Solid-state drives are worth the price

In an era when storage capacity on traditional hard disk drives is sold for a price closer to penny candy than high-end technological products, many question the value of solid state drives. While solid state drives are significantly faster and improve overall system performance dramatically, a 256GB SSD could be as much as two or three times as expensive as a hard disk drive.

It would be easy to see this cost comparison and think there is not any value in purchasing a solid state drive, but that assumption fails to consider the critical performance boost SSDs offer that should not be ignored by performance enthusiasts or users that frequently run many applications simultaneously. Taking advantage of the technological advances offered by SSDs, without spending too much, depends on a user's ability to work around the technology's storage capacity limitations. To accomplish this, users can either compute in such a way that they do not have to store many files, or use a dual-disk solution.

Using the cloud

There are a few ways users can accomplish the first option of managing their computing needs without saving too much data on the SSD itself. The simplest of those is to use the cloud. With cloud-based email, productivity, photo editing and video software, users can find a way to save almost everything they use on the cloud. This entails having information stored on a computer or server at the application vendor's data center. Even gamers can use the cloud, as advanced services will actually stream major releases through the internet. The same principle is also being applied to a variety of other computer services. For example, Apple recently announced plans to offer cloud-based storage options for iTunes.

The dual-drive option

For those who do not want to use the cloud for one reason or another, an SSD is still an option. By using a dual-drive system, you can take advantage of an SSD's speed for your most important applications without having to spend too much. Using two drives is relatively simple. In this configuration, you use the SSD to store the operating systems and high-performance applications that are used often. This helps them perform faster by reducing load times and letting the processor read the drive faster. Then secondary applications, files and other, less important but high-density, items get stored in the hard disk drive.

Installing both drives

To install a dual-drive setup in a desktop computer, users simply need to open both sides of the case, insert both drives into separate slots, screw them in properly and attach them to the motherboard. The instruction manual for your motherboard should have specific instructions on how to properly connect the drives to the board in a RAID configuration, which is what a dual-drive setup is typically called. When you turn the computer on, you then go to the system setup screen and assign a specific order to how the drives boot. Make sure the SSD boots first, and use the operating system to format it. After that, instructions should be available with your operating system on how to setup both drives to work in concert.

Next time you notice the price of SSDs compared to HDDs, do not let the cost prevent you from taking advantage of the new storage drive technology. Instead, work around that limitation by using the cloud or a dual-drive setup to take advantage of the SSD's performance at a price you can afford.

For more information on SSDs, visit our RAM and SSD news and information page. If you have additional questions on SSDs, RAM memory, performance memory, and gaming, visit our product information section or contact our support center. If you're ready to take the plunge, you can use our Crucial Memory Advisor™ tool or Crucial System Scanner tool.