After processor and memory, storage is another important component in any computer system. It is necessary to see SSD vs. HDD for the right storage device. As the name suggests, storage saves all the information that would be required in the overall performance. A processor or CPU can access the data from the storage and use it for the necessary functions or applications. When you are choosing a new system or upgrading your existing one, you must select the right storage option. Depending on your purpose, workload, and budget, you can look into SSD and HDD. While evaluating the right choice, it is good to look at SSD vs. hard drive and consider the different factors such as capacity, price, speed, reliability, and power.
A careful analysis of the specifications and features can point you towards the right choice for SSD vs. hard drive. Both HDD and SSD are storage devices that store information on a permanent basis. Even if the system is on or off, the data is safe and saved in the HDD and SSD for as long as you require. It can also be considered as a long-term memory based on this permanent nature. All your data such as media, images, video, applications, programs, and files are saved in this form of long-term storage. When you select a particular application, the processor reaches out to the storage to get the necessary data based on the request. The storage transfers the data to the RAM or memory. From here, the CPU can pick the data instructions and process it.
As HDD or SSD stores the data permanently, you require an option with a huge capacity. This can take care of all your applications. Hence, while looking into SSD vs. hard drive, you must evaluate your work requirements. If you perform multiple tasks and applications at the same time, you may require a larger capacity.
What is HDD?
Before comparing and looking into SSD vs. HDD, we can understand the primary features and functioning of HDD. HDD or hard disk drive is a storage device located within the computer. It stores information and data instructions for long-term use. An HDD consists of mechanical or moving parts. This includes a spinning platter or circular disk and an arm. All the data is stored magnetically on these disks. The arm moves over the spinning disk for reading and accessing the data whenever necessary. As the arm is the moving part, it can go to a particular section on the disk and take the data.
The mechanical movement between the arm and disk can increase the processing time. It is one of the oldest storage devices that engages an old technology. On the other hand, SSD is the newer and updated version of storage device, employing the latest flash memory technology. HDDs occur in two form factors – 2.5 inch found in laptops and 3.5 inch found in desktops. HDDs have been a common component in desktops and laptops since several years. Based on the capacity, they can store large volumes of data. They are extremely useful for storing huge loads of applications, programs, videos, images, and other media collections.
Uses of HDD
HDD also stores the operating system and all the information necessary for running the OS. The speed of the HDD depends on the spinning speed of the platter. When the platter spins at a faster speed, the hard disk also works at a faster speed. This can influence how the OS works and how fast the applications can respond to all the commands.
The older HDDs was connected to the motherboard through an IDE port. Now most of the new HDDs contain SATA connection for easy and fast connectivity. The SATA and SATA III connectivity allow fast data transfers for the HDD. This can increase the processing speed for the handling large volumes of data. As HDDs are common and found in a variety of computers since a long time, they are quite cheaper as compared to the newer and latest SSDs.
What is SSD?
SSD or solid state drive is a newer version of storage device. Unlike the HDD that involves mechanical parts for reading and writing data, SSD does not contain any moving parts. Instead, it makes use of flash memory technology, similar to the ones seen in smartphones and tablets. SSD contains flash memory chips or integrated circuits that store the data. As the data is present in the chips, it can be accessed instantly at the same time. There is no need for an arm to move over the disk while reading the data. All the data instructions can be sent and processed at the same time through the SSD.
This capability allows it to handle large amounts of data at faster speed. Versatility is a key feature of SSDs. They can occur in a variety of forms, sizes, and shapes. The newer SSDs are ultra-thin that can easily fit into a laptop or desktop. The length, width, and thickness are reduced to accommodate into tight spaces. Since SDDs do not have any mechanical parts, they are much durable and last longer as compared to HDD. HDDs may come across mechanical issues that can halt the data transfer.
Different types of SSD
The smallest version called as M.2 is almost the size of a gum, but can transfer data at an impressive fast speed. If your workload demands larger data, you can opt for higher capacity. Due to the involvement of integrated circuits or memory chips, the cost of SSDs is quite higher as compared to HDDs. While HDD was common and found in most of the computers in the older times, SSD is the preferred option in the latest desktops and laptops.
Depending on the compatibility of the motherboard, it is possible to upgrade to a new SSD. In case of multi-drive computer, you can opt for more SSDs. The SSDs may have SATA connectivity. But as SATA or SATA III can deliver at a lower speed, they cannot do complete justice to the faster capability of the SSDs. To avoid this, you can opt for an SSD with a PCIe slot. The PCIe connectivity can allow faster processing and it commonly seen in all the latest motherboards. If you use graphics card or sound card on the PCIe slot, you can opt for an SSD with M.2 connection. Another option for the fastest transfer speed is the NVMe or non-volatile memory express.
SSD vs. HDD: Factors for comparison
If you would like to opt for a new system or upgrade the existing one, you must understand the right choice. Whether you must pick an SSD or HDD would depend on your usability and requirements. You can evaluate SSD vs. HDD after seeing different factors such as price, capacity, speed, data security, reliability, and noise before opting for one of the two. Each of the factors determine the overall performance capability and functionality.
If your current system is unable to process the increasing demand of data storage, you can switch to a new SSD or HDD with higher capacity. You can sell the used SSD or HDD to us at BuySellRam. Here, we accept all types of storage and pay an excellent price in return. You can take advantage of a secured process and use the cash value towards the new upgrade.
Let us look at the few parameters that can help us compare SSD and HDD
Capacity
Capacity translates to the amount of data held in the storage. HDDs have much larger capacity than SSD. Generally, HDDs have a capacity ranging from 40GB up to 12TB. If you handle large amounts of data on your desktop, you can go for an HDD with capacity of up to 2TB. Commercial enterprises and server workstations may require a capacity between 8GB and 12TB for storing massive quantities of information.
Instead of opting for one large HDD, it is advisable to opt for several HDDs of lesser capacity. This can avoid any loss of data if there is any malfunction in that one single drive. SSDs may not able to match the massive capacity of HDDs. at the same cost. The newer version of SSDs do have a capacity that can reach terabytes of data. But at the same time, it can cost a premium value that may not be justified. It does come with the advantage of reliability as SSDs may not encounter any malfunctions as seen in HDD.
If capacity is the main determining factor, HDD can win by offering large capacity at an affordable price. HDDs are excellent for storing images, videos, applications, programs, and operating system.
SSD vs. HDD for Speed
When you compare SSD and HDD based on the speed of data transfer, you can understand that SSD is the clear winner. SSDs offer incredible faster speed that allows more productivity. It is possible due to the flash memory technology. As SSDs have many flash memory chips or integrated circuits, all the data can be read and accessed at the same time. On the other hand, HDDs depend on the spinning platter and arm. When the arm moves over the spinning disk, it can pick the necessary data. The mechanical movement between the disk and arm tends to reduce the processing capability of the HDD.
The speed of HDD depends on the revolutions per minute made by the spinning platter. Most of the budget hard drives may deliver up to 5,400 RPM. For a faster speed, you can opt for newer options that can deliver up to 7,200 RPM. By increasing the RPM, you can take advantage of a higher speed. But this can increase the cost of HDD to a great extent. The speed of SSD and HDD is measured in terms of MB/s or megabytes per second. An HDD with SATA III connection and 5,400 RPM may have speed of up to 100MB/s, while at 7,200 RPM, it may deliver up to 150MB/s.
As SSDs do not have to depend on any revolutions or RPM, it can give up to 550MB/s speed with SATA III connection. Even though SATA is considered as slow connectivity option for SSD, it can still give more speed as compared to HDD. When you opt for SSD with PCIe slot or M.2 type, you can easily expect speeds of up to 1.2GB/s or up to 1.4GB/s. Undoubtedly, SSD offers clear advantage with much faster speeds.
Price
This is another feature that shows a big difference between SSD and HDD. As SSDs consist of flash memory chips and can deliver much faster speed, it is expensive as compared to HDD. You may observe a major price difference among the different types of SSDs. The SATA III SSDs are cheaper as compared to the PCIe and M.2 SSDs. For more capacity at cheaper price, you can pick HDD over SSD. You can take advantage of terabytes of capacity at lower price. But if speed is a major concern, you may find it useful to go for an SSD.
Data security and reliability
Data security is an extremely important factor especially when you are saving confidential data about your work or any other important projects. As HDDs contain moving parts, you may run into the risk of mechanical failure. Such issues may erase your data and make it impossible to access it. SSDs do not have any moving parts and may not run into issues with respect to functionality. For a safe and secured system of data storage, you can always opt for SSD. One option is to go for a smaller high speed SSD for sensitive data and save the other information into larger HDDs. In terms of long-term performance and durability, you can rely on SSD.
SSD vs. HDD for Noise and power consumption
Though this is not a major factor that can affect the overall productivity, you can consider it while weighing your options. In terms of power consumption and energy efficiency, SSDs consume less power. This can be extremely useful for battery life. HDDs can produce a slight background noise due to the spinning and moving action. As SSDs do not contain any parts, these systems are absolutely noise-free.
After careful consideration of all the major factors of SSD vs. hard drive, you can pick SSD or HDD. While opting for a new SSD or HDD, you can sell the used SSDs or HDDs to us at BuySellRam. If speed is the main priority, you can easily choose the SDD. If you only need to save large files without any focus on speed, durability, and data security, you can go with HDD. Another option is to pick an HDD with large capacity for storing files and a small SSD for your operating system and applications. This way, you can run the OS and important applications at a faster speed.