>We should see the first 19nm/20nm based SSDs this year, but keep in mind these aren't dramatically different architecturally from the 24/25nm parts on the market today.
I -and I suspect most consumers- don't want more performance compared to current generation SSDs, but hopefully these NAND flash will be will be more economical per gigabyte. And thus result in cheaper SSDs.
Moving to a smaller process node does not result in an immediate price drop. The R&D behind a die shrink isn't exactly cheap and yields will be lower at first. Once the process has matured and the supply is good, prices start to fall.
I would say the decline in NAND prices is pretty linear, although I don't have any concrete data to support that. However, overnight price drops are unlikely.
I would rather keep the current pricing than accept a reduction in program/erase cycles. I don't care what Intel says, smaller node processes result in fewer p/e cycles.
They might improve the write amplification to compensate for the decreased write cycles, but in general you can expect a decrease in life expectancy as the flash gets smaller.
But so far p/e cycles haven't been the factor limiting getting these things in people's hands. It's been price and controller reliability.
I'm pretty sure that while p/e cycles have gone down with each step down to a smaller cell size, price has gone greatly down, longevity based on p/e cycles has never been an issue in the consumer marketplace, and the controllers have managed to compensate for the decreased p/e cycles by using algorithms that decrease the amount of writes that are actually made to the NAND. Hence, the term wear leveling (http://www.google.com/search?q=wear%20leveling%20w... The idea, as Anand has clearly illustrated in his many SSD articles, is that the controller compresses the data and also works to minimize the write amplification that would occur as each block is moved and re-written.
Overall, improve tech via controller. Decrease cost via MLC and decreasing cell size (x nm). And each gen. we end up with larger, faster, cheaper, more reliable SSDs.
With these new 19nm/20nm drives coming out would it be best advised to wait to get one of these new SSD's or are the ones on market today reliable enough and worth the money?
I recently picked up a 120GB SATA 6G ADATA for about $100 after MIR (107GB formatted). The drive itself has been far more stable than my last OCZ on my Sandy Bridge system.
If you can afford spending $100-$150 on a new drive and don't absolutely need more space, wait for a special and go for it.
If you want to wait for the new drives, don't expect them to drop prices right away. Retailers are not going to bring them in at a lower price point than they think the people interested in buying them are going to pay. We're only now seeing the price drop thanks to the 25/28nm processes. Like before, you're more likely to see the new SSDs in OEM solutions (Windows 8 laptops and tablets specifically, where volume pricing really matters) before having a wide impact on the price of SSDs in the builder/enthusiast market.
From the reviews i have read,everyone is always mentioning reliability and stablility of SSD's. Are HDD far more stable and reliable? I want the faster drive for loading large CAD files but also will need the reliability of never loosing those files.
They're wacko and paranoid, just like they are when it comes to power supplies, always over recommending wattage and build quality - just like they are when it comes to a simple intel ICHR raid zero stripe, rest assured it's almost 100% insano hype.
Get the SSD, and yes, get the sata 6, not some crappy sata 2 save me a penny model.
The whole internet went absolutely wacko about SSD's for a few years, then finally even Anand had enough of it and pointed out you need 100 years to croak out the ram with regular home use.
This is what the "experts" all around us on the internet do - it's all hyper sensationalism, and plenty of fibs and lies.
SSD drives should outlast hard drives however they're still relatively new tech and, as such, there have been some issues with the controllers over the past few years - leading to reliability issues.
As Anand has stated, certain SSDs, or more correctly, certain SSD manufacturers have been more reliable than others. Particularly, Intel and Samsung have been reliable in the consumer market and Samsung and Toshiba have been reliable and OEM market. The SandForce drivers have been noted to cause controller issues and require firmware updates. OCZ has been known for rushing their product to market without adequate validation; apparently for the purpose of always having the fastest drive on the market.
With all that in mind, all hard drives and solid-state drives prone to failure, particularly when they are your OS drive, and all data should be backed up regularly.
Any SSD will load things ridiculously faster than a hard drive, so just go with the most reliable SSD and a good storage backup plan.
I don't think you'll want to wait around for the new 20 nm NAND to arrive.
First off, these things take time.
Secondly, you want the product to have been on the market for a few months before it can be considered reliable.
So, you'd be better off buying one of the technologies that's already been tested like an Intel 520 or Samsung 830 than waiting for the companies develop these new NANDs.
Also, as LordConrad alluded to, smaller nodes generally have less ability to hold a charge over time and therefore wear out over fewer program recycles.
Now, I'm sure that Intel would have some way to compensate for this in the controller or via over provisioning but the NAND itself would still only be being used because it's less expensive (more NAND per silicone wafer) not because it's higher tech. It could also help lead to more affordable NAND, on a per gigabyte basis, as all the other nanometer architecture changes have. This is also why consumer level SSDs use MLC NAND as opposed to SLC, as enterprise SSDs do. Similarly, it offers less drive-longevity and performance but at a cheaper price.
> but also will need the reliability of never loosing those files.
The only way to assure that kind of reliability is to backup early, backup often, backup at different places and on idfferent media. And oh, test those backups to ensure they actually restore.
SSD reliability depends on which manufacturer and product line you buy into. Intel drives are excellent (but pricey), OCZ is at the other extreme.
Might be new for Sandforce, but my G.Skill rebranded samsung drive has usb. I've been surprised more drive makers haven't included USB, as it's been great to have on my samsung.
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20 Comments
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meloz - Friday, June 8, 2012 - link
>We should see the first 19nm/20nm based SSDs this year, but keep in mind these aren't dramatically different architecturally from the 24/25nm parts on the market today.I -and I suspect most consumers- don't want more performance compared to current generation SSDs, but hopefully these NAND flash will be will be more economical per gigabyte. And thus result in cheaper SSDs.
drumm_22 - Friday, June 8, 2012 - link
Will they be more stable? And how much longer will they last if they even last longer?Kristian Vättö - Friday, June 8, 2012 - link
Moving to a smaller process node does not result in an immediate price drop. The R&D behind a die shrink isn't exactly cheap and yields will be lower at first. Once the process has matured and the supply is good, prices start to fall.I would say the decline in NAND prices is pretty linear, although I don't have any concrete data to support that. However, overnight price drops are unlikely.
drumm_22 - Friday, June 8, 2012 - link
how much longer do you think before these new SSD's will drop in price?LordConrad - Saturday, June 9, 2012 - link
I would rather keep the current pricing than accept a reduction in program/erase cycles. I don't care what Intel says, smaller node processes result in fewer p/e cycles.drumm_22 - Saturday, June 9, 2012 - link
SO are you saying that these smaller node processes will result in SSD's that wont last as long?Nihility - Saturday, June 9, 2012 - link
They might improve the write amplification to compensate for the decreased write cycles, but in general you can expect a decrease in life expectancy as the flash gets smaller.phillyry - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
See above.phillyry - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
But so far p/e cycles haven't been the factor limiting getting these things in people's hands. It's been price and controller reliability.I'm pretty sure that while p/e cycles have gone down with each step down to a smaller cell size, price has gone greatly down, longevity based on p/e cycles has never been an issue in the consumer marketplace, and the controllers have managed to compensate for the decreased p/e cycles by using algorithms that decrease the amount of writes that are actually made to the NAND. Hence, the term wear leveling (http://www.google.com/search?q=wear%20leveling%20w... The idea, as Anand has clearly illustrated in his many SSD articles, is that the controller compresses the data and also works to minimize the write amplification that would occur as each block is moved and re-written.
Overall, improve tech via controller. Decrease cost via MLC and decreasing cell size (x nm). And each gen. we end up with larger, faster, cheaper, more reliable SSDs.
drumm_22 - Friday, June 8, 2012 - link
With these new 19nm/20nm drives coming out would it be best advised to wait to get one of these new SSD's or are the ones on market today reliable enough and worth the money?Paul Tarnowski - Friday, June 8, 2012 - link
I recently picked up a 120GB SATA 6G ADATA for about $100 after MIR (107GB formatted). The drive itself has been far more stable than my last OCZ on my Sandy Bridge system.If you can afford spending $100-$150 on a new drive and don't absolutely need more space, wait for a special and go for it.
If you want to wait for the new drives, don't expect them to drop prices right away. Retailers are not going to bring them in at a lower price point than they think the people interested in buying them are going to pay. We're only now seeing the price drop thanks to the 25/28nm processes. Like before, you're more likely to see the new SSDs in OEM solutions (Windows 8 laptops and tablets specifically, where volume pricing really matters) before having a wide impact on the price of SSDs in the builder/enthusiast market.
drumm_22 - Saturday, June 9, 2012 - link
From the reviews i have read,everyone is always mentioning reliability and stablility of SSD's. Are HDD far more stable and reliable? I want the faster drive for loading large CAD files but also will need the reliability of never loosing those files.Oxford Guy - Saturday, June 9, 2012 - link
"but also will need the reliability of never loosing those files."Backup.
CeriseCogburn - Monday, June 11, 2012 - link
They're wacko and paranoid, just like they are when it comes to power supplies, always over recommending wattage and build quality - just like they are when it comes to a simple intel ICHR raid zero stripe, rest assured it's almost 100% insano hype.Get the SSD, and yes, get the sata 6, not some crappy sata 2 save me a penny model.
The whole internet went absolutely wacko about SSD's for a few years, then finally even Anand had enough of it and pointed out you need 100 years to croak out the ram with regular home use.
This is what the "experts" all around us on the internet do - it's all hyper sensationalism, and plenty of fibs and lies.
phillyry - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
SSD drives should outlast hard drives however they're still relatively new tech and, as such, there have been some issues with the controllers over the past few years - leading to reliability issues.As Anand has stated, certain SSDs, or more correctly, certain SSD manufacturers have been more reliable than others. Particularly, Intel and Samsung have been reliable in the consumer market and Samsung and Toshiba have been reliable and OEM market. The SandForce drivers have been noted to cause controller issues and require firmware updates. OCZ has been known for rushing their product to market without adequate validation; apparently for the purpose of always having the fastest drive on the market.
With all that in mind, all hard drives and solid-state drives prone to failure, particularly when they are your OS drive, and all data should be backed up regularly.
Any SSD will load things ridiculously faster than a hard drive, so just go with the most reliable SSD and a good storage backup plan.
phillyry - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
drumm_22,I don't think you'll want to wait around for the new 20 nm NAND to arrive.
First off, these things take time.
Secondly, you want the product to have been on the market for a few months before it can be considered reliable.
So, you'd be better off buying one of the technologies that's already been tested like an Intel 520 or Samsung 830 than waiting for the companies develop these new NANDs.
Also, as LordConrad alluded to, smaller nodes generally have less ability to hold a charge over time and therefore wear out over fewer program recycles.
Now, I'm sure that Intel would have some way to compensate for this in the controller or via over provisioning but the NAND itself would still only be being used because it's less expensive (more NAND per silicone wafer) not because it's higher tech. It could also help lead to more affordable NAND, on a per gigabyte basis, as all the other nanometer architecture changes have. This is also why consumer level SSDs use MLC NAND as opposed to SLC, as enterprise SSDs do. Similarly, it offers less drive-longevity and performance but at a cheaper price.
I hope this helps.
phillyry - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
*program/erase cycles (not recycles). Stinkin' voice dictation! ;)meloz - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
> but also will need the reliability of never loosing those files.The only way to assure that kind of reliability is to backup early, backup often, backup at different places and on idfferent media. And oh, test those backups to ensure they actually restore.
SSD reliability depends on which manufacturer and product line you buy into. Intel drives are excellent (but pricey), OCZ is at the other extreme.
ssj3gohan - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
I haven't seen a SF-2xxx with USB option before. Is this new?Thohean - Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - link
Might be new for Sandforce, but my G.Skill rebranded samsung drive has usb. I've been surprised more drive makers haven't included USB, as it's been great to have on my samsung.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...