Choosing the Right Solid-State Drive (SSD) for Your Needs

Solid-state drives, or SSDs, are data storage devices that use flash-based memory. They are more advanced than traditional hard disk drives that use spinning magnetic disks. One significant advantage of SSDs is the absence of moving parts, which reduces the risk of mechanical failure and allows for quicker data access and boot times. SSDs are also much smaller than HDDs, take up less space and accommodate more users. 

While SSDs are generally more expensive than HDDs in dollars per gigabyte, the price has decreased over time, making them increasingly accessible. The technology also continues to evolve as the demand for higher speed and performance increases.

When choosing an SSD or an HDD, you must consider your specific needs and usage patterns. For example, SSD offers significant advantages in gaming, video editing, bitcoin mining or other high-performance computing requirements. In contrast, an HDD might be more appropriate if seeking a cost-effective solution with large storage capacity and in-frequent data access.

However, even among SSDs, several brands and products exist on the market. This article explores the different criteria you can use to assess SSD brands and find the best one that suits your requirements.

Performance factors

When assessing the performance of SSDs, we consider read/write speeds that measure how quickly the user can read or write data from the drive. IOPS (Input/Output per second - pronounced eye-ops) is the more technical measurement that calculates data bytes/ second that you can copy to the disk or retrieve from the disk. 

SATA SSDs are traditional SSD technology with IOPS at around 500/500 MB/s. NVMe SSDs are more new gen and can offer IOPS from 1000 to even 5000 MB/s. You can use NVMe SSDs as a boot drive or in your video streaming and gaming processors. SATA SSDs are less performant but have higher capacity and can be used for gaming PCs or storage. 

Capacity considerations

When purchasing, you should ensure SSDs adequately meet your storage requirements. 

SSD Capacities:

• 120GB to 250GB: Adequate for basic computing needs.

• 500GB to 1TB: Suitable for gamers and general users

• 2TB+: Ideal for professional work that demands extensive storage, such as 4K videos.

SSD sizes for gaming should reflect the size and number of games you intend to install. Modern triple-A (AAA) titles often require significant space, so opting for at least 1TB SSD is advised. Similarly, for professional multimedia work, SSDs must cater to both the storage requirements - often exceeding several terabytes - and the speed necessary to efficiently access and modify large files. 

Finding a good balance of cost against performance and storage requirements is essential. Buying an SSD below 256GB is probably not worth the investment anymore. 500GB SSDs offer the best value for money. SSDs over 1TB are too expensive and unnecessary for the average user. You are better off using HDD or cloud storage for your data archives.

Form factors in SSDs

The form factor of an SSD is its physical size and interface that dictates how it connects to your system. Common form factors:

• 2.5-inch: Resembling traditional laptop hard drives, these SSDs typically connect via SATA interface and are suitable for most desktops and laptops. These are usually slower than other form factors.

• M.2: A compact form factor for SSDs, M.2 drives are about the size of a stick of gum and connect directly to the motherboard through an M.2 slot. They support SATA or NVMe protocols and offer a significant speed boost.

• PCIe: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) SSDs connect to the PCIe slot on the motherboard, offering high-speed data transfer rates.

Each form factor carries implications for compatibility and installation. The 2.5-inch drives require a SATA connection and space within the computer's chassis. However, modern desktops and laptops include the space by default. In contrast, M.2 drives and PCIe SSDs need motherboards with built-in M.2 slots. If your device is 3 to 5 years old, it may not have these slots. Make sure to check your device compatibility before making a purchase.

That being said, it's never been as easy as SSD manufacturers make it now to upgrade storage. You can buy a higher-capacity storage SSD, and you're ready to go, as long as the form factor is the same. 

Understanding NAND types

NAND refers to how the memory cells are organised and interconnected inside the SSD. It is like a grid that stores data bits (1 or 0) per cell. There are four main types of NAND:

• SLC — Single-Level Cell — 1 bit per cell

• MLC — Multi-Level Cell — 2 bits per cell

• TLC — Triple-Level Cell — 3 bits per cell

• QLC — Quad-Level Cell — 4 bits per cell

SLC is the fastest, most durable, and expensive for lower capacity. QLC offers the best cost value but gives the lowest performance. MLC and TLC provide more balance between performance, cost and capacity. However, they are both slower than SLC, which can read or write tens of thousands of MBs/second at any given time. Sometimes, MLC or TLC is operated as SLC to boost performance. Only 1 bit is stored per cell, and it is called pseudoSLC(pSLC)

An SLC or MLC NAND flash is perfect for ultra-high performance. But for lower budgets, TLC or QLC NAND SSDs are preferable.

Newer SSD products often come with V-NAND — an architecture that stacks memory cells vertically, creating a three-dimensional structure. It increases storage capacity without reducing SSD size. V-NAND devices are highly performant and consume less power. However, the technology is still evolving and very expensive.

SSD endurance and lifespan

SSD lifespan is an essential consideration because their durability is predictable. For instance, HDDs fail due to mechanical wear and tear, and it is hard to say when that will happen. In contrast, SSDs wear out due to the finite number of write cycles their NAND flash memory cells can handle. Once a cell has been written x number of times, the data in the cell gets corrupted and is no longer accessible.

The related metric is Total Bytes Written (TBW) or Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD). Higher TBW and DWPD ratings lead to higher endurance and, therefore, longer lifespan. SSD manufacturers use wear levelling techniques to distribute, write, and erase cycles evenly across the SSD's memory cells. They conduct benchmark tests and estimate TBW as an average figure for all cells.

How long your SSD lasts depends on how much you use it. For example, a consumer SSD with a TBW rating of 150 TBW could potentially last over 10 years with a daily write load of 40GB, which is above average for most users.

Minimising the amount of data you write to your SSD is among the best because it will help reduce wear and tear on the memory cells. Monitoring drive health for early issue detection or enabling TRIM to optimise performance can also go a long way.

Price-to-performance ratio

SSD prices vary based on capacity, speed, technology, and even form factor used. Generally, higher-priced SSDs offer better performance, with faster read/write speeds and higher endurance ratings. That being said, finding balance is essential, especially when on a budget. 

Brand and reliability

Before committing to a specific SSD, it's worth seeing the brand behind it since reputable brands are known for reliability and customer satisfaction. Brands such as Samsung, Crucial, Western Digital, Intel®, and Kingston have earned widespread recognition for producing SSDs that consistently meet high-performance standards and user expectations. These manufacturers offer a range of SSD options tailored to diverse needs, whether for casual computer, gaming, or professional use.

In addition to product quality, assessing warranty coverage and customer support is worth looking at. Reputable SSD brands typically provide extended warranty periods and responsive customer service in case of any issues or concerns you may have.

Choosing the right SSD for your specific use cases

In gaming scenarios, fast loading times and instant performance are critical. Samsung 970 EVO Plus, Western Digital Black SN850, and Crucial MX500 offer excellent performance and reliability for gaming enthusiasts.

Similarly, solid-state drives with high capacity and fast sequential read/write speeds are essential in content creation, where large file transfers and multitasking are common. Models like the Samsung 980 PRO, Sabrent Rocket, and Kingston KC2500 cater to the content creator's needs, offering ample storage space and efficient data handling.

In contrast, everyday computing includes web browsing, document editing, and multimedia consumption. SSDs with a balance of performance and affordability are suitable in this situation. Models such as the Crucial BX500, Western Digital Blue, and Kingston A2000 provide reliable performance for daily tasks without breaking the bank.

Conclusion

With a constantly growing selection of SSDs and the many factors to consider, selecting the right one for your needs can be a daunting experience. Your main priorities should be balancing capacity requirements with budget constraints and understanding compatibility across devices and form factors.