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How to choose an SSD after understanding the difference between SLC, MLC, TLC, QLC, and PLC?


When we talk about computer speed, the focus is on some of the main components that affect the speed of the computer mainly, and the most important of these components is hard disk, and there are several types of hard drives that differ among themselves in terms of speed, storage space, price, etc., and if your goal is to obtain The hard disk is the speed, so choosing a strong SSD is sure to be the best fit for you.


But when you choose an SSD, you will find in front of you many strange terms and symbols that you may not know their meaning, such as MLC, TLC, SLC and so on, and in fact these are different types of SSD, which means that each of them distinguishes it from others, which is What makes each type of them suitable for a specific use, and below we offer you to explain to you the advantages of these types and how to choose the appropriate type from among them, but before that let's get acquainted with some important terms that help to understand these types well.


We previously explained the difference between modern SSD NVMe PCIE hard drives, which are better and more advanced than SSD Sata, and today we delve more into some terms that explain how SSDs of various types work and what technology they depend on in writing and reading data.

What is NAND Flash?


Hard drives depend on the NAND Flash storage unit, which stores data in cells where each cell has a bit or a group of bits, and it is recorded in the storage device as 0 or 1, so it is the hard disk that stores fewer bits in A single cell will be very fast, but it will come with a smaller storage space and a higher price, and vice versa as well.

What is Terabytes Written (TBWs)?


Usually each hard drive has a certain strength or durability, and it can be similar to its lifetime, which is the amount of hard consumption. TBWs are terabyte units that can be written to the drive before it becomes corrupted, for example if there is a 100 terabyte hard drive, this means that after writing 100 terabytes of data on this hard disk it will be corrupted, and this can happen within 5 years In the event that 54 GB of data is written daily to the hard disk, of course there is no normal user who writes this amount of data daily.


The Samsung 860 Evo hard drive is one of the types of SSD, and it is a very distinctive hard drive from Samsung, and the 500 GB model comes with a durability of 1200 terabytes, and this of course is a very huge number so this drive is supposed to work for a large number of years without any problems arising in the hard drive Or damage it.

Types of SSD hard


With the previous paragraph, you will have understood how to choose a suitable SSD after calculating the warranty period for use, and now let's go to identify the types of SSD hard drives and the technology used in their manufacture and what is appropriate for the user or companies

Type 1: Single-Level Cell (SLC) SSDs


We start by talking about SLC single-cell SSD hard drives, and in this type one bit is written on each cell (in the form of 0 or 1), and this of course is not considered a large number, but rather it is the least compared to other types, except that it provides many advantages in hards SLC SSDs, one of which is speed. So it can be said that among the types of hard drives, SSDs are the fastest and among the types of SSDs, SLC is the fastest computer hard disk.


One of the most important advantages of this type (SLC) is that it is less prone to errors and data loss as it has great durability, and this makes SLC suitable for organizations, companies, etc., where the data and files on the hard disk are more secure for a long time.


However, SLC hard drives have some disadvantages, including their very high prices compared to other types. For example, on the Amazon global purchase site, there is a 128 GB SLC SSD and its price is the same as the TLC NAND hard drive with a storage capacity of 1 TB!

Type 2: dual-level Multi-Level Cell (MLC) SSDs


Dual-level MLC SSDs record 2 bits on each cell, and this makes them slower than SLC hard drives, because they take longer to write 2 bits and are considered less durable as they write more data to a NAND flash than SLC hard drives, but What sets the MLC Hard Disk apart is its ability to have a larger capacity of up to 1 TB with relatively affordable rates.

Type III: Triple-Layer Cell (TLC) SSDs


This type writes three bits on a single cell, and although it is considered slower and less durable, the most important thing that distinguishes it is its very economical price, especially when compared to the previous two types, and this is what made TLC hards currently the most popular and used among other types. You are looking for the lowest price, in fact, TLC SSDs will be the best for you, even though their speeds are low, they are still considered good, and despite their low tolerance, they last for several years well.

Type 4: Quad-Level Cell (QLC) SSDs


QLC (quadruple) may be the best types of SSDs, especially in the future after developing them more than they are now, and QLC works to provide the most important general advantages of hard drives, including the appropriate price and good performance with large storage capacity, however, one of the most important disadvantages of these Hardd so far is durability which is very low compared to the previous type Triple TLC.


One of the types of quad hard drives is the Crucial P1 QLC NVMe, which is considered in the middle class, it received a durability rating of 100 terabytes for the 500 GB model, and the rating of 200 terabytes in the 1 TB model, this is very low than the TLC, but it is still good for normal use And at a cheap price.

Type 5: Penta-Level Cell (PLC) SSDs


This type of disk is not available in the market yet, but it is expected to appear soon, as some companies such as Toshiba and Intel referred to it in late 2019, and of course it is expected that these hard drives will be able to store more data compared to the previous types, but this will It is at the expense of the speed and performance of the hard disk as it stores 5 bits in a single cell, and it is expected that its carrying capacity is less than the previous types.















 

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