In recent years, SSDs have grown rapidly and many changes have taken place in the industry, such as new interfaces, new standards and new NANDs, all of which require us to re-adapt.
However, I found that there are still many friends who do not know much about solid state drives. Instead of looking at price and capacity for SSDs, they are looking at maximum read and write speeds. They do not care about other hidden functions and regret it after purchasing. Today, The author for you a comprehensive science-related knowledge of solid-state hard drive, so that everyone can be aware of the need to buy, select on-demand.
First of all, from the structure of the SSD, the basic components of the SSD are divided into: the master chip, flash memory chips, firmware algorithms, the following we describe the three job responsibilities and performance implications.
SSD structure
1, the main control
Common main control brand: Huirong, group, Marvell, Samsung, Realtek
SSD master is essentially a processor, mainly based on the ARM architecture, which has a similar side and the phone processor.Also some SSD master RISC architecture, it has CPU-level computing power.
For now, the computing power of the SSD master chip is determined by the manufacturing process, the size of the core area (the number of transistors), the number of cores, and the frequency.
Its specific role in the performance, first, the rational allocation of data on each flash chip load, so that all the flash memory particles can work under a certain load, coordination and maintenance of the cooperation of different blocks of particles.
The second is to assume the entire data transfer, connect the flash memory chips and external SATA interface, the third is responsible for the completion of the internal solid state drive instructions, such as trim, CG recovery, wear leveling.
It can be said that the quality of a master chip directly determines the actual experience and life of the solid state drive.
The main control chip technology threshold is higher, so the main control brand is relatively small, the current mainstream control brands Huirong, group, Marvell, Samsung.
Hui-Rong / Group Link: Hui-Rong and the group is the two main controlling companies in Taiwan, its main control costs low, by many domestic SSD welcome, manufacturers involved, including but not limited to: Plextor, Colorful, Yingchi, Taipower, light Granville, Ming 瑄 and so on.
Marvell master: Marvell belongs to the high-end series, the early products only for the enterprise level, now used in Plextor, SanDisk, Impreza solid state hard drive technology is strong, the quality of the master control, but the corresponding solid-state drive The price is also more expensive.
Samsung master: Samsung master only in their own SSD products, powerful technical strength.To be able to say that in SATA interface SSD, Samsung 860PRO read and write the fastest in NVMe SSD, Samsung 960PRO read and write speed fast.
Realtek main control: the same brand is Taiwan, is a newly established hosting brand, Rainbow part of the SSD using Realtek master program.
SSD Building Foundation: Flash particles chapter
2, flash memory particles
Flash Particles, also known as flash memory, is a type of non-volatile memory that retains written data even in the event of a power loss, and is based on a fixed block rather than a single byte unit.
There are many different variants of flash memory depending on usage and specifications. Today, we mainly discuss the most commonly used NAND flash memory particles used in storage devices such as solid state drives.
NAND Flash Particles, a member of the flash memory family, was first developed and marketed by Hitachi in 1989. As NAND flash memory particles have many advantages such as lower power consumption, lower cost, and better performance, they have become the most Important storage raw materials.
According to the differences of electronic unit density in NAND flash memory, it can be further divided into SLC (single level memory cell), MLC (double memory cell level) and TLC (triple memory level cell). These three types of memory cells have obvious life and cost The difference
Flash particles
SLC (single-layer storage), single-layer electronic structure, small voltage change range when writing data, long life, read and write times in more than 100,000 times, high cost, and more for high-end enterprise-class products.
MLC (multi-layer memory), the use of high and low voltage and different construction of double-layer electronic structure, long life, acceptable cost, multi-purpose civil high-end products, read and write frequency in 5000 or so.
TLC (three-tier storage), is an extension of MLC flash memory, TLC reached 3bit / cell. Highest storage density, capacity is MLC 1.5 times the lowest cost of cost, low mission life, read and write times in the 1000 ~ 2000 or so, is the current mainstream Manufacturers preferred flash memory particles.
3D NAND, an emerging flash memory type that addresses the limitations of 2D or planar NAND flash memory by stacking together memory particles, is now available in 64-layer 3D NAND such as the Toshiba TR200, Samsung 860PRO (V-NAND) uses 64-layer flash memory particles.
Currently, there are six manufacturers of flash memory chips, Samsung, Toshiba, SanDisk, Intel, SK hynix and Micron. The flash memory capacity of these six companies occupies nearly 90% of the NAND flash memory market. Almost all of the The creation and upgrading of craft, are led by so few original factory.
There is a need for everyone to look at the content of TLC flash solid-state hard disk drive life TLC TLC particles come out, some users believe that TLC particles have poor life and endless debates.
In fact, the life of TLC has been well optimized, 5-10 years of daily use completely no problem.In addition, MLC particles solid state hard drive has basically been out of the market, you can not buy large sums of money.
Firmware algorithm: Dachang technical advantages
3, firmware algorithm
SSD firmware is to ensure that SSD performance is a very important part, mainly used to drive the controller. Many friends doubt? What SSD need to be driven? This SSD structure from the start.
Although SSDs appear to be much simpler in structure than HDDs, the mechanisms are actually more complex than HDDs. For example, SSDs need to talk to the system directly through the FTL layer, and flash must be re-written after it is completely erased SSD needs Trim to re-clean the flash memory.
For another example, SSDs require a well-balanced write algorithm that consumes all particles evenly, without causing some of the particles to be written out of life while other particles are unused.
There are many algorithms in firmware, Error Correction Code (ECC), bad block management, garbage collection algorithms, etc. Therefore, the difficulty of writing SSD firmware is evident.
TRIM
SSD firmware is particularly important, the same master and the same particles of the two products, because of their different firmware, may lead to completely different life and read and write performance.
Responsible to tell you that the impact of a solid state drive on the performance of the particles is about 60%, while the impact of the firmware will account for more than 20%.
High-quality algorithms Outstanding firmware is not only a very tough job, but it also requires perfect compatibility between the flash memory and the master, the advanced technologies required to handle flash particles and masters, etc. The better the firmware , The better the quality of the entire SSD.
For the time being, there are few SSD vendors that can independently develop firmware, and only Samsung, Intel, SanDisk, Impreza, Plextor and Toshiba are the technological advantages brought by the makers.
Of course, when SSDs in the SSDs affect the normal use of SSDs, these SSD vendors will also release new firmware updates soon. However, small vendors generally do not have subsequent updates and do not have the technical strength.
SSD SATA interface and M.2 interface
After understanding the basic structure of the SSD, let's look at the interface of the SSD. Currently the mainstream SSD interface is divided into three SATA 3.0, M.2, PCI-E, U.2 and mSATA are rare, but here More introduction.
The main difference between SATA and M.2 or PCI-E is that they use different channels.
Two channels can be understood as two identical cars, The PCI-E channel car is like driving at high speed, while the SATA channel car is like driving on a rugged mountain road Which speed are you talking about?
Different interface SSD drive speedometer
From the figure we can see that the current mainstream SATA 3.0 channel maximum transfer rate of 6Gbps, the actual maximum speed of 560MB / s, SATA channel has been unable to meet the growing demand for reading and writing solid state drives, so PCI-E solid state drive Came into being.
However, some readers may wonder why my SSD is M.2, but not fast enough. M.2 was originally called NGFF and its name is Next Generation Form Factor. This interface is very special and supports both SATA and PCI -E two channels, it is easy to misunderstand.
In fact, not all M.2 SSD read and write speed is very fast, if it is SATA channel M.2 interface SSD, read and write speed will not exceed 550MB / s.
It should be noted that the M.2 interface of the motherboard manufacturer selects the native PCI-E channel of the CPU, and some extends through the PCH south bridge, which may affect the speed of the solid state drive.
Speed comparison
Now let's take a look at the speed comparison between the two SSDs:
The left picture shows the SATA solid state drive, the right picture shows the PCI-E solid state drive
The difference between AS SSDs running at different speeds is obvious. PCI-E solid state drives are far ahead of SATA solid state drives in terms of continuous read-write or 4K test. The overall score of PCI-E solid state drives is more than three times of that of SATA solid state drives.
In order to help you understand, I will draw a variety of interfaces and speed contrast table, so you can at a glance.
Different interface solid state drive protocol
Seeing this, you may find PCI-E has many benefits, but not everyone is right for purchase. PCI-E's SSDs are very expensive due to PCI-E SSD flash particles and mastership.
Such as 250GB SATA protocol SSD price of 500 yuan, while the same capacity of the PCI-E protocol SSD price is as high as 800. And in PCI-E will occupy the bus channel, entry and the number of CPU platform for mid-platform less, Are not suitable for adding PCI-E SSD, only Z370, or X299 this flagship platform, give full play to the performance of PCI-E SSD.
Software ecology is also important
Many students think SSD comes with software is useless, but in fact it is useful and it can bring you a lot of convenience.Such as many SSD comes with SSD system migration software, the system is running, only a few simple steps can be Complete migration of the system to another SSD, eliminating the hassle of reinstalling the system.
The following summary of several major SSD manufacturers software ecology and specific functions, we can understand.
Samsung SSD Magician Tool
Samsung: Samsung SSD Magician Tool
Features: Basic rating test, boot USB drive to upgrade firmware, migrate system
Plextor: PlexTurbo, Plexcompressor, Plexvault
Features: PlexTurbo - memory acceleration, Plexcompressor - compression data increase can be, Plexvault - Disk Encryption
GALAXY: Xtreme Tuner for SSD
Function: Detect disk status, provide SSD optimization
Toshiba: Storage Utilities
Features: Drive Information Optimizer, TRIM command to optimize TOSHIBA SSD performance and more.
Kingston: Toolbox
Function: Monitor SSD health, such as current status and usage, as well as other information such as SSD data, model name, serial number, firmware version, etc. You can also update the SSD firmware with software.
In general, SSD manufacturers with strong software development are still dominated by major manufacturers, while small vendors have no SSD software.
Warranty time of the game
SSD as a high-precision electronic products, no matter how strong the strength of the manufacturers, there will still be a certain rate of damage. So we buy SSD, after-sales duration is also a key factor to be considered.
(1) Samsung: three years started, up to five years
Samsung products are basically all three-year warranty commitment, Samsung 850EVO warranty for three years, 960PRO warranty for five years.But note that the Samsung SSD in addition to time constraints, there are write data restrictions, such as the purchase of more than five years (total Write only 1TB) or total write up to 75TB, are considered as the end of the warranty.
860 PRO
(2) Intel: Common five years
Intel's SSD can be said to be relying on quality assurance, many users buy Intel SSD is because Intel warranty time is relatively long, the average life expectancy in the early SSD is very low, Intel can achieve five-year warranty, its confidence in the product .
(3) Kingston: a minimum of two years, up to five years
Compared to life-long warranty memory products, SSD products in different series provide different warranty deadlines, and Kingston SSD product line a lot and the model is also more complex, so when you buy it yourself to see, here are not introduced It's
(4) Sanndi: three years
SanDisk series itself more common products are three-year warranty now suggested that you enter the SanDisk official website, followed by the product you want to buy, check the warranty time!
(5) Pleat: three years started, up to five years
Pu Kete products based on different product lines, the warranty period is divided into three years and five years, various types of warranty, as specified by the product specifications, the warranty time and nothing new, but the warranty is more Simple and clear.In addition to applying for warranty through the store, but also SF pick-free home, replace the product category, the time is also written more clearly, it touches on commendable.
The above brands are basically e-commerce platform SSD series of hot brands, and therefore promised in the warranty will not be much difference, but obviously 5-year warranty products will make people more at ease, but most of the brand's three Annual warranty is enough to use.
So when you buy SSD, still have to look at the warranty time, do not seek cheap. In addition, do not buy cottage SSD products, and then they may also propose 3 years renewal and other warranty policies, but who can keep these manufacturers Live for another three years?
Mainstream branded product interpretation and recommendation
Said so much, and finally back to the title, for everyone to explain how SSD should be selected.
(1) About SSD capacity
If no special requirements, the purchase of 240-256GB preferred SSD, this range of affordable SSD capacity, daily use of some common games and software are sufficient, other less commonly used photos, documents can be placed on a mechanical hard drive.
(2) on the interface
The new platform is recommended to buy M.2 SSD, after all, the new technology, the speed is relatively fast.Do not toss the old platform, bought M.2 SSD also can not play the advantage, or obediently use SATA solid state hard disk, the price is cheaper some.
As for the PCI-E interface SSD, the volume is relatively large, the advantage is that heat dissipation is much better than the M.2 SSD, when you buy such SSD, pay attention to whether your motherboard has extra PCI-E interface, be aware of.
(3) About the brand
Brand is divided into three categories:
The first echelon: Samsung, Intel, SanDisk, Kingston, Plextor, Toshiba, British Ruida, etc .. Strength, better product quality, but the price is more expensive.
The second echelon: PNY, Galaxy, Rainbow, Kim Tektronix, Taipower, Granville, Asgard, MAXSUN, etc. With the advantages of upstream resources, the quality of their products is relatively good, the price cheaper than the first tier.
The third echelon: cottage brand. Most use of disassemble tablets black tablets, poor quality, the price is very cheap, but will soon appear a variety of small problems.
Here I recommend everyone to buy the program is: to accept the best price to buy, if there is no budget to buy SSD, then buy a reliable mechanical hard drive SSD SSD also much stronger than the cottage.
