Key Terms You Should Know When Buying An SSD

On the surface, choosing the ideal solid-state drive (SSD) for your computer looks simple.

While this is the case, it’s easy to go wrong and spend money on a drive that doesn’t give you the results that you are after.

To ensure that this doesn’t happen, there are specific vital terms you should know about which will help you make the right choice. These terms include:

SATA

SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment Interface. Certain SSDs still use this attachment to exchange data and communicate with the computer.

SATA SSDs use the 2.5-inch size form factor. They resemble extremely thin HDDs that were once used in laptops.

They fit into the same drive bays found in desktop and laptop computers and share the same power connector as an ordinary HDD.

Even while they’re not nearly as fast as NVMe SSDs, they’re still a significant improvement over conventional HDDs. So, if your PC only supports SATA, these are the SSDs you should go for.

You should note that some desktop computers might only have a 3.5-inch drive bay available. In such a case, using a 2.5-inch SATA SSD will require a bay adaptor, so you should budget for it when buying your SSD.

NVMe

The Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) protocol was created for SSDs to assist them in optimizing the capabilities of NAND flash memory.

While NVMe was designed specifically to meet the needs of fast, low-latency SSDs, SATA was established with spinning hard drives (HDDs) in mind, which makes them slower.

The PCIe interface, which offers several lanes for data transmission, is the most common in NVMe drives. As you can guess, this makes them far much faster than SATA drives.

While new NVMe SSDs running on the PCIe 5.0 interface can reach 14,500MB/s, a standard SATA SSD may only have read/write speeds of 500MB/s. That’s a significant improvement that you will undoubtedly notice in day-to-day use.

This means that if you are looking for a fast SSD in the Samsung SSD finder, these are the ones to go for.

When making the purchase, you should note that M.2 form factors are the most common in NVMe SSDs in consumer PCs, and Add-in cards (AICs) are a much less frequent choice. Although they do exist, U.2 SSDs are primarily seen in business computers.

Regarding M.2, their typical dimensions are 80 mm in length and 22 mm in width. SSD dimensions are typically specified, which explains why you may find something like “M.2 2280.”

There are some SSDs available in different sizes, such as 2230 or 2242. Before making a purchase, confirm that your motherboard can accommodate the precise measurements.

Unlike SATA SSDs, NVMes are so thin and tiny that they reside directly in an M.2 slot on the motherboard, eliminating the need for wires. Most modern motherboards feature at least one M.2 slot. Still, the finest motherboards support multiple so that you can have additional storage.

While this is the case, you should note that not every M.2 SSD is truly NVMe. Although they are uncommon, SATA-based M.2 SSDs do exist and do not make use of NVMe’s speed advantages.

Another point to consider while purchasing is that an M.2 NVMe SSD is the fastest form factor currently on the market, making it a great choice when looking for speed and better computer.

PCIe

If you want SSDs outside the form factor, Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) SSDs make an excellent choice.

Your choices here include PCIe 3.0, PCIe 4.0, and PCIe 5.0. As of right now, PCIe 3.0 is slowly going out of style, PCIe 4.0 is becoming more widely used, and PCIe 5.0 is a fantastic choice for fans.

You will require a motherboard that is compatible with the speedier PCIe 4.0 standard if you choose a drive that supports it.

To access the maximum speeds provided by PCIe 4.0, you’ll need an AMD motherboard (X570 or B550) or an Intel motherboard (Z490 or newer), together with at least an 11th-generation Intel CPU.

These SSDs can still be used with motherboards that only support PCIe 3.0, but their performance will be halved compared to the highest read/write speeds allowed by PCIe 3.0.

The more recent PCIe 5.0 increases your hardware requirements by a significant margin. It was not until Intel’s 12th generation Alder Lake CPUs and Z690 motherboards that this technology was supported.

AMD entered the game a little late, releasing the Ryzen 7000 CPUs and chipsets, including the X670E and B650E. You will need a modern motherboard and one of the best CPUs to get PCIe 5.0.

You should confirm the specifications of your motherboard if you’re unsure which interface it supports. You might as well hunt for an older PCIe 3.0 SSD to match if it’s old enough only to support PCIe 3.0.

While this is the case, if there are no deals that you can take advantage of, it might be more affordable to simply get a newer SSD and accept that it won’t run at maximum speed. Also, it’s better for securing your PC for the future.

So, Which SSD Should You Buy?

For the best outcome, use an M.2 NVMe SSD if your computer is capable of supporting them. The beauty is that these days, NVMe SSDs are frequently even more affordable than conventional SSDs, and the read and write speeds have significantly improved.

You can still get away with SATA if you’re a light user, but if you are into resource-intensive tasks like gaming, video editing, encoding, or other tasks. In that case, you will need a faster SSD.

Choosing the correct form factor and interface will only leave you with a simple decision to make—how much capacity does your SSD need to have? The answer is contingent upon the intended purpose of your desktop or laptop.

It’s up to you to research and find the ideal size that will serve you. While at it, find a reputable brand to buy from.

As a rule of thumb, buy from a reputable brand that you are sure will give you after-sales support in the event of a problem.