The advantages of an SSD storage device are significant. In recent years, you have increasingly seen an SSD used as a storage device.
However, there is still one drawback. SSDs are still costly compared to hard disks. That is why small SSDs are placed next to a large hard drive storage capacity to have all the advantages of an SSD still. Despite the (even) higher price for an SSD. The benefits of an SSD storage device compared to a hard disk are great. Below is a list of reasons you should choose an SSD instead of a hard drive.
Table of Contents
Advantages of an SSD Storage device
An overview of the reasons why having an SSD is the right choice.
Faster
The most significant advantage is that an SSD is much faster than a hard disk. For example, a hard disk in a desktop computer can read and write 100 to 160MB / s via the SATA 600 standard. On the other hand, an SSD connected via the same SATA 600 cable achieves 500MB / s to 550MB / s.
Do you have an older computer with a SATA 300 connection? Then an SSD will also be an improvement. An SSD will then achieve around 260MB / s. New generations of SSDs are no longer connected via SATA but via the PCI Express connection. Such SSDs with a PCI-E connection can achieve even higher speeds of 1000MB / s and more.
Because there are no moving parts, you can always access your data directly. This makes the access time of an SSD much faster. With a hard disk, this is 16ms (milliseconds) that you must wait before your data is there. This does not sound long, but with an SSD, this is less than 0.1ms!
More energy efficient
An SSD also uses less energy than a hard disk. A hard disk in the desktop of the 3.5 ″ format consumes around 5 to 9 watts. The smaller 2.5 ″ sizes that you mainly find in portable computers use 3 watts. This consumption is always there, even if the hard disk does nothing, also known as idle. Think of it as the standby mode of television.
With an SSD, the consumption is only 0.1 watt if it is idle. However, the consumption is 3 to 4 watts when reading and writing. Keep in mind that most of the time, a storage device does nothing. Do you understand that this is a considerable energy saving? This is a great advantage, especially for portable computers.
Lighter in weight
An SSD is made of a different material than a hard disk. A hard disk is always provided with an airtight metal housing that is relatively heavy. On the other hand, an SSD does not need protection and sometimes only has a plastic housing around the circuit board. In addition, the size of an SSD is always smaller than 2.5 ″.
Less sensitive to shock
Because there are no rotating parts in an SSD, other advantages exist. For example, an SSD is less shock sensitive. Because there is no mechanical arm over a rotating disc. An SSD is also ideal for portable computers because they are moved more than a desktop computer on the desk.
Noiseless
Because there is no rotating magnetic disk and other moving parts, there is an SSD. An SSD is silent. You hear nothing at all. There is also no fan on an SSD.
Cooler
Because there is no friction between rotating parts, an SSD produces less heat. This is also an advantage for other parts of the computer. Lower temperatures increase the life of the computer.
Efficient and Reliable
The SSD drive uses flash memory for data storage, which makes it efficient and reliable over HDD.
Easy installation
Easy installation is also added an SSD advantage. In addition, it does not require any prior experience.
Magnetism
A Solid State Drive (SSD) memory could not be removed/affected by a strong magnet.
Disadvantages of an SSD
However, there are also disadvantages, so not everyone has an SSD yet. On the other hand, it benefits it over HDD as it is strongly affected by strong magnets because magnetism is required to write information to the platter.
What is SSD? >>
Why does an SSD Disk not exist?>>
Higher price per GB
The main reason is the price you have to pay for an SSD. You pay a lot more per GB of storage capacity. Are you looking at new models with an even faster PCI Express connection? Then the prices rise even further.
In short, you want a large storage capacity of 1000GB or more. Then a hard drive is a logical choice because of the price of around € 85.
That is why you often see the choice of 2 storage devices on a computer. An SSD with low storage capacity can easily be used as a boot disk containing the operating system and the most important programs. And a hard disk with a lot of storage capacity containing all other files such as photos, videos, and documents.
This way, you have an ideal distribution of a lot of storage capacity at a relatively low price. But with the advantages of a fast SSD.
Degradation: shorter lifespan?
Another reason that is often mentioned as a drawback is the lifespan of an SSD. But, again, this would be shorter than a hard disk.
The lifespan of SSDs is expressed in the number of write cycles on which a memory cell can change to a different value. A chip cannot be described indefinitely and suffers from degradation. Samsung, one of the largest SSD manufacturers, is guaranteed to have a lifespan of 1000 cycles.
With a hard drive, these writing cycles are endless, and therefore the life expectancy seems higher. But due to the rotating parts in a hard disk, other factors are also important for the lifespan.
HDD: expected life of 3 to 5 years
20% of all hard drives fail in the first three years. Of the 80% who still work after these three years, another 12% break yearly. In 5 years, about 50% of the hard drives sold have failed. The expected life of a hard disk is 3 to 5 years.
If you compare this with an SSD, the life expectancy is much higher. When you use an SSD with more than 30GB of write data per day. Then it takes 24 years to get 3000 cycles with an SSD of 160GB. So the more capacity the SSD has, the longer it will last.
The website Compuram.de performed an SSD lifespan test. The conclusion was that an SSD is perfectly fine for normal consumer use. However, the guaranteed lifespan of 1000 cycles was also exceeded by a factor of 3 when the first SSD started to show problems.
SSD: expected life of 75 years
The scenario applies to most consumers and is saved with 10GB of data daily. If you translate that into the test results of hardware.info, a lifespan of 75 years for an SSD is realistic. In short, as a consumer, you do not have to worry about the lifespan of an SSD compared to a hard drive.
