SSD vs. NVMe

What is an SSD?

Before SSDs were invented, HDDs and floppy drives were the most widely used storage drives on the market. But while HDDs and floppy drives both relied on magnets to store data, SSDs use a new technology called NAND—a non-volatile type of storage that doesn’t require power to retain its data. In an SSD, each memory chip is made of blocs that contain cells (also known as pages or sectors) that each have their own bits of memory.

Unlike HDDs that have inherent latency and access time because of their platters, spinning disks and read/write heads, SSDs contain no moving parts, making them much faster. Since the early-to-mid 2000s, SSDs have been rising in popularity in both the consumer and enterprise marketplace due to their superior performance and lightning-fast speeds.

SSD vs. NVMe

NVMe SSDs

For the fastest data transfer speeds available, look no further than the NVMe SSD. Through its Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus, NVMe SSDs can achieve transfer speeds of up to 20 gigabytes per second (Gbps)—more than three times the speed of a SATA SSD. Another attractive feature of an NVMe drive is right there in its name—non-volatile memory. This specification means that, unlike other types of drives, power is not required for an NVMe device to retain its memory. Additionally, unlike other technologies, NVMe storage can connect directly to a computer’s CPU using a PCIe socket and enable the drive’s flash memory to function through PCIe as opposed to a SATA driver, which is slower.

SATA SSDs

Another popular type of SSD is the SATA drive, which has become more popular recently due its compatibility with older technologies. While NVMe SSDs still have more bandwidth, many older computers don’t support either the NVMe or PCIe technology, making a SATA interface the best option. SATA SSDs can achieve a maximum data transfer speed of six gigabytes per second (Gbps), slower than other, newer interfaces, but still considerably faster than a traditional HDD.

SSD vs. NVMe

What is NVMe?

NVMe (non-volatile memory express)is a data transfer protocol that was designed for flash storage and SSDs. It was introduced in 2011 as an alternative to the SATA and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) protocols that were the industry standard at the time, and it conveys better throughput than its predecessors. In addition to improvements in storage and technology, NVMe contributed to the development of important technologies that were being developed at the same time, including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

Since 2011, NVMe technology has distinguished itself through its high bandwidth and blazing-fast data transfer speeds. Because of improvements to the NVMe drivers that allow for parallelism and polling, NVMe SSDs can optimize response times and write speeds and help reduce latency to avoid CPU bottlenecks. Additionally, NVMe technology has a smaller infrastructure footprint at the enterprise level and uses less power than the popular Small Computer System Interface (SCSI).

Top-performing NVMe drives can surpass 3000 megabytes per second (MB/s), with some of the newer models reaching speeds as high as 7500 MB/s. Unlike its predecessor, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), NVMe was designed for high-performance, non-volatile storage media, making it an excellent choice for challenging, data-rich compute environments.

SSD vs. NVMe: What kind of data storage is right for you?

There is no way to accurately compare NVMe and SSD technology, as they are different and often complement each other. NVMe SSDs provide some of the fastest data transfer speeds available, but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily the right choice for your needs. Many factors come into play when choosing a data storage solution. To help with the process, we’ve compared some of the most popular options available by four critical factors: Price, technical specifications, storage capacity and speed.

• Price: Until recently, SATA SSDs were comparably cheaper than NVMe SSDs, making them an attractive choice for budget-minded users. However, the price of NVMe SSDs has been dropping for the past few years as the technology becomes more widely available, making price less and less of a differentiator. Today, the popular Samsung brand of SSDs—in both NVMe and SATA variety and with comparable storage—ranges in price from between USD 64 and 130 on Amazon.
• Technical specifications: Many older devices don’t support the newer, faster NVMe technology, making a SATA SSD the necessary choice. Before purchasing an SSD, users should also make sure their system has enough PCIe connections to support the number of devices they wish to connect. Many motherboards only have two or three slots, which will limit the number of devices they can connect.
• Storage capacity: NVMe and SATA SSDs usually come in either 1TB or 2TB options. Users looking for more capacity can upgrade to the 4TB and 8TB models, but at a higher price point. At the time of writing, 4TB NVMe and SATA SSDs cost between USD 200 and 300 on Amazon, while 8TB SSDs were going for closer to USD 400.
• Speed: NVMe SSDs’ key differentiator is speed and performance. NVMe technology uses a PCIe interface that enables it to connect directly to a CPU, reducing latency and improving responsiveness. But some users simply don’t need that level of speed, in which case a SATA SSD could be a slightly cheaper option. While quite not as fast, SATA SSDs still transfer data much faster than their older HDD counterparts. Depending on your needs, the speeds of a SATA SSD might be sufficient.SSD (Solid State Drive) and NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) are both types of storage devices used in computers and servers, but they differ in terms of performance, interface, and underlying technology. Here’s a comparison of the differences between SSDs and NVMe drives:
  1. Technology:
     • SSD: SSDs use NAND flash memory technology to store data persistently. They consist of multiple NAND flash memory chips organized into a controller, which manages data storage, retrieval, and wear leveling.
     • NVMe: NVMe drives also use NAND flash memory but are designed to take advantage of the NVMe protocol, which is optimized for modern, high-speed storage devices. NVMe drives typically feature a PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) interface for faster data transfer rates compared to traditional SATA interfaces used by SSDs.
  2. Interface:
     • SSD: SSDs commonly use the SATA (Serial ATA) interface, which has been the standard interface for traditional hard drives and early SSDs. SATA SSDs are limited by the SATA interface’s bandwidth, which can result in slower data transfer speeds compared to NVMe drives.
     • NVMe: NVMe drives use the NVMe protocol and typically feature a PCIe interface, which provides higher bandwidth and lower latency compared to SATA interfaces. NVMe drives can achieve significantly faster data transfer rates and lower access times compared to SATA SSDs.
  3. Performance:
     • SSD: SATA SSDs typically offer sequential read and write speeds of up to several hundred megabytes per second (MB/s) and random read/write speeds of tens of thousands of IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second).
     • NVMe: NVMe drives can achieve much higher performance levels compared to SATA SSDs. They can deliver sequential read and write speeds of several gigabytes per second (GB/s) and random read/write speeds of hundreds of thousands to millions of IOPS, depending on the specific drive model and configuration.
  4. Latency:
     • SSD: SSDs connected via SATA interfaces have higher latency compared to NVMe drives due to the limitations of the SATA interface. While SSDs still offer significantly lower latency compared to traditional hard disk drives (HDDs), NVMe drives further reduce latency by leveraging the PCIe interface and the NVMe protocol.
     • NVMe: NVMe drives have lower latency compared to SATA SSDs due to the direct connection to the PCIe bus and the optimized NVMe protocol. This results in faster response times and improved overall system performance, particularly for applications that require low-latency storage access.
  5. Cost:
     • SSD: SATA SSDs are generally more affordable than NVMe drives, making them a cost-effective option for many use cases. They offer a good balance of performance and cost for mainstream applications and workloads.
     • NVMe: NVMe drives tend to be more expensive than SATA SSDs due to their higher performance and advanced technology. While NVMe drives offer superior performance, they may be more cost-prohibitive for budget-conscious users or applications with less demanding storage requirements.

  SSD vs. NVMe – In summary, SSDs and NVMe drives both offer solid-state storage technology but differ in terms of interface, performance, latency, and cost. NVMe drives leverage the NVMe protocol and PCIe interface to achieve significantly higher performance levels compared to traditional SATA SSDs, making them ideal for applications and workloads that require high-speed storage access and low latency. However, SATA SSDs remain a cost-effective option for many mainstream use cases where performance requirements are less demanding.