The Chinese have made a new, super-fast "flash drive" called Mini SSD. What is it: a breakthrough or some kind of nonsense? And were there any other alternatives to popular drives? Let's find out.
What is a Mini SSD?
This is an SSD the size of a SIM card. It's like a hard drive, only it's not a hard drive, it's a flash memory with dimensions of 15x17 mm. And with a PCIe 4.0 interface. Like a small memory card, only 10-15 times faster. In short, something in between the "internal" SSDs that are installed in computers and external "removable" memory cards.
But how do you connect it?
If it's like a memory card, it's through a card reader. Only a special one, even one with a built-in fan. And preferably with a USB4 interface, so your computer must have such a port. And in the future, such drives can be used in gadgets that require compact and fast memory, not necessarily "removable", such as VR glasses or portable game consoles.
It's cool, and fast, and compact, so why run out and buy it?
If you have a need, a place to connect it, and at least an extra $85 for 512GB, you can try it. But this format has its nuances. The main one is proprietary: it was developed by the Chinese company Biwin and no one else does this. So you know how it will go. Moreover, there are a lot of USB boxes for M2 SSDs on the market. The smallest of the M2 standards, 2230, is only twice the size of a Mini SSD, which is not critical when used as a flash drive. Moreover, we will see in practice how miniaturisation will affect overheating (hello, card reader with a cooler!).
So is this just one of those crazy drive formats from the title? Were there any others?
Maybe so, time will tell. It has already repeatedly rejected other solutions. Crazy, half-dead, niche - call them what you will, but they have been and will be in the future. Here are some of the most significant ones.
Huawei Nano Memory. This is the first thing that comes to mind, because these drives are literally the size of a SIM card and are designed to expand the memory of Huawei smartphones by installing them in the second SIM slot. However, we are not talking about high speed here, nor are we talking about versatility and affordability. A typical example of a closed niche experiment.
SATA Express. This is not so much about memory cards as about internal drives. There was an attempt to cross SATA with PCIe to get a fast interface for solid-state drives. The result was a rather cumbersome solution that quickly lost out to the M2 format.
mSATA. Another drive format in the form of a card. Not a memory card, not a flash drive, not a disc. It was also supplanted by M2, but seems to be more widespread.
Intel Optane (3D XPoint). Do you see the developer's brand in the format name again? Sometimes this is the first sign of a closed technology without mass prospects. An expensive, exclusive, specific solution, but very fast: something in between SSD and RAM. It didn't catch on, because mass-market NVMe SSDs have become fast enough for the vast majority of users, and they are much more affordable.
ASUS DIMM.2. Another solution "next to the RAM". Not so much in terms of speed, but literally in terms of the location of the slot on the motherboard. Yes, this is a PC-only drive format and only available in some top-end ASUS motherboards. Another small-scale experiment for enthusiasts.
Xbox Series Expansion Card. Let's also mention this niche. The name makes it easy to guess where these drives are used. The proprietary connector automatically almost doubles the cost of such memory compared to conventional M2.
Perhaps Mini SSD will join the cemetery of experimental formats, although it may also launch a new popular technology. The key factor will be the openness of the format and its massive market support. After all, how many of these technologies have you ever heard of?
Specialist in the field of IT and media. Knows technologies from the inside and writes about them (sometimes ironically) since 2006. Usually has at least 22 gadgets on his desktop.
