HDD vs SDD What’s the Difference?

Hard Disk, storage, and Disk Space are all terms that many of you are familiar with. Not that long ago, when buying a computer or laptop, you had limited choices of the kind of storage or disk type you were able to have installed. That all changed with the invention of solid-state drives or “SSD”.

What is an HDD?

An HDD or traditional Hard Drive Disk is a data storage device made of metal platters, Magnetic coatings, and moving parts ranging in sizes from 2.5 inches to 3.5 inches, the smaller ones are often used in laptops and the larger ones in desktop computers.

What is an SSD?

An SSD or Solid-State Drive is a data storage device similar to an HDD. But instead of storing the data on moving metal platters in the hard drive, an SSD uses flash memory chips along with an embedded processor to cache, store, and retrieve data. They are about the same size as an HDD.

SSDs have been around in one form or another since the 1970s but only gained popularity in the mid-1990s. As the name implies, SSDs have no moving parts, allowing data to be accessed quickly.

Comparing HDDs and SSDs

Speed: (In a computer, what’s more important, right?)

SSDs are far faster than HDDs, needing less time to access data and files because there is no need for the disk to spin. This allows the SSD to access data almost instantly. If you have ever seen a computer with an SSD boot-up, it is much faster than a traditional HDD.

Noise

SSDs have no moving parts, so their operation is silent, whereas HDDs have moving parts that spin at very high RPM, making all sorts of noise during operation.

Durability

HDDs have multiple moving parts, which makes them susceptible to shock and damage. The more you use an HDD, the more they wear down from all the shock and wear and tear, potentially leading to failure. In contrast, SSDs are a non-mechanical way of storing data on flash memory, offering higher performance and reliability due to the absence of mechanical parts.

SSDs are also more resistant to shocks and damage, enhancing their durability compared to traditional HDDs.

Heat

Heat is often the most frequent cause of failure for an HDD, contributing to its degeneration over time. An SSD generates much less heat, often resulting in a longer lifespan.

Cost

At the moment, SSDs are still more expensive than HDDs, with an average cost of about $1.50 USD per Gigabyte, which can be a significant investment for many small and medium-sized enterprises. However, the difference is narrowing as more and larger storage HDDs become available.

Limitations of SSDs

Despite their advantages, SSDs have some disadvantages. One of the major drawbacks is that you can only write data a limited number of times before the device becomes unusable, with most SSDs lasting around 5 years.

Final Thoughts

Despite having higher costs and lower storage sizes, SSDs are a far superior way of storing data due to their speed in retrieving and writing data. With the advancement of SSD technology, you can expect to see them in more and more computers as time goes by. But until SSD technology overtakes that of HDDs, utilizing SSDs for OS drives and document storage is preferred, while a standard HDD is suitable for large files or long-term storage, such as archiving.

If you have questions about which is the best data storage type for your business, use contact Slick Cyber Systems for assistance at www.slickcybersystems.com or call 570-215-8888.