Samsung showcases world’s largest SSD

Samsung has successfully created the world’s largest SSD (solid state drive) topping the records at a whopping 30.72 terabytes. At its core a SSD is a memory chip that is connected to your circuit board used to store data. They differ from regular HDDs (hard disk drives) as they don’t have the actuator arm. This way bumps and movement won’t affect data transfer.

Why would you get a SSD over a HDD?

SSDs are smaller and lighter than traditional HDDs. They are great for laptops as they can be moved around freely without damage. As they are thin and powerful they can fit into a stylish laptop. Additionally they require less power so your battery can last longer.

The main reason why people opt for a SSD over a HDD is the speed difference. Rebooting your operating system or playing a video game from a HDD can take longer and cause lag due to the way it is constructed. SSDs overcome loading limitations and can even boot your computer apps such as word faster.

The specs

The PM1643 consists of 32 sticks of 1TB NAND flash packages. To put it into perspective that’s enough space to hold over 5000 full HD movies.

Samsung is continually striving for advancement in their storage technology and held the previous record for the highest SSD that was 16TBs. Even after the release of their new technology, Samsung stated that they will continue to improve their storage limits and strive for the best.

The write speeds of the SAS (serial attached SCSSI) drive have a very impressive range of 1,700MB/s to 2,100MB/s. The average SATA SSD that you find in a common laptop or desktop is three times slower than these new numbers.

What it means for consumers

The release date for the PM1643 to be on sale for consumers is currently unknown. However now that Samsung has perfect the largest size, they are able to focus on smaller SSDs now that they know it’s possible. Sizes such as 16TB, 7TB, 3TB, 2TB and 1TB are forecast to be released to the general public soon.

It’s unlikely that the 30TB behemoth is likely to appear in common laptops and desktops anytime soon but does wonders for consumers interested in buying these products. Do you remember buying your first USB that was sub 1GB and cost you a small fortune? As storage technology advances the smaller products tend to get a significant price drop.

The downward pressure on the market should be apparent when purchasing a new SSD or PC in the future. If Samsung is able to continually push their storage capabilities we could soon see this implemented in our smartphones.