What’s the difference between SSD and HDD?

We will see the difference between SSDs and HDDs in this blog post. Let us first familiarize ourselves with their full forms. SSD stands for Solid State Drive and HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive. Both disks are used to store data in computers and other devices such as Xbox and servers. This post helps you find out the difference between SSD and HDD. Also, this blog post helps you decide which is the better data storage choice for your needs an SSD or HDD.

Hard Disk Drives (HDDs)

Understanding Hard Disk Drives HDDs

A hard disk drive or simply hard disk is used to store data in computers. Hard Disk Drives (HDD) are a “non-volatile” form of storage devices. Non-volatile means that the data written to the disk stays there even if the power is cut. E.g. our computer’s internal hard disk drive retains the data even after being shut down and restarted again.

How does a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Work?

Hard Disk Drives are sold in an enclosure of their own. Their outer shell or enclosure protects the fragile components inside them. Inside the outer shell of a hard disk lies a rotating disk-like plate which is called the platter. The platter is a circular magnetic plate that looks like a CD or DVD but has nothing in common except the shape. It’s important to note that many platters are stacked over one another inside a hard disk drive. HDD uses a magnetic arm to read or write data to its platters.

Advantages of Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

Affordable Pricing

Hard Disk Drives have been there for a long time now. The world’s first hard disk drive was invented by IBM in 1953. Over the years there have been tremendous improvements in these drives. This evolution has made HDDs cheaper than ever.

1 TB internal HDD costs around $ 30 or ₹ 2500 in India.

1 TB external HDD costs around $ 60 or ₹ 5000 in India.

Large Storage Capacity

The first ever hard disk drive had a storage capacity of 3.75MB. Yet, with evolving technology, the storage capacity of hard disk drives has been enhanced to up to 20TB. The most commonly used hard disk sizes are 500GB, 1TB, 2TB etc.

Compact Size

You know what? Size does matter in some cases. Especially in technology, the compact size of components makes it easier to fit them in personal computers and laptops. Back in the day, hard disk drives with a storage capacity of a few megabytes were bigger than refrigerators. But in 2023 you can fit a 20TB hard disk drive in your palm!

Disadvantages of Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

Slower Speeds

HDDs are extremely slower in accessing and writing data as compared to SSDs. Most of the HDDs have data transfer speeds of around 80MB/s to 200MB/s. However, in normal usage, you’ll find the average data read-write speeds to be around 100MB/s.

Mechanical Components & Fragility

A typical hard disk drive includes a stack of multiple rotating platters, a motor, a mechanical magnetic arm, a dust protective chamber and an external enclosure. All these mechanical components make the hard disk more fragile. Thus protective casing is needed.

Relatively Larger & Heaviour than SSDs

Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) are relatively larger and heavier due to multiple layers of enclosures and a large number of mechanical components. The large size makes them unfit for slim laptops.

Solid State Drives (SSDs)

Understanding Solid State Drives (SSDs)

A Solid State Disk or SSD is used to store data in computers. Solid State Disk (SSD) is a “non-volatile” form of storage device. Non-volatile means that the data written to the disk stays there even if the power is cut. E.g. All photos and videos on your pen drive remain as it is even if you disconnect the pen drive.

How does a Solid State Disk (SSD) Work?

Solid State Disks use flash memory to save data. These SSDs use electrical circuits to save data in blocks within the flash memory. The data is stored in the form of excess or less electron charge in these blocks in the form of 0s or 1s.

In place of the magnetic arms as in HDDs, we have controllers to manage all the flash memory cells. The controller tells the specific cell and block inside flash memory to change, edit, erase or save data. The controller also handles the distribution of data and garbage collection.

Advantages of Solid State Disks (SSDs)

Lightening Fast Speed

A SATA SSD provides data read or write speeds of around 500GB/s. While an NVMe SSD has terrific data transfer speeds of around 3000GB/s to 3500GB/s.

Energy Efficiency

SSDs have no moving components within them and thus they are very energy efficient. SSDs use just a fraction of the power as compared to that of HDDs.

Portability & Size

SSDs are extremely small and tiny. They are very thin and weigh almost the same as a pen drive. This makes SSDs more portable. Its compact size is a huge benefit for laptops, tablets and other handheld devices.

Disadvantages of Solid State Disks (SSDs)

Higher Costs

Manufacturing SSDs is a very difficult and resource-intensive task. This makes SSDs very costly as compared to HDDs.

Price of Internal SSDs in India:

Price of External SSDs in India:

The price of 1TB external SSD in India is between ₹4500 to ₹8000 or $55 to $100 depending upon the technologies used and the data transfer speed.

Limited Write Cycles

SSDs have a limited write cycle. After the write cycles are exhausted the performance degrades and the lifespan of the SSD comes to an end. However, it shouldn’t be a concern for you because the SSD write cycles are enough to last for years. You can also check the health of your SSD. Windows 11 also gives you a warning when you should take a backup and install another SSD.

The difference between SSD and HDD

Conclusion

SSDs are faster and better and are more useful in some use cases than others. For example, SSDs are better for storing the operating system files and all your installed programs and apps.

SSDs are not an ideal choice for storing other personal data such as movies, photos and videos for a longer time. This is because they can leak data if not powered for a longer time. SSDs are also expensive as compared to the HDDs.

Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) are slower but they are cheaper and have a longer lifespan. Thus HDDs are perfect for storing large amounts of data for a longer time.

It is important to select the right storage solution for your PC and make a balance in both storage solutions if possible.

SSD Vs. HDD Vs. Hybrid – Which is better?

If you’re someone who does resource-intensive tasks such as gaming, photo editing, coding and video editing on your personal computer you must have an internal SSD in your computer.

If you use Windows 10, Windows 11 or later on your personal computer it’s recommended to use an SSD for all your programs and Windows OS files for a better overall performance. If you use an SSD on Windows 10 0r Windows 11 you’ll see apps open instantly and the system boots much faster. Survival on Windows 10 or Windows 11 without an SSD is possible but it’s not recommended.