Solid-state drives (SSD) are one of the recent innovations in the world of computer hardware. As far as upgrades go, RAM and SSDs are some of the most high-powered data storage solutions to make your PC run faster than you ever imagine. Used in servers, desktops, and notebooks, SSDs make our devices more efficient and accessible. They vary greatly in performance, price, profile, technology, and physical form factor.
SSDs have created a wide range of possibilities for all computer users. Companies have been keeping up with data storage trends by producing the best hybrid storage solution that allows you to work harder and faster whatever amount of workloads you throw at it. This innovation uses artificial intelligence to optimize your PC while providing ultimate endurance and performance.
Considering the broad nature of SSDs, tech consumers are likely to encounter a few mistakes along the way. The market is filled with SSDs ranging from cheap, low-performance drives to costly, high endurance drives. No wonder why many of its users are facing challenges when considering their immediate needs, budget, performance specs, and market availability. That being said, we’ve compiled the three most common pitfalls when buying SSDs.
Mistake #1: Confusing enterprise-grade drives with consumer-grade ones
Although this may sound simple, many users are making a huge mistake by picking a consumer-grade drive over an enterprise-grade product. Their reason varies from name recognition, price, availability, and rip-and-replace strategy. Unfortunately, consumer-grade products often lack intensive 24/7 operations which enterprise drives possess.
During the testing process, enterprise drives go through enterprise platforms instead of desktops. Meanwhile, consumer drives may perform well initially, but you will soon discover that they are not compatible with long-burn enterprise applications.
A low-cost purchase may appear cost-efficient, but it can be very dangerous when applied on an enterprise scale. As drives become more tailored fit for applications, they are likely to encounter technical issues when used outside their typical environment. With a consumer drive, it is almost impossible to receive direct support from the manufacturer when running into technical issues.
Mistake #2: Choosing the wrong endurance range
Tech users have a habit of using old methodologies in evaluating the use intensity that they end up overestimating their write needs. In reality, selecting the best endurance range for enterprise applications can make a difference in the BOM (bill of material) pricing of their system.
Some environments go beyond the read/write-intensive. An application that can do more than just read vs writing (e.g., database warehousing or video streaming service) doesn’t need a high-write endurance drive. Buying one means paying for a product you don’t really need. The same goes when buying read-intensive drives for a caching service or database logging. Considering its write-intensive activities, this technique is not considered optimal.
Drive endurance is also at stake when choosing between a full capacity drive and an overprovisioned (OP) drive. You lose performance if you get the full capacity at 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB. Once it reaches 90% capacity, you need to erase the data completely and write it again. As a result, this will affect the latency and random read/write, causing huge performance dips. An OP drive will allow the deletion and rewriting actions to occur on a clean slate since the clean-up takes place in overprovisioned areas leading to nonimpact performance of the application.
Mistake #3: Buying SSDs from unreliable brands
Users often make the mistake of buying data storage in online marketplaces or e-commerce platforms to find the cheapest option. But here’s a fact: you only get what you pay for when buying at unreliable sources. If you’re looking for enterprise-grade products, it makes sense to buy in brands with a great reputation in the tech market.
E-commerce retailers such as Amazon have a wide range of off-brand devices that can easily trick you because of their cheap price. What you’re not aware of is there’s no certainty if you’re buying exactly what you assume they are.
Manufacturers and channel resellers assign teams that will help customers find the best option for their application needs. They also offer commercially available off-the-shelf products while offering engineering-level support in case something goes wrong. You may find this helpful if you’re looking for a custom build product and you need someone to educate you about specific limitations of the system, such as data strain, application-specific constraints, and working environments.
In the end, buying the cheapest off-brand drive is self-defeating because you’ll likely spend more as you repeatedly replace your consumer drive when faced with issues. Buying in reputable brands means having access to enterprise-grade drives that offer ultimate performance, longevity, and direct engineering support. Having direct communication with your SSD supplier will give you peace of mind to prevent supply issues and solve unforeseen problems immediately.
Now that you’re aware of the common mistakes when buying SSDs, we hope you have learned a lot on how to avoid them. It’s easy to just grab any product off the store, but taking the time to research and understand your storage and performance needs will help you find the best SSD to serve you better in the long run.