If we are lucky or have the need to open a PlayStation 5 console, we will see that its SSD is not on a small expansion card, but soldered to the motherboard. Is such a scenario possible in the PC world? Will we buy the motherboard of our computer in the future taking into account the storage memory it comes with as standard? What commercial viability does this approach have? Well, actually, we have already seen it in Apple’s MacBooks, but the key question is if we will see a computer with this particularity.
Will we see motherboards with SSDs soldered on them?
In the first computers, the operating system was not installed on the hard drive, since many models lacked it. If not, they came integrated into a read-only memory chip or ROM. Back then, these were only as fast as the RAM being used, and therefore the processor could access data more quickly.
Well, although these memories are no longer used, we have NAND Flash used in memory cards and solid state drives. Wouldn’t it be better if the operating system came integrated into this type of series units? That is to say, that the motherboard had a small soldered SSD in which to install Windows or another operating system like the thousand and one distributions and variations of Linux.
The Windows folder on my main hard drive after several years of use, not counting applications, is 22 GB. So a 256 GB soldered NVMe SSD would be more than enough to keep the operating system running at full speed and with alternative and parallel access to the rest of the programs. In addition, that the operating system would come standard and ready for use from said unit.
For enthusiasts it will be as easy as installing an additional M.2 drive to install the different applications. The fact of having an SSD soldered to a board may seem absurd to us today, but as the hardware market works and certain vices that it has in its evolution over time, they suggest that the next component with more points for finish integrated is storage.
Isn’t that a crazy idea?
The idea of selling the motherboard with an SSD soldered onto it or included as standard is something we shouldn’t rule out for the future. After all, the general trend is to gradually integrate the different components over time and little by little motherboards will have to find a way to justify placing a premium price for the end user. And no, we are not making any speculation, we have already seen how many components have ended up being integrated into the motherboard of the system.
We have seen how the network card has ended up being integrated, the sound card is the same. Actually, it wouldn’t be surprising if chipsets of the future come standard with a flash controller inside to be able to place the NV-DIMMs or, in the case at hand, an SSD soldered on the board. The combination of chipset + SSD controller already exists, specifically in the PS5 console and, therefore, it is not impossible. What’s more, for many users who are looking for a low-cost PC, buying everything in a set is an advantage.
It has been proven that most users will never open their computer to mess around with its interior. The fact that the storage comes standard on the motherboard and with the operating system already pre-installed is one less cost for them. And in addition to being one more point for the planned scheduled obsolescence.
