate this difference in write speed in the specifications of their drive models. Therefore, before buying a fast drive, carefully read its specifications; perhaps the size you have your eye on is not as fast as you expect.

It happens that a person reads a test review on the Internet, which says that the XX disk gives a write speed of 450 MB per second. And buys this disk model. Installs and is surprised to discover that the write speed is only 200 MB per second. The thing is that he read about a model with a capacity of 512 GB, but bought a model with a capacity of 128 GB.

This difference increases as new 128-bit memory crystals enter the market, instead of 64-bit ones. Simply put, if an SSD is assembled on 64-bit memory chips, then full speed of read/write operations is possible on disks with a capacity of 240/256 GB. And if the disk is assembled on 128-bit memory chips, then the full speed of read/write operations is only possible on 480/512 GB disks.

For example SSD drive Crucial M500 assembled on 128-bit memory chips. There are 4 models in this line:

• 120 GB - write speed 130 MB per second.
• 240 GB - write speed 250 MB per second.
• 480 GB and 960 GB - write speed 400 MB per second.

As you can see, the difference in recording speed between the younger and older models is more than three times. Although these are the same discs in all respects. Except for the number of memory crystals. By the way, Crucial in its 2014 model M550 uses crystals of different bit depths. For 128 and 256 GB models, 64-bit crystals are used. For 512 GB and 1 TB models, 128-bit crystals are used. Due to this, the difference in speed between the younger and older models has been reduced.

There is one more aspect depending on the disk capacity. The larger the disk capacity, the theoretically longer its service life. The fact is that a flash memory cell can withstand a limited number of write cycles and when this limit is reached, for example, an MLC type cell has been written to 3000 times, it fails.

All SSD disk controllers use cell interleaving during recording in order to even out cell wear. Free memory is used for interleaving. Accordingly, the less the disk is occupied with data and programs, the more opportunities the controller has for interleaving cells and the longer the memory will live.

Large disk capacity is the easiest way to increase free disk space. Let's assume that your programs and data occupy 100 gigabytes. If this is placed on a 120 or 128 GB disk, then the disk will be almost entirely occupied and few cells will be available for striping. But if the disk capacity is 240 or 256 GB, then a lot of cells will be available for striping - more than 50%. Thus, the load on the cells will be much lower and there will be longer and more even wear.

Controllers

The computer cannot gain direct access to flash memory, so in addition to memory chips, a controller chip is also installed in the disks. Several companies produce such microcircuits:

• SandForce. Now this company is owned by another company - LSI. SandForce controllers, such as the SF2881, are the most common. They dominate the budget SSD segment. Even Intel produces SSD drives on these controllers (models 520, 530).
• Marvell- their controllers 88SS9187 and 88SS9174 are used in high-performance SSD drives from different manufacturers, in particular Micron (Crucial), Plextor, SanDisk. For example, some of the fastest SSD drives in the world are Plextor M5 Pro, Crucial M500, Crucial M550, use controllers Marvell88SS9187, 88SS9189.
• Indilinx. Now this company is owned by OCZ and the latest controller model is called Barefoot 3. Accordingly, these controllers are mainly used only in OCZ drives.
• LAMD (Link_A_Media Devices). The fast but rarely used LM87800 controller. For example, it is used in Corsair Neutron drive models. The company was bought by the Korean Hynix and these controllers are used only in conjunction with Hynix flash memory.
• Phison. This company has long been known for its controllers for USB flash drives. Recently, it has begun an attack on the SSD drive market. It offers low-cost solutions for the production of SSD drives - controller, firmware, board design. Its controllers are used in budget models, for example Corsair LS, SmartBuy Ignition 2.
• MDX. This controller was developed by Samsung and is used in its drives.
• Intel. In some models of its SSD drives, Intel uses its own controller. These are server models S3500, S3700, as well as the Intel 730 model aimed at the business segment of the market.
• Silicon Motion. Another company offering budget controllers for SSDs. In terms of performance, nothing outstanding.

Various characteristics of the SSD disk depend on the controller. Speed ​​of operation, lifespan of flash memory, resistance to data corruption.

For example, Marvell controllers provide high performance with operations on arbitrary data blocks. This is exactly the load that falls on the disks in real computer operation. The Intel controller is focused on high performance under conditions of a large number of parallel requests (server load model).

But SandForce controllers have an unpleasant feature - after the disk is full and cleared, the write speed does not return to its original values ​​(when the disks were empty). The speed of operation also decreases when the disk is very full. At the same time, SandForce controllers provide high recording speed on easily compressible data, such as texts and documents.

Each controller has its own characteristics. Your strengths and weaknesses. If you have certain mandatory requirements for an SSD drive, then when choosing a model it makes sense to study the features of the controllers.

Inexpensive SSD drives

Inexpensive SSD drives are usually made on SandForce controllers, and over the last couple of years Silicon Motion and Phison have been actively working in this segment.

The reason for this is that these companies offer complete solutions for manufacturing SSD drives. There is not only a controller, but also the firmware for it, as well as the board design for mounting all the hardware.

Thus, the manufacturer of finished drives does not need to do anything other than solder the parts onto the board and mount the board into the case.

TRIM (garbage collection)

SSD drives have an important difference from HDDs that affects the write speed. In HDD, recording is performed “on top” of old data. Disk blocks that previously contained data and then that data was deleted are simply marked as free. And when you need to write, the HDD controller immediately writes to these free blocks.

When using flash memory, blocks that previously contained some information must be cleared before being written. This leads to the fact that when writing to previously used blocks, the writing speed drops significantly, because the controller needs to prepare them for writing (clear them).

The problem is that operating systems traditionally do not work with the file system in such a way that deleting files clears the contents of the blocks on the disk. After all, there was no need for this on HDDs.

Therefore, when using SSD drives, the effect of “performance degradation” occurs. When the disk is new and all flash memory blocks are clean, the writing speed is very high, as specified. But after the disk is completely full and some of the files are deleted, re-writing will occur at a lower speed. Because the disk controller will have to clear the flash memory blocks before writing new data there.

The drop in write speed to reused flash memory blocks can be very high. Up to values ​​close to the recording speed of HDD disks. When testing SSD drives, they often even conduct a special test to reduce the write speed of reusable blocks.

To combat this phenomenon, the new operating systems have added the TRIM disk ATA command. When a file is deleted, the file system driver sends the TRIM command to the SSD disk controller. Using this command, the SSD disk controller clears freed flash memory blocks, but does this in the background, in between read and write operations.

Using this command returns full write speed to reused flash memory blocks. However, not all operating systems support this command. But only relatively recent versions:

• Linux kernel since version 2.6.33.
• Windows 7
• Windows 8
• Mac OS X starting from version 10.6.6 (but for this version you need to install an update).

Until now, the popular WIndows XP (as well as Vista) do not support this command.

A workaround for older OSes is to use third-party programs. For example, this could be the hdparm program (version 9.17 and higher) or proprietary programs of the SSD drive manufacturer, for example Intel SSD Toolbox.

There are two models of SSD drives in which the degradation of the speed of reused blocks is less pronounced than others:

• Plextor M5 pro.
• Plextor M5S.

The firmware of these disks can partially clear unused blocks without the TRIM command. Restoring the write speed to higher values, but not to the full rated write speed.

There are disk models that, even after executing the TRIM command, do not return to the full rated write speed.

The TRIM command may not work if the motherboard's SATA controller was set to IDE mode (for compatibility with an older OS or program).

The TRIM command is most often disabled when using a RAID array.

SSD drives by manufacturer

Personally, I divide all SSD drive manufacturers into two categories - the big seven and all the rest. The Big Seven are Intel, Plextor, Corsair, Samsung, Micron (under the Crucial brand), Toshiba, SanDisk. Companies that sell good and excellent SSD drives. Each of them has its own advantages, for example Intel, Samsung, Toshiba, SanDisk and Micron make drives from their own flash memory. And Samsung uses not only its own memory in its SSD drives, but also its own controllers.

But in principle, you can buy any disc from any of these seven companies without going into details.

Everyone else is a pretty big list.

Intel. The company, together with Micron, produces flash memory. Thus, it makes its own disks from its own memory and selects the best memory copies for its disks. It is no coincidence that they provide a 5-year warranty on their discs. Some models also have their own controllers - that is, 100% Intel - such models as Intel DC S3500, Intel DC S3700, Intel 730. Intel's drives are very good, but the company primarily targets the business segment of the market and therefore its drives are quite expensive.

But her CDs are worth the money. For example, server SSD drives DC S3500 and S3700 use not only selected memory, but also functions such as power loss protection and advanced checksum verification for stored data. This makes them very reliable means of storing data.

Micron(trademark Crucial). The company, together with Intel, produces flash memory. Thus, it makes its own disks from its own memory and selects the best memory copies for its disks. The difference from Intel drives is that Micron (Crucial) focuses on the budget segment of the market. Uses its own memory and Marvell controllers. In 2014, the company releases a disc that could become a new hit (like M4) - Crucial M550.

Samsung. One of the leaders in the SSD market. And not only in terms of sales volume, but also technologically. The company produces its own flash memory and its own controllers. The disks are 100% proprietary - both memory and controllers, everything is our own. As of the first half of 2014, the model Samsung 840 Pro This is the fastest SSD drive in the consumer segment of the market (drives for regular computers). The speed of this drive already exhausts the capabilities of the SATA 3 interface.

Plextor. The Japanese company is famous for its laser drives. In fact, the SSD is not made by itself - Lite-On makes them for it. But the discs are very good. Intel-Micron or Toshiba memory and Marvell controllers are used. Famous model Plextor M5 Pro despite the fact that it is no longer young and in 2014 remains one of the fastest SSD drives.

Corsair. An American company known for the high quality of various products - RAM, power supplies. The company's products are aimed at so-called "enthusiasts", people willing to pay more for higher quality and speed. The company has several model lines - GS and GT drives on the SandForce controller, LS drives on the Phison controller, Neutron drives on the LAMD controller.

SanDisk- it has its own production of flash memory (shared with Toshiba) and some models of SSD drives from this company demonstrate very high performance. The company has a long and successful history of various types of flash drives (USB flash drives, memory cards).

Toshiba- it has its own production of flash memory (common with SanDisk). The company has a long and successful history of producing both flash memory and conventional (HDD) disks.

SSD disk lifespan

The time that an SSD drive will work is generally determined by the type of flash memory. That is, what type of cells is used and what process is used to make the memory. It was already written above that SLC type cells have the largest resource, followed by MLC and finally TLC.

What does the limit on the number of write cycles mean in a practical sense? And how can we roughly estimate the possible lifespan of a particular disk?

Let's take a conventional disk that uses MLC flash memory produced using a 19-nanometer technical process. Let's assume that the manufacturer of this memory specifies a write limit of 3000 cycles for it. This is an indicator for good MLC flash memory manufactured using 19 or 20 nanometer manufacturing processes.

Based on this memory, a disk with a capacity of 120 GB was manufactured. The 3000 cycle limit means you can completely write your disc 3000 times. If you fill it completely every day, then empty it completely and fill it completely again the next day, then theoretically the memory will last 3000 days. That is more than 8 years. If you write only 60 gigabytes per day and erase the disk only once every two days, then the lifespan increases to 16 years.

Of course this is simplified. But it is clear that the lifespan of flash memory is quite long. Even if we take a TLC flash-based disk with a limit of 1000 write cycles, this gives a theoretical disk lifespan of at least 3 years, provided that it is completely filled every day.

That is, in all these complaints about the constantly decreasing recording limit, there is no serious basis.

So you can independently estimate the lifespan of a disk, knowing the type of flash memory that is used in this disk. You can more accurately determine it if you have information about the manufacturer of this memory, because flash memory manufacturers indicate write limits for their products.

Finally, many disk manufacturers, in their disk specifications, explicitly indicate disk write limits in gigabytes per day. For example, Samsung in the specifications of the 840 Pro drive writes: “5 years of warranty are provided provided that no more than 40 gigabytes are written to the disc per day.” And Micron, for its Crucial M550 drive, specifies a recording limit of 72 terabytes, or approximately 66 gigabytes per day for three years.

However, in 2016, Samsung provides a 10-year warranty on some PRO series models. And for some models of its budget EVO line, it provides a 5-year warranty. This is despite the fact that EVO models use TLC type memory.

How to extend the life of an SSD drive

Free disk space. Don't fill it up completely - try to have 20 - 30 percent free space on the disk. The presence of free space allows the controller to level out the wear of memory cells. It is better if this free space is not allocated, that is, not assigned to any partition with the file system.

Uninterruptible power supply. If you are using an SSD in a regular computer, connect the computer via a UPS. If the SSD is in a laptop, monitor the battery condition - do not allow the laptop to turn off when the battery is completely discharged. SSD drives don't like sudden power loss. If there is an abnormal power outage on the disk, the data in the flash memory cells may be damaged. As an option, you can buy a disk model that has Power Loss Protection.

Refrigerate. SSD drives (like HDDs, like any electronics) do not like overheating. The higher the temperature of the disk, the faster it will fail. If you install an SSD in a laptop, then you can only hope that the designers of your laptop have provided for the possibility of sufficient heat removal from the disk.

But if you install an SSD in a regular computer, then your hands are free. The least you can do is use a metal adapter from 2.5" (SSD drive) to 3.5" (drive box in the case). The metal of the adapter will transfer heat from the disk to the body. However, for drives in a plastic case, a metal adapter is useless.

A big plus is the aluminum SSD case. If the drive is designed correctly, the metal case is used as a heat sink to remove heat from the chips.

In addition, you can install a fan - many cases even provide space for a special fan that blows air over the drive cage. Some cases even have this fan.

High quality power supply. If you install the disk in a desktop computer, use a high-quality power supply. However, this point is relevant not only for extending the life of SSD drives, but also of all computer components in general. By the way, HDD drives also do not like “bad” power.

Don't defragment. File system fragmentation does not reduce the speed of the SSD. Therefore, by doing defragmentation you will not gain speed. However, by defragmenting, you will shorten the life of the disk by increasing write operations.

Installing an SSD on an old motherboard

You can breathe new life into your old computer by replacing the HDD with an SSD. All disk operations will be performed two to three times faster. And the computer performs a lot of disk operations - starting the OS, launching programs, opening files, editing files, etc.

If you have an old motherboard with a SATA 2 (SATA 300) controller, then the new SSD drive will not work at full speed. There are two options to fix the matter:

• Buy a SATA 3 controller on a PCI or PCI-e board.
• Buy an SSD drive mounted on a PCI-e card, for example Plextor M6e.

Although, in my opinion, it’s easier to leave it as is. In real life, the difference in speed between connecting via SATA 2 and via SATA 3 may not be very large. It will only appear in operations that involve reading large amounts of data located sequentially on the disk. And accordingly, when sequentially recording large amounts of data. In practice, usually both writing and reading occur in small amounts in arbitrary (non-sequential) areas of the disk.

However, an SSD drive mounted on a PCI-e board is generally a good idea, since it will work faster than when connected even through a SATA 3 controller.

Common mistakes when using SSD drives

Error one

Moving a large number of files to a regular magnetic disk (HDD). Some people install only the operating system and programs on an SSD drive, and transfer everything else to the HDD drive. Temporary file folders, browser cache folders, documents, and even the entire user profile.

They do this in order to save space on the SSD drive and increase its lifespan by reducing write operations. After all, for example, folders of temporary files and a swap file are permanent write operations.

Yes, and space on the SSD is saved and the lifespan is increased. But this significantly reduces the speed of the computer. After all, the faster the disk reads or writes temporary files, documents, profile files, the faster the work is done.

My categorical opinion is that everything related to the OS and programs should be placed on an SSD drive. Working documents also need to be stored on an SSD drive. It makes sense to store only large amounts of data on the HDD - music, movies, laser disk images, etc. And also data that is very rarely used - archives. Only in this case will you get the highest speed from your SSD drive. Don't forget - the main reason to buy an SSD drive is speed! And that means you need to squeeze this speed to the maximum.

Error two

Disk Defragmenter. Out of habit left over from using HDD drives, people also defragment SSD drives. There is no need to do this! The speed of access to arbitrary data blocks on an SSD disk is approximately two orders of magnitude higher compared to an HDD. Therefore, data fragmentation no longer affects the reading speed of this data.

Summary

Basic parameters of SSD drives

• Manufacturer. The best manufacturers of SSD drives are Intel, Micron (Crucial), Samsung, Plextor, SanDisk, Toshiba, Corsair.
• Disk capacity. The minimum disk size, which provides greater speed and a good supply of free space to extend life, is 240/256 gigabytes. For drives with a capacity of 60 - 128 GB, the write speed will almost certainly be below 200 MB per second. Although there are some models of such disks with a writing speed of more than 200 MB per second.
• Controller. The best controllers today are Marvell, Intel, Samsung.

Secondary parameters of SSD drives

• Memory type. SLC memory “lives” the longest, MLC and TLC, in decreasing order, have a shorter lifespan.
• Memory process technology. Memory crystals created using a 19 or 20 nanometer process have a shorter lifespan than crystals created using a 25 nanometer process.
• Hardware encryption with support for TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE-1667 standards.
• Power Loss Protection.

Which SSD drive to choose

Something like this:

• Manufacturer: Intel, Samsung, Plextor, Corsair, Micron (Crucial).
• Memory type: NAND Flash MLC or TLC.
• Disk capacity: ranging from 240 - 256 Gigabytes. However, 120-128 GB is also a good option.

For example these models: Intel 730, Intel S3500, Plextor M5 Pro, Crucial M550, Samsung 840 Pro. From these models Samsung 840 Pro And Crucial M550 will give the highest writing and reading speeds to date. A disk Intel S3500 will provide the highest guarantee of data integrity and safety.

Of course, when choosing a disk, you need to take into account the tasks that will be performed on the computer. If this is an ordinary home or office computer on which the main work is the Internet and documents, then the cheapest SSD drive with a capacity of 120/128 GB will do.

If this is a gaming computer, then firstly you need to take a volume of at least 240/256 gigabytes, and secondly, select a high-speed model. Because one game sometimes takes up to ten gigabytes on the disk, and during the launch process and during the game, large amounts of information are read from the disk.

If a computer is used for video processing, then you need a capacity of more than 240/256 gigabytes and a model with the highest sequential writing and reading speeds.

If the computer will store and process critical information that cannot be lost, then apparently the best choice would be Intel S3500 or even Intel S3700.

If you plan to use the SSD with an old OS, such as Windows XP, it makes sense to think about the effect of “speed degradation” and how to avoid it (more details in the section).

Update 2016

In rubles, SSDs have become more expensive and plus the general crisis is bad news.

The good news is that there are SSD drives with a 10-year warranty - these are some Samsung 850 Pro series models. And Intel even gives a 5-year warranty for its budget 535 series. Despite the fact that the smallest disks (120 GB) from these companies already cost around $100.

Prices (in dollars) go down, productivity goes up.

Another good news applies to TLC memory drives. Such disks can have a lifespan comparable to disks based on MLC memory.

This became possible thanks to the development of a new algorithm for removing signals from memory cells - LDPC decoding. Today (in 2016) there are three controllers that support this algorithm:

• Samsung MGX, SSD drives Samsung EVO 750 and 850.
• Marvell 88SS1074, SSD drives Plextor M7V.
• Silicon Motion SM2256

According to memory wear resistance tests, Samsung EVO 850 and Plextor M7V drives show very impressive results. On par with good drives with MLC memory.

And the speed is good. For example, Plextor M7V 128 GB, on an Intel SATA 3 controller, gives a read speed of 497 MB/sec, and a write speed of 247 MB/sec (measured in the proprietary Plextool program). But Plextor M7V is a budget model, one of the cheapest among all SSD drives in mid-2016.

A disk Samsung EVO 850(250 GB) gives speeds (measured in Samsung proprietary software):

• On the SATA 2 controller (Intel ICH9): 268 MB/sec read and 250 MB/sec write. This speed was also confirmed by measurements in Ubuntu Linux.
• On the SATA 3 controller (Intel): 540 MB/sec read and 505 MB/sec write.

On SATA 2, the speed practically rests on the limit of the SATA 2 standard itself. On SATA 3, the reading speed also rests on the limit of the standard. And at the same time, Samsung gives a 5-year warranty on drives of the line EVO 850. And the result is an extremely fast and very reliable disk.

Interesting inexpensive SSD drives (120 and 128 GB), as of mid-2016 (from the Yulmart assortment) in order of increasing price:

• SanDisk Z400s (5 years warranty).
• Plextor M7V
• Samsung 750 EVO Series
• SanDisk Ultra II
• Samsung 850 EVO Series
• Intel 535 AND 540 (5 years warranty).

And the record holder, in terms of speed and warranty period, is Samsung 850 PRO Series (10 years warranty). Although not cheap.

Update 2017

Many SSD drives in the M.2 format have appeared on sale, at prices comparable to the 2.5" SATA format. But more importantly, motherboards with an M.2 connector have appeared.

However, a clarification needs to be made. Not all M.2 format drives can provide read and write speeds significantly higher than through SATA III, that is, significantly higher than 570 MB per second. There are models that, having the M.2 format, nevertheless provide speeds at the level of only SATA III.

Speeds closer to 1 GB per second (or higher) depend on whether both the drive and motherboard support NVM Express technology.

Before purchasing, you need to check the specifications of the SSD drive and motherboard. To support NVMe on the motherboard, not only the SATA III line, but also the PCI-e lanes (2 or 4) must be connected to the M.2 connector.

Here, for example, are several motherboards with an M.2 connector and NVMe support:

• ASUS H110M-A/M.2
• ASUS H170M-PLUS
• ASUS PRIME B250M-A
• ASUS B150-PRO

And accordingly, for example, SSD drives with NVMe support:

• Plextor M8Pe, PX-128M8PeG(N)
• Samsung EVO NVMe M.2

In addition, to support NVMe you need to use a fairly recent version of the OS. Windows supports NVMe out of the box starting with version 8.1. For Windows 7, you need to install an update and this is non-trivial, because the driver needs to be integrated into the installation image. Microsoft has instructions. There is another instruction in this topic, in Russian.

On Linux you need to use kernel version 3.13 19 or higher.

What are the benefits of using an NVMe-enabled SSD drive? At a minimum, today, this is approximately twice the speed of operation compared to SATA III. And in reading mode, the speed is already 3-4 times higher than through SATA III. And over time, this gap will increase. So it makes sense to bother.

If you are buying a new computer in 2017, then I advise you to buy a motherboard and an SSD drive with NVMe support.

Update 2018

Cheap models

There are many SSDs on sale with the cheapest possible hardware platform. Manufacturers are reducing the number of processor cores, the number of memory channels, and removing the DRAM cache (the so-called DRAM-less controllers). For example, the Phison S11 controller is not only single-core, but also dual-channel and without DRAM cache. Such disks have a low price and beautiful figures for read and write speeds, in the specifications

Manufacturers of such SSD drives draw beautiful numbers in the specifications using a software trick called pseudo-SLC cache. The essence of this software solution is that part of the TLC flash memory operates in pseudo-SLC mode, that is, one bit is written to the cell instead of three. This makes it possible to significantly increase the recording speed. However, this only works as long as the write size does not exceed the size of this pseudo-SLC cache or until the disk is completely full so that there are no free cells for the pseudo-SLC cache. And then the disk produces real, sad performance. Under high recording load, such disks can be even slower than HDDs.

And of course, given the weak processor of the controller and the lack of a DRAM cache, such drives have low performance in access mode to arbitrary blocks with a queue depth of 1-4. And this is the most common operating mode for a disk in a home (non-gaming) and office computer.

Some of these models:

• WD Green and Blue
• Toshiba TR200
• Kingston A400
• Sandisk SSD Plus (SDSSDA)
• GoodRam CL100
• SmartBuy Jolt

Be that as it may, even such an SSD drive will generally be faster than an HDD.

SATA goes down in history

Of course, SSDs with the SATA interface will be produced for a long time. To replace HDD in work computers. But all major manufacturers make their best models in M.2 format and with NVMe support. The reason for this is that the SATA interface no longer allows for the data transfer speed that modern SSD drives provide. The speed limit for the SATA3 bus is approximately 570 MB per second. And modern SSD drives can transfer data at speeds of more than 1 GB per second.

So if you're looking to buy a new computer or upgrade, look for a motherboard with an M.2 connector and NVMe support. And put an M.2 NVMe SSD there. However, you need to take into account that a motherboard with an M.2 connector, or a disk in M.2 format, may not have support for the NVMe protocol - in this case, the disk will operate at SATA3 speed (SATA mode).

3D XPoint (Intel Optane memory)

The first disks (from Intel) made on a new type of memory - 3D XPoint - appeared in retail sales. This memory is fundamentally different from NAND flash memory. Firstly, it is not processed in blocks - each cell can be addressed individually. Secondly, the cells do not need to be erased before recording. Thirdly, it has a higher recording resource.

In linear read and write operations, these 3D XPoint memory drives provide speeds comparable to the fastest TLC NAND drives. But in operations of reading and writing small blocks at arbitrary addresses and with a short queue, 3D XPoint memory is faster than NAND flash. And this mode of disk operation is most common in practice.

The capacity of the first (for the retail market) 3D XPoint disks is not yet sufficient for their individual use (16 and 32 GB). And today Intel offers Optane memory technology for these drives. The 3D XPoint disk is installed in the M.2 slot and this disk is used as a cache for a regular HDD disk. It seems to me that this solution is too complicated to implement and insufficiently effective in terms of price. It's easier to use SATA or M.2 SSD. And if you use an M.2 NVMe SSD, it will also be faster than an Optane drive + HDD.

It will be interesting when Optane drives with a capacity of at least 60 GB and at a competitive (with NAND) price will appear in retail.

Good and inexpensive SSD drive models

SATA Intel SSD 545s- the minimum volume in this model line is 128 GB. The 256 GB model costs around 5,500 rubles. The drive has - DDR3 DRAM cache, 64-layer TLC 3D V-NAND Intel - Micron, 4-channel SM2259 controller, aluminum case. For the 256 GB model, read and write speeds are specified: 550 and 500 megabytes per second. These are the numbers when using a pseudo-SLC cache, its size (in the 256 GB model) is 3 GB. Past the SLC cache, the write speed is around 400 MB per second. As of summer 2018, this is the best option in the budget segment.

SATA Samsung 850MZ-7LN120BW- just 850 without the EVO suffix. There is only one model in the line so far, 120 GB. Costs around 3500 rubles. In this model, everything is mature - DRAM cache, a good controller, plus a new 64-layer TLC 3D V-NAND memory. The result is very good speed performance. A good recording resource is 75 Terabytes.

SATA Hynix SL308- the line includes models with 120, 250 and 500 GB. DRAM cache, own controller, own memory, aluminum case. Like Toshiba, Intel and Samsung, Hynix also produces SSD drives from its own components. The 120 GB model costs around 3,500 rubles.

SATA Crucial Micron 1100- the minimum volume in this model line is 256 GB. This model costs around 6,500 rubles. It uses a Marvell controller, DRAM cache and its own TLC 3D NAND memory.

M.2 NVMe Intel 760p- the minimum volume in this model line is 128 GB. The 256 GB model costs around 6,400 rubles and has a 5-year warranty. The disk has - DDR4 DRAM cache, 64-layer TLC 3D V-NAND Intel - Micron, 8-channel SM2262 controller. All together this gives fantastic read and write speeds: 3.2 and 1.3 Gigabytes per second. This is the speed of the first computers with DDR2 RAM! Of course, these are numbers when using a pseudo-SLC cache, but its size (in the 256 GB model) is approximately 6 GB, which covers requests during normal operation. Past the pseudo-SLC cache, the write speed is about 600 MB per second. According to tests, disks of this series give excellent results when performing operations with random blocks and short queues. As of summer 2018, this is the best option in the budget segment.

M.2 NVMe Samsung 960 EVO- the minimum volume in this model line is 250 GB. The 250 GB model costs around 7,000 rubles. It has the same impressive read and write speed figures: 3.2 and 1.5 Gigabytes per second. These are the numbers when using a pseudo-SLC cache, but its size changes dynamically and, if there is free space, in the 250 GB model, it can reach 13 GB. However, this disc is worse than Intel 760p, copes with reading and writing arbitrary blocks and a short queue. And this disk is option number two, if not available Intel 760p.

Pomoschnik.ru, 2016, 2017, 2018

First SSD, or solid state drives using flash memory, appeared in 1995, and were used exclusively in the military and aerospace fields. The enormous cost at that time was compensated by unique characteristics that allowed the operation of such disks in aggressive environments over a wide temperature range.

In the mass market, drives SSD appeared not so long ago, but quickly became popular, as they are a modern alternative to a standard hard drive ( HDD ). Let's figure out what parameters you need to choose a solid-state drive by, and what it actually is.

Device

Out of habit, SSD is called a “disk”, but it can rather be called “ solid parallelepiped", since there are no moving parts in it, and nothing shaped like a disk either. The memory in it is based on the physical properties of the conductivity of semiconductors, so SSD– a semiconductor (or solid-state) device, while a regular hard drive can be called an electro-mechanical device.

Abbreviation SSD just means “ solid-state drive ", that is, literally, " solid state drive" It consists of a controller and memory chips.

Controller– the most important part of the device that connects the memory to the computer. Main characteristics SSD– data exchange speed, power consumption, etc. depend on it. The controller has its own microprocessor that works according to a preinstalled program and can perform the functions of correcting code errors, preventing wear, and cleaning debris.

Memory in drives can be either non-volatile ( NAND), and volatile ( RAM).

NAND memory initially won against HDD only in the speed of access to arbitrary memory blocks, and only since 2012 the read/write speed has also increased many times over. Now in the mass market drives SSD are presented by models with non-volatile NAND-memory.

RAM The memory features ultra-fast read and write speeds, and is built on the principles of computer RAM. Such memory is volatile - if there is no power, the data is lost. Typically used in specific areas, such as speeding up work with databases, it is difficult to find on sale.

Differences between SSD and HDD

SSD differs from HDD First of all, the physical device. Thanks to this, it boasts some advantages, but also has a number of serious disadvantages.

Main advantages:

· Performance. Even from the technical characteristics it is clear that the read/write speed is SSD several times higher, but in practice performance can vary by 50-100 times.
· No moving parts, and therefore no noise. This also means high resistance to mechanical stress.
· Random memory access speed is much higher. As a result, the speed of operation does not depend on the location of files and their fragmentation.
· Much less vulnerable to electromagnetic fields.
· Small dimensions and weight, low power consumption.

Flaws:

· Resource limitation for rewrite cycles. This means that a single cell can be overwritten a certain number of times - on average, this figure varies from 1,000 to 100,000 times.
· The cost of a gigabyte of volume is still quite high, and exceeds the cost of a regular HDD several times. However, this drawback will disappear over time.
· Difficulty or even impossibility of recovering deleted or lost data due to the hardware command used by the drive TRIM, and with high sensitivity to changes in supply voltage: if memory chips are damaged in this way, information from them is lost forever.

In general, SSDs have a number of advantages that standard hard drives do not have - in cases where performance, access speed, size and resistance to mechanical stress play a major role, SDD persistently displaces HDD.

How much SSD capacity will you need?

The first thing you should pay attention to when choosing SSD– its volume. There are models on sale with capacities from 32 to 2000 GB.

The decision depends on the use case - you can install only the operating system on the drive, and be limited by the capacity SSD 60-128 GB, which will be quite enough for Windows and installation of basic programs.

The second option is to use SSD as the main media library, but then you will need a disk with a capacity of 500-1000 GB, which will be quite expensive. This only makes sense if you work with a large number of files that need to be accessed really quickly. In relation to the average user, this is not a very rational price/speed ratio.

But there is one more property of solid-state drives - depending on the volume, the write speed can vary greatly. The larger the disk capacity, the faster the recording speed, as a rule. This is due to the fact that SSD capable of using several memory crystals in parallel at once, and the number of crystals grows along with the volume. That is, in the same models SSD with different capacities of 128 and 480 GB, the difference in speed can vary by about 3 times.

Considering this feature, we can say that now the most optimal choice in terms of price/speed can be called 120-240 GB SSD models, they will be enough to install the system and the most important software, and maybe even for several games.

Interface and form factor

2.5" SSD

The most common form factor SSD is a 2.5 inch format. It is a “bar” with dimensions of approximately 100x70x7mm; they may vary slightly among different manufacturers (±1mm). The interface of 2.5” drives is usually SATA3(6 Gbps).

Advantages of the 2.5" format:

• Prevalence on the market, any volume available
• Convenient and easy to use, compatible with any motherboard
• Reasonable price

Disadvantages of the format:

• Relatively low speed among ssds - up to a maximum of 600 Mb/s per channel, versus, for example, 1 Gb/s for the PCIe interface
• AHCI controllers that were designed for classic hard drives

If you need a drive that is convenient and easy to mount in a PC case, and your motherboard only has connectors SATA2 or SATA3, That 2.5" SSD drive- This is your choice. The system and office programs will obviously load faster compared to the HDD, and the average user will not notice much of a difference with faster solutions.

mSATA SSD

There is a more compact form factor - mSATA, sizes 30x51x4 mm. It makes sense to use it in laptops and any other compact devices where installing a regular 2.5” drive is impractical. If they have a connector, of course. mSATA. In terms of speed, this is still the same specification SATA3(6 Gbps), and is no different from 2.5".

M.2 SSD

There is another, most compact form factor M.2, gradually replacing mSATA. Designed mainly for laptops. Dimensions - 3.5x22x42(60.80) mm. There are three different lengths of strips - 42, 60 and 80 mm, please pay attention to compatibility when installing in your system. Modern motherboards offer at least one U.2 slot for the M.2 format.

M.2 can be either a SATA or PCIe interface. The difference between these interface options is in speed, and quite large at that - SATA drives boast an average speed of 550 MB/s, while PCIe, depending on the generation, can offer 500 MB/s per lane for PCI-E 2.0. and speeds up to 985 Mb/s per PCI-E 3.0 line. Thus, an SSD installed in a PCIe x4 slot (with four lanes) can exchange data at speeds of up to 2 Gb/s in the case of PCI Express 2.0 and up to almost 4 Gb/s when using PCI Express third generation.

The differences in price are significant; an M.2 form factor drive with a PCIe interface will cost on average twice as much as a SATA interface with the same capacity.

The form factor has a U.2 connector, which may have connectors that differ from each other keys– special “cutouts” in them. There are clues B and and also B&M. Differ in bus speed PCIe: key M will provide speed up to PCIe x4, key M speed up to PCIe x2, like a combined key B&M.

B- the connector is incompatible with M- connector, M-connector, respectively, with B- connector, and B&M The connector is compatible with any. Be careful when purchasing format M.2, since the motherboard, laptop or tablet must have a suitable connector.

PCI-E SSD

Finally, the last existing form factor is as an expansion board PCI-E. Mounted in the slot accordingly PCI-E, have the highest speed, order 2000 MB/s read and 1000 MB/s write. Such speeds will cost you a lot: it is obvious that you should choose such a drive for professional tasks.

NVM Express

There are also SSD having a new logical interface NVM Express, designed specifically for SSDs. It differs from the old AHCI in even lower access latencies and high parallelism of memory chips due to a new set of hardware algorithms.
There are models on the market with a connector M.2, and in PCIe. The only downside of PCIe here is that it will take up an important slot, which may be useful for another board.

Since the standard NVMe designed specifically for flash memory, it takes into account its features, while AHCI still just a compromise. That's why, NVMe is the future of SSDs, and will only get better and better over time.

What type of SSD memory is better?

Let's understand memory types SSD. This is one of the main characteristics SSD, determining the cell rewriting resource and speed.

MLC (Multi-Level Cell)- the most popular type of memory. Cells contain 2 bits, as opposed to 1 bit in the old type SLC , which is almost no longer on sale. Thanks to this, there is a larger volume, which means lower cost. Recording resource from 2000 to 5000 rewrite cycles. In this case, “overwriting” means overwriting each cell of the disk. Therefore, for a 240 GB model, for example, you can record at least 480 TB of information. So, such a resource SSD even with constant intensive use, about 5-10 years should be enough (during which time it will still become very outdated). And for home use, it will last for 20 years, so the limited rewrite cycles can be ignored altogether. MLC– this is the best combination of reliability/price.

TLC (Triple-Level Cell)- from the name it follows that here 3 bits of data are stored in one cell at once. Recording density here compared to MLC higher by whole 50% , which means the rewriting resource is less - only 1000 cycles. The access speed is also lower due to the higher density. The cost now is not much different from MLC. It has been widely used in flash drives for a long time. The service life is also sufficient for a home solution, but the susceptibility to uncorrectable errors and “dying out” of memory cells is noticeably higher, and during the entire service life.

3D NAND- This is rather a form of memory organization, and not its new type. There is both MLC, so TLC 3D NAND. Such memory has vertically arranged memory cells, and an individual memory crystal in it has several levels of cells. It turns out that the cell has a third spatial coordinate, hence the prefix "3D" in the memory name - 3D NAND. It is distinguished by a very low number of errors and high endurance due to a larger technical process of 30-40 nM.
The manufacturer's warranty for some models reaches 10 years of use, but the cost is high. The most reliable type of memory available.

Differences between cheap SSDs and expensive ones

Disks of the same capacity, even from the same manufacturer, can vary greatly in price. A cheap SSD may differ from an expensive one in the following ways:

· Cheaper type of memory. In ascending order of cost/reliability, roughly: TLC≥ MLC ≥ 3D NAND.
· Cheaper controller. Also affects read/write speed.
· Clipboard. The cheapest SSD may not have a clipboard at all, this does not make them much cheaper, but it noticeably reduces performance.
· Protection systems. For example, expensive models have protection against power interruption in the form of backup capacitors, which allow the write operation to be completed correctly and not lose data.
· Brand. Of course, a more popular brand will be more expensive, which does not always mean technical superiority.

Conclusion. What is more profitable to buy?

It is safe to say that modern SSD The drives are quite reliable. The fear of data loss and the negative attitude towards solid-state drives as a class are completely unjustified at the moment. If we talk about more or less popular brands, then even cheap TLC The memory is suitable for budget home use, and its resource will last you for at least several years. Many manufacturers also provide a 3-year warranty.

So, if you are limited in funds, then your choice is a capacity of 60-128 GB to install the system and frequently used applications. The type of memory is not so critical for home use - TLC will it be or MLC, the disk will become obsolete before the resource is exhausted. All other things being equal, of course, it’s worth choosing MLC.

If you are ready to look into the mid-price segment and value reliability, then it is better to consider SSD MLC 200-500 GB. For older models you will have to pay about 12 thousand rubles. At the same time, the volume is enough for you for almost everything that needs to work quickly on your home PC. You can also take models of even higher reliability with memory crystals 3D NAND .

If your fear of flash memory wearing out reaches panic levels, then it's worth looking at new (and expensive) technologies in the form of storage formats 3D NAND. All jokes aside, this is the future. SSD– high speed and high reliability are combined here. Such a drive is suitable even for important server databases, since the recording resource here reaches petabyte, and the number of errors is minimal.

I would like to include drives with an interface into a separate group PCI-E. It has high read and write speed ( 1000-2000 Mb/s), and on average more expensive than other categories. If you prioritize performance, then this is the best choice. The disadvantage is that it takes up a universal PCIe slot; motherboards of compact formats may only have one PCIe slot.

Beyond competition - SSD with NVMe logical interface, the reading speed of which exceeds 2000 MB/s. Compared to compromise logic for SSD AHCI, has much greater queue depth and concurrency. High price in the market, and the best characteristics - the choice of enthusiasts or professionals.

If you are building a powerful computer or want to speed up an old one, then an SSD will come in handy. Finally, the cost of these drives has dropped so much that they can be considered as a reasonable alternative to hard drives (HDD).

The following SSD features will help you choose the best drive that is compatible with your computer and meets your needs.

1. Which form factor to choose: SSD 2.5″, SSD M.2 or another

SSD 2.5″

This form factor is the most common. An SSD looks like a small box that resembles an ordinary hard drive. 2.5″ SSDs are the cheapest, but their speed is sufficient for most users.

Compatibility of 2.5″ SSD with computers

An SSD of this form factor can be installed in any desktop computer or laptop that has a free bay for 2.5-inch drives. If your system only has room for an old 3.5" hard drive, you can fit a 2.5" SSD into it too. But in this case, look for an SSD model that comes with a special lock.

Like modern HDDs, a 2.5″ SSD is connected to the motherboard using the SATA3 interface. This connection provides a throughput of up to 600 MB/s. If you have an older motherboard with a SATA2 connector, you can still connect a 2.5″ SSD, but the drive's throughput will be limited by the old version of the interface.

SSD M.2

A more compact form factor, making it suitable even for particularly thin ones that do not have room for a 2.5″ SSD. It looks like an oblong stick and is installed not in a separate compartment of the case, but directly on the motherboard.

To connect to the board, each M.2 drive uses one of two interfaces: SATA3 or PCIe.

PCIe is several times faster than SATA3. If you choose the first one, then there are a few more things to consider: the interface version and the number of lines connected to the connector for data transfer.

• The newer the PCIe version, the higher the throughput (data transfer speed) of the interface. Two versions are common: PCIe 2.0 (up to 1.6 GB/s) and PCIe 3.0 (up to 3.2 GB/s).
• The more data lines connected to the SSD connector, the higher its throughput again. The maximum number of lines in an M.2 SSD is four; in this case, in the drive description its interface is designated as PCIe x4. If there are only two lines, then PCIe x2.

M.2 SSD compatibility with computers

Before purchasing an M.2 SSD, you should make sure that it will fit your motherboard. To do this, you need to first check the physical and then the software compatibility of the connector on the drive with the slot on the board. Then you need to find out the length of the drive and compare it with the allowable length of the slot allocated for M.2 in your system.

1. Physical compatibility of interfaces

Each connector on the motherboard intended for connecting M.2 format drives has a special cutout (key) of one of two types: B or M. At the same time, the connector on each M.2 drive has two cutouts B + M, less often only one of two keys: B or M.

The B-connector on the board can be connected with a B-connector. To the M-connector, respectively, a drive with an M-type connector. SSDs, the connectors of which have two M + B cutouts, are compatible with any M.2 slots, regardless of the keys in the latter.

M.2 SSD with B+M key (top) and M.2 SSD with M key (bottom) / www.wdc.com

Thus, first make sure that your motherboard has an M.2 SSD slot at all. Then find out the key for your connector and select a drive whose connector is compatible with this key. Key types are usually indicated on connectors and slots. In addition, you can find all the necessary information in the documents for the motherboard and drive.

2. Logical compatibility of interfaces

In order for an SSD to fit your motherboard, taking into account the physical compatibility of its connector with the connector is not enough. The fact is that the drive connector may not support the logical interface (protocol) that is used in the slot of your board.

Therefore, when you understand the keys, find out what protocol is implemented in the M.2 connector on your board. This could be SATA3, and/or PCIe x2, and/or PCIe x4. Then choose an M.2 SSD with the same interface. For information about supported protocols, see the device documentation.

3. Size compatibility

Another nuance on which the compatibility of the drive with the motherboard depends is its length.

In the characteristics of most boards you can find the numbers 2260, 2280 and 22110. The first two digits in each of them indicate the supported drive width. It is the same for all M.2 SSDs and is 22 mm. The next two digits are the length. Thus, most boards are compatible with drives with lengths of 60, 80 and 110 mm.

Three M.2 SSD drives of different lengths / www.forbes.com

Before purchasing M.2, be sure to find out the supported drive length, which is indicated in the documents for the motherboard. Then choose one that matches this length.

As you can see, the issue of M.2 compatibility is very confusing. Therefore, just in case, consult the sellers about this.

Less popular form factors

Your computer case may not have a bay for a 2.5” SSD, and your motherboard may not have an M.2 connector. The owner of a thin laptop may encounter such an atypical situation. Then for your system you need to choose a 1.8″ or mSATA SSD - check the documents for your computer. These are rare form factors that are more compact than 2.5” SSDs, but inferior in data exchange speed to M.2 drives.

In addition, thin laptops from Apple may also not support traditional form factors. In them, the manufacturer installs an SSD of a proprietary format, the characteristics of which are comparable to M.2. So, if you have a thin laptop with an apple on the lid, check the supported SSD type in the documentation for the computer.

External SSDs

In addition to internal ones, there are also external drives. They vary greatly in shape and size - choose the one that is most convenient for you.

As for the interface, they connect to computers via a USB port. To achieve full compatibility, make sure the port on your computer and the drive connector support the same USB standard. The highest data transfer speeds are provided by USB 3 and USB Type-C specifications.

2. Which memory is better: MLC or TLC

Based on the number of bits of information that can be stored in one flash memory cell, the latter is divided into three types: SLC (one bit), MLC (two bits) and TLC (three bits). The first type is relevant for servers, the other two are widely used in consumer drives, so you will have to choose from them.

MLC memory is faster and more durable, but more expensive. TLC is correspondingly slower and withstands fewer rewrite cycles, although the average user is unlikely to notice the difference.

TLC type memory is cheaper. Choose it if savings are more important to you than speed.

The drive description may also indicate the type of relative arrangement of memory cells: NAND or 3D V-NAND (or simply V-NAND). The first type implies that the cells are arranged in one layer, the second - in several layers, which allows you to create SSDs with increased capacity. According to the developers, the reliability and performance of 3D V-NAND flash memory is higher than that of NAND.

3. Which SSD is faster

In addition to the type of memory, the performance of an SSD is also affected by other characteristics, such as the model of the controller installed in the drive and its firmware. But these details are often not even indicated in the description. Instead, the final indicators of read and write speed appear, which are easier for the buyer to navigate. So, when choosing between two SSDs, with all other parameters being equal, take the drive whose declared speeds are higher.

Remember that the manufacturer indicates only theoretically possible speeds. In practice, they are always lower than stated.

4. What storage capacity is right for you

Of course, one of the most important characteristics when choosing a drive is its capacity. If you are buying an SSD to use as a fast operating system, a 64 GB device is sufficient. If you are going to install games on the SSD or store large files on it, then choose a capacity that suits your needs.

But do not forget that the storage capacity greatly affects its cost.

Buyer's checklist

• If you need a drive for office tasks or watching movies, choose a 2.5″ or M.2 SSD with a SATA3 interface and TLC memory. Even such a budget SSD will work much faster than a regular hard drive.
• If you are engaged in other tasks for which high drive performance is critical, choose an M.2 SSD with a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface and MLC memory.
• Before purchasing, carefully check the compatibility of the drive with your computer. If in doubt, consult the sellers on this issue.

Does my laptop need an SSD?

Nowadays, a solid-state drive is no longer a privilege of expensive laptops, but an almost obligatory component even for models costing 60 thousand rubles. However, if you ask yourself this question, then the most interesting things are yet to come.

As Confucius said: “Once you work on a computer with an SSD, there will be no turning back.” If in the last decade everyone was chasing hundreds and thousands of megahertz, then with the advent of SSD it became obvious that the bottleneck was the drive, not the processor.

If your laptop with a quad-core i7 takes a minute or more to load Windows and launch applications, the problem is definitely with the slow hard drive, and not with the processor. With an SSD, everything starts in a matter of seconds, files are opened and saved instantly. As a result, work becomes much more enjoyable. So let's be honest: the only time you don't need an SSD is if you already have one.

SSDs are expensive, aren't they?

Hard drives are still noticeably cheaper than SSDs based on the price of one megabyte, this is a fact. But in most cases, you don’t need a bulk “solid state”. You can always watch TV series online, store photos in the bottomless storage of Yandex.Disk, Google Drive or Dropbox, listen to music from countless streaming services, domestic or foreign.

So it turns out that often users don’t actually have that much information on their laptop, and the basics can be stored on a fairly inexpensive SSD. True, on a gaming laptop it’s not so simple anymore. Of course, I would like to install all the toys on a solid-state machine so that the maps in Battlefield don’t take such a painfully long time to load. But, unfortunately, modern games eat up too much space to be installed on inexpensive solid-state drives. But there are options, described in the next paragraph.

Where will I store terabytes of photos from my last vacation in Tenerife?

And even if your laptop is filled to capacity with media files, this is still not a reason to refuse to purchase an SSD. Even a not very large volume is enough to install an operating system, browser and other essential programs. And then you won't recognize your laptop.

Moreover, it is not at all necessary to give up a hard drive with hundreds of gigabytes of goods acquired through back-breaking labor. Firstly, there are many laptops with space for both a fast solid-state drive and a large hard drive. Secondly, even if you have a super-thin ultrabook, this is not a problem - external hard drives have been on sale for a long time. And even hard drives with Wi-Fi for those who don’t like wires. Or again, you can rent a place in the cloud. Although, if you plan to use it as a balcony or garage, that is, to look only once a year or less often and put everything there that you would hate to throw away, then it is better to take an external hard drive.

Can I install an SSD in my laptop?

In most cases, the answer is yes. It is definitely not possible to install a “solid state” only in laptops in which it is already soldered directly on the motherboard. But cases when the laptop already has an SSD are not of much interest to us in this material.

If your laptop has only one slot for storage devices, and it is already occupied by a hard drive, then the best option is to buy a solid-state drive to replace the hard drive, and for the hard drive, purchase a special container with an adapter to turn this hard drive into a convenient external hard drive. This way you solve the problem both with system speed and with storing large amounts of data. And, in fact, you have nothing to lose.

One way or another, you will have to start by finding out how many drives you can install in your laptop and what type they are. There are not many variations, but enough to confuse the inexperienced person. Therefore, it is best to look for forums for specific models, where people have already figured out which drives can be installed in a particular laptop model.

Which to choose?

Form factor

The question of choosing a form factor depends not on you, but on your laptop. Older models only support 2.5-inch drives with a SATA interface. They are not as fast as some modern solid state devices with an M.2 connector. Most often, purchasing them is simply a necessity if the laptop does not have M.2.

However, the performance of a high-quality 2.5-inch solid-state drive is more than enough for everyday needs, and even more so for a person who has never dealt with an SSD before. Moreover, the M.2 connector itself is not an indicator of the drive’s performance, and among SSDs with M.2 there are even slower models.

However, the fastest M.2s are five times faster than standard 2.5-inch ones. But the point here is not even in the name of the connector, but in the data transfer interface. Faster SSDs are indicated by the acronym PCIe 3.0 (or NVMe), but we won't go into detail about such subtleties.

Volume

Anything less than 120 GB is not worth attention at all - nothing will fit there, and you will just experience constant pain. The exception is all sorts of Chromebooks with 32 and 64 GB drives, but often these are not even SSDs, but devices with slow memory and slow controllers that work even slower than hard drives.

You can already live with a 120 GB drive, but only on the condition that you really don’t store a lot of programs and files. Otherwise, it is better to pay attention to the 256 GB models.

Finally, 512 and 1024 GB are desirable figures for many, but the cost of such drives at retail is high, and the surcharge for modifying a laptop with similar ones is even higher. You can even place video games there, or, for example, two operating systems, each with its own set of programs and files, and much more that your imagination is capable of.