Solid state drives (SSDs) perform better than conventional hard disk drives (HDDs). This makes them indispensable as mass storage devices in modern gaming PCs. This is because they can save you hours of game load time in the long run.

However, the choice of SSD to use can be complicated as they are various types of SSDs on offer in the market today. This is why it is necessary to know the various types of SSDs and their features.

What is a computer bus?

Before we can discuss the different types of SSDs we need to understand what a computer bus is. This will help explain the major difference between various SSDs.

First of all, for the SSD to interact with the CPU you need an interface. The computer bus is the hardware that acts as this interface.

Types of SSDs

Generally, there are two major types of buses that act as an interface between the CPU and SSD. These are SATA and NVMe respectively.

These two buses help to create the two popular types of SSDs. We call the SSDs that use SATA as SATA SSDs and those that use NVMe as NVMe SSDs.

1. SATA SSD

SATA is short for 'serial AT attachment'. It was introduced in 2000 as a replacement for PATA or 'parallel AT attachment' interface. The purpose of its invention was to help maximize the potential of the conventional hard disk drive.

It did this by ensuring HDDs had no bottlenecks in their read and write speeds.

In theory, SATA has a throughput of 600 MBps. This speed is far higher than the typical read and write speed of HDDs. The average read and write speed of HDDs is 100 MBps and they cannot exceed speeds of 200 MBps.

This capability of SATA technology also allows it to be used for SSDs. This is because the typical SSDs have read and write speeds of about 500 MBps and so, can be supported by the SATA interface.

However, some high-end SSDs can also have read and write speeds of about 5000 MBps. In such an instance, SATA can restrict the SSD's performance. This is because, at speeds of around 550 MBps, there will be over-saturation in SATA creating a speed upper limit.

2. NVMe SSD

To break through the limitation that SATA set for SSDs, it was necessary to produce a more efficient interface. This is what spurred the creation of a new interface.

This new interface was tailor-made for SSDs and was introduced in 2011. We refer to this new interface as NVMe which is short for 'nonvolatile memory express.' It allowed SSDs to utilize the PCIe bus.

Furthermore, with a throughput of 32,000 MBps, NVMe can support SSDs that have high read and write speeds. This effectively removes the limitation on SSDs placed by the SATA interface.

Due to this reason, NVMe technology can be said to have increased the potential of storage devices. We expect NVMe to be the new standard for SSDs production in the future.

Which is better for gaming?

When choosing an SSD for gaming, performance is essential. In this regard, NVMe SSDs are the better choice. This is because they offer higher speeds when compared to SATA SSDs.

So if you want a top-notch gaming experience, then go for NVMe SSDs.

However, NVMe SSDs are a new technology and so are very pricey when compared to SATA SSDs. This makes SATA SSDs still a good choice if you want a fast storage device but can't afford the price of NVMe SSDs. At least, they still offer significant speeds when compared to HDD storage devices.

Therefore, you can use both types of SSD cards for gaming. It all depends on your needs and budget.

Partner with us as a reputable SSD supplier

As a leading manufacturer and SSD supplier, we offer various types of SSDs to meet your needs. Our line-up of reliable SSDs is sure to have something that will meet your taste or budget.

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