The speed of the RAM installed in the system.

I routinely consult the Tom’s Hardware SSD Hierarchy Chart-last updated on as I write this story-to keep up with the latest and greatest SSD offerings.

SSDs come in many kinds, and some-even with reportedly identical characteristics-are faster than others.

Of course a motherboard with a SATA 3 controller will deliver better performance than one with a SATA 2 controller, even though neither will deliver anything close to the theoretical bus maximum (3.0Gbps for SATA 2, and 6.0Gbps for SATA 3). Not all SATA controllers are alike, so even motherboards with different SATA 3 controllers will differ to some extent. The speed of the disk interface to which the SSD is attached.How Much Faster Than an SSD Is a RAM Disk, Anyway?Īnswering the question posed in the preceding heading forces me first to recite the following homily: “The answer to any good question always begins with the same two words-namely, ‘That depends’” In the case of a system with a RAM disk, the speed difference between an SSD installed in that system and a RAM disk depends on: But for those with a profound hankering for speed, and the budget to stock up on big memory modules, a RAM disk is at least worth considering as the next logical step when it comes to amping up PC performance. This storage comes with both pros and cons, and it’s important to remember that with SSDs going for $1-2/GB nowadays, a RAM disk also remains the only form of storage that’s still more expensive than an SSD (more than twice as expensive, in fact). Then there’s one more truly “killer fact” to consider as well: The only form of storage faster than an SSD is a RAM disk, a boot-time storage facility that turns some portion of a computer’s RAM into an extremely fast form of disk storage. Windows 7 or 8 will happily get by on 8GB of RAM, so it’s possible to treat anywhere from 8-56GB of RAM as “surplus”-fit for other uses.Motherboards routinely accommodate 16GB of RAM or more (up to 64GB is typical for non-workstation rigs).Memory is dirt cheap (even fast memory goes for $4-5/GB in 8GB increments these days).Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 20th EditionĬonsider these facts in today’s PC marketplace:

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