Everywhere we keep reading that buying an SSD is a much better option than an HDD in terms of performance, which is true, however, there is a type of disk that in the short term might turn off and disappear from the Map world. We talk about the SSDSATA 2.5 inch form factor. A hardware store that in a few years you will no longer see in stores.
In the world of hardware, we have seen how many devices and components have come and gone over time. Mainly due to the fact that they have been replaced by devices that perform the same function more efficiently. An important case was SSDs in the M.2 form factor, which completely replaced the 2.5-inch form factor. Not surprisingly, few laptops come with a slot for this type of unit, which in most cases isn’t even used.
Why Will SATA SSD Disappear?
We don’t want to call bad weather, but things are as they are, but we have to give arguments for that.
- They take up more space on a laptop’s motherboard than an M.2 SSD.
- Its bandwidth is lower, 6Gbps which is the limit of SATA port, look at the lowercase b, which means it can transmit 10 times less data in the same time than one with PCIe interface.
- Storage isn’t cheaper on a SATA SSD than on an M.2. The memory chips are the same, what changes is the interface.
- No application uses the capacities of a SATA SSD, on the other hand, with DirectStorage we will see how M.2 SSDs can be used in games and multimedia creation applications.
- All current laptops have a replaceable M.2 drive and an additional slot of the same type. The same can be said for motherboards.
Although for older laptops, replacing the DVD drive or hard drive with a SATA SSD is a good idea to improve their performance, gradually there will be fewer laptops capable of mounting them. In the end, they will be a niche component located between two worlds. Not fast enough and not enough storage capacity. Players of everything, masters of nothing.
It is a standard that has continued to evolve
The controller of a SATA SSD does not require much power to transmit data from disk to RAM. This is peculiar if we take into account that one of an NVMe will manage several between 4 and 20 times more data in the same amount of time. Therefore, despite the annual launch of models with more capacity, its technology is stagnating.
As if that weren’t enough, USB 3.1 and higher drives have already surpassed them in bandwidth for a long time and can be used on any system. Unsurprisingly, SATA SSDs will soon be replaced by USB SSDs, with the same performance and much more in line with people’s needs.
