Key findings
- The lifespan of an SSD is determined by the Endurance Rating (TBW). With regular use, most SSDs can last well over 5-6 years.
- The type of NAND flash (SLC, MLC, TLC, QLC) determines the cost, performance and durability of your SSD.
- A high-end controller can increase performance many times over; DRAM can accelerate sustained writes.
- The random read/write speeds of an SSD are more indicative of actual performance in gaming and general desktop use.
The world has more or less moved on from hard drives. Everyone knows that an SSD is much faster than an HDD and an NVMe SSD is faster than a SATA SSD. When purchasing a new SSD, most users are aware that they need to pay attention to the more obvious specifications, such as the interface (SATA/NVMe), PCIe generation (Gen3, Gen4, Gen5), capacity, and advertised read/write speeds.
However, there are a number of not so obvious specifications that some users may overlook. These specifications relate to the quality of the components used in the SSD and largely determine the actual performance of the SSD. If you are planning to buy a new SSD, pay attention to these specifications in addition to those listed above.
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5 Endurance
Durability is just as important as speed
You don't want a high-speed SSD that dies in about a year, do you? SSDs, like any other electronic device, have a limited lifespan, so it's important to know the lifespan of an SSD before buying. Although most SSDs from reliable brands have minimal chances of early failure, you should still cross this specification off your checklist when shortlisting SSDs.
Even if an unrealistic amount of data (for most users) is written to an SSD every day, 600 TBW is enough for 5 to 6 years.
Endurance is usually measured in terabytes written (TBW), which is the amount of data that can be written to the SSD during its lifetime. Most 1TB SSDs on the market have a 600TBW rating, so you can write 600TB of data (cumulatively) to the drive before it shows signs of failure. Even if an unrealistic (for most users) amount of data is written to an SSD every day, 600TBW is enough for 5-6 years.
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4 NAND Flash Type
SLC, MLC, TLC or QLC?
Every SSD is made of NAND flash memory, which stores all of your data. NAND flash can vary depending on the number of bits that can be stored per cell. Single-level cell NAND (SLC) can store one bit per cell, making it the most expensive, but also the fastest and longest-lasting. Similarly, multi-level cell NAND (MLC), triple-level cell NAND (TLC), and quad-level cell NAND (QLC) can store two, three, and four bits per cell, respectively.
SLC drives are suitable for servers and setups where longevity is of utmost importance, while MLC and TLC are used in consumer drives and offer good value for money.
As you stack more bits per cell, the cost goes down because you can make SSDs with more capacity in the same space. However, speed and durability also go down, so it's a trade-off. SLC drives are suitable for servers and setups where durability is paramount, while MLC and TLC are used in consumer drives and offer a good combination of cost and performance. QLC drives are best for high-capacity drives where speed is secondary.
If you're buying an SSD as a boot drive or to store your games, make sure you get one with TLC NAND, as this is what's used in most high-performance consumer SSDs.
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3 Controller
The one who controls them all
Every SSD has an integrated chip that is responsible for running all of the drive's operations and communicating with the system. This chip largely determines the drive's performance, efficiency, and reliability, so check (if possible) which controller is included with the SSD you're buying. Most consumer SSDs have controllers from Phison, SMI, Marvell, Realtek, Samsung, or Intel.
The better the controller, the faster the data transfer, the lower the latency and the higher the input/output operations per second (IOPS).
Brands like Samsung and Intel make their own controllers for their SSDs, while others use those from Phison, SMI, Marvell, and others. The better the controller, the faster the data transfer, the lower the latency, and the higher the input/output operations per second (IOPS). Of course, a controller alone isn't everything, but if possible, check to see if your SSD has a good controller.
You can refer to third-party reviews to check the performance of the controller in particular and the SSD in general. It is not always mandatory to know the controller of the SSD you are buying, as the benefits of a quality controller in other performance areas will be clearly evident in any review you consult. Nevertheless, just like endurance, this is something you should have on your checklist.
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2 DRAM or DRAM-less
What do you use your SSD for?
DRAM is a high-speed memory buffer that stores frequently accessed information to speed up certain operations on your computer. If all you want to do on your PC is play games, having a DRAM cache on your SSD may not make a noticeable difference, as games are a read-intensive workload. However, for those who regularly transfer a lot of large files to the SSD, DRAM can speed things up significantly.
Although non-DRAM drives are now better at using system resources as a substitute for DRAM, you should still choose a DRAM drive if the cost difference is not significant.
These types of workloads, where sustained read/write speeds matter, benefit the most from DRAM. These are the same speeds quoted for SSDs, hence the benefits of blazing-fast PCIe 5.0 SSDs for professionals and creatives. Although non-DRAM drives have gotten better at leveraging system resources to replace DRAM (especially HMB), if the cost difference isn't significant, go with a DRAM drive.
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1 Random read/write speeds
How many IOPS does your SSD support?
Instead of focusing solely on the sequential (stated) speeds of an SSD, you should also pay attention to the random read/write speeds. Rather than the sequential speeds of over 10,000 MB/s that we see on PCIe 5.0 drives, random read/write speeds are more meaningful for most real-world use cases like gaming and general desktop usage. It's not always easy to find the random read/write speeds on the SSD product page.
Measured in IOPS, high-end SSDs like the 990 Pro can achieve 1.6 million IOPS/1.5 million IOPS in random read/write speeds.
Third-party reviews can help you figure this out more easily. Measured in IOPS, high-end SSDs like the 990 Pro can reach 1.6 million IOPS/1.5 million IOPS in random read/write speeds. Other SSDs like the WD Black SN770 can reach 800,000 IOPS in both read and write. Unless you're a prosumer who will take full advantage of sequential speeds, pay close attention to the random read/write speeds of the SSD you're considering buying.
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Know your SSD
Buying a decent SSD is easier than ever – just buy a Gen4 SSD that fits your budget, a Gen3 model if you have an older motherboard, or a Gen5 model if you need extra speed for your workloads. Recommendations on specific models in each of the categories can be found in resources like our list of the best SSDs. The most popular models from reliable brands will not disappoint a regular user unless the manufacturer has made serious cost savings.
However, during the process, you should also try to learn about the detailed specifications of the SSDs you are considering. And besides the big data like sequential speeds, capacity, and interface, you should also learn about the controller used in the SSD, whether it has DRAM or not, and what random read/write speeds it can achieve. This will help you find the best SSD to buy within your budget.