Ahmad Noor
When buying a new laptop and confused that which drive is best for you SSD or HDD? How it affects the overall performance of your laptop? SSD vs HDD which one is better? Well, do not panic we are here with a brief explanation of SSD vs HDD speed, advantages, and disadvantages which will help you decide which drive is more suitable for you. As you know your needs better, keeping this in mind choose the storage type that will work best for you.
SSD (solid-state drives) and HDD (hard disk drives) are identical in physical specs, however, the way they store data is quite different. As SSD employs memory for storage and HDD uses magnetic disk, so the difference is in the technology for storing and retrieving data. The other big differences are in price, speed, durability, and storage capacity. So, without spending more time on the introduction, let’s go towards the details.
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What is SSD?
A solid-state drive is based on a microchip and is a fast and secure drive. It was invented in 1970 and is relatively expensive. Initially, it was used like RAM for temporary use but when the size increases SSD is now sold as a permanent storage device and compete HDD on every task. More, SSD utilizes flash memory so there are no moving parts. Due to this, you won’t encounter data loss problems. In addition, what will you love the most about SSD is read and write speed which is from 250 MBps to 500 MBps.
Key Features
- Use flash memory
- There are no moving parts
- It does not corrupt
- Transfer rate and load time is faster
- It is lighter, durable and runs pretty quiet
- Drain less energy
Different Types of SSD
Based on shape SSDs usually come in three different types that is SATA, PCIe, and M.2. Some SSDs are fused to the board, so they are available on the laptop by default. For consumers, the most common are SATA and M.2. SATA is the old two-connector system used by the hard drive. It is the best way to boost the speed of your laptop containing HDD and the HDD is replaced by SSD. Hence, you will get up to 600 MBps read and write speed.
Whereas, PCIe NVMe is the newest and the best drive. To bring it into action, the laptop should have M.2 connector type. Also, the laptop should be compatible with it because many older laptops do not support it. However, it is expensive but if the budget is not an issue for you, PCIe NVMe can exceed 3GB/s.
What is HDD?
HDD was invented by IBM in 1956 and became the most popular and preferred storage drive in 1960. Initially, it was very larger but after its popularity size was reduced and storage capacity was increased. These days HDD is available in a very small size with huge storage space. As HDD is a mechanical device, so the moving parts have some friction loss hence creating noise while running. In addition, the read/write speed of HDD is up to 40-50 MBps. Thus, if the data backup is more, it takes more time to copy.
Key Features
- Use mechanical moving parts for data transfer
- Prone to damage, so durability is not much admirable
- Speed is measured in revolution per minute
- Generate heat and noise while running
- Relatively cheap and offers huge storage capacity
How an HDD works?
HDD consists of magnetically sensitive platters, an activator with a read and writes head and a motor that spin and move the platter and arm respectively. Also, there is a 1/0 controller that communicates the hard drive with the rest of the system.
Each platter is arranged into circles called tracks and the tracks are further divided into logical units known as sectors. The track and sector numbers outcome in a particular address that arranges and positions data. The algorithm processes the data and corrects the errors. After that, the data is written to the nearby accessible area. Furthermore, the motor spins the platter at a predetermined speed from 4200 rpm to 7200 rpm, based on which the read and write speed depends. So, the higher will be the predetermined speed the faster the hard drive will work.
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Comparison between SSD & HDD
After discussing the two different storage drives independently, let’s compare them for an even better understanding.
Construction
In the construction of SSD, Semiconductor Flash Chips are used and the data is stored in these. Unlike HDD which consists of a revolving disk. On the other hand, HDD contains a revolving disk and head. The data is stored in a revolving disk with the help of the head.
Parts
SSD is an integrated circuit with no moving parts. It is a memory chip and has three main parts that are capacitor, cache, and controller. Whereas, HDD holds moving parts like motor, platters, and head. The head is located on the top of the disk and all these are included in a metal case.
Speed
SSD is very faster, as it uses electronic interface technology, so the speed is approximately six times higher than the traditional HDD. However, in HDD data transfer depends on revolutions per minute of a disk. Hence, by comparing with SSD the HDD is much slower.
Storage Type
In SSD data is not store sequentially. Also, its performance is not encounter by fragmentation, so you do not need defragmentation for optimum performance. While in HDD data is store in a sequential manner, so you need constant defragmentation. Only then performance will be acceptable and disperse data can be organized.
Storage Capacity
SSDs are available up to limited TBs only because silicon chips are very expensive. So, the storage capacity of SSD is very low compared to HDD. However, the storage capacity of HDD is immense as it is available in HBs and ZBs. Therefore, it is used in servers to store a huge amount of data.
Life Span & Data Loss
The life span of SSD is very long and it will be there forever once you buy it. Plus, it will never get corrupted, so you should not worry about data loss at all. Though the predicted life span of HDD is only five years, also it is not resistant to drop. The biggest problem in HDD is data loss. So, after multiple overwriting the disk gets older and it may get corrupted. In this way you may lose all your data, hence you should use HDD with great care. So, SSD vs HDD lifespan, SSD is better.
Price
The price of SSDs is very high, as they contain very costly silicon chips. On the other hand, the mechanism of HDD is budget-friendly, thus the overall price is very low compared to SSD.
Performance
Those laptops which come with SSD are the best laptops and their performance is remarkable. They are very fast and give you the next-level experience of gaming and multitasking.
Whereas, budget laptops are mostly equipped with HDD. Although some of them come with SSD majority of them feature HDD for storing data. Such laptops are good for day-to-day use and casual gaming, anyhow you should not expect high-end productivity like photo editing, programming, or creating animation.
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Final Words
SSD vs HDD reliability, SSD is very reliable. The read and write speed and loading of various applications are very faster. Also, it does not contain any moving parts, so power consumption is very low. The only hindrance for users to get it is the high price tag. However, if your budget is not limited and you can afford SSD, it is better than HDD in every way.
HDD needs more power due to moving parts, so it is not good for portable laptops. Yet, HDD is a popular choice for users with a limited budget. Also, some users give more importance to huge storage space instead of speed. In addition, people who opt for HDD do not care about portability or if their data got corrupted.
Everything you need to know about SSD vs HDD is explained in this article. The final decision is in your hand considering your needs and budget. Still, if you ask us that which one is better HDD vs SSD, we shall recommend SSD.
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