Compare MLC and TLC

When designing SSD drives, the engineers were faced with the task of making a memory board small, but roomy and at the same time not too expensive. And, of course, to do all this within the framework of existing technologies. That is why several types of SSDs are now presented, but MLC and TLC have become the most common.

Let’s figure out what these standards are and which is better — MLC or TLC.

How flash memory works and what MLC and TLC mean in general

Any flash drive, including an SSD, looks in general terms as a matrix of cells made of semiconductors (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 made using SLC technology. Each cell could store 1 bit of data. That is, 8 transistors would be required to write one byte. In addition, SLC drives are very expensive to manufacture. Therefore, they are practically not used at home. But on servers — quite, which is due to the highest read-write speeds.

But before buying the fastest SLC SSD, you should think twice. For example, those developed by HP cost about 300 thousand rubles for a 200 GB version.

For home use, MLC and TLC are suitable. Of course, they are not so “nimble”, but a laptop or computer does not need to process gigabits of data per second.

MLC drives use a three-dimensional memory structure, due to which 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 keep three bits of information in one transistor. The volume of such drives is even larger (in the general case), and the price is lower than on the MLC.

MLC or TLC — which is better?

If we compare the two types, then it seems that the MLC-variant is superior to the competitor in everything:

1. 1. Works faster;

1. 1. Differs in the big operational period;

1. 1. Consumes less electricity.

But this is only in the general case. Particulars show that TLC-configuration SSDs 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 interface bandwidth.

The main advantages of TLC drives It’s less cost and more volume.

Therefore, it is impossible to say that one type is much better than another. 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 has more performance. And if you managed to scrape together only a few thousand for a new drive, then you should look towards TLC — for this money you can buy a solution with a large amount of memory.