Learn About PC Storage

What is it?

It is the non-volatile memory that comes with your PC. Non-volatile memory means it will not lose stored data when power is turned off. It allows you to store your applications, photos, videos and any other type of data on your PC. There are mainly 2 types of PC storage, hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD). SSDs have now become the standard type of storage for storing your computers data, replacing the much slower, spinning HDDs. It's main role is to store all your data on your computer even when power is off. SSDs are much faster than HDDs, but much slower than RAM, so they can cause a huge bottleneck if they were used to serve the CPU directly instead of RAM. Think of it like your file cabinet. It is much easier and faster to have all the files from your file cabinet (SSD) placed in-front of you on your desk surface (RAM) as opposed to going back and forth every time you need to work on something. PC storage mainly comes in the following shapes:

• 2.5" SATA SSD

  This shape is similar to 2.5" HDDs and uses the same SATA interface. It is commonly used as a drop-in replacement for computers with 2.5" HDDs. They support speeds of up to 560MB/s.

• M.2 SATA SSD

  It comes in many lengths, the most common one is 2280. They use the "B" M.2 Key. They support speeds of up to 560MB/s. Learn more

• M.2 NVMe SSD

  It comes in many lengths, the most common one is 2280. They use the "M" M.2 Key. They support top speeds of up to 14GB/s. Learn more

How does it work?

PC storage works by doing the following (over simplified) steps:

1. Receive data from CPU
2. Write data in storage cells
3. Send requested data to CPU

Look for

• Compatibility

  Check form factor (2.5" or 3.5" or M.2), interface (NVMe or SATA), PCIe Version, and slots

• Get More Than Enough

  Make sure you have more than you need in storage capacity

  SSDs slow down considerably when they are full or near full. Let's say that you need to store 240GB of data in your computer, having a 256GB SSD would make your SSD almost full and will result in much lower performance. In this case, it is better to get a 512GB SSD instead. It is recommended to keep at least 20% of your SSD empty. Also, modern operating systems (OS) extend memory capacity by using your computer's slower non-volatile memory (SSD or HDD), this technique is known as "virtual memory". This can help in making sure your computer runs well even when you run out of memory. Because of that, it is a good idea to keep more space in your SSD available so that the OS can take advantage of this. On top of that, the OS and apps require software updates. It will be very difficult to update your OS and apps if you don't have space.

• General Benchmarks

  Check out general benchmarks so that you can get a feeling of how the storage performs

  One example of such benchmarks is ATTO

• Specific Benchmarks

  Check the benchmarks that are specific to the software that you will be using

  Let's say you only play 1 game, and that is the only thing you do on your computer, then only check how the SSD performs specifically with the game you intend on playing.

• Sustained Performance

  Make sure the storage performs to the desired level sustainably

  Modern SSDs are made using many types of NAND. Most SSDs today use TLC NAND, which means they can store 3 bits per cell. However, this makes writing data to each cell much slower compared to an SLC NAND (1 bit per cell). Therefore, SSD manufacturers are putting in their TLC SSDs SLC cache to cover up the lower performance of TLC. For the most part, SSDs are not heavily used to the point where the SLC cache is full, however, once SLC is full, the SSD will perform much lower than before. This can make some SSDs perform really well in some easier workloads, but cannot sustain performance on harder workloads. Also, some SSDs can't sustain performance because of cooling headroom.

• Cloud Storage

  Check if you can put some of your data in cloud storage

  Cloud storage can let you get away with a smaller SSD than you need and save you some money. Also, if you have many devices, cloud storage is the best way to make sure all your data is accessible on all your devices.

• Backup

  Make sure you backup your data

  SSDs have been proven to break less than HDDs, but this doesn't mean they don't break. Make sure you backup all your data on another SSD, HDD, or cloud storage. So that you don't lose any data.

Avoid

• HDDs

  Avoid getting HDDs whenever possible

  Only get HDDs if SSD capacities are not enough or HDD prices are much cheaper. It is important to note that SSDs are getting cheaper fast, and their capacities are doubling every few years. So at one point, SSDs will be better in all metrics.

• Future Proofing

  Do not buy way more SSD capacity than you need just for future proofing

  SSDs are usually easy to upgrade in desktops. Whenever you feel you need more storage, you can simply add more by using any available slots, or removing older SSD and replacing with newer bigger ones.

• RAID

  Avoid RAID when possible

  It is better to get a faster SSD than getting 2 slower ones and putting them in RAID configuration.

• Connector Adapters

  Avoid adapters that make NVMe work with SATA

  SATA interface is much slower than NVMe, so if an NVMe SSD performs good, it will be greatly bottleneck if you use it with on SATA interface. Instead, get a SATA SSD.

• Bottlenecks

  Make sure there are no bottlenecks with other PC parts

  Let's say your primary use for your computer is gaming, and you need to upgrade. It is very important to get a GPU that is fast enough to run your games well before investing in a faster SSD.