Solid-State Drives: the Future of Computer Technology is Here

Did it take long for this article to load on your computer? That's probably because the slowest part of your computer is your hard drive. Picture this: press the power key for your laptop and automatically have access to your desktop, no start up required. Imagine working fluidly for days, weeks, months or even years with little to no mechanical failure-no data lost, no computer crashes, no machine malfunctions... seems too good to be true right? With solid-state drives, it's not.

A solid-state drive is a data storage device used to store data via solid-state memory. SSD's emulate a hard disk drive; therefore can easily replace a hard drive in any application. What distinguishes an SSD from a hard drive is that is contains no moving parts. This means that an SSD will greatly reduce the risk of mechanical failure, it is usually silent and users enjoy a faster seek time and less latency because there are no mechanical delays.

First developed in the mid 1980's, SSDs used bubble memory. Bubble memory uses a thin film of magnetic material to hold small magnetized areas (bubbles) that each store one bit of data. While this technology seemed promising, the rapid drop in hard disk drive prices in the 1980's caused it to fail commercially. In the mid 90's, SSD's were re-developed as flash-based drives. These new devices achieved the ability to withstand extreme shock, vibration and a large variance in temperature change. Since this re-development, solid-state drives have been used in abundance for mission-critical applications by both the military and aerospace industries.

Solid-state drives produced in the mid 1990's utilized DRAM volatile memory. Volatile memory is a type of computer memory that requires a constant power supply in order to maintain information. Now, advancements in technology have brought about the production of SSD's that are based on NAND flash non-volatile memory. Using non-volatile memory allows manufactures to create more compact alternatives that will excel in the consumer market.

Flash memory-based SSD's do not require batteries which allows makers to replicate the size and form of standard disk drives. In addition, the non-volatility (no need for constant power source) will allow for the retention of memory during unexpected power outages; this ensures data recoverability. In comparison, flash SSD's are slower than DRAM drives, but they still perform faster and are more reliable than traditional hard drives.

While solid-state drives have been in use for many years, they have only recently been introduced into the mainstream business market. Pricing is still a major factor in the production and use of SSD's, solid-state drives are priced at about $3.50 per GB whereas traditional hard drives price at about $.20 per GB. It is believed that the efficiency and effectiveness of SSD's will allow the drives to quickly replace traditional hard drives and thus the price will drop over the coming year. The next step in the future of computer technology is here and it starts with solid-state drives.