Thursday 17 September 2020

How to breathe new life into an old computer?

Tired of enduring the brooding of your computer? Does the laptop take too long to boot? Do you have years of your life waiting for files to be copied? SSD is a godsend for such cases!

What is a computer engineer

We have long been accustomed to the concept of "hard disk" (HDD or hard drive). It is a mechanical device consisting of magnetic disks and a read head. While working, the disc makes noise and buzz, because something is constantly moving inside it, and due to inevitable friction, it also heats up a lot. Moreover, the mechanical principle of its operation is much more time consuming than the electronic one.

A solid state drive (SSD), a non-mechanical storage device consisting of a microcircuit with built-in flash memory, behaves completely differently. Initially, SSDs were installed mainly in small-sized devices. But more and more often they began to be acquired by adherents of stationary computers, of course, to improve the responsiveness and performance of the operating system, file space and the performance of a set of software products as a whole.

Remember how in the late 90s, by pressing the power button of the computer, one could calmly drink tea, go for a smoke break or take a nap of extra 10 minutes. Those days are over, and we no longer have to wait “forever” from the moment the PC is turned on until the desktop is loaded. Owners of an HDD can spend an average of 30 seconds to 3 minutes waiting. And with an SSD, loading the operating system on average takes 5 to 20 seconds! This is due to the fact that the read / write speed in modern solid state drives is on average 500 MB / s, which is 5-6 times higher than that of HDDs. 

How solid state drives work

An SSD consists of several parts: a controller, memory chips, a drive connection interface and a case.

The most important part of the device is the controller. It coordinates the work of the entire SSD: reading / writing and sorting information, tracking performance and wear and tear of memory cells. Some of the most reliable controllers are being developed by Samsung, Marvell and Phison.

There are three main types of memory chips: single-level (SLC), three-level (TLC) and multi-level (MLC).

The first of them - SLC (Single Level Cell) - is a high-performance single-level cell that consumes little electricity. The main advantage of such memory is the best, among the presented types of memory, the speed of recording and rewriting information. However, SLC-based solid-state devices are the most expensive.

TLC (Three Level Cell) is cheaper than SLC, but much slower and has the smallest rewriting resource. Until now, these chips have been used primarily in flash drives. But technological advances have made their use a reality in SSDs as well. 

MLC (Multi Level Cell) is the golden mean between SLC and TLC. With proper operation, such multi-level devices can work for many years.

Depending on the form factor and connection interface, there are several types of SDD drives. Let's consider the most popular ones:

2.5 "SATA is the leader among 2.5" drives. Such a drive can be used both in stationary PCs and in laptops.

mSATA is a mini version for laptops and ultrabooks. However, such drives are not suitable for all devices - the mSATA connector must be provided by the laptop manufacturer, or rather the manufacturer of its motherboard. Currently, this type of drive is not very popular, it was quickly replaced by a new one - M.2.

M.2 is by far the most popular solid state drives. Due to the rapid growth of this popularity, most motherboard manufacturers were simply forced to include a connector for connecting this memory to the motherboard. M.2 is even more compact than mSATA, and more versatile in terms of connectivity (some drive models can be connected via both SATA and PCI-E).

The fastest read and write speeds are provided by PCI-E solid state drives. But, it is quite natural that the cost of such SSDs is the highest.

SSD advantages                                         

1. Speed ​​of reading and writing data

This is, without a doubt, the main advantage of a solid state drive. The mechanical principle of the hard drive slows down even an ultra-fast computer, which cannot be said about an SSD. In addition, it is important to consider the IOPS here - this is the number of random IOPS. For solid-state devices, it is several times higher than for HDD disks. But the higher the IOPS, the faster the drive will process large volumes of files.

2. Durability (resistance to shock and vibration)

SSDs can withstand shock and shock, and when dropped from a considerable height, they do not lose their working qualities. These devices are much more reliable and tenacious than fragile hard drives!

3. Noise level

The solid state drive works silently - there are no moving parts in its design. In addition, it practically does not heat up during operation, which means that noisy cooling coolers are of no use to it.

4. Compact dimensions and weight

HDDs are larger and heavier than solid state drives. All the fault of the metal parts in the construction of the hard drive. In addition, small form factors such as mSATA and M.2 have been created specifically for SSDs.

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