The first is a SATA SSD, which comes in a 2.5-inch form factor and connects to your motherboard with the same cables and ports as a SATA HDD. The second (and newer) is the M.2 SSD.

Discover the key differences between SSDs and HDDs, and find out which storage drive is best for your needs. Speed, capacity, and more!

There are so many great uses for a portable SSD, even if you aren't a full-blown tech geek. Check out these practical use cases.

It’s time to upgrade to an external solid-state drive for faster performance than ever. Explore the best external SSD options ...

With 250MB/s reads and 250MB/s writes on average, it's not what you'd call a fast SSD. It still has the advantages of no hard drive platter seek time, but don't expect Thunderbolt speed.