Tips for Buying a Used Solid State Drive

In past articles, I've railed against used digital storage media, particularly hard drives. It's still an awful idea to buy a used hard drive. You stand a really high chance of getting a drive that won't last too long, and hard drives are very cheap, so it makes little sense.

However, more and more computer users are switching to SSD, solid state drives. These drives have a number of advantages over standard hard drives, and one such advantage is that it's OK to buy them used-there aren't any moving parts, so you don't have to worry about broken heads or a hard drive crash. Still, there are a few things that every computer user should keep in mind when buying a used solid state drive.

Look for a brand that you recognize. First of all, even though the market is fairly new, there are already a few shady SSD manufacturers out there. Let me be clear: it takes a whole lot of money and technology to make a solid state drive that will give computer users what they need-namely, speed and dependability.

When you buy a used solid state drive, there's a tendency to ignore brand name and look for a great deal. You should really look for a brand name that you recognize, however, and if possible, you should do a little bit of research on each used solid state drive that you're considering. Try to look for one with high consumer reviews. You'll skip over the first generation SSDs on the market and find a good used drive that you can depend on.

By the way, this whole process will go easier if you learn what speeds and capacities to look for. A standard modern SSD can get speeds of around 3.0Gb/s, so that's a good number to remember, and if a used SSD listing doesn't give the speed or capacity of a drive, ask for it. There's no point in buying an SSD if that ends up standing for slow, small drive.

Use a website that gives you recourse. I assume that you're buying a used solid state drive online, and if this is true, make sure that you're using a website that will allow you to return the product if it's defective. This is especially important on websites like eBay. People sell broken electronics all the time and try to claim that any damage occurs in shipping, so protect yourself. Don't buy a used solid state drive off of a website like Craigslist, and be ready to quickly return the SSD if it doesn't work when you unpack it.

Format the drive before you use it. People often forget to format their drives, and this is true with SSD, too. Be sure to completely format the hard drive before you use it to get rid of the previous user's data. You'll also make the drive faster in the process, and you won't have to see any of the embarrassing stuff that your new used solid state drive was used for.

Have any tips or questions about buying a used solid state drive? Post in the comments section below.