Computers usually propose two types of technologies in term of storage options, which are: SSD and HDD (“Solid State Drives” and “Hard Disk Drives.” And in term of comparison both of these techs have their respective pros and cons. Today, I want to present to you what are these and which type of disk will fit your need better depending on your requirement in terms of performance, goals and budgets. That way, you will not make a bad purchase when purchasing your next storage drive.
What Is an HDD?
HDDs have been used since the 1950s, and have been a very popular data storage option since. Many technological advancement have occurred since then but the main characteristic and logic of that tech remain virtually the same (magnetic storage that can write and read the data.) These little miracle things are composed of spinning magnetic disks (more commonly referred as platters), a motor for the rotation as well as an arm for the writing and reading. The data is basically stored on the platters magnetically and the arm browses it to write and read over them. The high-speed spinning of the platters allow the arm to find and collect the data.
HDDs are inexpensive and particularly solid, and have a been pretty reliable option for decades now, but they have some disadvantages too. The fact that this tech has to rely on mechanical components will make it to be slower that the new options. Also, will make it to be more prone to many sorts of failures.
What Is an SSD?
SSDs are a more modern storage solution in comparison to HDDs. It doesn’t have any mechanical parts and instead rely on a NAND flash memory, storing the data electronically for more efficiency. It is composed of circuit board, a memory chips as well as a controller. And the way it works is that the data is stored in tiny little cells in the NAND memory chips. The controller is the component that collect the data and manage the various storage operations. This solution makes is a much faster option than HHDs. It also improve the duration of the material and significantly reduce power consumption.
Key Differences Between SSDs and HDDs
To make a sound choice between both options, I think it’s important that I explain to you the main differences between HHDs and SSDs in terms of verious aspects which include speed, capacity, durability, power and also cost.
1. Speed
- HHDs: They are usually slower since they are composed of mechanical parts. The spinning platters and the moving read & write arm represent latency. Usually, the speed of the write and read of the drives range between 80 and 160 MB/s.
- SSDs: They are the best for optimized speed. The later can exceed 500 MB/s for SATA drives, and even an impressive 7,000 MB/s for NVMe drives. The results are translated in faster boot times and file transfers operations, and also an enhanced overall responsiveness.
Winner: SSD.
2. Durability and Reliability
- HHDs: They are usually considered to be more fragile as the mechanical parts can wear and tear. Any shock or drop due to mishandling can damage the platters, or the read & write arm irreversibly. This could results in loss of data or other types of consequence.
- SSDs: They are more solid considering that there is no moving part, which that the component are not as easily damageable. This make them perfect for laptops, tablets and other portable devices.
Winner: SSD.
3. Storage Capacity
- HDDs: The biggest advantage with HDDs is that they offer larger storage capacities at cheaper prices, with capacities that can go from 500GB to a staggering 20TB.
- SSDs: In term of price per gigabyte capacity, they are more expensive than HDDs. And the capacity of the ones that can be found in mainstream stores usually range between 256GB and 4TB. SSDs with higher capacities do exist, but they are quite expensive.
Winner: HDD.
4. Cost
- HHDs: As said before, they are available are cheaper prices. So they are a good choice for those in need of a large amount of storage but are a bit short financially speaking.
- SSDs: Since NAND flash memory is a tech that is expensive to produce, SSDs are expesnive too. But these are decreasing and will hopefully soon resemble to the kind of price we are seeing today for HHDs.
Winner: HDD.
5. Power Consumption
- HHDs: They usually consume much more power because of the various mechanical movements of its components, including the spins of the platter and the movements of the read and write arm.
- SSDs: They consume less power since it relies entirely on electronic systems. It also have the advantage of expending the battery life of the devices that use them.
Winner: SSD.
6. Noise
- HDDs: They are more noisy, as the spinning movements of the platters and also the movements of the moving parts make more noises.
- SSDs: They operate more silently since they have absolutely no mechanical components.
Winner: SSD.
7. Lifespan
- HDDs: They usually last between 3 to 5 years, depending on the way they have been handled, and the wear and tear of the moving parts.
- SSDs: They usually last longer that HDDs, but they do have a limited number of write cycles.
Winner: SSD.
Use Cases for HDDs and SSDs
Choosing between an HHD and a SSD is going to depend on your personal needs and also your tech habits. Let’s see what are the various use cases:
Why Choose an HDD
- Cheaper Storage: If vast but inexpensive storage is what you need, HDDs will be your preferable choice.
- Backups and Archiving: If archiving and storing large amount of data like videos and photos that you won’t need to access too frequently (reducing the lifespan of the drive too heavily), then HDDs will be the best choice.
- Media Servers: If the goal is to store massive libraries such as movies or music, whateve it is for network-attached storage or home media servers, then HDDs are definively the way to go.
Why Choose an SSD
- High Performance: If the goal is to achieve responsiveness or speed to, for example, run video games or high-demanding software, then SSD is going to be the best choice.
- Portable & Laptops Devices: If you are looking to run your drives in a laptop or a portable device, which means devices that require lightweight components, power durability and energy efficiency, then SSD will be necessary.
- Operating System Drives: If you are looking for more responsive boot times or better performance for your OS, then the SSD is going to be your best choice.
The Hybrid Solutions
Combining SSDs and HDDs is possible, reuniting the pros of both types of storage in one unit, and offering great performance at a lower cost. This is how to do it:
- Set your operating system and high-demanding software on your SSD for optimal performance.
- In the meantime, put your largest files (photos, videos, backups, etc…) in your HDD drives.
This way, you will get the best of both world all-at-once.
Future Innovations in Storage Techs
The technologies in storage drives are in constant evolution, and these advancements are continuously improving the performance of these devices, as well as their capacity and affordability rates. For example:
- NVMe Drives: NVMe SSDs are taking over the SATA SSDs market and are surely becoming the standard for high-demanding performance storage, as these are offering higher speed and greater stability.
- QLC NAND Technology: QLC SSDs offers much higher storage capacity than usual which make them more affordable than other SSDs.
- HDD Innovations: New techs such as HAMR and MAMR are offering very high storage capacity that can impressively go beyond 20TB of storage.
- Emergence of Optane Drives: Optane technologies (from INTEL) offer a hybrid solution, mixing the speed of SSDs and the storage capabilities of HDDs.
Which Should You Choose?
Here’s a practical little summary to help you decide which type of drive you should purchase:
Feature | HDD | SSD |
---|---|---|
Speed | Slower | Faster |
Durability | mechanical failure risks | More resistant |
Capacity | Higher capacity at low cost | Limited capacity at a higher cost |
Cost | Cheaper | More expensive |
Power Usage | Higher | Lower |
Noise | More noisy | More silent |
Final Thoughts
Choosing between a HDD and SSD drive will depends of your personal needs. If your needs are durability, speed and durability then SSDs will be your first choice. But if your needs are high storage capacity at a lower cost, you should go for the HDDs. Alternatively to these choices, a hybrid solution could also be practical, reuniting the pros of both type of drives into one unit (speed and affordability.)