When you go for buying a laptop or desktop PC, there are some specifications you might want to know about. Storage memory is one of them that matters a lot when buying a new laptop.
Today, laptops come with the choice of three different types of storage drives i.e. hard disk drive (HDD), solid-state drive (SSD) and solid state hybrid drive (SSHD). As all of them have different configurations and features, so it’s important to know about these components to decide which one you should choose and why.
In this article, we will describe the differences and usability features of HDD, SSD, and SSHD so you can have a clear understanding before buying a new laptop.
Let’s discuss the three:
Hard Disk Drives
HDD is widely used in computers for a long time now. It is one of the most popular forms of non-volatile memory that have been dominating the market since the mid-1980s.
The hard disk drive work by using magnetic platters that spin at a high speed. Each platter is divided into sectors and tracks. A read/write head moves above the platter to reads and writes the data which is stored in order properly.
As HDDs are manufactured and sold in huge quantities, they’re relatively expensive than other two types. They offer a huge life span and available in large capacity with affordable price. But, the major drawback of HDDs is the low data transfer speed when compared to SSDs.
Pros
- HDD is inexpensive and easily available in the market.
- The storage space of HDD is large.
- They have a long life span in terms of read and write cycle.
Cons
- HDD consume a large amount of power.
- They are large and bulky that increase the overall weight of a laptop.
- HDD have moving parts which result in failure of its parts.
- They are slow in performance and create noise while working.
Solid State Drives
Solid State Drives (SSDs) are a relatively new type of computer storage which has been using for the last 18 years. From a couple of years, they are widely used in laptops as they become more affordable and accessible.
They work as a non-volatile memory which store and retrieve the data. Unlike the HDDs, the SSDs have no moving part inside them which make it more reliable and durable. Due to their non-moving parts, the chances of data loss are lower.
SSDs use flash memory which doesn’t clear the data when power is down. Apart from that, they are lighter and more power efficient to increase the battery life. Nowadays, you can find many high-end best SSD laptops in the market but they are comparatively expensive than HDD laptops. In simple words, SSDs are the future.
Pros
- SSDs are more reliable and durable than regular HDDs.
- They consume less power so increase efficiency.
- As they have no moving parts which result in fast data transfer speed.
Cons
- SSDs are expensive and has limited storage space.
- They have a short life span.
Solid State Hybrid Drives
SSHDs can be defined as a combination of SSD and HDD. In simple words, SSHD provides you the storage capacity like HDD and working performance like SSD. It consists of a small amount of NAND flash memory which is fast and reliable to store the most frequently used data. SSHD has a controller chip that decides which data gets stored on SSD and which one on HDD.
You can get some speed benefits by having SSHDs in your laptop but they still contain HDD. This means you’ll have to face similar issues like a hard disk drive in terms of power consumption and weight. They are competitively priced to regular HDDs and can damage due to physical shocks. However, they can be great for people running on a budget or those who require fast storage at an affordable cost.
Pros
- SSHDs have fast data transfer speed and come with large memory space.
- They have less moving parts.
- SSHDs is affordable and last much longer.
Cons
- They are slower and consume more power.
Conclusion
So this was the all about three storage drives. We hope you have now some idea about each of them. For those who are looking to buy a new laptop or desktop and concern about the storage then this guide might help you. If you want more storage at a low cost then you should go with HDD and if want high-speed storage then go with SSD. Alternatively, you can go with SSHD if you want to explore new technology features. This will give you quick boot and fast applications and you can store all your movies and games.