SSD (Solid State Drive) vs HDD (Hard Disk Drive)

SSD (Solid State Drive) vs HDD (Hard Disk Drive)

What you need to know.

The disk drive of a computer is one of the factors to consider when buying a computer. When you are buying a new computer or looking for a way to upgrade your machine. You will see a lot of references to the two available drives, but which one is best for you?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this article, we will look at the differences between SSD and HDD, the Pros and Cons to help you determine which is best for your needs.

The HDD – This is the traditional disk drive that most desktop or laptop computer possess. It contains a circular disc (platter) that stores data. The disc spins allowing data to be written or read. The faster it spins, the faster the operation and performances of the HDD. The modern HDD uses SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Advancement) port while the Old HDD uses IDE (Integrated Drives Electronics) port to connect to the mother board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SSD – This is a newer storage technology but as been around for a while. If you have a modern laptop, it is likely to use an SSD. SSD has no moving parts as it uses NAND flash memory. The more the NAND memory chips, the more storage capacity it has. The latest SSDs have large capacities similar to HDDs (512GB – 2TB).

Many SDDs come with SATA III ports, which means they can be easily installed in place of a HDD. Many also come in 2.5 inch format smaller than HDD. However, using the SATA III (maximum data speed is 600MB/s) can reduce the performance of the SDD since it was meant for HDD.

For a faster performance of SDD, you can get SSDs that have a PCIe connection (for a smaller board, you may want to take the space of the graphics cards or sound cards). Another common connection for SSDs is the M.2. The M.2 SSDs are typically smaller than other SSDs.

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is the newest SSD technology, and offers incredibly fast data transfer speeds.

 

 

 

 

Differences between the SSD and HDD

Factor	SSDs	HDDs
Price	They are more expensive per gigayte.	They are less expensive.
Access Times	They are faster with no or little access time of 0.1ms.	They are slower with access time of about 5.5 – 8.0ms.
RPM (Revolution Per Minute)	They have no moving parts, so no RPM.	They are determined generally at 5,400 RPM or 7,200 RPM.
Speed	An SSD with SATA III reads at about 550MB/s and writes at about 520MB/s with maximum output at 600MB/s determined by the SATA III port. PCIe or M.2 SSDs average speed range from around 1.2BG/s – 1.4GB/s with maximum output at 2.2GB/s.	A HDD with SATA III at 5,400 RPM will have speeds of around 100MB/s, while a 7,200 RPM will be 150MB/s.
Energy Savings	They consume between 2 and 5 watts.	They consume between 6 and 15 watts.
Backup Rates	Faster backup rate	Slower backup rate
CPU Power	SSDs have an average I/O wait 1% on the CPU.	HDDs have an average I/O wait of about 7% on the CPU.
Reliability	SSDs have a failure rate of less than 0.5%.	HDDs failure rate fluctuates between 2 – 5%.
I/O Performance	SSDs deliver at least 6000 io/s.	HDDs reach up to 400 io/s.

In summary, which is best for you? SSD or HDD? Yes, SSDs are faster, more robust and more power-efficient, HDDS are more affordable especially when it comes to larger capacities.

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