SSD - What is it? Types SSD. Benefits SSD before HDD

Good afternoon Dear readers of my blog site! Today I will tell all about solid-state SSD drives, which I am glad to use myself and recommend this miracle modern technology you! Over the years has become usual that all information on the laptop computer is stored on HDD - Hard Disk Drive. Winchester seems very reliable, roomy, continuously. But now the solid-state drive is increasingly common - hDD SSD based on memory chips.

What is a solid-state drive?

Far from everyone know what is the beast, and why many developers, system administrators And just advanced users sing the diffilaments to a small device.

Such drives are based on two types of memory:

• flash;
• like an operational.

Inside the SSD drive there is a controller to control moving parts from the device. Some say that this is like a big flash drive, which is not accustomed from the truth.

Small size Allows you to use devices in compact devices: laptops, netbooks, smartphones, tablets.

How does the drive work?

If you compare with something hard drive SSD, you can cite a way of working hard drive. It first calculates where the desired sector is located with information, then moves the moving block of magnetic heads to the track. Like a hunter patiently expects ( of course, speed is high, but waiting is noticeable) When the desired sector falls into place above the magnetic head. Finally, HDD considers and gives information. The more chaotic queries ( with a difference per second, you quickly request files from the disk sectors d, and immediately decide to read the system data with C), the slower works "broom". Heads all the time "rushing" through the areas of the disk, which slows down work.

But SSD for a laptop works on another principle: this "real estate" simply calculates the address of the desired block with information (it is unique and recognizable), it gets access directly to read or write. No movements of the storage parts relative to each other. The higher the speed of the Flash memory, the controller and the external interface, the faster the data will be on the desktop. Yes, the computer works much quieter and once in 10 faster. Everyone probably heard an annoying sound with a hard work of the computer, as if someone moves the stones in search of the necessary information? This is HDD, and since the solid-state device there is nothing to move, everything happens quietly, like a spy.

But if you need to change something in the data or completely remove them, SSD is not so easy. NAND microcircuits are designed to perform operations strictly by sectors. The flash memory is written by blocks of 4 kilobytes, and it is erased by 512 kilobytes.

Because the device has to do this work:

• The block is read to the unit for modification. Transfers it to the internal clipboard;
• Changes the required bytes, erases the block in the memory microcircuit;
• Determines the new position of the block (necessarily compliance with the mixing algorithm);
• Hurray - the block is written to a new place, and the SSD hard drive is sent to "rest".
• Advantages and disadvantages of SSD drive

Naturally, such devices have both pros and cons. Let's start, of course, with pleasant:

• high speed reading block, which does not depend on where it is physically located. These are as much as 200 MB / s or more;
• low power consumption, about 1 watt lower than that of HDD;
• low heat release, even Intel's company confirmed. Studies have shown that the SSD hard drive is heated by 12 degrees less than the usual. Still, throwing magnetic heads - a rather stressful mechanical action;
• the benchmarking has been revealed that the solid-state drive in 1 GB of memory is able to work as efficiently, not yielding models with HDD in 4 gigabytes;
• work very quietly, rarely break;
• when optimizing are perfectly combined with Windows XP / 7.

Minuses are as follows:

• energy consumption increases with increasing the volume of the drive, when recording entire blocks of information;
• low capacity at a high price. This is if compared with HDD;
• the number of recording cycles is limited.

As they say, think for yourself, decide what is better - HDD or SSD. Most devices are already equipped with solid-state devices, therefore disassemble them undesirable. But sometimes the hard disk can be replaced. The question is that it is important: no noise, energy consumption or speed of computer?

My personal experience with the SSD drive

About a year ago, I bought myself a SSD drive of OCZ VERTEX by 60 GB at a speed of 430MB / s, put on it only the system, and the usual HDD made as a repository of various information. I strongly advise everyone to do the same, because the operability of my computer on the basis of the I3 processor, not in 2 times, but about 10 times! Of course, for high-quality operation of the system on the SSD drive, you must first configure the system itself (if you have Windows XP to delete it and forget, and put Windows 7 or 8). How to do this will tell further.

Setup, SSD Optimization for Windows 7/8

What settings are we talking about and why do they do? - I answer: if you do not make these settings, then your drive fails after 1-2, since it is in contrast to the usual HDD, a limited number of recording cycles (approximately 10,000 thousand), this is exactly today the main minus, but with the right It will work with you 4-5 years old! He has been working for 2 years and everything is fine!

Tip: Do not listen to those who tell you to find for your solid-state new firmware And update it! He works fine with the factory. You just need to configure the system!

We will proceed to setup:

Step 1.

After you have connected the drive and are going to install the system on it 2 important actions:

• Disable other hard drives to avoid problems with the installation system, I had a case when I installed the system and I boot section The systems were created on the usual HDD and I broke my head why the system still loaded as if nothing was changed!
• And second, go to the BIOS and install a solid-state number on the connector. aHCI modeIf you have a bought the motherboard after 2011-2012, most likely this regime will be automatically displayed.

Step 2.

When you place a disk, leave no 10-15% of the total disk volume, with time the disc is wearing and takes clusters from this not marked space.

Now we optimize:

Step 1.

Need to disable system Cash Prefetch and Superfetch. They are not needed when the SSD drive is working. In most cases, Prefetch is turned off automatically, but I recommend that you check it:

Without registry editor (Push a combination windows keys + R and write in Run: Regedit.)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -\u003e SYSTEM -\u003e CURRENTCONTROLSET -\u003e Control -\u003e Session Manager -\u003e Memory Management -\u003e PrefetchParameters

Install - EnablePrefetcher \u003d DWORD: 00000000

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -\u003e SYSTEM -\u003e CURRENTCONTROLSET -\u003e Control -\u003e Session Manager -\u003e Memory Management -\u003e PrefetchParameters

Install -EnablesUPERFETCH \u003d.dWORD: 0000000.

Step 2.

Disconnect automatic file defragmentation. We do not need it, it only reduces the SSD resource of the drive. ( Only forWindows 7, inThere is no Windows 8 of this function, it is already used for other functions, and 8 windows is already working fine withSSD without any optimization)

Press Start \u003e\u003e In the search field, we introduce - defragmentation. We click on the "Configure Schedule" button and remove the checkbox with "perform on schedule".

Step 3.

You may have a 64-bit operating system and RAM more than 8GB, I recommend disabled the paging file. We go:

Computer -\u003e Properties -\u003e Advanced System Settings -\u003e Advanced -\u003e Speed \u200b\u200bSettings -\u003e Advanced -\u003e Virtual Memory -\u003e Edit. Install - without paging file

Step 4.

You need to change the Memory Management parameter:

We go to the Start Registry Editor \u003e\u003e Run \u003e\u003e Regedit

And the second way to open the registry, press the shortcut of Windows + R keys and run Regedit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -\u003e SYSTEM -\u003e CURRENTCONTROLSET -\u003e CONTROL -\u003e SESSION MANAGER -\u003e MEMORY MANAGEMENT

Install -DisablePagingExecutive \u003d.dWORD: 00000001

Step 5.

In the SSD optimization process, you can also turn on journaling file System NTFS

We go into the start\u003e In the search bar, we enter \u003e\u003e Press the right mouse button on the program icon and choose\u003e Launch on behalf of the administrator.

In the window command line Enter: FSUTIL USN DELETEJOURNAL / D C:

Step 6.

While using the SSD drive, your computer will be loaded very quickly, you need to disable sleep mode.

In the already open command line window, we enter: powerCfg -h off. And press the input.

Also disconnect the indexing of the solid state:

Again\u003e Start \u003e\u003e Computer \u003e\u003e Press the system disk ( usually the letter of the system disk -C.) right-click and select properties, then remove the checkbox from the parameter "Allow index the contents of files on this disk in addition to the file properties"

Step 7.

We go to the computer \u003e\u003e (right mouse button) Properties \u003e\u003e Advanced system parameters \u003e\u003e Optional \u003e\u003e Wednesday variables.

We introduce new address For variables of TEMP and TMP environments, placing them on the second hard disk.

Step 8.

Finally, the last step of optimizing SSD, we transfer user folders (video, music, documents, downloads) on the HDD hard disk.

We create a folder on a hard HDD in advance, now the user library will be in it.

Press the right mouse button on all folders whose location we want to change. On the Location tab \u003e\u003e Click the "Move" button, then transferred to the HDD to the newly created folder.

That's all, now I think you understand that there is nothing complicated, set up, optimized, SSD under any Windows Be it 7 or 8.

Good day dear blog readers. From the very beginning of the appearance of computers, we observe how hard disks are rapidly increasing.

About 10 years ago, no one could imagine a hard disk of 1 TB in its computer, and 5 years ago 1 TB Winchester was a luxury and cost very expensive.

Today among hard drives, the volume of 1 TB is the most the optimal choice. You can fit anything for 1TB, there are also hard drives 1.5, 2 and even 3 TB.

In my opinion, today any hard disk can cope with its main task - data warehouse. When working with any Windows operating system, quite often the computer begins to slow down due to the high load on the hard disk.

Therefore, all articles are devoted to optimization and accelerate Windows From the rubric « » were aimed at accelerating and reducing the load on it.

What is SSD drive

Perhaps many of you have heard of solid-state drive technologySSD.Today I will try to reveal the well-known advantages and cons of these drives in comparison withHDD..

What is a SSD drive and what is he cooler HDD?

SSD drivesconsist from a controller and memory chips, while the drive does not contain moving parts by the way one of the important advantages over HDD. There are two typesSSD.drives - itSSD Driveusing flash memory andRAMmemory.

If we talk in two words thenSSD.drives usingRAMmemory are the fastest and most expensive drives in the world. The cost of one gigabyte of such a drive begins from $ 80 and may exceed a bar at $ 500.

In addition, the main differenceSSD.RAMflash is in volatile memory, according to the type of operational (memory stores data only when the computer is turned on, if disabled, the memory is completely cleaned).

SSD drivesbased on flash memory, cheaper, slow and non-vulnerable drives.

They got a big distribution in desk computers, UnlikeSSD RAM.which are used only on super powerful computers with backup batteries, in case an emergency turning off of electricity will occur.

Now let's talk about the main advantages and disadvantages.SSD Flash.from usual to usHDD.

Advantages of SSD.

Lack of movable mechanical parts - It means that with timeSSD.will not "raw" asHDD,since in it - there is nothing to hide.

Reading speed and write above - UnlikeHDD,which cannot fully disclose the potentialSATA II - SATA III (3 - 6 GB / S).

SpeedSSD.discs just limit this interface. That is, if it were not for the recording speed 6GB / S.on theSATA III, SSDcould work even faster.

Compactity - SSD.more compact and usually go in accordance with the forms factor 2.5. WhileHDD.desktop PCs, this is 3.5.

No noise - AnyHDD.with an increased load on the plate, it begins to submit signs of life in the form of noise and cracklers.SSD.so does not know how 🙂

Strength - SSD.more racks for mechanical effects and have a wide range of operating temperatures, including very high, in whichHDD.just could not work.

If there are already a number of advantages, then there must be shortcomings of these fastest drives. Otherwise, whySSD. still not cost each in computers, andHDD.so far, sold successfully?

disadvantages

Overwrite - This is the biggest drawbackSSD.DrivesSSD.have a limited amount of overwriting and usually overwrite it is not more than 10,000 thousand times. WhereinHDD.(if I do not change the memory 🙂) successfully overwritten about a million times.

I never heard that this problem is quite critical of usersSSD.In addition, most of them are familiar with this disadvantage, so they use a bundleSSD + HDD.

Mainly for overwriting usedHDD,butSSD.use to speed up loading and workWindowsand all the programs installed on the drive.

Compatibility - At the moment onlyWindows 7.know how to work correctly withSSD.drives.

All previous operating systems are loaded by its superfluous paging file technology,Ready Boost.etc. Which significantly reduce the service life, so acquiringSSD.use for him exclusivelyWindows 7.

Price - price toSSD.drives are significantly higher than the usualHDD.At the same time, the cost ofSSD.forms depending on the number of gigabytes (1-1.5$ for 1 GB).

In contrast to the costHDD,the cost of which is formed on the basis of the cost and number of plates. Probably because of this shortageSSD.drives are still not so popular asHDD,but every year the price for1 GBSSD.the drive falls, and with it, the price is significantly fallingHDD..

Output

SSD.extremely useful, cool and expensive thing, therefore requires relevant attention. My use schemeSSD.such.

TakeSSD.based on your needs - I personally, I am 64 GB (this is 60-70$ on average) forWindowsand programs are enough. I put together with himHDD.by 1 TB, which is used by me as a storage for frequent rewriting of information. I install it all onWindows 7 (o.S. O.S.SSD).

As a result, everything is very smartly flying and I am not afraid that mySSD.soon fails, since individual important data is stored only onHDD.

Those who still doubt the need to purchaseSSD,) and criteria. In no case use these techniques onSSD,since this will not only increase its productivity, but can harm him.

In principle, all, I hope that I managed to reveal for you the topicSSD.drives. In any case, if you have questions, ask in the comments, always happy to help 🙂

Probably every person who is familiar with computer equipment, knows or at least heard of such a device as an SSD drive. What is it and what role does it perform in the computer? If briefly, SSD is used to record and storing personal data of the user. It can be argued that hard drives exist for this. And this statement will be perfectly correct, because these components of the computer perform identical functions. So what was the SSD drive, what is it, how does it work and what is different from the usual HDD? All these questions can be found to find answers in this article.

What is the difference between the Winchester and the SSD hard drive? What is this device and what are the main principles of his work?

To date, the main place for storing most files on the computer is Winchester. If you disassemble it, then a rather fragile mechanism can be found inside. It consists of magnetic plates rotating on a special head. Between these plates move the carriage that finds and reads necessary information. The hard disk mechanism resembles a gramophone, that's just the functions of these devices are different. Unlike the mechanism of the musical apparatus, the hardband carriage moves at a speed of several thousand revolutions per minute and performs the operation associated with copying and record information.

As for the SSD disk, or, as it is customary to be called, a solid-state drive, it is used for the same purposes as the hard disk. That's just working in a completely different way. There are no moving elements within this device, and special chips are installed for storing information. The solid-state drive is reminiscent of a large flash drive, which can be placed in the place of the hard drive.

Basic principles of solid-state drives

The SSD disc memory consists of special blocks that are divided into cells, where the necessary data is stored. All would be good, but the main problem occurs when you need to remove or re-record available. The fact is that from one block it is impossible to remove some of the information, and you have to format the entire sector. In this case, the necessary data is remembered in the cells of the neighboring blocks and only then overwritten on the old place. Suppose you need to save data in size in 10 kb. In this case, the memory block has a volume of 20 KB, 10 kb of which are already occupied. In this case, the information available on the disk is transferred to another location, the entire block is deleted entirely and only then the old and new data are recorded. It turns out that for the same operation, the system performs a few more additional actions, which leads to a slowdown in work and accelerates the wear of the solid-state drive.

To increase device performance, you must use special program Trim, or, as it is sometimes called, truncating SSD. What it is and how it works, consider further. Trim is not even an application, but a special command that the operating system sends to a solid-state drive to indicate unused elements. Thanks to this function, you can immediately delete unnecessary files, avoiding additional operations with the transfer of information to neighboring blocks. And this significantly improves the performance of SSD. But this command is not supported by obsolete versions of operating systems. Therefore, to connect Trim on the computer must be installed Windows 7 or 8, Linux version 2.66.33 or higher.

What is SSD from?

After examining the differences in two types of information warehouses, let us last in more detail on how SSD solid-state drives are arranged, which is the device and how they function. It looks like a regular box with connectors for connecting to a computer. Basically, SSD discs for home use are equipped with SATA interfaces, USB 3.0 and PCI-Express, which without problems provide the necessary recording and reading speed.

IN solid-state drives There are no moving mechanical details. Due to this, they are much resistant to external factors of impact. For example, an ordinary HDD disk is a rather fragile thing, because if during a shaking or drop, the reading head is in contact with the magnetic plate, then this will lead to the dismissal of the carrier. But solid-state drives are arranged quite differently. Inside these devices, special fees are installed on which the memory chips and the controller are placed. Some SSD discs are additionally equipped with compact batteries, which, in case of a sudden turning off electricity, provide additional power cache, and the data are stored on the main memory chips. Now let us last in more detail on the main components of the solid-state drive.

SSD memory: What is it and what is its main functions?

In most SSD disks, NAND is used, or, as it is also called, Flash memory. Such chips are used in conventional flushes, only in solid-state drives they are more reliable and have a greater rate due to the presence of a controller. Because of the low cost, they are widely used in SSD, so that these devices have become sufficiently available for most users. Another advantage of this is that it is non-volatile and will not require additional power to work.

In addition to NAND technology, RAM-SSD is sometimes used in solid-state drives. This type of memory has a greater recording speed and reading data through the use of chips used in the creation of RAM. It will require a constant connection to electricity, therefore, in SSD disks using RAM, additional batteries are often installed in case of a sudden power outage. Due to the high cost of production of these drives, they are rarely found in domestic PCs and laptops. Mostly RAM-SSD is used in computer systems of large companies to increase the speed of working with databases.

To date, the NAND memory is used in most drives. Despite this, the SSD data differ from each other recording speed, data reading and cost. It all depends on the applicable chips in the drive: SLC, TLC or SSD MLC. What is it and what is the difference between them? This is how different technology is MLC, thanks to which in one cell, two data bits can be saved. TLC makes it possible to burn as many as 3 bits, but it leads to a more rapid wear of the cells, so this technology Not very popular. The highest speed and durable is the SLC memory, with the help of which you can record only one data batch in each cell. Among the disadvantages can only be distinguished by a high cost, which is 2 times the price of the SSD MLC.

Controller

The controller is the most important element without which the SSD drive will not function. What is it and what is his role, find out further. Devices These are working on the load distribution between memory blocks, are responsible for reading and writing information, error correction and file compression. The controller is reminded command Centerwhere data related to data processing are accepted. It is from this detail that the speed of the solid-state drive and its durability depends. The main component of the kitrs is a special microprocessor, to which the entire load lies. Also, the speed of the device depends on the quality of the firmware.

Pretty many companies are engaged in the production of SSD-disks, because the technology of their manufacture is quite simple and requires less time than to create a classic hard disk. All you need is to purchase memory chips, controllers and boards, where everything will break. After that, the design is placed in a beautiful corps with a branded logo - and the goods are ready for sale. But the components for solid-state drives have high priceMoreover, high costs will require the creation of a controller and high-quality firmware to it. Because of this, the cost of SSD discs today is much higher than the usual HDD.

Hybrid SSD HDD.

Now let's look at the hybrid SSD HDD. What is this device and for what is meant? Every year, solid-state drives are gaining increasing popularity. Technologies do not stand still, and standard hard drives gradually displacing more technological systems. SDD discs are present in many computers, but used as not the main storage of information, and additional. And all because their cost is significantly higher compared with conventional hard drives. To compensate for this gap between two types of drives, a HDD SSD hybrid was created. What is this device and what is his advantages, try to consider in more detail.

The hybrid drive is based on all the same HDD without any changes. But in the case of these drives there are still flashes with flash memory, which is used as a buffer zone. It copies the information that is most often used. This allowed to increase the download speed of some applications and the most operating systemIf you compare with conventional hard drives. The maximum amount of flash memory in such hybrid SSDs - 8GB. What made it as a result? In fact, we have something mean between the hard drive and a small solid-state drive. In buffer memory, you cannot download data or install applications. It is used as a reserve for starting priority programs that the user cannot control independently. As for the price, the cost of hybrid drives is lower than standard SSD, but higher than the HDD, besides, they are not very popular in our country, so they are not sold everywhere.

Benefits of a solid-state drive

An integral part of a modern computer is a SSD drive. What is this device and how it works, we found out, it remains to highlight its main advantages and cons compared to the usual HDD. Let's start with the positive sides of solid storage.

The most important advantage of SSD is incredible and record information. They are several times more productive hard drives. For example, the speed of data processing of some drives exceeds 500 MB / s. In practice, this gives a faster work of the programs and the operating system itself, which is loaded in seconds. This is very important, because the current generation of computers has high performance that the HDD slows down. But with the advent of new drives, their speed increased significantly.

The next plus of SSD devices can be called their higher resistance to external factors. They do not have such a fragile mechanism as hard drives. Thanks to this, they easily transfer shakes, vibrations and moderate housing strikes. These devices will become an excellent laptop solution. In addition, they better cope with temperature drops.

Another advantage of SSD is noiselessness and low power consumption. Due to the fact that in hard drives there are moving mechanical elements, they publish a certain level of noise. In addition, in working condition, the HDD has a sufficiently high temperature, so the coolers have to rotate in accelerated mode. But all these problems are devoid of SSD, which are not heated, do not noise and consume less electricity.

disadvantages

Evaluating all the advantages of solid-state drives, it remains to find out what weaknesses have a SSD hard drive. What is it for flaws? The first of them is a big value of such drives. Despite the simplicity of its design, the manufacture of flash memory chips and controllers is quite a cost. But do not be upset about this, because technology is constantly developing, and gradually the price of these goods is down. After a couple of years, they may well be equal in price with HDD.

After the first drawback, you can allocate the second. Due to the high cost, solid-state drives have less capacity than hard drives. For example, the amount of memory of some HDD is 8 TB, while SDD reached only up to 1 TB.

The memory of solid-state drives is short-lived, and after expiration certain number Overwrite cycles it fails. At least the current generation of these devices has a sufficiently large lines of service, but you have to be ready for the fact that once the drive will stop working, and it will be problematic to restore the information.

I would like to add that SSD is badly tolerated by the racing of electricity. If, after one of these voltage drops, it burns, then it will be impossible to produce data. In the case of the HDD disk, a certain sector will fail, and most will remain a whole, so that all intact information can be learned.

What is worth paying attention to when buying an SSD?

Having studied information about solid-state drives, many users probably wanted to purchase this device For your computer. But it is not necessary to immediately run to the store and take the first product turned up. Here are some tips to help with the choice of SSD.

First you need to pay attention to the volume of SSD. What it is? In other words, this is the number of embedded in the higher its value, the more information can be recorded. But it is not necessary to buy the most expensive goods, because solid-state drives are mainly used to install operating systems and applications on them, and the main storage destination is still a hard disk. After installing your SSD system of only 60-120 GB, you can achieve a significant increase in the speed of your computer.

An important role is played by the speed of reading and copying. What it is higher, the better, but it happens that the motherboard can not reveal the news of the SSD-disk potential due to the small bandwidth of the tire. It happens that in old laptops or PCs there is no point in installing the nimble drives, because even after the update, the system will work in the same way as on the usual HDD. Therefore, it is worth examining the configuration of your computer, and after going to the store. The largest and for outdated IDE ports will require a special adapter for installing SSD.

The most important component of any solid-state drive is the controller. It is this detail that controls all the processes associated with the processing of information. From how qualitatively it will be done, the durability of the entire device depends, therefore it is recommended to give preference to proven and well-proven manufacturers. Production leaders are Sandforce, Marvell, Intel, Indilinx.

At the end it is worth paying attention to the dimensions of the drive. For PC, this is not so important, because any SSD can be installed in the system unit, and problems may arise with laptops.

Basic rules of operation of solid-state drives

After reviewing user reviews and specialists, we can conclude that an integral part of a modern computer is SSD-Winchester. What it is and how it works, we have already considered. Now you need to learn how to use it correctly. How strange it sounds, but to understand all the advantages of solid-state drives, you need to adhere to several simple rules.

No need to fill all the available memory to failure. Many people neglect by this rule, because SSD has a considerable price, so users buy small drives and fully download them necessary and not very information. But you must remember that if you leave less than 25% free spaceThe data processing speed will decrease significantly. The fact is that the more memory, the higher the number of free blocks where data can be written. When the places remain too small, the information is distributed over the cells of the adjacent blocks, and this leads to a decrease in speed.

It is worth remembering that with solid-state drives you can significantly increase the speed of the computer, so they are recommended to install the operating system, applications and demanding games. But the main storage of information is worth using HDD. It will be more economical and practical, because they can easily cope with the playback of audio and video files no worse than SSD.

It is best that one of the computer is installed on the computer. recent versions operating systems. For example, Windows XP or Vista is poorly optimized for operation with solid-state drives and do not support the Trim command.

Good day. Computer users have long been accustomed to the internal hard drives call HDD. But, not so long ago, SSD hard drives began to appear in the markets. Many people are bad to imagine, and what is it, the SSD drive? Is there any need to replace the usual HDD disk? Is these solid-state wheels really, how are users tell about them?

What is ssd disk

SSD is, as I said, solid-state disk. W. of this disk The NAND memory is applied. What it is interesting, no electricity is required for this memory to save information. I can say more understandable to you language, this disc can be compared with a flush map of decent sizes. In essence, this is a flash drive.

I already wrote about the flash card by 1 TB, and 2 TB. Technology is very similar. With the only difference that 1 and 2 TB flash drives, about which I wrote is exactly the flash card. And SSD is a hard disk and it has a very decent speed of recording and reading data.

Difference SSD from HDD and their features

In order for us to identify these differences in solid-state discs from disks, with spinning mechanisms, let's talked the theory and work of these drives.

HDD is a row of round metal plates that rotate on the spindle. The data is prescribed on the surface of the plates with a special small head. If a person starts copying any information to the disk, or simply starts the software, the disc head starts to find, the place where the information needs is located.

Most of all this resembles the usual plates of Soviet times, which the inhabitants of our country loved so much. But, instead of a needle in this design, there is a head for reading data.

Advantages SSD Before HDD

1. The SSD disk does not have any detail that would move.
2. Based on the first item, the hardware does not heat up, unlike HDD, which is very hot when a complex program or a game works.
3. Since the disk does not move, it works silently. Also, noiselessness is obtained, because of the small cooler power, which does not necessarily cool the disk.
4. Due to the lack of moving parts, low electricity consumption is obtained, less than two times.
5. The most vowel, such a disk very quickly responds to the action of a person. That is, if you install on such windows disk, the computer will run very quickly.

I presented to you the main advantages of SSD discs that you can check yourself. But, interestingly, people still ask similar questions and compare the advantages of these hard drives:

• Due to the lack of moving parts, solid-state discs work without sound and their operation is significantly higher. Conventional discs break most often precisely because of the damage from the outside - there are no solid-state disks.
• The temperature of the solid-state disk is constantly at the required level, regardless of whether it cools its cooler or not. The moving disc without a fan can overheat. Overheating can lead to failures in the program or its mechanical part.

Disadvantages of SSD discs

The main disadvantage of the solid-state disk is its price. It continues to be decent and has a direct relationship with its volume. The second disadvantage of such a disk is the smaller number of cycles recording / deletion. The movable hard drive can be overwritten and turn on / off very many times. Solid state has limitations in this sense. But, these restrictions in the records in practice are difficult to achieve.

As a rule, the term of the SSD warranty in the area of \u200b\u200bthe three to five years. But, in ordinary life, such discs work significantly longer. From here, do not worry about this issue.

The most interesting thing is that there is a hybrid in which a part of a solid-state disk is involved, and there are moving elements. Called sshd hybrid. Manufacturers in SSHD disk tried to combine the benefits of these two discs. But, the high speed of work is noticed only during the download of the computer. The output of information and record in this model is approximately the same as that of the usual HDD. From here, hybrid models are not particularly popular with people.

How to choose a ssd disk

Suppose you came to the conclusion that it is necessary to replace the morally outdated hard drive and acquire an SSD disk. It became clear to you why SSD is more profitable to take. But, there is another question, namely, which of SSD discs in this case is better to choose?

When you go to computer stores, you see drives that have different controllers, form factors, prices. In all this variety it is difficult to choose decent. Therefore, to make you easier to choose among such disks, I will give the parameters for which it is worth purchasing SSD.

Disc speed speed

Each hard disk, including solid-state, there are two types of speed: reading information, and record. The more these speeds, the more advantages. But, it is worth remembering that in the descriptions of the railway most often, MAX speed is written.

Volume SSD Disc

I already said that the main disadvantage of solid-state disks is its value. As a rule, it depends on the volume of the disk. Min Volume today - 60 GB. In modern realities, for Windows 10, 80, 90, 100 GB may be required with all its updates. Therefore, such an amount may not even be enough for the system.

But if you like to play games, and you are interested in graphic programs Like Photoshop, you need to study discs with a capacity\u003e 120 GB.

Controller and memory

There are 3 memory variations that differ from each other by the number of bits in the memory cell - 1 bit (SLC), 2 bits (MLC), 3 bits (TLC). Option 1 Outdated, at the moment it is no longer used. Hence, if you notice a similar option in disk descriptions, immediately pass by.

MLC is currently more common. We will choose it. Although, he has and cons. But, at the moment, the replacement does not exist, because TLC is just starting to embed on store shelves and its price is appropriate.

Regarding the controller, the problem is similar. The most common (popular) technology at the moment is Sandforce, which increases the speed of the drive by compressing information before the user writes it.

But, and she has a disadvantage: when the disk fills in the data almost completely, then, clearing this disk, the recording rate to the previous pace will not return anymore. In other words, now it will be lower. To solve this problem, it is necessary to remember one simple thing: do not cost to score the disk data under the string. In this case, after deleting data, everything will be ok.

Of course, there are other, expensive controllers with Indilinx, Intel, Marvell technologies. Analyze your finance, and if they allow, pay your gaze to SSD, in which manufacturers data controllers.

Forms Factors and Design

Most of the solid-state disks existing now are manufactured in the form factor 2.5, which are support for SATA design 3. But, besides these, options are also possible:

1. SSD external
2. PCI map that is installed directly in the system board slot,
3. Drive, with MSATA design, which is installed in small PCs and laptops.

If you consider the design, then all new SSDs are installed SATA 3 interface, but when system board It is worth the controller of the old generation (I - th, or II - go), then a hard disk, despite this can be connected. But, there is a restriction. Data speed will be like the old generation controller. In other words, when connecting SATA 3 to SATA 2, the speed data will be SATA 2.

If a 3.5-inch form factor is important for PC, then if you want to install SSD 2.5, you will need a transition device called "Salazks". This adapter looks like a small shelf that you need to hang where you are going to install the disk.

Notice: Using specials. Adapter is the ability to install SSD to place DVD laptop. Part of the users remove the little drive used now and install the SSD disk in its place. On the new Disc Some people install Windows. The native laptop hard drive is formatted and used for storing personal information.

What company producing ssd, choose

This question requires close attention. Of course, in many forums you will find posts about the fact that the best is Silicon Power, others will say, Kingston. These companies produce discs of various species.

But it is not so. Manufacturers who really produce flash NAND memory, not much in reality, in contrast to brands.

You can also choose the company: SAMSUNG, CRUCIAL, SANDISK.

How to work with SSD drive

If you have successfully purchased and installed the SSD drive, you will run the system and will be pleasantly surprised. fast work All programs and applications. Also, the system will start very quickly. In order for the computer to further work so quickly, remember the requirements for the operation of SSD drives.

1. Do not fill the drive before the dump, under the string, otherwise, as I said, the speed of data recording will become smaller and that the saddest, will not be able to recover. This is especially true of Sandforce.
2. Operating systems supporting TRIM, as follows: Widows 7, 8.1, 10, Linux 2.6.33, Mac OS X 10.6.6.
3. It is worth keeping personal information on HDD disks. Do not quickly get rid of such a disk if it is in excellent condition. Insert two disks, and on HDD, write video, audio, photos, and other information for which there is no need for high speed.
4. It is advisable to increase the capacity of the operational card and, if possible, you should not apply the paging file.

Observing these recommendations, you have a chance to extend the SSD disc operating at the same time, without damaging it and without reducing the speed of its work. You can buy it to Aliexpress. Discs on a page with a volume from 120 to 960 GB, i.e., in fact, 1TB. You can buy on the link .... Judging by the description, the disk is suitable for both computers and for (laptops).

In the screenshot you see, disc volumes. If you need to install the system, it is enough to purchase a 120 GB disk. If you are a full-fledged hard disk, then at your discretion, from 480, to 960 GB. Why do I advise you to install Windows on a solid-state hard drive? Your system will be loaded in seconds! If you buy a disk for 1TB, all programs will fly!

Generally, you can choose what you like sSD disk on page ...

More and more users acquire SSD discs for installation in PC. They are used in parallel with HDD or instead of them. Most often, an operational system is installed on the SSD disk, and files are stored on HDD. It is with such an accommodation that a multiple increase in the speed and speed of your computer can be vested.

Solid state drives have many advantages compared to hard drives. Therefore, you need to know how to choose an SSD disk for a computer correctly.

What is it?

Hard disk (HDD) is a device in your computer that stores all data (programs, movies, images, music ... Operating room itself windows system, Mac OS, Linux, etc.) and it looks like ...

The information on the hard disk is recorded (and read) by moving the cells on the magnetic plates, which rotate with the wild speed. Over the plates (and between them) wear, like a fright, special carriage with the reading head.

Since the HDD disk is in constant rotation, it works with a certain noise (bumbling, crackling), especially this is noticeable when copying files big size and launching programs and systems when the hard disk accounts for the maximum load. In addition, this is a very "thin" device and is afraid of a simple dryer during its work, not to mention the fall on the floor, for example (reading heads will meet with rotating discs, which will lead to the loss of the stored information on the disk).

And now consider a solid drive (SSD disc). This is the same device for storing information, but not based on rotating magnetic disks, but on memory chips, as mentioned above. By device similar to a large flash drive.

Nothing rotating, moving and buzzing - works SSD disc absolutely silent! Plus - just a crazy data reading speed!

Advantages and disadvantages

Benefits:

• high speed reading and writing data and performance;
• low heat dissipation and electricity consumption;
• no noise due to the lack of moving parts;
• small dimensions;
• high resistance K. mechanical damage (overload up to 1500g), magnetic fields, temperature differences;
• stability of data reading time regardless of memory fragmentation.

Disadvantages:

• limited number of overwriting cycles (1 000 - 100,000 times);
• high price;
• unprotected before electric damage;
• the risk of full loss of information without the possibility of its recovery.

And now more:

Advantages of SSD disc

1. Work speed

This is the most important advantage of SSD drives! After replacing the old hard disk on the flash drive, the computer acquires multiple acceleration, due to the high speed of the transmitted data.

Before the appearance of SSD disks, the slowest device in the computer was just a hard disk. He, with its ancient technology from the last century, incredibly slowed down the enthusiasm of the rapid processor and the Shortiest RAM.

2. Noise level \u003d 0 dB

It is logical - no moving details. In addition, these discs do not heat at their work, so cooling coolers are less common and work is not so intense (creating noise).

3. Impact and vibration

This is confirmed by numerous videos with the tests of these devices - the connected and working SSD disk was shaking, dropped on the floor, knocked on it ..., and he continued to work quietly! If you acquire an SSD disk for yourself, and not for testing, we advise these experiments not to repeat, but to limit the clips to YouTube.

4. Small weight

Not an outstanding factor, of course, but still - hard drives are heavier than its modern competitors.

5. Low power consumption

Wave without numbers - the duration of the battery of my old laptop has increased by more than one hour.

Disadvantages of SSD disc

1. High cost

It is at the same time the most restraining user disadvantage, but also very temporary - prices for such drives constantly and rapidly fall.

2. Limited number of overwriting cycles

Normal, medium SSD-disk based on flash memory with MLC technology is able to produce approximately 10,000 reading cycles \\ write information. But more expensive type of SLC memory can already live 10 times longer (100,000 rewriting cycles).

In both cases, the flash drive can easily work out at least 3 years! It's about the average life cycle home ComputerAfter which the configuration is updated, replacing components for more modern.

Progress does not stand still and tadpole from manufacturers already invented new technologies that significantly increase the lifetime of SSD disks. For example, RAM SSD or FRAM technology, where the resource is though both limited, but practically unattainable in real life (up to 40 years in continuous read / write mode).

3. The inability to restore remote information

Remote information from the SSD drive will not be able to restore any special utility. There are simply no such programs.

If, with a large voltage jump in the usual hard disk, only the controller burns in 80% of cases, then in SSD disks, this controller is on the board itself, along with memory chips and burns the entire drive entirely - hello to family photo album.

This danger is practically reduced to zero in laptops and when using a uninterrupted power supply.

Main characteristics

If you buy an SSD to install on a computer, pay attention to its main characteristics.

Volume

At the time of buying SSD Disc First, pay attention to the volume and purpose of use. If you purchase it only to install OS, select a device with a memory capacity of at least 60 GB.

Modern gamers prefer to install games on solid-state drives to increase productivity. If you are one of them, then you need an option with a memory of 120 GB.

If you acquire a solid-state drive instead of a hard disk, proceed at the calculation, which amount of information is stored on the computer. But in this case, the capacitance of the SSD disk should not be less than 250 GB.

Important! The cost of the solid-state drive directly depends on the volume. Therefore, if your budget is limited, use SSD to install the operating system, and the HDD for data storage.

Form factor

Most of the modern SSD models are sold in a 2.5-inch form factor and built into a protective box. Because of this, they are similar to classic hard drives of the same size.

Good to know! To install a 2.5-inch SSD disk to a standard 3.5-inch mount inside the PC housing, special adapters are used. In some models of the enclosures, nests are provided under the form factor of 2.5 inches.

There are 1.8-inch and smaller solid-state drives that are used in compact devices.

Connection interface

Solid-state drives have several connection interface options:

• SATA II;
• SATA III;
• PCIE;
• mSATA;
• PCIE + M.2.

The most common option is to connect using SATA connector. There are still SATA II models on the market. They are no longer relevant, but even if you acquire such a device, thanks to backward compatibility sATA interface It will work with motherboardsupporting SATA III.

When using a solid-state drive with the PCIE interface, you may need to install the drivers, but the data transfer rate will be higher compared to the SATA connection. But there are no drivers under Mac OS, Linux and the like - when choosing it is worth paying attention to it.

MSATA models are used on compact devices, but they work according to the same principle as the standard SATA interface.

Models M.2 or NGFF (Next Generation Form Factor) is a continuation of the development of the MSATA line. They have smaller dimensions and great opportunities for layout manufacturers of digital technology.

Read / write speed

The one is higher, the more productive computer. Medium speed indicators:

• reading 450-550 MB / s;
• record 350-550 MB / s.

Manufacturers may not specify the actual, and the maximum read / write speed. To learn real numbers, browse on the Internet reviews and reviews of the model you are interested.

In addition, pay attention to the access time. This time for which the disk finds the desired program or OS information. Standard indicator - 10-19 ms. But since there are no moving parts from solid-state drives, it is much faster than hard drives.

Memory type and work time before refusal

There are several types of memory cells used in SSD drives:

• MLC (MULTI LEVEL CELL);
• SLC (SINGLE LEVEL CELL);
• TLC (Three Level Cell);
• 3D V-NAND.

MLC is the most common type that allows you to store two data bits in one cell. It has a relatively small resource of overwrite cycles (3,000 - 5,000), but less cost, due to which this type of cells is used for the mass production of solid-state drives.

The SLC type stores only one data batch in one cell. These chips are characterized by a long time of life (up to 100,000 rewriting cycles), high data transfer rate, and minimal access time. But due to the great cost and small storage volumes, they are used for server and industrial solutions.

TLC Type stores three data bits. The main advantage is the low cost of production. Among the disadvantages: the number of overwriting cycles is 1,000 - 5,000 repeats, and the read / write speed is significantly lower than the first two types of chip.

Useful! Recently, manufacturers managed to increase the time of the TLC disks to 3,000 rewrite cycles.

In 3D V-Nand, models are used instead of standard MLC or TLC chips 32-layer flash memory. The microchip has a three-dimensional structure, thanks to which the amount of data recorded per unit area is significantly higher. This increases the reliability of information storage 2-10 times.

IOPS indicator

An important IOPS factor (the number of I / O operations per second), the higher this indicator, the faster the drive will work with a large amount of files.

Chip memory

Memory chips are divided into two main types of MLC and SLC. The cost of SLC chips is much higher and the work resource is 10 times larger than that of MLC memory chips, but when it is properly operation, the service life of the MLC memory chips is at least 3 years.

Controller

This is the most important detail of SSD drives. The controller manages the operation of the entire drive, distributes the data, monitors the wear of the memory cells and evenly distributes the load. I recommend to give preference to proven time and well-proven controllers Sandforce, Intel, Indilinx, Marvell.

SSD memory

It will mostly use SSD only under the placement of the operating system, and all the data (movies, music, etc.) is better stored on the second, hard disk. With this option, it is enough to buy a disk size of ~ 60 GB. Thus, you can save a lot and get the same acceleration of the computer (in addition, the service life will increase).

Again, I will give as an example my decision - on the network sold (very much for cheap) Special containers for hard diskswhich in 2 minutes are inserted into the laptop instead of an optical CD drive (which I used a couple of times in four years). Here you have a great solution - old disc to the disk drive, and the new SSD - in place hard disk. It was better impossible to come up.

And finally, a couple of interesting facts:

Why is a hard disk are often called hard drive? Even in the early 1960s, IBM has released one of the first hard drives and the number of this development was 30 - 30, which coincided with the designation of the popular riding weapons Winchester (Winchester), so such a jargon name to all hard disks passed.

Why exactly hard disk? The main elements of these devices are several round aluminum or non-crystalline vitreous plates. Unlike flexible disks (floppy disks), they cannot be bent, so called - hard disk.

Trim feature

The most important additional feature For a solid-state drive is Trim (garbage cleaning). It is as follows.

Information on SSD is first recorded in free cells. If the disc records data into a cell that was previously used, it first cleans it (unlike HDD, where the data record occurs over the information available). If the model does not support Trim, it clears the cell immediately before the record new informationWhat is why the speed of this operation falls.

If the solid-state drive supports Trim, it receives a command to delete data in the cell and clears them without overwriting, but during the "downtime" of the disc. This is done in background mode. This supports the recording speed on the indicated level manufacturer.

Important! Trim function must support the operating system.

Hidden area

This area is not available to the user and is used instead of the failed cells. In high-quality solid storage, it is up to 30% of the device volume. But some manufacturers to reduce the cost of the SSD disk, reduce it to 10%, thereby increasing the volume of the storage facility accessible to the user.

The reverse side of the medal of such a trigger is that the hidden area is used by the Trim function. If its volume is small, it is not enough for the background data transfer, which is why when the "load" level of SSD 80-90% write speed will fall sharply.

Tire bandwidth

So, when you select a flash drive, the speed of reading and writing the data is also of paramount importance. The higher this speed is the better. But it should be remembered about the bandwidth of the tire of your computer, or rather, the motherboard.

If your laptop or stationary computer Very old - it makes sense to buy an expensive and fast SSD-disk. He simply will not be able to work even half of his capabilities.

So that it was clearer, voice the bandwidth of various tires (data transmission interface):

IDE (PATA) - 1000 mbit / s. This is a very ancient device connection interface to motherboard. To connect the SSD drive to such a bus, a special adapter is needed. The meaning of the use of the described discs in this case is an absolute zero.

SATA - 1 500 Mbit / s. Already more fun, but not too much.

SATA2 - 3 000 mbit / s. The most common time of the tire at the moment. With such a tire, for example, my drive works half of its capabilities. He needs ...

SATA3 - 6 000 Mbit / s. This is quite another thing! Here is a SSD disk and show yourself in all its glory.

So before buying, find out what a bus on your motherboard, as well as what the drive itself is supported and make a decision on the feasibility of purchase.

Here, for example, as I chose (and what was guided) my own Hyperx 3K 120 GB. Read speed - 555 MB / s, and data recording speed - 510 MB / s. This disk works in my laptop now exactly half of its capabilities (SATA2), but exactly twice as fast as a regular hard disk.

Over time, he moves in gaming computer Children, where there is SATA3 and it will demonstrate there all its power and all the speed of work without deterrent (outdated, slow data transmission interfaces).

We conclude: if you have a SATA2 bus in your computer and does not plan to use a disk in another (more powerful and modern) computer - buy disk with throughput Not higher than 300 MB / s, which will be significantly cheaper and at the same time faster twice the current hard disk.