Best SSD / Solid State Drives 2011-2012

The simplest answer to the difference between HDD and SSD is speed; however, solid state drives also function in a completely different way than traditional HDD or hard disk drives.

Why do they cost so much?

SSD operate by using Flash NanD Memory which is the same type of chip that's found in all of your portable devices and flash drive. NAND memory is also in short supply - which is one of the reasons that solid state drives are so expensive.

Hard drives work much like a cassette tape in that they have to "spin" in order to get to the part of your PC's memory that they need to get to. That spinning can slow down your PC's search for files drastically. Solid State Drives, on the other hand, have no moving parts and can access a file instantly.

Disadvantages

Limitations to solid state drives include their price vs. storage capacity. Expect to pay at least 10 times as much money for solid state disk space vs. a conventional hard drive. Another disadvantage to a SSD is that you'll most likely still need a traditional hard drive in order to have the storage capacity necessary for all of your applications. Seagate has mentioned that this will most likely be the case for even the next 10 years as the demand for NanD flash memory is simply too high and the production capacity for it is too low.

Advantages

As I mentioned above speed is the biggest advantage to a solid state drive. No Need to defrag your hard drive, in fact it's better not to with a SSD as defragmentation was made for HDD to keep all of the data together on a hard drive (thus reducing load times when it spins). Solid State Drives are much more "solid" as well (forgive my pun) and have a mean life of 1 million + hours.

No. Some solid state drives operate more quickly while reading or writing information. Some of this is based on the architecture that the manufacturer has used and some of it is based on whether you are using the Sata 3Gb/s or Sata 6Gb/s protocol. Many of the less expensive solid state drives only operate under Sata 3Gb/s and perform at 50% of the speed of SSD that are using Sata 6Gb/s.

Intel's Solid State Drives, as of the date of this article, have an advantage in that they use Intel's 34-nanometer NAND flash memory along with the latest chip technology in order to perform the fastest. Their latest models can read up to an incredible 500MB/s. In general, you should expect to pay more for a SSD that incorporates Sata 6Gb/s and has faster read/write times.

3.5 Inch Vs. 2.5 Inch SSD

Solid state drives are made in 3.5 inch and 2.5 inch sizes. Most likely your laptop will need a 2.5 inch but you can use either or for your desktop PC. Because most solid state drives are made in 2.5 inch sizes, you'll either need to purchase a solid state drive that comes with an adapter or purchase a separate adapter.

Knowing that consumers will still need a traditional hard drive many of the world's best HDD and SSD manufacturers have made hybrid disk drives to allow users to keep their most important information or even their operating systems in the solid state drive and their second tier information in their hard drive.

PC Install

Installation of a solid state drive or SSD is not different than that of a traditional hard disk drive - simply plug it in to the appropriate cord from your motherboard. This could be a Sata II or Sata III cable depending on the specifications of your motherboard - Sata III is ideal. If you purchase a 2.5" SSD, then be sure to have an adapter for your case.

Laptop Install

If you are installing your SSD in a laptop you simply need to be sure that your laptop uses a 2.5 inch drive so that you can easily replace it. Once you are ready to install it in your laptop be sure to take out your battery and unplug your laptop cord to make sure that there is no power to your motherboard and thus the critical components attached to it. Since laptop builds are so different you may have to detach your laptop's plate or even go a more difficult route. Be sure to research how to properly replace the hard drive in your laptop before purchasing your SSD.

We hope you've enjoyed this review of solid state drives for 2012. If you have, then please visit our other hardware related lenses best motherboards of 2012 and best gaming monitors.

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