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Alternatives to the Optane SSD

Intel has released a totally new type of hard drive designed for faster boot times and storage. People in the market for a new hard drive may consider this technology, but before making any big investments, you need to know the full capabilities of Optane SSD. Below is our review of Intel’s newest storage device.

Optane SSD
Intel’s new standalone drive maximizes storage performance and can also serve as extra RAM for your servers. The Optane SSD DV P4800X has 375 GB of space, a data read latency of 10 microseconds, and data transfer rates (or throughput) of 2GB per second. With these specs, Intel claims users will experience faster boot times, quicker application load times, and 30% faster system performance.

All of this makes the Optane SSD perfect for hosting machine learning and analytics. Also, if your company is involved in high-performance computing, Intel’s new RAM/storage drive should be high on your company’s wish list.

Optane SSD, however, may not be the best for everyone. First of all, the latest storage drive is meant for servers. Another downside is that the 375-GB SSD is a hefty $1,520 — almost as much as deploying your own in-house server would cost! In this case, you would probably get more value out of a conventional SSD.

SSD
Consumer-level SSDs still provide fast software boot times, but will probably offer less storage space and throughput rates than the Optane SSD. This really isn’t much of a sacrifice, considering that plenty of users can afford and work with 128 GB of ‘normal’ SSD storage. In fact, a 128-GB SSD can go for as low as $50.

HDD
Your other choice would be the standard hard disk drive (HDD). Though these storage devices are far more common and much less expensive than the previous two, HDDs are slow to boot, noisy, and susceptible to hardware damage and data loss. The only thing going for the traditional hard drive is its storage capacity. For $50 dollars, users can buy a 1-TB hard disk drive.

Although HDD may not be ideal in terms of speed, it’s a good choice for any business on a tight budget. Most people actually pair SSD with their standard HDD to get the best of both worlds. Operating systems and critical applications can be stored in SSD for faster boot times, while regular files can be stored in HDD.

Even with this crash course on hard drives and SSDs, you will still probably need a storage professional to help you pick the best device for your business. For all your storage drive queries, installment requirements, and IT maintenance needs, contact our IT consultants today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

HDD vs SSD: Which is best?

When it comes to purchasing new computers, buyers used to have limited choice for what kind of storage they got with their laptop or desktop PCs. But with the invention of the solid state drive (SSD), you can now configure your system with either the traditional hard disk drive (HDD), SSD, or in some cases both. So what’s the better choice between SSD and HDD? Here, we compare the two so you can decide for yourself which one best fits your needs.

What is an HDD?

A hard disk drive (HDD) is basically a storage device in a computer. It is comprised of metal platters with magnetic coating, spindle, and various moving parts to process and store data. The common size for laptop hard drives in the 2.5” model, while a larger 3.5” model is usually found in desktop computers.

What is an SSD?

A solid state drive (SSD) is also another type of data storage that performs the same job as an HDD. But insteading of storing data in a magnetic coating on top of platters, an SSD uses flash memory chips and an embedded processor to store, retrieve, and cache data. It is roughly about the same size as a typical HDD, and bears the resemblance of what smartphone batteries would look like.

HDD and SSD Comparison

Now let’s take a closer look at the two devices. We break it down into the following main categories:

Speed
This is where SSDs truly prevail. While HDDs need a long time to access data and files because the disk must spin to find it, SSDs are up to 100 times faster since data can be accessed instantly. This is why an SSD-equipped PC will boot within seconds and deliver blazing fast speed for launching programs and applications, whereas a computer that uses a HDD will take much longer time to boot the operating system, and will continue to perform slower than an SSD during normal use.

Capacity
As of writing, SSD units top out at 16TB storage capacity. Although there are large SSDs, anything that’s over 512GB is beyond most people’s price range. HDDs, on the other hand, have large capacities (1-2TB) available for much more affordable prices.

Durability
HDDs consist of various moving parts and components, making them susceptible to shock and damage. The longer you use your HDD, the more they wear down and most eventually end up failing. Meanwhile, an SSD uses a non-mechanical design of flash storage mounted on a circuit board, providing better performance and reliability, and making it more likely to keep your files and data safe.

Noise
An HDD can sometimes be the loudest part of your computer. Even the highest-performing HDDs will emit some noise when the drive is spinning back and forth to process data. SSDs have no moving parts, meaning it makes no noise at all.

Heat
More moving part means more heat, and HDD users will have to live with the fact that their device will degenerate over time. SSD uses flash memory, generating less heat, helping to increase its lifespan.

Cost
To be frank, SSDs are much more expensive than HDDs for the same capacity. This is why most computers with an SSD only have a few hundred gigabytes of storage. HDDs are about twice as cheaper than SSDs.

Despite the high costs and low capacity, SSD is a clear winner over the HDD in terms of performance. While you’re paying more for less memory with an SSD, you’re investing in a faster and far more durable data storage option in the long run.

We recommend using an SSD as the primary storage for your operating system, applications, and most-used programs. You can install another HDD inside the same computer to store documents, movies, music, and pictures – these files don’t need to leverage the incredible access times and speed of SSD.

Looking to invest in some new hardware for your business? Make sure you talk with our experts before you make the decision – we can provide sound advice and help guide you in the right direction.