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Conclusion

Caching is King: Assessing Top PC Storage Options for Tomorrow
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As flash cache and SSHD options continue to expand, we expect the price gap against conventional HDDs to continue narrowing. At some point—and we may be there already in the mobile space—users will find themselves struggling to justify why they should buy a traditional hard drive with no flash acceleration. Compared to paying for more RAM or a faster CPU, having NAND flash integrated into the HDD subsystem is a cost-effective way to get the acceleration you need.

We look forward to doing more testing with hybrids as well as mSATA and NGFF options. Both flash approaches offer undeniable gains over traditional magnetic-only storage, and the cost savings compared to going SSD-only are equally attractive. Users will, of course, need to consider related factors, including platform compatibility, upgradeability, cost and size when evaluating whether flash cache or the SSHD solution makes better sense in their own situation. Either way, consumers are poised for some of the biggest value gains they’ve seen in a long time.