MLC or TLC: which is better?

SSD drives have smoothly moved from the category of something unknown to a “must have” for home use, since they have significantly higher read and write speeds (compared to a hard drive), are more reliable and have recently become much more affordable. If you decide to purchase a solid-state drive to replace your hard drive, then you need to take into account various nuances. In particular, choose the type of drive: MLC or TLC.

There are three types of memory available for SSD drives: SLC, MLC and TLC. SLC is a top segment that is completely unnecessary for home use (primarily because of the price), so in the article we will consider exactly the next two categories.

What are MLC and TLC? What are their differences?

First of all, the main difference between MLC and TLC is the data recording density. And if in TLC 3 bits of data fit into a cell, then in MLC this figure is equal to two.

At first glance, it may seem that the clear choice of the user is TLC. But it's not that simple. If you paid attention to the cost of SSD drives, you might have noticed that, as a rule, the TLC type is somewhat cheaper than MLC. And there's a reason for this.

You probably know that any SSD drive has a limited number of full rewrite cycles, which is why many users are scared off by this fact. If we compare MLC and TLC in this regard, then MLC has an average of 30% more rewrite cycles, which indicates that this type of SSD drive will last longer.

How long do MLC and TLC drives last?

It is impossible to say exact dates here, since the scenario for using an SSD drive is individual for each user.

If we take the average parameter, then with a number of rewrite cycles of 1000, TLC will have an average service life of 5-6 years, while for MLC rewrite cycles can increase to 3000, and the service life will be extended to 7-8 years.

How to choose an SSD drive

First of all, you need to decide what exactly your SSD drive will be used for: for an operating system or data storage. If the data will simply be transferred to the disk without overwriting it, for example, you are planning to create a movie library, then feel free to purchase a TLC drive.

For the operating system, it is still recommended to look towards a more expensive MLC drive, since on such a drive users often delete files and programs, then download and install new ones, which, naturally, can shorten the life of the SSD drive.

In the dry residue

If we talk about which is better, TLC or MLC, then the palm should still be given to MLC, since here the drive will be more reliable and durable. Another thing is that for many users cost matters, which means that TLC often becomes a more interesting solution.