We have championed solid-state storage since it become mainstream 10 years ago. Offering near-instant access without the screeching associated with slower mechanical storage, SSDs have become legion in PCs, laptops and becoming increasingly popular in servers.
The latest iterations use the compact, wire-free M.2 form factor and offer up 5GB/s read and 4GB/s write speeds, making them 20x faster than even the best mechanical storage. And with capacities increasing and cost dropping, we expect to see an SSD in each and every system that comes in for review.
With all that said, mechanical storage still has its advocates. There's still no beating it in the value-per-GB stakes, and if size is more important than speed, mechanical storage rules the roost.
Considering all the above, this week's question is whether you still use mechanical storage in your main PC or laptop? I don't because I have a 1TB NVMe SSD boot drive augmented by a slower 2TB SSD. How about you? Other than cost, are there any reasons why you persist with mechanical storage. Over to you.
