Storage » Hard Disk Drives

Debating the merits of SSDs, part two

Healthy debate is often necessary to get a balanced view of an emerging technology. Somewhere between endorsements and detractions, a realistic understanding of the long-term outlook for a technology arrives. As such, I have decided to turn to a guest once again for the second installment in what I hope to be an ongoing debate over the merits of flash SSDs (solid-state drives).

Debating the merits of SSDs

Would you pay several times more for a technology that yields only dubious performance advantage? How about if that technology is experiencing a high rate of product returns from early adopters?

SSDs: Perfect fit for mobile computing?

There aren't many products I review that I can test for traveling. In fact, most are large enough for me to hide behind, if not inside. But the Lenovo Thinkpad T61 with a 64GB Samsung SSD (solid state drive) I am currently testing offered a rare opportunity to take my work with me on the road.

Solid state disk revolution looms

We've all experienced it: that sense of frustration whenever the disk drive LED on your laptop turns solid green for a seemingly interminable period. While enduring one such interruption recently, my thoughts turned longingly to solid state drives and their emergence as a force to be reckoned with both at the low end and high. Several recent news items underscore this fact.

EMC's bold solid-state bet

Judging from the blogosphere's post-EMC World buzz, EMC's recent passion for SSDs (solid state drives) is no fly-by-night affair. In fact, at the event, which I was unable to attend, EMC suggested that by 2010, SSDs could reach price parity with, and eventually replace, FC (fibre channel) drives.

Solid-state upgrades: Risky business

Hardware upgrades can be a blast. Slide 2GB more RAM in your machine and everything just works faster and smoother. Updating a laptop or desktop with an SSD (solid-state drive), however, can be tricky and not so rewarding, as I am finding.

Storage that takes care of itself

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: SFF (small form factor) drives allow you to squeeze more spindles into the same rack space, giving you better performance in the same real estate. As an bonus, using 2.5-inch drives reduces the amount of electricity you use and creates less heat than using their larger cousins, essentially making your storage array less demanding on your wallet and on the electric grid.

Performance showdown: Flash drives vs. hard drives

Solid-state disks (SSD) are probably some of the most talked-about new gadgets of late. They easily distinguish themselves from the mechanical hard drives of the Jurassic period because they have no moving parts. Like USB drives, they use nonvolatile flash memory to store data, but SSDs are wrapped in an enclosure the size of a 2.5-inch mechanical laptop drive and have a SATA interface for an easy connection to the internals of your portable.

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