Every computer has a way to store information. The two primary storage devices within computers today are, Hard Drives, and SSD’s. Many people don’t understand the difference between the two. So this is going to be a comparison of the two different types and hopefully helps you decide which should be in your next PC.
Hard Drives
Hard drives are much older then SSD drives and have been around since the invention of the computer. Hard Drives are made up of metal disks that store information, it also had an arm that moves over the disks to read and write. Hard Drives actually works a lot
like a record player. One of the benefits of a traditional hard drive is storage capacity. For a low cost you can get a huge amount of storage. Hard drives that have 8Tbs are available and actually not that expensive. However one of the issues with hard drives are moving parts. Whenever you have parts that move the chances of something breaking goes way up. Because of the moving parts, you never see mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets include hard drives. Hard drives are more prone to going having failures then SSD drives are. This doesn’t mean they are bad, but is something to keep in mind.
SSD Drives
SSD drives are a much newer technology then traditional hard drives. They are also MUCH faster then a normal hard drive. They are almost 10 times faster then hard drives. One of the reasons for this is because an SSD doesn’t actually have any moving parts. This means that they are more reliable, but it also means that SSD drives offer much less capacity. SSD drives are being used in many laptops due to their reliability and thinness. Some computers will actually come with an SSD drive which is used for programs and the operating system. While the traditional hard drive is used for large files and pictures. SSD drives are also much more expensive. You will pay more for less storage, how the prices are dropping and the storage size keeps rising.
These are a few of the differences between traditional hard drives and SSD drives. Choosing which type of storage device to have in your next computer is always tough. Talk to your local computer store about what you will be using it for and they can suggest a good direction to go. For example, checking email doesn’t require and SSD, but video processing can be greatly sped up with the use of an SSD.