SSD vs HDD: Which is Best For You?

Buying a portable PC for you can be an exciting experience, but choosing the right memory storage can be confusing. Presently laptops come with two storage options i.e, HDD and SSD.

HDD (hard disk drive) is an old school storage device that uses mechanical parts to read and write the data. The SSD (solid-state device) is the new storage device of the modern era that stores data on semiconductor chips.

There are several manufacturers of both these storage devices, but Seagate, Intel, and WD (Western Digital) are the best among all selling brands in the market. Western Digital 1TB WD Blue PC Hard Drive, Seagate BarraCuda 4TB Internal Hard Drive HDD, and Intel 1.6 TB Solid State Drive are the best selling hard drives. Whereas, WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD, Silicon Power P34A80, Intel Optane SSD 905P, and BarraCuda Q1 SSD 960 GB are some of the widely used solid-state storage devices.

In this article, we will discuss the key features of HDD and SSD, which will make it clear which storage is right for you.

Hard Disk Drive

HDD is also known as a hard disk. It’s an electromechanical data storage device that contains a spinning disk with a magnetic coating. Besides this, it also contains an arm with several heads to read and write data. The arms rapidly move over a magnetic disc to write the data. It’s a nonvolatile data storage device that is generally installed in computers and is directly attached to the disk controller. 

It was invented in 1956 and came into the market in 1961 under the name RAMAC. It is available in two forms i.e, 2.5” HDD and 3.5” HDD. 3.5 inch HDD has a greater data transfer speed than 2.5” HDD. 

Advantages of HDD 

• It is much cheaper than an SSD as its production cost is lower.
• It is available in larger storage options than the SSD.
• They are easily available in both external and internal forms in the market
• It’s a nonvolatile memory that allows you to access data even when there is no power.

Disadvantages OF HDD

• It is a mechanical device with moving parts, so whenever there is a sudden drop and shudders, the risk of scraping increases.
• It makes a lot of noise due to the constant rotation of the magnetic disc and movement of the reading write arm.
• It consumes more power than an SSD.
• Its speed depends on RPM and is much lower than SSD.

Solid State Drive

SSD is also known as flash memory devices and uses IC assemblies to store data persistently. It is named as solid-state because it does not consist of moving parts. It’s a small semiconductor chip that has the same functionality as an HDD, but it’s very compact. Intel 1.6 TB Solid State Drive is small as a postage stamp and delivers superior performance and durability. It is available in three different sizes i.e. 2.5”, 1.8”, and 1.0”.

Advantages of SSD

• Its access speed is about 35 to 100 microseconds, which is much larger than HDD. This will reduce the application loading time and results in better user experience.
• It is more resistant and durable to physical damage.
• It is very lightweight and therefore, much better suited for people who are usually on tours.
• It consumes very little power, therefore, increases the battery life of your laptops.
• Its life is more than the traditional HDD.

Disadvantages of SSD

• The biggest disadvantage of an SSD is that it is very expensive.
• It is difficult to recover the lost data from the SSD

Conclusion

Both SSD and HDD have their advantages, in case you are looking for an ultra-thin laptop, then have to buy an SSD laptop. But, if your budget is very less and you need large storage, then you should go with an HDD laptop.