Solid State Drives, or SSDs, have recently become more prominent in the tech field because of their many benefits. Given the lack of moving parts, use of chips, and ability to use less power, SSDs are faster, more physically durable, and can continue to become smaller. With these positives in mind, let’s ask the pivotal question: If they’re so great, why aren’t they the standard? Simply put, because they’re still imperfect, and the negatives are worth knowing when making decisions regarding your data storage.
SSDs, like a lot of newer technology, is still more expensive. In an article published by PC Magazine, Joel Santo Domingo explains that the price per gigabyte of a SSD is around 25 cents, while traditional HDDs usually costs around four or five cents. That means a single terabyte SSD costs around 250$. This price point is a hindrance for many as most people are looking for more economical solutions.
To further complicate the current, kingly status of the SSD is storage capacity. Many SSDs in computers can hold between 500gb and 1tb, 4tb being a rare (and costly) machine reserved more for higher-end systems. HDDs are able to go as high as 12tb while still maintaining reasonable price points.
Stepping away from linked, market based issues with the SSD comes its technical flaws. The blessing of no moving parts comes with the curse of unexpected drive failure. With moving parts, a user will receive warning signs like grinding, whirring, or other physical manifestations of a problem. Electrical parts that make no noise also give no notice that they are in trouble. Instead when an electrical component goes down, it is sudden and usually problematic. This ability to negatively surprise is one that could cause concern if it has been sometime since a backup.
Lastly comes concern over data management and recovery of the SSD. When a SSD deletes data, it is typically gone. For example, should someone format the drive all of the data, stored as binary ones and zeroes, switches to strictly zeroes completely deleting the hard drive and rendering recovery impossible. Trim, a data management program that helps extend SSD lifespans, is a very efficient destroyer of old data, and should something get removed you may not be able to get it back. Thus, catastrophic failure can ultimately mean permanent loss of data that is potentially beyond the ability of data recovery experts.
The SSD is certainly not perfect, but that does not mean it does not have its place is the computing world. If you decide that you are looking for the advantages that comes with SSDs, but want to avoid some of the potential pitfalls, we here at Carolina Data Recovery suggest that you safeguard yourself with a backup HDD. This way you can have peace of mind that your data is safe and secure, regardless of type of drive.
You have enough to worry about. Let us take care of your valuable data.
Citations
Domingo, Joel Santo. “SSD vs. HDD: What’s the Difference?” PCMAG. June 09, 2017. Accessed October 13, 2017.