Understanding of Solid State SSD
Solid state SSD is composed of a control unit and storage unit. Simply put, it is a hard drive made of solid-state electronic storage chip arrays. SSD has the same interface specifications, definitions, functions, and usage methods as ordinary hard drives. Its product appearance and size are also consistent with those of ordinary hard drives.
Solid state SSD has the main advantages of fast read speed, high performance, low heat generation, low noise, and small size (2.5 inches). Although there are also some disadvantages, compared with the advantages, these drawbacks are negligible, such as capacity and price issues. Solid state SSD's price increases with increasing capacity, and if it is a mobile SSD, it is even more expensive. In terms of lifespan, SSDhas a shorter lifespan than mechanical hard drives, but this is not a problem in normal use. SSD cannot recover data as easily as mechanical hard drives. Nevertheless, this is no longer an issue if regular data backup is established.
The Function of Solid State SSD
Compared with mechanical hard drives, Solid state drive SSD is much smaller, lighter in weight, and has a SATA interface. Solid state drives SSDs only have a 2.5-inch size, and the M.2 interface is even smaller. On the other hand, a mechanical hard drive for desktop computer is usually 3.5 inches. Therefore, using Solid state SSD can save a lot of space, especially in some mini computers or ultrabooks.
Solid state SSDs rely on flash memory chips to store data, just like USB drives. Therefore, they do not make any noise. Mechanical hard drives, on the other hand, often produce noise after being used for a while, especially on laptops.
Although mechanical hard drives have a 7200 RPM, their read speed is still not as fast as most Solid state SSDs. SSDs that use SATA3 interface usually have a reading and writing speed that is typically 3 to 5 times that of a mechanical hard drive. SSDs that use the M.2 NVMe protocol can achieve read and write speeds that are several times that of a mechanical hard drive. This can be easily felt when playing games and loading graphics.
The power consumption of Solid state SSD is much lower than that of a mechanical hard drive, so the heat generation is lower as well. It can save power, but not much. However, on laptops, the advantage of less heat generation is the best after all, since the heat dissipation of laptops is often a major issue.
Due to its mechanical structure, mechanical hard drives cannot handle drops. However, Solid state SSDs are generally not easily damaged in collisions or vibrations. Nevertheless, this does not mean that you can casually drop them.
