SSD Vs HDD: Effective Guide To Choose in 2024

Are you planning to purchase a desktop computer or laptop and wondering what configuration you should go with? Allow me to help you out with one of the most important features at least, and that’s the storage part.

We will cover all aspects of SSD Vs HDD and will guide you through what to buy when you have choices of 256GB SSD vs 1TB HDD notebook computer.

We’ll also research SSD vs HDD speed tests, gaming functionality, life span. I will also tell you my personal experience of SSD and HDD notebook as I replaced SSD as my notebook’s primary storage.

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

Storage Technology

Uses flash memory (NAND) to store data

Uses spinning magnetic disks (platters) to store data

Speed

Much faster, with data read/write speeds up to several GB/s

Slower, with typical read/write speeds of 100–150 MB/s

Durability

More durable, no moving parts, less prone to physical damage

Less durable, has moving parts which are prone to mechanical failure

Price

More expensive per GB of storage

Cheaper per GB of storage

Capacity

Typically available in smaller capacities (up to 8TB for consumer drives)

Available in much larger capacities (up to 20TB for consumer drives)

Power Consumption

Lower power consumption, more energy efficient

Higher power consumption, less energy efficient

Noise

Silent operation, no moving parts

Can produce noise due to spinning disks and moving read/write heads

Form Factor

Available in smaller form factors like 2.5″, M.2, and PCIe cards

Typically 2.5″ or 3.5″ in size for consumer PCs

Boot Time

Faster boot times, typically a few seconds

Slower boot times, can take up to a minute or more

Lifespan

Limited number of write cycles, but modern SSDs last many years under normal usage

Can last longer under frequent read/write cycles, but prone to mechanical wear over time

Fragmentation

Not affected by fragmentation

Performance can degrade due to fragmentation over time

Data Recovery

More difficult and expensive to recover data if the drive fails

Easier to recover data in case of failure, though mechanical failure can make it difficult

Weight

Lighter due to absence of moving parts

Heavier because of mechanical components

Common Use Cases

Ideal for operating systems, software, gaming, and high-performance tasks

Commonly used for bulk storage and backup, media libraries, or for less speed-sensitive tasks

Heat Generation

Generates less heat

Generates more heat due to mechanical movement

Lifespan Predictability

Predictable lifespan; failure usually gradual due to wear

May fail suddenly due to mechanical parts failure

SSD Vs HDD – what are the Major difference

Here we will compare both kinds of storage drives (SSD and HDD) that are generally utilized to permanently store data on the desktop and the laptops and will find out “SSD vs HDD difference”.

Conventionally these hard disk drives act as a storage solution in desktops and in notebooks. The hard disk commercial usage started way back in 1957 as IBM launched it and was named Random Access Storage. In the initial days of Hard Disk, it used to be 24 inches, but it was reduced to its standard size of 2.5 inches and 3.5 inches with time.

SSD has evolved faster than HDD and SSD is now even available in size of RAM known as NVMe.

But in recent decades, the SSDs or solid-state drives have gained popularity due to their speed, performance, power consumption, and form element.

Let us know the difference between SSD and HDD in respect to performance and speed, working principle, price and storage capacity, power consumption, durability, cooling effect, and several other elements.

SSD Vs HDD Speed and functionality

Let us start with performance and speed; that is the principal element when purchasing a laptop or PC for you. let us see where both the storage devices stand when we test speed in SSD vs HDD.

Over years the data density of the hard disk drive has increased also. But the rate of HDD has not increased at a matching rate.

Paradoxically, the current day hard drive’s access time remains in the variety of a few milliseconds. Along with the successive read or write rate remains around 100 MBPS.

So, you may wonder that is not slow but let me remind you that we aren’t talking about net speed here rather we are considering the read-write speed.

Okay, then allow me to inform you that RAM’s access time and the cache memory used in the laptops and computers are in the range of nanoseconds, which is significantly less than those hard drives’ access time.

Even in case you’ve got an extremely high-end CPU coupled with a graphics card and RAM nevertheless, you won’t be able to extract the best performance from that system if you’re stuck with the slow HDDs.

With top CPUs or GPUs, the operation of your system will undoubtedly increase. Due to the hard disk restriction, the PC boot time and the software’s launching will be delayed.

And in actuality, even it is possible to accomplish the sequential read and write rate in the assortment of Giga Bytes per second using this SSD.

Now let us look into those drives’ inner structure, and let’s find out why SSDs are so quick, and hard disk drives are relatively slow compared to these SSDs.

When you look at the hard disk drive, hard disks are made of a rotating disk called the platers.

So, these platters rotate at the standard rate of 5400 or 7200 RPM on notebooks. And in certain conditions hard disk, the rate can go up to 15000 RPM.

The information is typically saved in this hard disk drive in the kind of tracks and the sectors.

Now, as it entails the moving parts, there’s a limit on the rate at which the information can be obtained or written on those hard disk drives. And to be exact, if I say, they’re designed with the NAND flash memory.

So, besides the flash memory, the SSD also comprises the microcontroller and a little cache memory. And using the cache, it is possible to keep the incoming and the outgoing data temporarily.

(I ran SSD vs HDD speed test with Windows 10 operating system)

SSD Vs HDD Form Factor

Let us compare the two drives concerning the size.

As of now, HDDs can be found in two sizes or form factors. For a desktop, it’s offered in a 3.5-inch size, while for a notebook, it comes in a 2.5-inch.

On the opposite hand,  SSDs can be found in many sizes.

Aside from these, the mSATA and the M.2 SSDs can be found in minimal form factors. And they are used in Ultrabooks and tabs.

You can replace your disk drive of a notebook with an SSD with the help of a 3.5-inch caddy.

The most frequent HDDs storage capacity is 1 TB, which can typically go up to 4 TB. On the other hand, SSDs storage capacity begins from 120 GB and can go up to up to 2 TB.

SSD Vs HDD cost

The 2 TB SSDs are too costly and can go up to 50000 Rupees or $700.

However, if we discuss the price, these SSDs are much more expensive than hard disk drives.

Whereas HDD cost is about 3 to 6 rupees per GB based on brand, quality, and speed. 1TB HDD price generally in India is about Rs 3500 for internal use of notebook or desktop.

As COVID-19 lockdown has gone and markets are returning to their normal business, the SSD rates are also reduced. You can get a 500 GB NVMe SSD at 5200 Rupees in INDIA, which cost you around 9000 Rs previously. Check out the new SSD additions at Amazon. 

SSD vs HDD power consumption and Data Durability

As you know, HDD has rotating components, and your electricity consumption will reduce to nearly 70% when you shift to SSDs from hard drives. In my personal experience, I can tell you that after I installed SSD in my notebook(It had HDD originally for storage and it still has the HDD but as the secondary storage), the backup has gone to 7hrs from nearly 4 hours.

Also, SSD needs less cooling because of no mechanical component, keeping your laptops cooler than HDD.

HDD are more vulnerable to physical damage compared to SSDs since it is made of platters. However, HDD can sustain more information cycles than SSD. The information cycle means the time you upload and erase files or documents to your hard disk.

However, as of today, these SSDs are somewhat more expensive compared to hard disk drives. If somebody is searching for higher storage space, he can choose the hard disk drive which he can find within a reasonable cost.

SSD VS HDD Notebook Performance

This part will compare HDD and SSD in w.r.t my testing on an older laptop. Here is a short story for unfamiliar people: I have an older laptop where I would like to replace some parts such as the keyboard with a touchpad and upgrade the hard drive. There are benefits to both of these options, so I will compare HDD and SSD to determine which would be best.

In testing the two in terms of performance and speed, the conclusion is fairly obvious; the SSD wins by afar. The difference between the two is minimal and insignificant in reality, so all things considered, the SSD wins this comparison.

Conclusion of SSD Vs HDD

On the other end, if a person wants rapid performance and is willing to pay extra bucks for that functionality, then should with the SSDs.

My personal opinion will be to have an SSD and HDD both at precisely the same time. While SSD can be your boot drive, in HDD, you can save your all seldom-used data.

Shop your infrequently used data in HDD for more extraordinary performance and battery backup. The less you get those data, the less the HDD will be utilized, which will increase your PC’s performance.

FAQs in SSD Vs HDD