SSDs are hardly a brand new product at the present time, and but, they’re nonetheless the topic of many myths that ought to have died off round a decade in the past. And actually, that is me being beneficiant.
It is attention-grabbing that SSDs proceed to be so polarizing. Positive, they are a mainstay in shopper electronics as of late, to the purpose the place I can not think about any system definitely worth the cash being bought with out SSD storage, however even then, there are such a lot of misconceptions round SSDs. Let’s clear them up.
Most SSD myths haven’t any enterprise present in 2026
Some recommendation acquired caught within the flawed decade
When SSDs first began exhibiting up in shopper PCs, the variety of misconceptions surrounding these new, ultra-fast drives was by way of the roof. I get it. Most individuals do not love change, and when one thing is as costly as a PC, you actually simply wish to be sure to can belief it. I think that AIO coolers get a foul rap for that precise motive, too.
As soon as a rule will get handed round sufficient, folks simply take it at face worth with out questioning whether or not it solely utilized to older variations of the identical {hardware} or whether or not it was ever true to start with.
Quiz
8 Questions · Take a look at Your Data
Bizarre and quirky storage drives
Trivia problem
From hybrid SSHDs to weird kind components — how effectively do you actually know the oddest corners of storage know-how?
Hybrid DrivesType ElementsHistorical past{Hardware}Oddities
Start
What does the acronym SSHD stand for within the context of hybrid storage drives?
AStrong State Laborious DriveBStrong State Hybrid DriveCSequential Storage Excessive-DensityDStatic Spinning Laborious Disk
Appropriate! SSHD stands for Strong State Hybrid Drive. These drives mix a conventional spinning laborious disk with a small quantity of NAND flash reminiscence to speed up incessantly accessed knowledge, giving customers a center floor between HDD capability and SSD-like pace.
Not fairly — SSHD stands for Strong State Hybrid Drive. Whereas ‘Strong State Laborious Drive’ sounds convincing, it is really a standard false impression. The ‘hybrid’ half is essential, since these drives merge each spinning magnetic platters and flash reminiscence right into a single unit.
Proceed
Which firm is broadly credited with popularizing the buyer SSHD by releasing the Momentus XT in 2010?
AWestern DigitalBToshibaCSeagateDSamsung
Appropriate! Seagate’s Momentus XT was a landmark product that introduced the SSHD idea to mainstream customers. It mixed a 500GB spinning platter with 4GB of SLC NAND flash and used adaptive reminiscence know-how to be taught which knowledge to cache for quicker entry.
Not fairly — it was Seagate that popularized the buyer SSHD with its Momentus XT in 2010. The drive used a modest 4GB of SLC NAND flash alongside a conventional 500GB platter, and it was groundbreaking sufficient to show many heads within the fanatic storage neighborhood.
Proceed
What was uncommon in regards to the Intel Optane Reminiscence H10, launched in 2019?
AIt mixed a 3D XPoint Optane cache with a QLC NAND SSD on a single M.2 cardBIt used a spinning platter alongside Optane reminiscence in a 2.5-inch chassisCIt was the primary drive to make use of PCIe 5.0 alongside SATA flash storageDIt embedded Optane reminiscence straight right into a USB thumb drive casing
Appropriate! The Intel Optane Reminiscence H10 crammed each 3D XPoint Optane cache and QLC NAND storage onto a single M.2 2280 card. This meant the Optane portion acted as a super-fast buffer for the slower QLC NAND, all inside one slot — a genuinely intelligent hybrid method for skinny laptops.
Not fairly. The Intel Optane Reminiscence H10 was uncommon as a result of it positioned 3D XPoint Optane cache and QLC NAND SSD storage collectively on one M.2 card. This dual-storage-on-one-stick design was extremely unconventional and required particular Intel RST drivers to perform accurately, making it a unusual product certainly.
Proceed
The Sony Microvault and related tiny USB drives as soon as got here in novelty shapes like meals gadgets and cartoon characters. What’s the technical time period for this class of novelty drives?
APromotional flash drivesBSwag drivesCDesigner USBsDCustomized-molded drives
Appropriate! The trade time period mostly used is ‘promotional flash drives.’ They’re broadly produced as branded giveaways and collectibles, molded into nearly any form possible — from sushi rolls to rubber geese. Some uncommon novelty drives have change into real collector’s gadgets over time.
Not fairly — essentially the most well known trade time period for novelty-shaped USB drives is ‘promotional flash drives.’ These quirky drives are manufactured in bulk for advertising campaigns and giveaways, and the moldable casings imply producers have produced the whole lot from mini pizza slices to tiny LEGO-style bricks.
Proceed
Apple’s Fusion Drive, launched in 2012, is a sort of hybrid storage. How does it differ from a conventional SSHD?
AIt makes use of proprietary Apple flash chips soldered on to the HDD circuit boardBIt combines a separate SSD and HDD right into a single logical quantity managed by software programCIt’s a single bodily unit with flash embedded in the identical enclosure because the platterDIt caches solely the working system boot information utilizing a devoted firmware controller
Appropriate! Apple’s Fusion Drive is 2 separate bodily drives — an SSD and an HDD — that macOS presents as a single unified quantity utilizing Core Storage (later APFS). In contrast to an SSHD the place the whole lot is in a single enclosure, Fusion Drive depends fully on software-level administration to determine what lives on the flash and what goes on the platter.
Not fairly. The important thing distinction is that Apple’s Fusion Drive consists of two separate bodily drives — an SSD and an HDD — merged into one logical quantity by macOS software program. A standard SSHD is a single self-contained unit with its personal firmware controller managing the flash cache, making them architecturally fairly completely different regardless of attaining related objectives.
Proceed
What was the first function of the Robson cache know-how Intel developed earlier than finally pivoting towards SSDs?
ATo make use of a small NAND chip on the motherboard to speed up laborious drive efficiencyBTo embed flash reminiscence inside RAM DIMMs for quicker boot occasionsCTo create a PCIe-attached SSD that might cache optical disc knowledgeDTo make use of CPU-integrated storage for caching OS web page information
Appropriate! Intel’s Robson know-how — which grew to become Intel Turbo Reminiscence — positioned a small NAND flash cache on a mini-PCIe card inside laptops to hurry up laborious drive entry. It labored alongside Home windows ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive however was largely underwhelming in real-world efficiency, and the undertaking was quietly shelved as SSDs took over.
Not fairly. Intel’s Robson/Turbo Reminiscence know-how used a small NAND flash chip on a mini-PCIe card to cache laborious drive knowledge on laptops. It leveraged Home windows Vista’s ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive options however by no means lived as much as the hype, and it was finally deserted as standalone SSDs grew to become cheaper and much more practical.
Proceed
The iomega Zip drive was a well-liked detachable storage medium within the late Nineties. What was the unique storage capability of the primary Zip disks launched in 1994?
A250MBB100MBC750MBD50MB
Appropriate! The unique Iomega Zip disk launched in 1994 with a 100MB capability, which was monumental in comparison with the 1.44MB floppy disks it aimed to exchange. Later iterations pushed capability to 250MB and even 750MB, however the unique 100MB model was the one which captured the creativeness of customers and artistic professionals alike.
Not fairly — the primary Iomega Zip disks launched in 1994 held 100MB, a staggering quantity on the time when commonplace floppy disks solely held 1.44MB. Later variations expanded to 250MB and 750MB, nevertheless it was that unique 100MB capability that made the Zip drive a cultural phenomenon in places of work and design studios all through the late Nineties.
Proceed
Western Digital’s Black² drive was a unusual dual-drive product launched round 2013. What made it so uncommon?
AIt contained each a 120GB SSD and a 1TB HDD in a single commonplace 2.5-inch kind issueBIt used twin spinning platters rotating in reverse instructions to cut back vibrationCIt featured two separate SATA connectors, one for flash and one for the platterDIt mixed SSD storage with a built-in PCIe controller on a 2.5-inch board
Appropriate! Western Digital’s Black² squeezed a 120GB SSD and a full 1TB HDD right into a single 2.5-inch, 9.5mm-thick drive — the identical dimension as a normal laptop computer laborious drive. The catch was that it required particular WD software program to unlock the HDD portion, and it appeared as two separate drives to the working system quite than one seamless quantity.
Not fairly — the Western Digital Black² was outstanding as a result of it packed a 120GB SSD and a 1TB HDD into one commonplace 2.5-inch laptop-sized enclosure. Unusually, customers needed to set up WD’s personal software program to unlock and entry the HDD portion, and the 2 storage sections appeared as separate drives quite than being merged transparently like Apple’s Fusion Drive.
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Strive Once more
One other downside is that folks nonetheless speak about SSDs as in the event that they’re all principally the identical, and that could not be farther from the reality. There is a huge chasm between an inexpensive, previous SSD and a high-end Gen 5 drive. These discrepancies, mixed with a normal lack of awareness about how SSDs work, can lead to some attention-grabbing misconceptions.
6 SSD myths that basically ought to lastly die off
Critically, sufficient with the misinformation
Credit score: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
A few of these so-called myths are insignificant. Others are fully misguided. A technique or one other, listed here are the myths I hear time and time once more, they usually’re all centered round SSDs.
1. You have to defrag SSDs
Keep in mind the way you used to must defrag HDDs, and it really felt prefer it did one thing? Defragmentation mattered for HDDS as a result of information scattered throughout a spinning disk may sluggish entry occasions, however SSDs haven’t any shifting elements and do not undergo from the identical downside. You needn’t defrag an SSD.
2. Filling an SSD as much as full will kill it
No, filling your SSD all the way in which to 100% will not kill it right away, however your drive will not thanks for it, both. I suppose it is a half-myth within the sense {that a} practically full SSD can positively carry out worse, particularly throughout write-heavy duties. SSDs work greatest once they have some free house to handle background duties like put on leveling and rubbish assortment.
7/10
Storage capability
1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB
This is an SSD that is as dependable as it’s quick. I personal two of those, and actually, I do fill them up a bit of an excessive amount of, however they proceed to run like new.
3. SSDs are much less dependable than HDDs
Credit score: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
Folks nonetheless typically speak about SSDs as in the event that they’re fragile as a result of they fail otherwise. It is true that an SSD can fail at 100% well being, however that does not make them much less dependable by default. HDDs have shifting elements, which makes them extra inclined to mechanical failure, whereas SSDs keep away from that fully. Each can fail, as can any piece of tech at any given time.
4. TLC is nice, and QLC is dangerous
Triple-level cell (TLCs) are usually higher suited to heavier sustained writes, nevertheless it’s not like quad-level cell (QLC) SSDs are fully ineffective. A well-made QLC drive could make excellent sense in the appropriate position, though they’re much less dependable than TLCs, which is why I would not belief them with my solely backup copy of a file I care about.
5. You want a Gen5 SSD in a contemporary PC
All SSDs are costly now, together with older PCIe Gen 3 drives, which is why it is tempting to go forward and splurge on a Gen 5 drive. I get it, and go forward and do it if you wish to, however you virtually actually do not want to. The day-to-day distinction between a superb Gen 4 drive and a Gen 5 equal is commonly negligible if you do not have a workload that genuinely wants these greater switch speeds.
6. DRAM-less SSDs are junk
Credit score: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
DRAM-less SSDs aren’t robotically junk, however they’re extra depending on the standard of the controller, firmware, and the position you are tasking them with. DRAM-less drive can nonetheless be completely tremendous for gaming, normal use, or secondary storage.
SSDs are each higher and worse than some folks say
All of it relies on selecting the one which works greatest for you
Credit score: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
If we go by a few of these misconceptions, we’re left with a bizarre mishmash of fear-mongering and exaggeration. The fact, as is commonly the case, lies someplace smack dab within the center: SSDs aren’t the unreliable, insecure units that some painting them to be, however they’re additionally not some sort of necessity. Properly, even that comes with a bit of caveat: they’re very a lot a necessity, however you completely do not want a PCIe Gen 5 SSD exterior of some ultra-specific workloads.
Belief opinions, not advertising
The easiest way to search out out about how effectively a specific SSD performs and whether or not you may belief it or not is to lookup respected opinions of that individual mannequin. Even then, do not focus an excessive amount of on benchmarks, as these might be deceptive. I wish to learn and/or watch a number of opinions earlier than making a purchase order in order that I do know I am getting a well-rounded view of a specific drive.
