Hard Disk Drive vs. Solid-State Drive: What You Need to Know

Can you tell the difference between a hard disk drive (HDD) and a solid-state drive (SSD)? The average consumer probably wouldn’t be able to understand the intricacies of either, but the fact remains that the two different types of drives have various advantages and disadvantages over the other. Understanding them is an important part of being a technology owner, and you should know what to expect from both hard disk drives and solid state drives.

In fact, you might be surprised by how much different a solid state drive is from your typical hard disk drive. Here are a couple of differences that can help you pinpoint which storage medium is better for your business.

Hard Disk Drives
First, let’s examine the hard drive. The reason it’s called a hard disk drive is because there’s a disk spinning inside of the drive. These disks are used for data storage, and HDDs are commonly found inside computers as their internal storage units. Some HDDs can be purchased externally and can be plugged into devices via a USB port for extra storage space. The main issue with HDD storage is that the drives are prone to operational failure due to shocks, bumps, and drops, as a result of the way their inner mechanics work.

Solid State Drive
In contrast to the hard disk drive, a solid state drive has a faster data transfer rate, thanks to its tendency to function without requiring the reading and writing of data. Unlike the hard disk drive, there is no disk spinning inside the solid state drive, which makes it less prone to hardware failure. SSDs use the power of flash memory to provide faster data transfer rates and reliability, making them great for improved data retention in a desktop’s local storage.

The Difference
One of the most notable differences between SSDs and HDDs is data storage. Hard disk drives have a greater storage capacity while an equally-priced solid state drive is significantly more reliable and efficient. SSDs use less power, transfer data at higher speeds, and are less likely to experience hardware failure; all of this combined makes for a relatively superior choice for data storage.

However, one of the largest differences between SSDs and HDDs is the immense difference in value per byte of data. According to PCmag.com:

At one-sixth the storage capacity and three times the price of a hard drive, there is a huge discrepancy in cost per byte between the two storage media. However, in 2014, 500GB at USD $349.99 was considerably less expensive for an SSD than just a few years prior.

Of course, all good things come with a price, and in the case of solid state drives, they’re more expensive than hard disk drives (though the price gap is shrinking these days). Still, this can be considered a small price to pay for the many benefits of a solid state drive. It’s important that you consider all of these factors, plus some, when deciding what kind of technology you want to use for your business’s data storage needs. Do you require a significant increase in the performance of your workstations, or are you more concerned with ensuring that they have the space required to store excessive amounts of data?

Computerware can give your business a few pointers as to what types of data storage mediums will be most beneficial for your company’s infrastructure. To learn more, give us a call at (703) 821-8200.