What level of Flash memory performance is required for most consumer applications?

A major factor in determining the level of performance needed by consumer applications is extended usage – basically how many read/write cycles the memory will allow.  The requirements of most consumer applications can be sufficiently met with the 10,000 cycles offered by MLC NAND.  Contrarily, SLC NAND, which is rated at approximately 100,000 cycles, is commonly considered most appropriate for applications requiring high performance. 

For example, in a general application such as a USB drive, the 10,000 write/erase cycles of MLC NAND would enable a user to completely write and erase the entire contents of the drive once per day for 27 years – well beyond the life of the hardware!

MLC NAND can actually exceed the higher performance requirements of today’s digital consumer applications such as digital video and music storage as demonstrated in the figure below.