Best SSD 2018 (SATA, mSATA, M.2)
In the world of hardware, if you want to improve your computer performance, everything goes through choosing a good solid state drive, characterized by a high speed data transfer (up to 10x more than mechanical drives) and minimum information accessing times. [toc]
What is an SSD?
SSD stands for Solid State Drive. These are devices that use memories such as flash drives or USB drives, but of a higher quality. They can come in different formats, from typical portable hard drives to small cards that plug into special ports (mSATA or PCIe).
The difference between a hard drive and an SSD is the time it takes to access information and data transfer. On hard drives, the discs are turning all the time and only read information when the head passes through the point where the information is. With SSD memories, it directly accesses the information at any time it wants. The transfer speed of the hard drive depends on the speed of the disc, but is something that can’t be increased lightly, especially in the case of hard drives destined for home users.
Eight years after the launching of DDR3 memory, JEDEC, the association responsible for the standardizing of engineering and technologies that are based on semiconductors, publicized the final specifications of the new standard DDR4 and its variant for mobile units, LPDDR4.
The edges of its case are angular while being somewhat rounded. The Spin 11 has a rubberized edge which protrudes slightly from the rest of its case and which enables this Chromebook to survive falls from a height of up to 1.22 meters.
You must admit that MSI pulled off an impressive feat of engineering by fitting so many keys on its new mechanical Vigor GK80 keyboard. Glancing at its aluminum-profiled base, you are sure to notice its 16 cleverly-situated additional function keys.
This is not including the four dedicated multimedia keys located in the upper right-hand corner or the 8 normal additional function keys located alongside the Fn keys. For a keyboard measuring 445 x 141 x 4 mm, this is quite an impressive technical achievement. But what’s the use of having so many keys? Except for a volume knob, this keyboard has all of the controls you will probably ever need – regardless of your intended use.
In 2017 there has been a flood of presentations of mobile units, and one of the arguments with the most weight when it comes time to choose one is its photo or video camera. Each manufacturer tries to set itself apart in this field with technological elements like sensors or optics, which makes it a bit complicated to make a choice when buying.
Retailing for under 500€, this camera has the best quality to price ratio of all the devices appearing in the complete comparison that I wrote at the end of 2017.