Advantages of Solid State Drives (SSDs)

Solid state drives or SSDs are an electronic storage option that eliminates moving parts that make traditional magnetic hard drives susceptible to damage and mechanical failure. It uses low-latency flash memory similar to cameras and smartphones, where data is stored in a contiguous portion of the SSD chip that can be used (or erased and reused) as needed.

SSDs are considered to be superior to HDD in a variety of ways:

SSD Advantage: Faster Data Access - SSDs can call data faster, thus speeding up startup time and application loading speed.

SSD advantage: more durable - no moving parts, SSD is not susceptible to drops and drops.

SSD Advantage: Lighter Weight - SSDs are lighter in weight than HDDs (ideal for laptops and other portable devices).

SSD advantages: quieter, cooler - SSDs are less noisy and run cooler than HDDs that spin disks and robotic arms.

SSD Advantage: Reduce Data Fragmentation - Data on SSDs is stored in a larger, more compact memory portion than HDDs.

On the other hand, the cost of SSD is two to three times higher than HDD. It usually has less capacity and may have a shorter lifetime (SSDs are ideal for storing and retrieving large numbers of small data files frequently (for example, at startup), but doing the same for large files is more problematic because of the large required semiconductors Strips of material can only be used/erased many times). It is also acceptable that it is more difficult to rescue the data than to use the HDD when the SSD fails.

Advantages of hard disk drive (HDD)

Traditional hard disk drives or HDDs store data on one or more metal disks coated with magnetic material. The disk is mechanically rotated until a particular data segment (or available white space) is aligned with the magnetic recording head, and the magnetic recording head can read and write discrete data bits on the allocated segments, which can be non-continuous to maximize storage . Disk movement creates unique clicks associated with HDDs, which is why they are sometimes referred to as "rotating" disks or drives.

This is why some users think that hard drives are better than SSDs:

Hard Drive Advantages: Greater Capacity - It's easy to find multi-disk drives with 2 TB or larger, but the complex layout of SSD chip circuits has so far been much smaller (128 GB or 256 GB is common).

Hard drive advantage: lower price - flash is still relatively expensive. On a per-GB basis, the cost of a hard drive will be half or one-third the size of an SSD of the same size.

Hard Drive Advantages: Longer Lifetime - Hard drive technology is proven to be reliable unless it is physically damaged. And because it uses more physical processes than electronic processes, it is easier to get data from an HDD than from an SSD.

In terms of drawbacks, HDDs will save and retrieve data more slowly than flash-based SSDs. It will also be heavier, generate more noise, generate more heat, and consume more battery power. So while hard drives are still a popular component in laptops, SSDs are gaining market share in this category.

SSD and HDD: Is the HDD RPM rate important?

If you are looking at a PC with a traditional HDD, be aware of the RPM or the number of revolutions per minute, which measures how quickly the media disk spins within the device. The two most common RPM rates in today's hard drives are 5,400 RPM and 7,200 RPM. [Some hard drives work faster, but they are usually not used on consumer computers. ]

Is the 7,200 RPM hard drive running faster than the 5,400 RPM drive? Yes. Therefore, buying a 7,200 RPM hard drive is one way to improve the performance of your new PC without the extra cost of a solid state drive. [Another option is Intel's Optane memory acceleration technology. However, experts disagree about whether a faster RPM rate will lead to a proportional increase in data access speed. Some people say that the real difference is smaller, the 5,400 RPM drive runs at 100 MB / s, and the 7,200 RPM drive runs at 120 MB / s.

Should I purchase dual storage systems (HDD and SSD)?

PC manufacturers also produce computers that use both HDD and SSD technology. These dual storage systems are designed to take advantage of the best aspects of storage: SSDs for data that require fast repeat access, and HDDs for materials that are more suitable for long-term storage (and less frequent access).

What are the advantages of dual storage HDD / SSD systems? By placing your operating system on an SSD, the initial boot time is much faster because the system can access critical boot files faster (almost immediately) than using HDDs. Depending on the size of the SSD, you can also put the most commonly used software programs and personal files on the SSD. At the same time, you can use larger HDDs to store larger files, such as photos, videos, and games, which are accessed infrequently.

Ready to make a choice? DJS TECH makes it easy to find the SSD or HDD models you need.