Compare MLC and TLC | What's better
When developing SSD-drives, the engineers had a task to make the memory board small, but roomy and not too expensive. And, of course, do all this within the framework of existing technologies. That is why several types of SSDs are now represented, but the most common are MLC and TLC.
We will understand what these standards are and what is better - MLC or TLC.
How flash memory works and what MLC and TLC mean in general
Any flash drive, including SSD, looks in general as a matrix of semiconductor cells (mainly silicon). Each cell, which is a transistor, can store a certain amount of information, which is determined according to the laws of physics. And the more information is stored in each cell, the higher the volume of the drive itself.
The first SSDs were performed using SLC technology. Each cell could store 1 bit of data. That is, the recording of one byte would require 8 transistors. In addition, SLC drives are very expensive to manufacture. Therefore, at home they are practically not used. But on the servers - quite, due to the highest speed read-write performance.
But before buying the fastest SLC SSD-drive it is worth thinking twice. For example, developed by HP costs about 300 thousand rubles for the 200 GB version.
MLC and TLC are suitable for home use. They, of course, are not so “nimble”, but they also do not need to process a gigabit of data per second to a laptop or computer.
MLC drives use a three-dimensional memory structure, so that they can contain two bits in one cell. Therefore, they can boast of increased volume.
TLC drives they also use a three-dimensional structure, they only hold three bits of information in one transistor. The volume of such drives is even greater (in general), and the price is lower than on the MLC.
MLC or TLC - which is better?
If we compare two types, it seems that the MLC option outperforms the competitor in all:
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Works faster;
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Differs in the big operational period;
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Consumes less power.
But this is only in the general case. Particulars show that SSD-drives of TLC-configuration of some models can be “faster”, more reliable and more economical than their MLC-competitors. And when connected via SATA-3, the data transfer rate is completely limited by the bandwidth of the interface.
The main advantages of TLC-drives - this is a lower cost and a larger volume.
Therefore, to say that one type is much better than the other is impossible. Special cases are considered. For example, when buying an m.2 drive with an unlimited budget, it is better to purchase the MLC configuration, since it is more productive. And if you managed to scrape together only a few thousand for a new drive, then you should look in the direction of TLC - for this money you can buy a solution with a large amount of memory.
