If you’re looking to buy a new laptop or upgrading an older machine, you may come across Solid-state Drive and Hard Disk Drive. Both do the same job: they boot your system and store your applications and personal files.
Here is a definition of each:
A Hard Disk Drive is “a hardware device which reads, writes and stores data.” The HDD (hard drive) is located within the computer, directly to the disk controller of the computer’s motherboard. They are powered by a connection to the power supply. Examples of software stored in the HDD include: the operating system, installed software and personal files (such as documents, images etc.). The operating system is vital to allow people to use the computer so the HDD is, arguably, the most important component for most users. A hard drive is also required for the installation of any programmes or other files that need to be stored on the computer. When downloading files, they are saved onto the HDD until uninstalled or moved to another storage device (such as USB stick). SSD stands for ‘Solid-state Drive’ and is a newer type of storage device now used in computers. SSD’ replace the older, more traditional, mechanical hard disks by using flash-based memory. A benefit of this is that it is significantly faster. SSD’s are also far less likely to fail than a more traditional HDD, due to hard disks being mechanical and rely on a moving part to gather data. SSD’s work completely differently; they use a simple memory chip called NAND flash memory, which has no moving parts and a near-instant access times. Business’ rely heavily on SSD’s as file-transfer speeds need to be as quick as possible, and this isn’t always the case on traditional hard drives. Gaming is also an area which uses SSD drives specifically for the factor of speed.
It is worth noting that replacing a hard drive with an SSD is one of the best things you can do to dramatically improve the performance of your older computer. SSDs make your PC start up faster, and programs feel much more responsive. Another advantage of SSDs is that they have no moving parts, so they are immune to the shocks that can damage hard drives when laptops are bumped around or even dropped. Since SSDs have no moving parts, they run considerably more quietly, enjoy faster access time, and lower power consumption over hard disk drives.
When choosing between an SSD and HDD, the first big difference you’ll notice at first is the price. SSDs are more expensive than hard drives and they will likely remain more expensive for the foreseeable future since they use a newer technology. However, I believe time is a valuable resource for us all, which makes SSDs worth the extra cost.