Solid-state drive (SSD)

What is SSD ?

A solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data. Unlike flash-based memory cards, a SSD emulates a hard disk drive, thus easily replacing it in most applications. An SSD using SRAM or DRAM (instead of flash memory) is often called a RAM-drive. (Wikipedia.com)

If you pay attention to the latest laptop storage configuration, there is a choice between using the hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SDD). For example take a look at the latest Asus Eee PC ,
Type Eee PC 1000 : SSD with 40GB capacity
Type Eee PC 1000H : HDD with 80GB capacity


Which one is better ?

SSD is not much difference to a flash drive. They store data on a non-mechanical device. That means no mechanical failures such as stop spinning like the hard disk drive being doing all this time. From this advantage will result :

* Faster speed (no moving parts)
* Consume less power usage (work great on laptop!)
* More reliable (not that fragile and sensitive material)

Great performances by the SSD are not yet followed by it's expensive price tag compared to the old hard disk drive. Maybe because only a few big manufacturers produce it. For the price comparison, a laptop with a SDD instead of a standard HDD costs about 50% or 60% more. And the biggest SDD available today is only 60 gigabytes.

Another disadvantages :
* Limited number of write cycles before they wear out
* Available capacity remains much lower than HDD
* Difficulty on data recovery (just like your flash drive when fails, it's done)

Just hope this guides can help you all to decide which type of storage suits you.