Hardware Hub

NVMe SSDs plug into an M.2 slot and talk directly to the CPU over PCIe - several times faster than SATA. SATA SSDs (2.5" or M.2 SATA) are capped around 550 MB/s but are still perfectly fine for games libraries and general storage. Practical rule: OS and apps on NVMe, everything else wherever it's cheap.

TLC stores 3 bits per cell, QLC stores 4. QLC is cheaper per terabyte but slows down hard on large sustained writes and endures fewer write cycles. For an OS or work drive, prefer TLC; QLC is acceptable for a games library or archive that's mostly read.

Drives with a DRAM cache keep their 'map' of data in fast memory - snappier under real workloads, especially as the drive fills. DRAM-less drives borrow system RAM (HMB) and are fine as secondary drives. Budget drives usually skip DRAM; spec sheets rarely advertise the omission.

Terabytes Written is the warranty's write budget - e.g., 600 TBW means you could write 300 GB every day for over 5 years. Normal desktop use won't get close. It matters for video editing scratch disks, surveillance, and heavy database work.

Spinning drives are slow (and audible) but unbeatable per terabyte. They're the right call for bulk media, NAS arrays, and backup targets - and the wrong call for anything you boot or launch from.