Editing Quiet PC (section)

====Solid-state storage====
{{main|Solid-state drive}}
A [[solid-state drive]] has no moving mechanical components and runs silently,<ref name="STEC">[[STEC, Inc.|STEC]]."[http://www.stec-inc.com/downloads/whitepapers/Performance_Power_Advantages.pdf SSD Power Savings Render Significant Reduction to TCO] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704203915/http://www.stec-inc.com/downloads/whitepapers/Performance_Power_Advantages.pdf |date=2010-07-04 }}." Retrieved October 25, 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Whittaker|first=Zack|title=Solid-state disk prices falling, still more costly than hard disks |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/solid-state-disk-prices-falling-still-more-costly-than-hard-disks/|work=Between the Lines|publisher=ZDNet|access-date=14 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What is solid state disk? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer Dictionary|url=http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/solid_state_disk.html|work=Webopedia|date=7 January 2001|publisher=ITBusinessEdge|access-date=14 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="dell-study">{{cite web|url=http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/pvaul/en/ssd_vs_hdd_price_and_performance_study.pdf|title=SSD vs HDD Price and Performance Study, a Dell technical white paper|date=May 2011|publisher=Dell PowerVault Technical Marketing|author=Vamsee Kasavajhala|access-date=15 June 2012}}</ref> but ({{As of|2016|lc=yes}}) are still roughly four times more expensive per unit of storage than consumer-grade HDDs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.computerworld.com/article/3040694/data-storage/ssd-prices-plummet-again-close-in-on-hdds.html|title=SSD prices plummet again, close in on HDDs|author=Lucas Mearian|date=3 March 2016|work=Computerworld}}</ref>

In some cases, other solid-state storage methods may be suitable:
* [[Compact Flash]] (CF) cards can be used as secondary storage. Because they use a slightly modified [[Parallel ATA]] (PATA) interface, a simple adapter is all that is needed to connect CF cards to function as an PATA or [[PC Card]] hard disk.  CF cards are also small, allowing [[Small form factor (desktop and motherboard)|SFF]] PCs to be made, produce no noise, use very little power (further reducing heat output in the AC/DC conversion in the PSU), and an insignificant amount of heat. However, they are very expensive per [[Gigabyte|GB]] and are only available in small capacities and there are also issues regarding the maximum number of writes to each sector.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://blogs.msdn.com/embedded/archive/2005/10/26/485389.aspx|title=Where to find EWF Information|publisher=msdn.com | date=2005-10-26|access-date=2008-10-10}}</ref>
* [[USB flash drives]] can be used if a motherboard supports booting from [[USB]]. They are based on [[flash memory]], so have the same advantages and disadvantages as CF cards, except that speed is limited by the [[USB#Limitations|USB bus]].
* [[i-RAM]] is a solid-state disk that has four DIMM slots to allow regular PC [[RAM]] to be used like a disk. It is much faster than a hard disk, does not have the write cycle limitations of flash memory, however, it requires power continuously in order to maintain its contents (from standby power or a battery when the system is off), uses more power than many laptop hard drives, has maximum capacity of 4 GiB, and is expensive.

All forms of solid-state storage are more expensive than traditional spinning-disk drives, so some quiet PC designs use them in conjunction with a secondary hard drive which is only accessed when needed, or with [[network-attached storage]], where less-quiet traditional hard drives are kept remote.