Good day everyone, my dear friends. Today I want to tell you about how to connect a hard drive via USB to a computer or laptop. Personally, I had this question when I replaced it on my laptop, after which the old “hard” remained restless, although fully functional. Therefore, I hasten to please you. If you have such a device, then you can make an excellent mobile data storage out of it.

There is, however, one small condition. These methods are only suitable for more or less modern hard drives having an interface no lower than SATA.

USB Box (containers, pockets)

Cam Box - This is (as you understand) a certain box (plastic or metal), inside of which there is a special slot for a particular disk. Naturally, it is worth noting that there are boxes for both large HDDs (3.5) and small ones (2.5), which go under laptops.

The HDD is simply inserted into the box, and after assembly it will be no different from the usual one external hard disk. After that, you just need to insert into it USB cable and connect to your computer. This way you get double benefits:

• You bring an old device back to life and use it;
• You practically get an external HDD for free

On such media you can store any backup and archival copies, or use it in everyday life.

All the fun will cost you an average of 300-500 rubles.

Adapter (SATA-USB)

The easiest and least expensive way is to purchase a special SATA-USB adapter. The adapter itself is a cable, at one end of which there is a connector for connecting a disk, and at the other end USB port.

Well, I think you guessed what needs to be done in this case. Yes, it's simple. Connect HDD to the connector, and insert the other end into the USB port of your computer or laptop.

But it’s just worth considering that conventional HDDs (3.5) may not have enough power from one USB cable, so purchase a cable with two connectors and use them simultaneously.

Depending on the company and the quality of the product, such cables will cost you approximately 200-600 rubles.

Dock station

The most expensive, but very effective option is to purchase a docking station. These devices are somewhat reminiscent of old consoles like Dendy or Sega. The similarity is that instead of connectors for cartridges, there are connectors for HDDs. All you have to do is simply insert the hard drive into this station, and then connect it via USB to the computer.

There are such devices different types, and in many cases you will be able to work not only with one disk, but with several at once, even of different form factors (2.5 and 3.5).

The cheapest options with one device will cost you no less than 1000 rubles, or even more. More powerful stations cost 3 and 4 thousand rubles.

As you can see, there are enough ways to connect a hard drive via USB to a computer, for every taste and color. So you no longer have to leave all your devices unattended.

Well, this is where I end my article. I hope you liked it, so don't forget to subscribe to my blog updates and also share blog articles on in social networks. Good luck to you. Bye bye!

Best regards, Dmitry Kostin

Often, when working with a PC, we encounter problems that we did not expect. For example, we don't know how to connect an SSD drive to a computer. It would seem that the matter is not at all difficult, but it requires care and correct actions. Therefore, if you decide to carry components yourself or assemble a PC, then you will need to know everything about such minor difficulties.

For what?

Upgrading your computer is always a responsible matter. Not all users are ready to do this. Firstly, you need to have a good understanding of components and understand compatibility different devices, understand new products. Secondly, in addition to this, significant financial investments are needed, since the better the product, the more expensive it is accordingly.

In this case, everyone will need to learn how to connect an SSD drive to a computer. This is also necessary for those who decided to assemble a PC themselves, or for those whose hard drive “passed away.” There are a lot of instructions on this issue on the Internet, so let’s get started.

Peculiarities

Before we begin to understand this issue, we need to tell those who do not know anything about SSDs.

This solid state drive, which is a non-mechanical storage device. It is based on a memory chip. The device arrived at HDD replacement. Although it is impossible to say so unequivocally, since many experienced users prefer to install both a hard drive and a solid-state drive in their PC.

As a result, sometimes this device becomes the main one, replacing the place of the hard drive, sometimes auxiliary. In the second case, the system is loaded onto it, and personal information is stored on the hard drive.

Advantages

Now learn about how to connect an SSD drive to SATA computer, not everyone needs it, since most users still use this device in compact devices: tablets, etc.

However, it can also be installed on desktop computers, since it brings additional benefits. Most importantly, it improves system performance. Compared to traditional railways, it has received smaller size and weight and increased performance. Moreover, the speed turned out to be 6-7 times greater. Hence this high price for SSD.

In addition, solid-state drives have begun to be integrated in pairs with HDDs to form hybrid hard drives. In this case, the flash memory became occupied by a buffer. Although, as mentioned earlier, sometimes it is used as a separate free space.

In addition, noiselessness has been added to the main advantages, since the device is non-mechanical and has no moving elements. Hence the high mechanical resistance. Files are read stably, without interruptions or jumps. Reading speed is close to bandwidth interfaces.

Connection

So, how to connect an SSD to a computer? Installed using approximately the same method. Therefore, if you have ever encountered the work of a hard drive, then there will be no problems with a solid-state drive. The only difference is the dimensions. You will need to fit the smaller device into the correct slot.

Start

To start the procedure, of course, you need to turn off your PC. To be on the safe side, it is better to do it completely unplugged. Don't forget to turn off the power supply as well. Usually the button to turn it off is located on the back, on the case.

Now you need to do the following operation: press and hold the PC power button for several seconds. This is necessary so that all the current that remains on the board and in general in the entire case disappears. This way you will de-energize all circuits and ensure your safety.

Depending on your goals, the next steps may vary. But in general, the connection principle is always the same.

Let's act

To understand where to connect the SSD drive to the computer, you need to get to the case. First you need to open it. Usually it all depends on its design. But there are always small screws to remove the left panel and get to the “insides” of the PC. There are cases that may have access to the ports from the other side, so here you need to act according to the situation.

If you are new to computer chassis design, you may have problems. But if you at least know what a hard drive looks like and can find it in a metal box, then half the battle is done.

Usually the hard drive is placed in a special compartment. There may be several of them in the case. Made specifically for 3.5 inch HDD size. This is where you need to place the SSD.

Because the dimensions are a little different, being 2.5 inches, you'll have to bolt it down pretty well. They usually come with the device. Recently, slots in cases for SSDs have become increasingly common. Therefore, perhaps the task will be simplified.

When the drive is secured and well fixed, you will need to figure out how to connect the SSD drive to the computer, to motherboard. Here the matter is somewhat more complicated, since you will have to google it or figure out the interfaces.

Compound

Next you need to take the cable that came with the drive. You will find an L-shaped port on it. This is SATA. In addition to this, you must have a power cable. It usually looks like a bunch of wires.

First you need to connect the power cable to the connector from the power supply. Then we take the SATA cable and look for the right place on the motherboard. Usually there are few options. If the board has SATA III, then it is better to use this port. If this option is not available, connect to SATA II.

Now these two wires will need to be connected directly to the SSD. A power cable is placed in the wider connector, and a SATA cable is placed in the narrow connector.

Other options

Not everyone knows, but they have been releasing SSDs of the M.2 form factor for a couple of years now. Now these models are not uncommon. Many people prefer them. In addition, newfangled motherboard models began to be equipped with a special connector specifically for this form factor.

As a result, the situation led to the fact that we need to know how to connect an SSD M2 drive to a computer. It must be said right away that this model has many variations. Therefore, the connection may be slightly different. But the main point is that, unlike the previous option, we connect the solid-state drive to the “motherboard” not with wires, but with the device itself.

When you see the M.2 SSD in the photo, you will understand what the point is. It is not presented in a case, like the model described above. It is made of a small board containing memory chips. This board has special slots for installing them on the motherboard.

It is impossible to describe the connection for all cases, since there are really many options. But when you buy an M.2 SSD drive, you will have instructions that will tell you how to do it correctly.

Settings

Once you have assembled and connected everything, you can turn on the PC. While loading it, you need to call up the BIOS. You should search here AHCI mode, which is responsible for the operation of the solid-state drive.

For example, you are going to load an operating system onto an SSD. But in addition to the new drive, you already have connected hard disks. Then you will need to prioritize the devices. To do this, we put the solid-state drive first in the list. We install the ability to boot the OS from a disk or flash drive.

If you need an SSD like additional tool, then it will be enough to check that the existing railway is first in line. Otherwise, the system may simply not boot. You might want to move your OS to an SSD. In this case, after you have learned how to connect an SSD drive to a computer, you will need to perform a very extensive operation. This is a topic for another article.

Laptops

When you try all the above operations using your own example, you will realize that you even know how to connect 2 SSD drives to a computer. The main thing is that there is enough space on your motherboard.

But speaking about PCs, we need to remember that initially solid-state drives began to be widely used in laptops because they are compact. Therefore, you can additionally learn how to connect an SSD to a laptop.

Of course, it is better to consider this issue with each device model, since the cases are different, and, accordingly, the placement of the disk slot is also different.

However, the main thing is to decide where the hard drive is located in your laptop. Usually, to do this you have to turn off the device and open the bottom cover. Sometimes it is completely removable, sometimes you can unscrew the compartment panels. The railway station is usually located in one of them. If you can't find it, check your laptop's manual.

It must be said right away that HDDs in laptops are the same size as SSDs - 2.5 inches. In order to remove the hard drive, you need to not just pull it out, but first pull it to the side. It is thus attached to the power and SATA connector.

Then it's a small matter - just install the solid-state drive. Don't forget to secure it with screws. Since laptops usually have one place for a hard drive, you will have to think in advance about how you will transfer the operating system: by cloning or a new installation.

conclusions

You need to find out how to connect an SSD drive to a computer in advance, and not when you have unscrewed, unscrewed and disconnected everything. Sometimes you have to do additional settings, think in advance about the location of the OS.

The easiest way to do this is when you need a solid-state drive only as an auxiliary tool. Then you just need to connect it to another compartment and connector. If you want to make it your main one, then you need to read the instructions for cloning HDDs and SSDs, configure and think through everything in advance.

If you are assembling a PC from scratch and decided to simply instead hard drive install its fast “colleague”, do not forget to configure the connection in the BIOS. Important to install special mode and disk priority.

SSD drives (also called “solid state”) are no longer a curiosity for computer users. So how do you connect an SSD drive to your computer once you are the proud owner of it?

SSD (Solid-State Drive), which translates roughly as “solid-state storage device”, which replaces HDD (or “hard” disks, “hard drives”) is a non-mechanical memory unit based on microcircuits. Due to much higher read and write speeds, it can significantly improve the speed performance of your personal computer or laptop.

I will say right away that installing a solid-state drive is not much different from installing an HDD (“hard drive” or “hard drive”, as they are also commonly called). And if it is different, it represents a less demanding installation option. Why? Because SSD drives:

• unlike HDDs, they do not have a moving rotating element;
• due to their design, they do not heat up and do not make noise;
• smaller in size (2.5 inches versus standard 3.5 inches HDD);
• more durable and less capricious to mechanical damage.

Some SSDs, along with the disk, include a special adapter panel from 2.5 to 3.5 inches (metal or plastic), which is intended for installing the disk into a standard HDD bay. There are adapters from 2.5 to 5.25 inches, in case we want to install new disk into slots for CD/DVD drives. In some modern computer cases, manufacturers have begun to provide special slots for SSDs. If such a slot is not provided, there is no adapter included, or all disk bays (slots) are occupied, you can place our SSD disk in any convenient place inside system unit. You can secure the disc using, for example, simple vinyl clamps.

It is not recommended to use adhesive tapes or double-sided tapes - such fastening will not be reliable.

So,

1. turn off the computer's power;
2. filming sidebar system unit;
3. let's get ours new SSD disc out of the box. *Note that if the disc is brought in from the cold, you need to let it warm up to room temperature. We save the packaging (just in case);
4. We select a location for installing the SSD, secure it, and connect SATA cables to the motherboard. We try to use a SATA 3 6 GB/s cable, but if you have SATA 3 ports and there are no cables, then you can connect an ordinary SATA cable to the SATA ports.

The maximum performance of the SSD drive will be ensured when it is connected to a SATA 3.0 connector or higher at speeds of up to 6 GB/sec. On the board, it is usually distinguished from others by its black color and corresponding markings. If there are no symbols for SATA 3.0, you should read the documentation for the motherboard.

Then we connect power from the unit (PSU), close the system unit and start the computer.

SSD drives do not tolerate overheating well. Therefore, when installing a new SSD drive, it would be useful to take care of upgrading the cooling systems. For this, you can install, for example, a simple additional fan in the side parts of the system unit. This wind blower will perfectly cool not only our new SSD drive, but also a regular hard drive.

BIOS setup and OS installation

Before you begin installation operating system on SSD (it is preferable to do clean install from scratch), enter the BIOS (basic input/output system) of your computer. The most common way to enter the BIOS is by pressing the Delete key; the F1 and F2 keys are used somewhat less frequently.

Let's look at an example BIOS settings to work with SSD on ASUS UEFI BIOS:

Go to the advanced system settings Advanced Mode;

We move to the Advanced/SATA Configuration settings and look at the connected devices. It is necessary that the SSD be connected to the first SATA 3, and the HDD to SATA 2;

Be sure to remember that you need to switch the SATA controller to AHCI mode;

Then go to the Boot/Hard Drive Priorities section and install first boot disk our new SSD. If this is not done, the system will continue to boot from the HDD;

We save all our settings and reboot by pressing the F10 key. We make sure that the solid-state drive is listed first among the boot HDDs. For Windows installations You can leave the CD/DVD drive first in loading. Or we use a one-time initial boot from CD/DVD via the F8 key on ASUS boards.

On many Internet resources, would-be specialists recommend copying, transferring, cloning or restoring from an image, etc., the C:\HDD drive with an already installed OS when installing an SSD. This is not recommended under any circumstances. Be prepared to install the OS from scratch after you have installed a new SSD drive on your computer. After all, when the OS is installed on the HDD, then all services are launched to work specifically on the HDD. If we transfer a system designed to work on an HDD to an SSD, then the overwhelming number of services will not only not help improve the performance of the OS and computer, but will only contribute to the rapid wear of the new SSD. In order for the SSD disk to work long-term and correctly under our operating system, we definitely need to install it “from scratch” and on a clean SSD disk.

We set the main time and language settings and we get to the selection of partitions and disks for installing the OS;

After we have seen our unallocated SSD (Disk 0), select it to install the system and click “Disk Setup”;

There is no need to format the disk. Click the “Create” button and create a partition for the entire available SSD size;

Then click “Apply”. The system requests 100 MB for its needs - we agree;

We indicate in which partition the system should be installed, in our case, on Disk 0 Partition 2, because Partition 1 is reserved by the system itself and it will not be possible to install the operating system on it;

Then we start the installation of the operating system itself.

After completing the installation of the operating system, do not forget to install everything necessary drivers, which come complete with our motherboard– from a disk or from the manufacturer’s website.

When a new SSD drive is installed in the computer, and the system is installed on it, and we see that everything works, it’s worth thinking about optimizing the operating system to work with the flash memory drive.

Conclusion

In order for our new SSD disk to serve us as long as possible and not fail prematurely, we should adhere to certain rules when using it - to increase the service life of the disk, it is necessary to leave at least 10-15% of free space.

During the whole process using SSD drive, you need to constantly ensure that the latest drivers for the SSD drive are installed in the system. They can usually be found on the SSD drive manufacturer's website. As a rule, with each subsequent firmware the number of drive capabilities is updated and its service life increases. In order to check our resource SDD disk, it is best to periodically run programs to identify disk errors and the amount of used resource - for example, this software, like SSD Life.

Connecting an SSD as the main drive in many cases will significantly speed up the operation of the operating system installed on it, access to documents and main programs, and eliminate some previously necessary operations, for example, the need to regularly defragment the disk. If, of course, the machine is old enough, the processor is single-core, random access memory less than 4 GB, and the motherboard was released more than 6-8 years ago, then upgrade regular computer Only installing an SSD will not give noticeable results, but it will 100% give a second life to a laptop or netbook.

Before you choose SSD drive for a laptop, the buyer should know their main features that should be paid attention to.

First of all, this is the disk capacity and its price - facts that influence the choice of any drive.

However, SSDs have their own characteristics that require taking into account other factors, approaching the purchase more responsibly than purchasing other computer elements.

Moreover, the price of such a device will be perhaps the most expensive among all laptop components.

Benefits of purchasing

Buying an SSD drive for a laptop is one of the most important steps to increase system performance and data processing speed.

On such a drive, access to information occurs much faster.

Replacement of obsolete HDD a more modern version will bring a greater increase in power than even increasing memory or installing a new processor.

Advantages of a solid state drive for a laptop:

• increasing the speed of data access, which will speed up the launch of programs several times;
• compact sizes of most devices (except for portable options), making it easy to select an SSD for both a large 17-inch laptop and a small netbook with a 10-inch display;
• light weight, especially important when used on a laptop computer;
• reduced energy consumption, which should increase the average battery life of your laptop;
• high level of reliability of SSD operation.

Among the shortcomings that are noted in solid-state drives, attention is paid to its relatively small resource: 3000–5000 cycles.

For ordinary home use this time is roughly equivalent to 7–8 years of work, more than the average user works with the same drive.

The comparative fragility of the SSD in this case does not matter much - it is also undesirable to drop the laptop itself.

At the same time, the relatively high price of the device is compensated by increased operating speed.

Features of choice

You should start choosing the right solid-state drive for you with the main indicator that immediately catches your eye when viewing various options in online stores.

This is the cost of the equipment, which today still exceeds the same parameter for conventional HDDs several times; it depends on the volume and manufacturer of the disk.

Price and volume

The cost of an SSD can seriously influence the choice of a user with limited financial resources.

The only available options today are 60–120 GB drives, the price of which is in the range of 2–4 thousand rubles, almost the same as a 500–1000 GB HDD costs.

However, if the laptop is used only for work and not for games, a 120 GB disk will be quite enough to accommodate the system and documents, and perhaps enough for backup.

When choosing an option for storing a large amount of information, you should consider budget SSDs with a capacity of 512 GB.

The cost of a gigabyte is lower than that of other devices – at 20–30 rubles. instead of 40–80 rubles. for smaller or, conversely, new and larger drives.

It is worth paying attention to the 512 GB options and because increased speed data exchange.

Drives of this size (it can be not only 512 GB, some manufacturers produce 480 and 525 GB drives) work twice as fast as their 128 GB counterparts.

Size

When looking at SSD drives, you will notice that their sizes differ from each other.

And, if it is acceptable to buy a 3.5" drive for a desktop PC, for a laptop you should choose 2.5 and even 1.8-inch models.

Some of the most popular options today are the mSATA and M2 form factors, which are boards for SATA and PCI-E slots, respectively.

The dimensions of such disks are even smaller - the width can reach only 12 mm, the length can range from 16 to 110 mm.

The only drawback of mSATA and M2 drives can appear if there are no corresponding slots on the laptop motherboard.

But such outdated motherboards have not been produced for several years.

It is unlikely that you can significantly increase the performance of an old (before 2010-2011) laptop even with the help of an SSD drive.

Interface

Standard interfaces for connecting SSDs are PCI-E or SATA.

In terms of price to quality ratio, the best options are drives connected via the SATA III connector.

This interface will provide data transfer speeds of up to 6 Gb/s - more than any solid-state drive available today.

Speed

Reading and writing speed are parameters that will affect the speed of working with information.

Most SSD reading faster than recording.

When the cache is full real speed The performance of the drive may drop - although not as noticeably as with old-style hard drives.

However, even inexpensive SSD drives operating speed is 3–4 times faster compared to high-performance HDDs.

Therefore, choosing budget model solid state drive (for example, a 512 GB version for 10 thousand rubles), you will still get a noticeable performance increase.

Buying an analogue that costs 25–30 thousand rubles is not always justified for the average user, even with increased speed.

A compromise solution is to choose an option with less capacity but greater data transfer capabilities.

Resource

For a conventional solid-state drive, the number of rewrite cycles reaches 5000–10000. The higher this value, the longer the disk will last.

So, for example, for a frequently used small 60 GB SSD, the resource may decrease by 2-3 cycles during the workday.

A productive 512–1024 GB drive will last you approximately the same number of days as the number of cycles indicated in its technical specifications–3000 (over 8 years) or 5000 (13 years).

Although improper handling of the disk can reduce the resource much faster.

Manufacturer

Many manufacturers produce SSD drives, from Intel to SanDisk. Choosing a drive by brand is quite difficult.

But if you need inexpensive option, you should give preference to Crucial brands. High reliability provided by Intel products.

And the fastest, although most expensive, are SSDs from Samsung, Western Digital and Corsair.

Controller

The type of controller affects disk performance. Budget options use Phison models.

On expensive and fast disks install Marvell controllers that provide a noticeable increase in productivity.

Drives from the bottom and middle price category may have a SandForce SSD controller, which reduces the speed of data processing when the cache is full and disk space is reduced, but at the same time quickly records information.

Installing the disc

After the SSD drive has already been selected and purchased, all that remains is to install it correctly in the laptop.

If there is not enough space, you can replace the SSD already installed on laptop HDD(which can then be inserted instead of the drive using a special adapter).

Another option suitable when choosing a solid-state drive with the M2 form factor is installing the drive together with the HDD; There is enough space inside the laptop for this.

In this case, overpaying for a drive with smaller dimensions becomes justified.

The third option is to buy a special case to make the SSD external. Although you can buy such a drive in a version that is already suitable for connecting via a USB connector.

True, the second option will be more expensive and will not allow, if the opportunity arises, to install the disk inside the laptop.

Advice: External SSD should only be connected via USB ports 3.0 or 3.1. The outdated 2.0 interface will not only not provide any increase in speed compared to the HDD, but may even reduce it.

Once the drive is connected, it must be optimized by installing software from the official manufacturer or other suitable applications.

For example, the Intel SSD Toolbox program will ensure that the disk firmware is constantly updated and its partitions are aligned. The AS SSD utility performs approximately the same task.

The interface of such optimization programs does not require much time to master - it is quite intuitive.

Green means the SSD is working normally.

Red warns about possible problems and you need to download the utility not to check, but to correct errors.

One such application is Parted Magic, whose task is to restore lost SSD settings and returning their values ​​to factory settings.

SSD Operation

Immediately after installing the SSD, it is advisable to split it into several partitions (just like a regular HDD).

One partition will be used for the operating system and system files, the rest are for storing other information.

Another option is to store the bulk of the files on a regular hard drive, and give the solid-state drive to the OS and most frequently launched programs.

This optimization of SSD space will extend its service life.

If the drive is small (an economical purchase option), within 60–128 GB, it is recommended to periodically empty it of unused files.

The disk should not be allowed to operate at the limit of its capacity - this affects both the speed of operation and the service life.

To remove unnecessary information, you should use the CCleaner program.

When using solid-state drives, it is worth knowing about the features of deleting information from it.

It is advisable not to simply remove unnecessary file built-in system tools, but also additionally clean the disk special utility– for example, Eraser, which after installation can be called from context menu Windows.

Another way to extend the life of an SSD, preventing premature failure of expensive equipment and loss of information, is to ensure uninterruptible power supply.

To do this, you need to ensure that your laptop battery has a sufficient charge level.

When connecting the device to the mains (for charging or in case of problems with the battery), it is advisable to use a UPS.

An unexpected power outage can erase information on the SSD, and short circuit in the electrical network, in 80% of cases the drive itself fails.

Increase the service life and effective cooling of the SSD - using special laptop stands and periodic cleaning of the case.

Firstly, it will not increase the speed, unlike HDD.

Secondly, by defragmenting the disk, you reduce the number of remaining rewrite cycles.

conclusions

Today's best choice for users looking to improve performance while saving money is the 60-128GB 2.5-inch SSD, suitable for most workloads.

If you have financial capabilities best option for your laptop – a disk with an M2 form factor and a capacity of 512 GB.

We have not tested flash drives with a USB interface for a very long time, for which there are objective reasons. Firstly, devices have become widespread and cheap, so most buyers are not at all interested in their speed characteristics. Especially when it comes to running (very small volumes) and small amounts of transferred data. Moreover, manufacturers, having mastered support for the USB 3.0 interface, are not so often engaged in obtaining record results, taking into account “firstly”. As a result, it is not at all difficult to purchase a flash drive now, which even USB 2.0 has “a lot” of when recording data. Secondly, those users who need to transfer large amounts of data most often use external hard drives for this, since the latter are inexpensive, the capacity is already hundreds of gigabytes, and the read and write speed is usually determined by the capabilities of the hard drives (on this moment very immodest).

But there are still users who require a capacious and fast flash drive. Moreover, it is fast not only when copying large files, but fast in everything. For example, to run portable programs from it, which can be quite complex. Or to use it as an external working drive in conjunction with some ultrabook or tablet that has a small built-in storage capacity. In short, there is demand.

What can manufacturers offer such users? Firstly, high-speed, high-capacity flash drives. Secondly, external SSD drives with a USB interface. And thirdly, you can purchase a USB box and insert an SSD of any required capacity into it. In short, there is a choice. What's better? This is the question we will try to study today.

Traditional approach - USB flash drive

It will be protected by the Patriot SuperSonic Magnum flash drive; fortunately, the line includes models with capacities of 64, 128 and 256 GB (we tested the latest modification), and the speed performance (thanks to the use of an eight-channel controller) is promised to be excellent: up to 260 MB/s when reading data and up to 160 MB/s when writing. But the performance with such SSD characteristics is ordinary: a flash drive is a flash drive.

Moreover, it’s not such an unfamiliar flash drive: the first drive we tested four years ago with USB interface The 3.0 Mach Xtreme MX-FX had a similar aluminum body with dimensions of 78x27x9.3 mm and a weight of 39 grams. The only inconvenience is that the case is a little wide, so if the neighboring ports on the computer are occupied with something, this may cause problems when connecting, but nothing can be done about it: so much memory will not fit into the smaller dimensions.

The brainchild of the era - external SSD

Such drives appeared simultaneously with the USB 3.0 interface and immediately became quite popular among demanding users. They are distinguished from flash drives by the way they are connected to a computer - with a cable (like external hard drives). This was done in order to painlessly increase the size of the case, which allows you to “gain” high capacity without any problems, and improves cooling. And the latter is important, since such drives usually use controllers inherited from internal SSDs (they are also found in regular flash drives, but rarely) and are designed specifically for long-term use, and not “connected to the computer - copied a couple of megabyte files - disconnected”.

As an example of a drive of this type, we took the Transcend ESD200. This is already a slightly outdated model, which was replaced by the ESD400 - with a capacity of up to 1 TB, read speeds of up to 410 MB / s and write speeds of up to 380 MB / s, however, not every USB controller is suitable for achieving such results, since they are only possible with using UASP mode. However, we also plan to test the ESD400 over time, but for now we will limit ourselves to the ESD200, which is more modest: up to 256 GB and 260/250 MB/s, respectively. The cases of these devices are the same: 92 × 10.5 × 62 mm and weighing 56 grams. The functionality is also the same: the software is inherited from the company’s external hard drives, and the button is also taken from there One Touch Backup. We will not describe the attached utility in detail, since the manufacturer has already done this in Russian.

DIY - USB to SATA and SSD Adapter

There are quite a few different boxes on the market now (although their popularity has greatly decreased compared to the times of USB 2.0 dominance, since ready-made external hard drives have become cheaper), but to simplify the work, we took a Seagate adapter. But in the tests we used not one, but two SSDs: Transcend SSD 720 256 GB and Intel 525 60 GB. The first one is equal in capacity to our tested ones external devices. The second one is interesting in that a small SSD may well now turn out to be “superfluous” when upgrading a computer, and you may be tempted to turn it into external storage. After all, if you are more interested not in transferring data, but in working directly with the drive, then a capacity of 60 GB is often sufficient, and how it affects the speed is interesting.

Testing

Testing methodology

The technique is described in detail in a separate article. There you can get acquainted with the configuration of the test bench and the software used.

The only deviation is that despite the fact that flash drives were tested, we used file storage on all SSDs. NTFS system, not the recommended exFAT. However, in the near future we will most likely repeat testing of these two file systems in relation to modern high-speed drives, but for now we will limit ourselves to one system. But on the Patriot SuperSonic Magnum we used exFAT.

Sequential speeds

It's funny, but the results of the Patriot SuperSonic Magnum turned out to be the closest to the stated results, which is also the most compact of the participants, and indeed connects directly to the computer port. The results of the ESD200 are close to full-size SSDs when using an adapter, so even if the latter “cuts” the speed, it is quite at the level of “built-in” bridges.

In general, it would seem that complex circuits, cables, etc. can be left in the past - “regular” (even the fastest) flash drives do the job just as well. However, this is only the first test - let's see what others show.

"Close" copying

Tests for copying data within a partition are interesting because they simultaneously write and read data. In addition, the results may depend on the size of the files in the template. Let's see how our subjects cope with this.

But here the Patriot SuperSonic Magnum is trying to fall out of the leaderboard! More precisely, with the “ISO” template (corresponding very large files) he did the best job, but the smaller the files, the worse the result. In general, the Transcend SSD 720 turned out to be the fastest, and the ESD200, as well as the “small” Intel 525, is slower. So, the situation is starting to become clearer.

Application Performance

If the drive is used as a work drive and/or for storing and running programs, high-level test results are important for it. Specifically PCMark 7.

And this program clearly shows “who’s boss”, putting a regular high-speed flash drive in last place. An external SSD is fundamentally faster, and internal ones converted into external ones are even a little faster.

A similar situation persists on specific routes - in particular, anti-virus scanning on an SSD is performed four times faster than on a flash drive.

And importing images is generally 20 (!) times. In general, it is better not to use the Patriot SuperSonic Magnum or its analogues in this way. Copying photographs onto them is one thing, but creating a database with photographs is a completely different matter.

Video processing is similar. The gap, however, has decreased, but it still remains very large. So much so that the question of choosing the “right” device becomes quite simple.

And even Media Center, which usually reacts poorly to changing drives, made its clear choice: if external SSDs match the performance of internal hard drives, then flash drives (even very fast ones) are about five times slower.

It would seem that the route was very slow initially. But 1.4 MB/s (which is common for SSDs connected to a SATA interface) is still seven times faster than 0.2 MB/s for a flash drive.

Again, different orders of magnitude. In general, if you plan to run more or less complex applications, you will either have to look for a flash drive on the controller for SSD, and not for flash drives, or buy an SSD. You can initially use an external one, although, as we see, the option with USB adapters also makes sense: you can get twice as much performance.

This is a slightly synthetic test for these drives, although it just repeats the results already shown above.

NASPT only consolidates the result: flash drives are suitable for viewing photos (but not for actively adding to an album, as we have already seen above), but for directly working with a large number of files small size with a large number of write operations, it’s better not to.

Total

Averaging the results for all test applications used (some of them are not shown in the diagrams in the article) consolidates the picture. Patriot SuperSonic Magnum performs “on average” at the level of laptop hard drives - it performs some operations faster, but others much slower. The most uncompromising solution is a solid-state drive with a SATA-USB adapter - this solution may not be the fastest when you just need to move heels of movies from place to place, but with workers loads - will easily overtake everyone. Moreover, in this case the choice specific model The SSD, capacity, “correct” adapter, etc. is entirely in the hands of the buyer. well and external SSD with USB interface - a ready-made and compact solution. It's not necessarily as fast as you can get by purchasing the components separately, but it's less hassle. And if fussing doesn’t frighten you, then, to be fair, there are already special boxes not for 2.5″ drives, but for mSATA/M.2, which are no worse in compactness than the Transcend ESD200 and its analogues. True, they are hardly better in terms of performance :)