Which SSD to choose for a laptop. Additional SSD options and parameters. SSD or HDD: which is better, what to give preference to

One way to improve laptop performance is to replace the mechanical hard drive with a solid state drive (SSD). Let's try to figure out how to make the right choice of such an information storage device.

• A high degree of reliability, in particular, shock resistance and a wide operating temperature range. This is especially true for laptops, where cooling conditions leave much to be desired;
• Low power consumption;
• High level of productivity.

Features of choice

First, you need to decide on the purpose of the SSD, whether it will be used as a system drive only or whether it will also store large files, modern games of 40-50 GB. If in the first case a volume of 120 GB will be enough, then in the second you need to pay attention to models with a larger capacity. The best choice here may be disks with a size of 240-256 GB.

• Installation instead of an optical drive. To do this, you will need a special adapter, when choosing which you need to know the height (usually 12.7 mm). In some cases, you can find a device with 9.5 mm;
• Replacing the main HDD.

After this, you can already make a choice according to the remaining parameters, which are worth considering further.

Memory type

First of all, when choosing, you need to pay attention to the type of memory used. Three types are known: SLC, MLC and TLC, and all the rest are their derivatives. The difference is that in SLC one bit of information is written to one cell, while in MLC and TLC two and three bits are written, respectively.

From here the disk resource is calculated, which depends on the volume of overwritten memory cells. The operating time of TLC memory is the lowest, but it still depends on the type of controller. At the same time, disks on such chips show better read speed results.

Form factor, interface

The most common SSD form factor is 2.5 inches. mSATA (mini-SATA), PCIe and M.2 are also known, which are used in compact laptops and ultrabooks. The main interface through which data reception/transmission operations are carried out is SATA III, where speeds can reach up to 6 Gbit/s. In turn, in M.2, information can be exchanged using both standard SATA and the PCI-Express bus. Moreover, in the second case, the modern NVMe protocol is used, developed specifically for SSDs, which provides speeds of up to 32 Gbit/s. Disks of mSATA, PCIe and M.2 form factors are expansion cards and take up little space.

Based on this, we can say that before purchasing, you need to read the technical documentation for the laptop on the manufacturer’s website and check the availability of the above connectors. For example, if your laptop has an M.2 connector with support for the NVMe protocol, it is recommended to purchase an appropriate drive, since its data transfer speed will be higher than that of a SATA controller.

Controller

Parameters such as read/write speed and disk resource depend on the control chip. Manufacturers include Marvell, Samsung, Toshiba OCZ (Indilinx), Silicon Motion, Phison. Moreover, the first two from the list produce controllers with a high level of performance and reliability, so they are mainly used in solutions for the medium and business segment of consumers. Samsung also has a hardware encryption feature.

Silicone Motion and Fison controllers have a good combination of price and performance, but products based on them have disadvantages such as low random write/read performance and a drop in overall operating speed when the disk is full. They are intended mainly for the budget and mid-range segments.

There may also be SSDs on the once very popular SandForce and JMicron chips. In general, they show good results, but drives based on them have a relatively low resource and are presented mainly in the budget segment of the market.

Disc rating

The main drive manufacturers are Intel, Patriot, Samsung, Plextor, Corsair, SanDisk, Toshiba OCZ, AMD. Let's look at a few drives that are the best in their category. And as a selection criterion, we will highlight volume.

Note: The list below is based on average prices at the time of writing: March 2018.

Drives up to 128 GB

Samsung 850 120GB presented in 2.5″/M.2/mSATA form factors. The average price for a disc is 4,090 rubles. It features best-in-class performance and a 5-year warranty.

Options:
Sequential reading: 540 MB/s
Sequential recording: 520 MB/s
Wear resistance: 75 TBW
Memory type: Samsung 64L TLC

ADATA Ultimate SU650 120GB has the best price in the class, 2,870 rubles to be exact. It contains a unique SLC caching algorithm, for which all available space is allocated to the firmware. This ensures good average performance. Models are available for all major form factors.

Options:
Sequential reading: 520 MB/s
Sequential recording: 320 MB/s
Wear resistance: 70 TBW
Memory type: TLC 3D NAND

Drives from 128 to 240-256 GB

Samsung 860 EVO (250GB) is the latest model from the company of the same name for 2.5″/M.2/mSATA. At the start of sales it costs 6,000 rubles. According to the tests carried out, the disc has best-in-class wear resistance, the value of which increases with increasing volume.

Options:
Sequential reading: 550 MB/s
Sequential recording: 520 MB/s
Wear resistance: 150 TBW
Memory type: Samsung 64L TLC

SanDisk Ultra II 240 GB— despite the fact that the manufacturing company was acquired by Western Digital, models under this brand are often found on sale. This is the SanDisk Ultra II, which uses a controller from Marvell, now selling for about 4,600 rubles.

Options:
Sequential reading: 550 MB/s
Sequential recording: 500 MB/s
Wear resistance: 288 TBW
Memory type: TLC ToggleNAND

Drives with a capacity of 480 GB or more

Intel SSD 760p 512GB is a representative of the new line of SSDs from Intel. Available only in the M.2 form factor, it has high speeds. The price is traditionally quite high - 16,845 rubles.

Options:
Sequential reading: 3200 MB/s
Sequential recording: 1670 MB/s
Wear resistance: 288 TBW
Memory type: Intel 64L 3D TLC

Price for SSD Crucial MX500 1TB is 15,200 rubles, which makes it the most affordable disc in this category. At the moment it is produced only in the SATA 2.5″ form factor, but the manufacturer has already announced models for M.2.

Options:
Sequential reading: 560 MB/s
Sequential recording: 510 MB/s
Wear resistance: 288 TBW
Memory type: 3D TCL NAND

Conclusion

Thus, we looked at the criteria for choosing an SSD for a laptop and got acquainted with several models that are on the market today. In general, installing a system on an SSD has a good effect on its performance and reliability. The fastest drives are the M.2 form factor, but you need to pay attention to whether the laptop has such a connector. Despite the fact that almost all new models are built on TLC chips, it is recommended to also consider models with MLC memory, which have a significantly higher resource. This is especially true when choosing a system drive.

We have already talked about SSDs several times and I am more than sure that many of you know what it is, those who don’t know.

So, if you want your computer to work better and faster, then an SSD drive will help you with this. Access to data occurs almost instantly and this speeds up loading, for example, systems or launching programs. In other words, whatever you try to open will open almost instantly.

If you replace your HDD with such a device, the benefits will be noticeable to a greater extent than if we simply replaced the RAM. As I have said in many of my articles, the only drawback of these devices is that they are very expensive, so many cannot afford them.

Also, information on the service life of the SSD is considered important, since memory cells are subject to wear. To increase the service life, I will tell you several methods, but this is only for solid-state drives; this practically does not apply to ordinary hard drives.

Purchase and operation

In this article, we will look at 5 points of operation of SSD drives, you need to know them before choosing a disk. In paragraph 6, we will look at the principle of operation, the differences between SSDs and conventional hard drives, for example, when deleting data.

Choosing a universal hard drive

Those users who want to purchase a new hard drive instead of an old one should pay attention to an interesting 500 GB SSD drive. They cost approximately 13,000 rubles, but will provide you with both speed and plenty of space.

Even if we take into account that the SATA-3 interface limits the data transfer speed to 600 MB/s, then SSD drives have a speed 5 times higher than conventional hard drives. Also, solid-state drives can have a warranty of 3 years and are designed for such a volume of recorded information that would be achieved only after 10 years.

SSD Model - Transcend SSD370S has a capacity of 512 GB and costs approximately 15 thousand rubles, data access time is achieved almost immediately, and there is also optimal energy efficiency. There is a similar model - Samsung SSD850 Evo for 500 GB, price 14 thousand rubles, warranty up to 5 years.

Let's look at the performance

In order to get the most out of an SSD, you need to use PCI Express 3.0 rather than SATA, the best option would be to purchase a motherboard.

Now you can find the following models of this product: Intel SSD 750 400 GB or 1200 GB, price from 37 thousand rubles to 98 thousand rubles, a little expensive, but this is the best option. Second model - Samsung SSD 950 Pro from 256 to 512 GB, price 17-29,000 rubles. The model also has a form factor - M.2, which creates compatibility with modern computer motherboards and laptops with an M.2 slot.

The data transfer speed of such SSDs is more than 2 Gb/s; as you can see, there is a big difference compared to SATA-SSDs.

Transferring the OS to an SSD drive

If your operating system is located on an HDD, then you should think about transferring it to an SSD. After this, the performance will noticeably improve and you will notice it charmingly.

There is a utility O&O SSD Migration Kit, which helps to transfer to SSD. Of course, there are failures, so you can use software, for example, from the manufacturer. Example - Samsung Data Migration. In any case, connect the SSD to your computer or laptop first.

In a computer you can use a SATA port, and in laptops, a special 2.5-inch compartment, and, of course, a SATA port. Or, to insert an SSD into a laptop, you need to purchase an external case with a USB connector and then you can easily connect the drive to a laptop or computer.

Using SSD and HDD in a laptop

Usually, in almost any laptop that has an HDD drive, you can change the drive to a SATA-SSD, and in a 2.5-inch form factor. If your laptop has a disk drive, you can replace it with OptibayHD-adapter into which SATA-SSD is connected.

Installing an SSD in a computer

Regular computers do not have space for an SSD drive, since they are smaller in size. Although some computers have bays for these disks. Or you can purchase a special compartment.

Operating system optimization

Once you have installed the SSD, you need to be sure to install the software from the manufacturer. For example, if you install Intel SSD Toolbox software, your device will always have the latest firmware.

Also, you can use it to align partitions and configure the operating system.

If there is no tool for optimizing the SSD and OS, then you can use the AS SSD utility to align partitions.

If in the upper left corner there is a value of 1024 and a green button OK, then this means that everything is fine, but if the red button BAD, then everything is bad. If the Bad button appears, then to fix the problem you can use the Live-USB Parted Magic utility, the program costs about 700 rubles.

What is the best way to organize the data?

When using a 500 GB SSD drive, the best option would be to use one partition for the system (C:), while preferably having some free space. There is also another option: use the entire SSD for the operating system, and a regular hard drive is suitable for storing files.

In any case, if you use the SSD as I wrote just above, it will increase the reserve area that you yourself have allocated, thus the number of memory cells will be increased, and they will replace the failed ones.

Periodically free up disk space

As we know, SSD capacity is very limited, and if you have a 120 GB drive, then naturally you can quickly run out of space. This is worth thinking about, especially since if the disk is used at the limit of its capacity, this greatly harms its characteristics. To solve this problem, you need to clean the disk from files that you no longer need and garbage.

If there are important files that you cannot delete, then move them to another hard drive. To remove files and junk, you can use the CCleaner program. If after cleaning, the fill level is not below 90%, then you should run the disk cleaner.

How to securely delete data from SSD?

It is worth knowing that deleting files from an SSD will be more difficult than from a regular hard drive. To completely remove files from a solid-state drive, you must first remove it using Windows or third-party tools, and then use the Eraser program to overwrite the free memory several times.

Solid-state drives (SSD drives) are increasingly becoming part of the life of the average personal computer user. Widespread adoption is made possible by the very high speeds at which SSD drives operate. Increasingly, laptop manufacturers are abandoning hard drives in favor of solid-state drives in order to ensure maximum system speed. The choice of an SSD drive has also become relevant, which may seem very difficult to a beginner. Well, let's talk about everything in order.

Looking ahead, I will say that it certainly won’t be superfluous. Today, replacing a hard drive is one of the easiest options for upgrading a PC or laptop. Yes, a solid-state drive is more expensive, but immediately after installation, the user will notice a significant increase in speed. It is worth mentioning that you should not expect a serious increase in games. A good SSD will only marginally improve the launch speed of some games. Its main “trump card” is fast loading of the system and opening of folders, files, and so on. Solid state drives perform especially well in laptops. Having installed it, you will notice that the device has become not only faster, but also quieter, lighter, and more autonomous. So, if you want to get a speed boost, be sure to consider an SSD drive.

Volume

A few users immediately decide on the required volume, while others think about this issue for a very long time before buying a high-quality SSD drive. As stated above, such drives do not have a direct impact on performance in games, so it makes sense to buy them for the operating system. See how much your system takes up, as well as the software required. Usually, 60 GB is enough for these purposes, and it is quite difficult to find a smaller volume today. A fast 60 GB SSD costs around 2,000 rubles. If funds allow, then it is better to take a closer look at the 128 GB capacity.

Types

So, we’ll assume that you’re interested in the solid-state drive and you’ve decided on the volume, so let’s move on to a more important question. Many users experience serious problems when choosing a drive type. The Internet is full of advice from experts that even a professional will get confused in. First, let's figure out what distinguishes inexpensive but good SSD drives.

SLC (Single Level Cell)

The technology involves recording 1 bit of information in 1 cell. This type of data is the fastest and most reliable. SLC drives are quite expensive, so they are used only in server computers.

TLC (Triple Level Cell)

The technology involves recording 3 types of memory in one cell. The process is slower and disk resources are consumed faster. TLC discs are distinguished by their low cost and low resources, although they will last quite a long time.

MLC (Multi-Level Cell)

Despite the name, this type of SSD drive writes 2 bits of data per cell. MLC combines a good resource, performance and an affordable price for most users. Today this type is optimal for purchase.

Connection types

Along with the question of how to choose an SSD drive, the question of options for connecting it is relevant. The most common is SATA 3, and this type is also the cheapest. Its bandwidth is 600 Mbps, which is enough for most home computer tasks.

With the proliferation of SSD drives, their speed also increased, which required manufacturers to develop a new type of connection. The solution was the M.2 interface. Its main advantages are speed and compactness. It is worth noting that not every M.2 drive is capable of demonstrating high speed. The reason for this is data transfer interfaces, of which today there are 3 types: SATA, PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0 (from slowest to fastest). To find out how fast a high-quality SSD drive will work, you should check the specification of the interfaces on the motherboard.

The third connection type is PCI Express, which involves connecting directly to the motherboard. A good SSD drive uses all available speed.

Speed

So, let's move on to a more interesting characteristic of a solid-state drive. Most users first look at the speed of operation. Typically, the drive manufacturer indicates it in large print on the front of the box. It is indicated in megabytes per second and indicates the read and write speed. An inexpensive but reliable SSD drive usually has a read speed of 450 MB/s and a write speed of 350 MB/s. Faster is better.

However, random read and write is much more important. The parameter is responsible for the disk’s ability to work with scattered data around its entire perimeter. The response speed of the system largely depends on it. The manufacturer very often tries not to inform the user about this parameter. If the value is not indicated on the box or store website, then you should refer to the official developer page. In the specifications you need to find the IOPS parameter; its value should be: reading – at least 70,000, writing – at least 50,000. Modern SSD drives often have larger numbers.

Many users may wonder: why do SSD drives with the same type of memory from different manufacturers differ in speed? The fact is that different companies install different controllers in drives - a small chip on which the operation of the disk depends. The total speed of the SSD is directly calculated from it. The better the work done by the company’s programmers, the faster the controller’s operation.

Resources

The resource of a solid-state drive is the number of cell rewrites. Typically, this parameter is specified by the manufacturer, and a special utility helps monitor the health of the disk. Many users are worried that their fast and high-quality SSD drive will very quickly exhaust its supply of overwrites. These experiences are far-fetched. Before your drive cannot be rewritten, it will simply become obsolete, and you will most likely be using a different one. It is also a misconception that the data from the drive disappears. In fact, the user will not only be able to record, but the files will remain on the SSD. Therefore, you don’t have to think too much about the resources of the solid-state drive.

To choose a good SSD drive, you should also pay attention to the access protocols. It would take a long time to describe the moment in full, so I’ll keep it short. The vast majority of modern hard drives and solid state drives use the AHCI protocol. The technology is quite old, it appeared before the era of fast SSD drives, so it does not take into account their specifics. It was replaced by the NVME protocol, which was developed for the needs of solid-state drives. The main advantage was the increase in speed with frequent access to information. They are usually used for server computers or for very serious work. They are characterized by high speed, but are expensive. Before you buy the best SSD drive like this, make sure your motherboard supports the protocol. Sometimes a BIOS update is required for it to work.

Speed ​​increase

Despite a bunch of articles, there are people who still doubt the speed increase. It is quite significant and is observed even with very old hardware. The operating system loads much faster - 2 times, or even faster than a regular HDD. When using a high-quality SSD drive, resource-intensive programs that require a very long wait to run on the hard drive become more responsive. Fans of computer games will also receive, albeit a small, increase in launch speed.

Today, more and more companies are appearing on the market that produce good and inexpensive SSD drives. However, only a few companies have gained particular popularity and distribution.

• Intel. Expensive and high-quality SSD drives from a well-known company are now the standard. Used for servers and serious tasks. A 5-year warranty is provided.
• Crucial. It produces flash memory together with Intel, so the drives are quite similar. A significant difference from its popular colleague is the budget cost, which determines such distribution.
• Samsung. He is engaged in production independently. It produces inexpensive but good SSD drives, thanks to which it is located at the top of the market.
• Corsair. A popular company that produces various components for personal computers. Solid state drives are of decent quality and affordable cost.
• Sandisk. The company is new to the market of high-quality SSD drives, but has already presented several models that have attracted the interest of users.

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 body”. 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?

External hard drive

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 with both system speed and storing a large amount 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

SSD with M.2 connector (top) and 2.5-inch SSD with SATA connector (bottom)

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.

Price

Let's get to the unpleasant part. Prices for 256 GB SSDs, be they 2.5” or M.2, start at about 6,000 rubles. 512 GB - already from 10 thousand rubles. Of course, these are starting prices, and, depending on the performance of the drive or simply the arrogance of the brand, they can be one and a half to two times higher for a model of the same volume. Whether a model is worth the money or not - this, unfortunately, can only be found out from reviews or discussions on forums. Or from reviews in stores, if only you know how to read these reviews correctly.

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 an 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 affect 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 at a speed of 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 in 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 provide 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 write 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 discs 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 give 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 you have a computer for video processing, 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. At the level of good disks 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