SSD

Solid state drives are absolutely fabulous, but serial ATA variants are getting a bit long in the tooth. Don't get me wrong, if you are still using an old-fashioned mechanical hard drive, any SSD should give you better performance. With that said, NVMe M.2 drives are far superior. Of course, not all computers support the faster standard, so 2.5-inch SATA models are still relevant -- for now.

Today, ADATA announces a new 2.5-inch SATA SSD. Called "Ultimate SU700," it features 3D NAND and capacities up to 960GB -- just shy of a terabyte.

While many people run an operating system from a solid state drive nowadays, external storage drives are largely still mechanical. It is not a mystery as to why this is -- the cost per gigabyte is much less. Unfortunately, USB hard disk drives have the same weaknesses as internal variants -- they are slow and prone to mechanical failure. If you can afford it (and don't mind the smaller capacity), a portable SSD is a much better experience.

ADATA has a new USB 3.1 (gen 1) SSD that is downright gorgeous. The 3D NAND XPG SD700X external drive is extremely rugged and features capacities up to 1TB. Most importantly, it is much faster (440/430MB/s read/write) than a mechanical HDD. Such a drive is not only beneficial for Windows, Mac, and Linux, but for faster game loading on consoles too, such as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Solid state drives are wonderful upgrades for consumer computers, but the possibilities also exist in the enterprise. Quite frankly, reliably maintaining data and large databases can be critically important to the success of many businesses. If an organization can get an edge, such as faster performance from their storage drives, it could be prove to be very valuable.

Today, Kingston Digital announces that it has begun shipping its all-new DCP1000 SSD for data centers. The ultra-fast PCIe NVMe SSD features 7GB/s speed and up to 3.2TB of storage capacity. Yeah, this thing is godly.

All SSDs are relatively "fast" nowadays, but as time marches on, SATA variants are getting very long in the tooth. Don't get me wrong, if you are still running a mechanical hard drive, moving to an SATA SSD should be a very rewarding upgrade. If your computer is capable of using a PCIe NVMe M.2 variant, however, that is what you should target -- these newer drives are much faster than SATA.

Samsung makes wonderful solid state drives -- some would argue the manufacturer's offerings are best on the market. You know what? I wouldn't disagree. Samsung SSDs are very fast, but more importantly, they are extremely reliable. I have been testing one of the company's latest drives -- the 960 Pro 1TB. This PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD is supposed to be insanely fast, but just how fast is it? I decided to do a quick benchmark review.

Solid state drives are one of the greatest things to ever happen to computers. Whether for business or personal computing, these SSDs have increased disk access performance dramatically. Heck, for mobile devices like laptops, the switch from physical hard drives has also improved battery life, while better protecting data from bumps and jostles.

As great as these solid state drives are now, they are only getting better. For example, SATA-based SSDs were once viewed as miraculous, but they are now looked at as slow -- PCIe-based NVMe drives are all the rage. To highlight the steady evolution of flash storage, Western Digital today unveils the first-ever 512 gigabit 64-layer 3D NAND chip.

While the PlayStation 4 can be cracked open for storage upgrades, the Xbox One cannot. Luckily, Microsoft went an arguably better route -- USB storage expansion. This way, users can connect a second drive, while still utilizing the internal drive too.

Today, Seagate announces a new external SSD for the Xbox One. The unimaginatively named 'Game Drive for Xbox SSD' uses flash storage rather than a mechanical spinning hard drive, which should improve game load times.

Another day, another SATA SSD. Yeah, these SATA solid state drives are no longer exciting, since for the most part, they all have similar performance. As PC enthusiasts and gamers look to faster PCI-e NVMe SSDs, there is still a market for SATA drives.

Today, Toshiba announces the OCZ TL100 SATA SSD series, and it is rather lackluster. The drive features TLC NAND and relatively low capacities of 120GB and 240GB. This is not designed for performance, nor is it ideal for those looking to store a lot of files. Who is it for? Consumers that are still using mechanical hard drives and want a performance boost without breaking the bank.

Solid state drives have dramatically changed the PC market. Long gone are the need for slow mechanical hard drives that create irritating noise. SSDs are silent, not to mention both faster and more energy efficient too.

NVMe-based M.2 SSDs are the latest and greatest, as they overcome the SATA speed limitations. Not to mention, since they are smaller than a 2.5 inch drive, computer manufacturers can create even thinner machines. Samsung's 950 line of SSDs were extremely popular, as they offered tremendous speed and reliability. Today, the company launches the next generation -- the 960 EVO and PRO -- which are only available in M.2 NVMe.

Solid State Drives are not the exciting products they once were. Having an SSD is so commonplace nowadays, that there are far fewer opportunities to 'wow' someone with an upgrade from a mechanical hard drive. SATA variants in particular are underwhelming in performance compared to faster NVMe models.

With all of that said, there is a place for SATA SSDs on the market, as not all computers offer compatibility with NVMe drives. If you are still clutching to an old HDD, or maybe needing to replace an existing SATA SSD, Toshiba has a new drive that may interest you. What the OCZ VX500 SATA SSD lacks in speed (550/515 MB read/write is expected for SATA), it makes up in potential longevity with MLC as opposed to TLC.

The Anniversary Update may have introduced a whole host of new features but it has also caused a fair number of problems for Windows 10 users. Among the most annoying issues reported since its release in late-July are freezes on systems equipped with SSDs.

Microsoft has acknowledged the problem and provided a couple of workarounds that users could try, promising that a permanent fix would eventually be made available. Microsoft says that it has addressed the freezing issues in the latest Cumulative Update that it just released.

Intel has just announced a series of new 3D NAND SSDs, aimed at PCs, data centers and Internet of Things devices. The company says the new array offers a "cost effective replacement for traditional Hard Disk Drives".

From the consumer side, there are two new devices: Intel SSD 600p Series, and Intel SSD Pro 600p Series. It uses PCIe Gen3x4, NVMe interface, resulting in a 17 times faster performance over HDD, and three times faster performance over SATA SDDs.

Seagate has announced the largest SSD in the world. The 60TB Serial Attached (SAS) SCSI drive, which is designed for data centers, provides enough space to store 400 million photos or 12,000 DVDs, and is said to have the lowest cost per GB for flash storage today.

Alongside it, Seagate also announced the 8TB Nytro XP7200 NVMe SSD at the Flash Memory Summit conference this week. The smaller model is also aimed at enterprises, promising four times the performance than "comparable drives" but without the downsides associated with a PCIe bridge or switch.

There are many reasons why solid state drives are better than mechanical hard drives. Obviously, they are very much faster -- an upgrade to SSD can make an older PC feel new again. Also, they are silent, meaning you don't have to listen to a grinding-like seek sound.

One of the forgotten aspects as to why SSDs are better, however, is energy savings. Since they use less electricity, they can save money and allow batteries to last longer. Today, Seagate announces a new enterprise SSD that it calls 'energy-efficient'. But aren't they all?

Solid state drives have been a huge boost to performance for home computer users. Long gone are the days where your PC had to have moving parts. The sound of a slow and loud HDD seeking data is a noise I will never miss.

SSDs are not just for the home, however, as the enterprise can leverage them too. Today, Seagate unveils what it calls an "Industry First" -- a 2TB M.2 NVMe Enterprise SSD, dubbed "Nytro XM1440". This fast drive with massive capacity could be a godsend for servers.

Finding an SSD that meets your needs should be relatively easy these days, but if are looking for a high-capacity model then your options are severely limited. Manufacturers have mostly focused on introducing devices for the masses, leaving HDDs to continue their domination in the high storage tiers.

With its new 850 Evo option, however, Samsung is looking to change that. The latest entry in its consumer line features a whopping 4TB of storage and competitive transfer speeds, but also a price tag that will make your jaw drop.