Solid state drives (SSDs) take a very different approach to data storage, but can add a lot of speed and reliability to even an older Mac.
First, they do away with the platters, the heads, and all those fast-moving components which cause most issues related to their older cousins and replace those parts with memory chips. The exact type of chips used vary, but most drives use flash memory (essentially the same technology that’s used in cameras, etc) which is able to store data even without any power.
This technology is little more expensive, and means SSD drives generally have lower capacities and higher prices. But the price gap between the technologies has come down significantly to the point that anyone can consider this option. A few years ago you could expect to pay $3-$4 per gigabyte of storage, now this has dropped to about $1 per gigabyte. Example, a 240 GB Drive is now about $240.
And then there are all the benefits. A standard hard drive may take several seconds for its platters to reach full speed, but SSDs are always ready to go immediately. And an SSD doesn’t have to move its head around, or wait for the platter to reach a particular point before it can read data, so its access time can be 50 times faster than a regular drive.
SSD read and write speeds are much closer to HDD technology, though, so the overall performance gain won’t be nearly so spectacular. Still, equipping your Mac with a solid state drive could easily halve the time it takes to boot the system, and that’s a benefit worth having.
Other SSD advantages include their durability to shock , they are also silent, and lighter than their HDD cousins, and SSDs have very low power consumption, especially when idle or reading data.
So it’s worth a look at your next upgrade if an SSD is the choice for you. Drop in or give us a call for more information!
