Solid-State Drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner of a traditional block i/o hard disk drive. SSDs are distinguished from traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), which are electromechanical devices containing spinning disks and movable read/write heads. SSDs, in contrast, use microchips which retain data in non-volatile memory chips and contain no moving parts. Compared to electromechanical HDDs, SSDs are typically less susceptible to physical shock, are silent, and have lower access time and latency, but are more expensive per gigabyte (GB) and typically support a limited number of writes over the life of the device. SSDs use the same interface as hard disk drives, thus easily replacing them in most applications.
As of 2010, most SSDs use NAND-based flash memory, which retains memory even without power. SSDs using volatile random-access memory (RAM) also exist for situations which require even faster access, but do not necessarily need data persistence after power loss, or use external power or batteries to maintain the data after power is removed.
A hybrid drive combines the features of an HDD and an SSD in one unit, containing a large HDD, with a smaller SSD cache to improve performance of frequently accessed files. These can offer near-SSD performance in most applications (such as system startup and loading applications) at a
lower price than an SSD. These are not suitable for data-intensive work, nor do they offer the other advantages of SSDs.
As price of Solid-State Drives continue to drop, SSDs have become viable options for handling your notebook's primary storage requirements. Moreover, today's spacious SSDs have 250GB of memory which is enough to do more than satisfy basic storage needs. Now most of the Computer/Laptop manufactures like Dell, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo, etc. have already launched various models with Solid-State Drives but obviously these are costlier than the one with Hard Disk drives.