| If you're interested in the latest technology, then solid | | | | we use in our cameras and other storage devices |
| state drives have probably been on your radar for | | | | does a pretty good job of saving quickly and of |
| awhile now. Also, known as an SSD, these drives are | | | | working when we need it to. |
| being hyped as the next wave of greatness for | | | | As you can imagine, having a drive that uses less |
| laptops and for computers in general. | | | | power, is less vulnerable to damage, and is able to |
| The big question, however, is do they deliver on all of | | | | retrieve data faster would be a dream for most laptop |
| these promises or, like so many grand advancements | | | | owners. That's why it's important to look at whether or |
| promoted in the past, just overhyped. | | | | not these drives really deliver on these promises. |
| To answer those questions, we first need to learn a | | | | Do Solid State Drives Deliver? |
| little bit more about these drives. Then we'll delve into | | | | Many laptop manufacturers have already released |
| how they stack up to their promises. | | | | products contains solid state drives so there are some |
| A Little Background | | | | on the market which allow us to get an idea of how |
| Basically, these drives aren't new but they made a | | | | they are stacking up to these promises. First, we can |
| huge splash in 2007 at the Consumer Electronic Show | | | | look at the promise of quick data access. |
| held in Las Vegas. They were heralded as the solution | | | | Unfortunately, there have been some problems with |
| to many problems facing those of us who love | | | | customer satisfaction in this area because of the hype. |
| portable computing. | | | | People are promised the moon and are disappointed |
| Basically these devices are types of hard drives which | | | | when the drive can't live up to their elevated |
| do not rely on magnetic media for their memory | | | | expectations. |
| storage. Instead, they use semiconductors much like | | | | Evidence has shown that these drives do wonderful |
| flash memory drives already do. In fact, both of these | | | | when you're reading average size files. You'll be able |
| storage devices use similar non-volatile memory chips. | | | | to access them quickly. However, if you're working |
| However, the main difference between the two is that | | | | with large files or trying to save large files, you won't |
| the solid state drive is not used as an external | | | | see those fast speeds. |
| memory storage system like flash drives. They are | | | | Now remember these drives are still in their infancy in |
| built to be installed internally in place of a traditional hard | | | | terms of this type of use so that doesn't mean these |
| drive. | | | | problems won't be corrected down the line. |
| If you're wondering why using SSD's would be a good | | | | Another huge promise is improved battery life for |
| idea, there are several advantages being promoted by | | | | laptops because of the reduced power requirements. |
| industry insiders. This is where most of the promises | | | | For one, this promise could never really deliver |
| come into the picture. | | | | because the hard drive isn't what uses up most of |
| Basically, these drives are considered great inventions | | | | your laptop's battery in the first place. |
| because they are believed to deliver three amazing | | | | The screen, the RAM, and your CPU are doing most |
| benefits: reduced power usage, faster access to | | | | of that for you. Generally, you're only talking about a |
| memory, and improved reliability. All of these benefits | | | | 5% improvement in battery life and that's not much of |
| are a result of the differences in the way solid state | | | | a bargain considering how much these drives add to |
| drives and traditional hard drives work. | | | | the price of a laptop. |
| Most of us have at least a basic understanding of | | | | Finally, we can look at reliability. Since the drives |
| how our hard drives work. Inside them are spinning | | | | haven't been available that long, we really need more |
| magnetic platters where everything we do on our | | | | time to evaluate this claim. However, we do know that |
| computers is saved. | | | | unlike traditional hard drives which can be written on |
| To work though, they rely on drive motors to move | | | | indefinitely. Solid state drives can only a certain number |
| them. If anything happens to those motors or to the | | | | of times depending on the technology used. |
| drive heads, then our hard drive ceases to function | | | | This is still sufficient for most needs but given the |
| correctly and we'll end up shopping for a new laptop | | | | costs , and whilst these writes will |
| or desktop. | | | | Only time will tell if these problems can be rectified so |
| These alternative drives don't have all of those extra | | | | that solid state drives can truly live up to everything |
| parts. Everything is done through Flash memory chips | | | | they are promised to be. |
| and most of us know that the portable Flash memory | | | | |