SSD Made Simple

24/10/2009

People are talking about it, but what on earth is it and more importantly, why should you care? Let us tell you a bit about the new technology that’s changing the face of storage.

Solid State Disk – what’s that mean then?

A solid state disk is a device that from the outside behaves a lot like any other hard disk. On the inside, however, SSDs are quite different. Regular hard disks rely on spinning magnetic platters (somewhat like magnetic CDs) to store data, whereas SSDs use the latest flash memory chips as storage… without a single moving part.

What’s all this I’ve heard about NAND?

NAND is a type of flash chip technology used in lots of flash storage devices, from USB flash drives to memory cards, and of course in SSDs.

Flash chips are not to be confused with the type of chips you’ll find in DRAM which is used in system memory. DRAM only retains the data store within while it has power, whereas flash holds onto data even without power. This is of course one of the key reasons that flash technology is good for data storage.

What makes an SSD better?

There are three main advantages that SSDs bring over traditional hard disks. Firstly, they have no moving parts. This means they’re not susceptible to same mechanical failures as hard disks. A knock to an SSD will do it no damage.

The second benefit is power consumption. With no platters to spin, SSDs can use less power than a hard disk, which is great news for laptops and netbooks and also means desktop PCs can be made more efficient.

The biggest benefit, however, is performance. No longer bound by the time it takes to move mechanical parts, SSDs deliver a big leap in read and write speeds. That equates to faster boot times, quicker program launches and less time spent waiting for your computer to “think about” doing something.

What does an SSD look like?

A hard disk is a metal container with a circuit board on it. An SSD is usually contained in plastic and has no exposed circuitry.

SSDs are the same size as hard disks, designed to fit into the same drive bays within the PC.

How does a PC use an SSD?

An SSD drive has a SATA connection just like most modern hard disks. Plugging it in as the same way as you would a hard disks will make it appear to the computer as a storage device. It’s then ready to use – simple as that!

Will my system be able to use one?

There are a few different ways of connecting hard disks. The three most common are SATA, IDE (also known as ATA or PATA) and SCSI. They’re all different, but most modern systems have numerous internal SATA connections.

If your system has SATA connections then you can plug in an SSD drive and start using it straight away.

Does that mean it has to go inside my PC?

Just like hard disk drives, it’s possible to get SSD drives that run externally, for example using USB. However, as a performance upgrade, an internal SSD is the way to go.

Should I be replacing my disk with an SSD?

Given that SSDs behave like super fast hard disks, it’s possible to replace a hard disk with an SSD. Laptops, for example, might only have room for one disk, so an SSD would have to replace the hard disk. Disk cloning software can be used to copy all files and applications from one disk to another so that the system doesn’t need reinstalling.

In a desktop PC or larger laptops, it’s possible to fit an SSD alongside the existing disk. This is a great way of upgrading because you get a really fast SSD that you can run programs from but still have heaps of extra space on your hard disk to store files such as videos and music.

If I have a hard disk and an SSD, how do I make the most of the SSD?

If you replace a hard disk with an SSD, you’ve obviously going to get the benefits of SSD all the time, but if they’re running together, you have to make sure the SSD is actually being used!

The best thing to do is make sure your operating system and programs are installed to the SSDs as doing so will make sure boot times and program launches are crazy-fast. You can then save your documents, music and videos onto your hard disk.

OK, I’m interested, but what are the benefits for me?

We’ve put together four user groups that can really reap the benefits of SSD technology:

Travellers & business users

Notebooks, especially smaller models and netbooks tend to have lower performance. Replacing the hard disk with an SSD can help speed things along whilst also extending battery life. Better still, the lack of moving parts in an SSD means it can take a few bumps and knocks with no ill effects.

Home user

If you spend more time waiting for things to load than you do actually using them, the performance boost of an SSD drive could be just what you need to get more out of your PC.

Gamer

With enormous levels and more graphical detail than real life, there’s a lot of data to fetch when loading games. An SSD will help you spend less time loading maps and more time laying down your awesome skills.
Photographer

If you combine an SSD and a hard disk, you can use the SSD for the operating system, applications and as your image editing software’s scratch or working area, while the hard disk can be used to store your original and edited photos.

With the SSD handling all the intensive stuff, the editing process will be so much quicker.

Aren’t there other ways to speed things up?

Yes, there are, but if you want the benefits described above, there are few ways that compare to an SSD. What we would recommend is that for SSD to work best, you need to have plenty of system memory. There’s little point having a speedy disk if there’s not enough space to load programs into.

System memory – often referred to as DRAM or just RAM – is temporary ultra-fast storage used by running programs. However it loses its contents when turned off which is why we need disk drives. A RAM upgrade coupled with an SSD will help your PC fly.

Other potential performance bottlenecks to look out for are processor and, if you’re a gamer, the graphics card. Check out our tips and tricks article on easy system upgrades.

Why should I buy a Kingston SSD?

Kingston Technology not only offers a wide range of drives, but also includes all of the accessories that you will need for an effortless upgrade. For ease of use we have a selection of installation videos on our website for you to follow prior to purchasing or installing the drive.

Of course, this is in addition to the fact that Kingston has been producing memory based products for over 21 years, has 24/7 technical support and is renowned for producing and supporting high quality memory products. This is topped off by a 3 year warranty on its SSDNow V series products.