Flash Storage VS SSD: Which One Is Better and Which One to Choose [MiniTool Tips]

Many people are confused about the difference between flash storage and SSD. They are related but different. This post introduces more information on flash storage vs SSD. After reading that, maybe you can know which one is better and which one to choose.

Review of Flash Storage and SSD

First, let’s take a review of flash storage and SSD.

What Is Flash Storage

Definition

Flash storage is any type of drive, storage library, or system that uses flash memory to retain data for a longer period. It is a silicon chip-based storage medium that can be written or erased electrically. Today, flash storage is common in small computing devices and large enterprise storage systems.

Advantages

• It has a fast speed.
• It’s easy to rewrite.
• It can be used to make drives with no moving parts, hence, it’s not easy to be damaged.
• It is non-volatile, which means it will retain the information it stores even if the power is turned off.

Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage of flash storage is that the price of it is very high.

What Is SSD

Definition

SSD represents a solid-state drive. It is a storage drive composed entirely of memory chips. Most SSDs currently on the market use flash storage as their storage medium. However, SSD does not necessarily have to use flash storage as its storage medium. The relationship between flash memory and SSD is similar to that between CD and CD drive.

Advantages

• SSD don’t have moving parts, so it's fast.
• No data is overwritten in SSD.
• SSD uses less power.
• Since the SSD has no moving parts, there is less chance of failure, which makes the SSD reliable and durable.

Disadvantages

• SSD is expensive.
• SSD has a shorter life since its flash memory can only be used for a limited number of writes.

Flash Storage VS SSD

Flash Storage VS SSD for Type

Speaking of solid-state drive vs flash, the types of them need to be mentioned. Flash storage has 6 different types, while the SSD has 5 types. The details are as follow:

Types of Flash Storage

1. Storage array

2. SSD flash drive

3. All-flash array

4. NVMe storage

5. Hybrid flash storage

6. Hard drive storage

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Types of SSD

1. SATA SSD

2. PCIe SSD

3. M.2 SSD

4. U.2 SSD

5. NVMe SSD

Flash Storage VS SSD for Lifespan

Now, let’s see flash vs SSD for lifespan. Flash memory has a limited lifespan - the number of times that a block can be erased and rewritten is limited. What’s worse, as NAND flash memory becomes denser and denser with the application of multi-layer cell technology, the number of times will drop sharply.

Different from flash storage, there is no limit to the number of block reads on the SSD. The lifespan of SSD is usually measured by TBW (Total Bytes Written). For example, a 2 TB Intel 660p SSD will be rated for 400 TB if it adopts 3D QLC NAND; a 2 TB Intel 760p SSD will be rated for 1152 TB if it adopts 3D TLC NAND.

Also see: How to Know Your SSD's Lifespan and How to Increase Its Life

Flash Storage VS SSD for Usage

The next aspect is flash memory vs SSD for usage. Flash storage also be used for many other purposes. For example, phones, laptops, digital cameras and camcorders, memory cards, USB memory sticks, calculators, medical equipment, and even some digital toys use flash memory. SSD can be used on PC, laptop. Thus, flash storage has a wide use than SSD.

Flash Storage VS SSD for Performance and Capacity

Here is flash storage vs SSD for performance and capacity. When installed in a single PCI-E slot, the flash storage read speed is approximately 1100MB/s and the write speed is 975MB/s. The flash storage capacity can vary from 256GB to 3TB or even more.

SSD read speed is about 550 MB/s and the write speed is 520/s. SSD capacity can vary from 4Tb to 16TB or even more. The common consumer SSD capacities are 128GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. Maybe, you are interested in this post - How Much SSD Storage Do You Need? – Get Answer Now.

Flash Storage VS SSD for Price

Then, I will introduce solid-state drive vs flash storage for price. Flash storage devices are emerging products. Although they are essentially solid-state drives, their performance has been greatly improved compared with similar products with limited SATA. This increase in performance does increase costs. SSD is cheaper than flash storage.

Flash Storage VS SSD for Future

This part is about flash storage vs SSD for future. Although most SSDs today use 3D TLC NAND-based flash storage, the rapid development of non-volatile memory express (NVMe), structure-based NVMe (NVMe-oF), and storage-class memory (SCM) technologies have provided huge opportunities for data centers.

As for SSD, manufacturers are continuing to find new alternatives to flash storage for it. One of the most promising products is 3D Xpoint, but it is also expensive. Other possible flash storage alternatives for SSD include spin-transfer torque RAM (STT-RAM), resistive RAM (ReRAM), and phase-change memory (PCM or PRAM).

Which One to Choose

Just now, I have introduced information on flash storage vs SSD from the different aspects. Now, you may wonder which one to choose.

SSD devices will continue to see growth in speed and capacity, as well as lower prices in the future. If you have a limited budget, you can use an HDD to store internal capacity and attach a smaller SSD (preferably on a PCI-E slot) to store your system and applications. Then, your application will perform well and you can still store large amounts of data.

If you are caring about performance, flash memory is always the best choice. PCI-E-based flash storage provides unparalleled speed, 10 times faster than traditional HDD drives. Similarly, if you want performance but a lower budget, choose a smaller flash memory device and then combine it with a larger SSD or HDD.

To sum up, if you want to use a reasonable price to choose one, SSD is suitable for you. If you pursue high performance, then, you can choose flash storage.

Flash Storage & SSD: Which Is More Suitable For You

How much do you know about the flash storage and SSD? The following content will discuss them respectively.

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How to Migrate System to SSD

If you choose SSD and want to migrate your system to it to get better performance, then you can use the professional backup tool - MiniTool ShadowMaker to do that. It is a professional backup program that can be used to back up the operating system, disk, partition, file, and folder. Besides, it is a user-friendly program to protect your computer and data.

It has other features – Sync, Restore, and Clone Disk. MiniTool ShadowMaker also supports restore Windows backup to a different PC with dissimilar hardware. This post - How Can You Do Windows Backup Restore to Different Computer can help you do that.

Now, let’s see how to migrate your operating system to SSD with MiniTool ShadowMaker’s Clone Disk feature.

Step 1: Insert your SSD to your computer. Install and launch MiniTool ShadowMaker.

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Step 2: Launch it to get into the main interface.

Step 3: Go to the Tools page and then click the Clone Disk feature.

Step 4: Then, click Source to choose the source disk. Here, you need to choose the original system disk as the clone source and click Finish to continue.

Step 5: Click the Destination part to choose a target disk. Here, you need to choose the inserted SSD as the target disk. Then click Finish to continue.

Step 6: After you have confirmed the source disk and the target disk, click OK to continue. Then you will receive a warning message that tells you all data on the target disk will be destroyed during the disk cloning process. Then click Yes to continue.

Step 7: MiniTool ShadowMaker will begin to clone your system to SSD, and you should never interrupt the disk clone process until it is finished.

Step 8: When the disk clone process is completed, you will receive a message which tells you that the source disk and the target disk have the same signature. If both of them are connected to the computer, either of them will be marked as offline. So, you need to remove the original system disk from your computer.

After all the steps have been done, you have successfully migrated your system to SSD without reinstalling the operating system and losing your data.

Bottom Line

In this post, you have got some information about flash storage vs SSD. Then, you know the answer to this question - which one should you choose. Besides, if you want to clone system to SSD without reinstalling OS, MiniTool ShadowMaker is a helpful tool.

If you have any other ideas about the differences between flash storage and SSD or any question related to MiniTool software, please leave a comment or contact [email protected] and we will reply to you as soon as possible.

Flash Storage VS SSD FAQ