SSD vs HDD which one should you consider?12 min read

Often there is confusion about whether to buy a SSD or HDD. In order to clear the confusion we need to understand what is the difference between a SSD and a HDD. HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive and SSD stands for Solid State Drive. Both are of course storage devices but they store data differently. These two kinds of drives have different functions, so it will not be apt to highlight one from the other. There are virtues and shortcomings to each type of drive, and deciding on which type is correct for you depends on how you use your computer. Our guide shows you how each type of storage drive works and what it means for you.

What is a HDD

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) is a non-volatile storage device. These drives have been around for more than 50 years, and the technology behind hard disk drives is reliable and well-tested.

How does a HDD work?

Hard Disk Drive uses magnetism for storing data. The data is read from the disk by detecting the transitions in magnetization. An ideal HDD design consists of a spindle that holds flat circular disks, called platters, which again holds the recorded data. The platter that spins at high speed while a read/write head is placed above it does the read and write on the spinning platter.

What is a SSD

SSD stands for Solid State Drive. It does not have any moving parts similar to a USB drive. The information is stored in the form of microchips on a SSD. Data is accessible directly from the microchip so it is much faster than the HDD. 

The NAND-based flash memory is used in SSD which is a non-volatile memory type. It stores the data even after the disk has been turned off. Modern SSD is able to store the data for up to 200 years. 

How does a SSD work?

SSDs are like large USB drives; they use the same base technology i.e. NAND. The technology in solid state drives, is a kind of flash memory. At the lowest level, floating gate transistors record a charge (or lack of a charge) to store data. The gates are made in a grid design, which is further organized into a block. For those who like gaming with AAA titles 25GB + Games and want to do any kind of Video Editing should buy an SSD as it is lightweight. You can use SSD for Notebooks, laptops as the storage space is desirable. 

Benefits and Drawbacks of HDD and SSD

1. Pricing

A 1TB internal 2.5-inch hard drive costs between $40 and $60 or less than that. The price of Hard drive (HDD) has decreased day by day.

SSDs are more expensive than hard drives in terms of dollar per gigabyte. To buy a quality SSD of 1TB, you need to spend $125-$500 or more than that.

2. Speed

An SSD-equipped PC will boot in far less than a minute, whereas a hard drive requires time to speed up to operate, and it will continue to be slower than an SSD during normal use. 

A PC or Mac with an SSD boots faster, launches, runs apps faster, and transfers files faster.

Hard drives work best with larger files for their rotary recording surfaces as they are laid down in contiguous blocks.

3. Reliability and durability

SSD is faster, more predictable in it’s decay it’s very nature does not make it reliable at all. On the other hand, the HDD data is physically written which means that the only way to lose the data is to physically destroy the platters. The results in a HDD being much more reliable for DATA than a SSD as any issues on the HDD can simply be fixed by replacing the broken part. SSD Data Recovery is complicated/ultra expensive and using a HDD alongside is the only real safety which would cost 10–20 times less than technicians extraction

4. Noise

A hard drive will emit a bit of noise when it is in use. Even the quietest also make noise. So you can well understand that faster HHDs will tend to make more noise. In comparison SSDs make no noise at all. A SSD doesn’t have to expend electricity spinning up a platter from a standstill and thus none of the energy is wasted and it renders things more efficiently.

5. Storage

If you consider price and capacity, Hard drives win, whereas SSDs work best if speed, ruggedness, form factor, noise, or fragmentation are important to you. If it were not for the price and capacity issues, SSDs would be the hands-down winner.

When you decide to buy a Hard Drive Disk, you should look for a good and reliable Brand. On this point, you should choose the hard disk with high storage capacity and data transfer speed and data security Here is our list of 5 best HDD available in India :

1. Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2 TB External HDD  

Specification:

• Capacity : 2TB
• Hardware Interface :  USB 3.0
• Warranty : 3 years
• Rating : 4.4/5

Why do we like it:

• If you’re looking for the best external hard drive that will save you a ton of cash, Seagate Backup Plus Slim could be your match.

• With compatibility for both Mac and Windows machines, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim is very flexible, and comes with a light blue case that’s dust and water resistant, along with a built-in USB 3.0 cable.

•  your data kept protected from knocks and drops with the rugged shell, 

• Seagate Toolkit enables on-demand backup along with automatic hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly backups.

2. Western Digital WD 2TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive, Black 

Specification:

• Capacity : 2TB
• Hardware Interface : Superspeed USB 3.0 port; USB 2.0 compatible
• Warranty : 3 years 
• Rating : 4.3/5

Why do we like it:

• The latest Western Digital My Passport Portable External Hard Drive, has 2TB capacity, and they’re among the best external hard drives.

•  It features My Passport password protection and built-in 256-bit AES hardware encryption. Just activate password protection and set your own personalized password using WD Discovery.

• It is a good performer when it comes to data transfer speeds but doesn’t come near the top of the leaderboard. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t reach the top speeds of solid state external drives, but for external hard drives based on traditional HDDs, this is the drive to consider.

3. Toshiba Canvio Basic 2TB A2 USB 3.0 External Hard Drive (Black)

Specification:

• Capacity : 2TB
• Hardware Interface : USB:3.0
• Warranty : Not mentioned.
• Rating : 4.4/5

Why do we like it:

• It has Matt finish compact casing.
• It has a Super speed USB 3.0 port.
• This HDD is Easy to plug and play. 
• It has Built-in internal shock sensor.
• The Sleek, matte black design model is half that size, comparable to other 1 TB models.
• It works reliably so far and also has good transfer speeds on the right kind of USB port (connect to the blue USB 3 ports on laptops/desktops for best results).

4. Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB Internal Hard Drive HDD

Specification:

• Capacity : 1TB
• Interface : SATA 6Gb/s
• Warranty : 2 Years
• Rating : 4/5

Why do we like it:

• It is Cost-effective storage. It Store all your games, music, movies and more with up to 4TB SATA 6Gb/s interface.
• The Instant Secure Erase feature allows safe and easy drive retirement Protect data with Self-Encrypting Drive (SED).
• You can count on affordable BarraCuda drives as 2.5 and 3.5 inch HDD solutions for nearly any application-working, playing and storing your movies and music.
• BarraCuda drives are a cost-effective way to handle all your PC needs.

5. Lenovo Portable 1TB External Hard Disk Drive HDD

Specification:

• Capacity : 1TB
• Interface : USB 3.0
• Warranty : Not Mentioned.
• Rating : 4.3/5

Why do we like it:

• It has a LED notification.
• It’s very compact and it easily fits to the pocket.
• With USB 3.0, you’ll have blazing-fast access to 1TB of ultra-slim, with transfer speeds up to 10x faster than USB 2.0. 
•  Safe storage ready for your photos, movies, music, or more sensitive data.
• The robust feature has anti-static resistance, and a soft rubber underbelly which helps to transfer your data safely.

If you need speed and a robust drive a SSD is the best option you have. Here is our list of 5 best SSD available in India. 

1. Western Digital WD Green 240 GB 2.5 inch SATA III Internal Solid State Drive

Specification:

• Capacity : 240 GB
• Interface : SATA 6.0 GB/S
• Warranty : 3 years
• Rating : 4.4/5

Why do we like it:

• WD Green SSDs boost the everyday computing experience in your desktop or laptop PC.
• You can browse the web, play a game, or simply start your system in a flash with the performance boost.
• It is lightweight and shock resistant.
• WD Green SSDs are among the lowest power consuming drives in the industry.

2. Samsung 970 EVO Plus 250GB PCIe NVMe M.2 (2280) Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Specification:

• Capacity : 2TB
• Interface : NVMe (PCIe Gen 3.0 x 4)
• Warranty : 5 years
• Rating : 4.6/5

Why do we like it:

• It maximizes the potential of NVMe bandwidth for unbeatable computing. 
• The 970 EVO Plus fits up to 2TB onto the compact M.2 (2280) form factor, greatly expanding storage capacity and saving space for other components.
•  The 970 EVO Plus provides surprising endurance powered by the latest V-NAND technology.
• It has an advanced nickel-coated controller and heat spreader on the 970 EVO Plus which enables superior heat dissipation.

3. Intel Optane 905P – best U.2 SSD

Specification:

• Capacity : 960 GB
• Interface : PCI
• Warranty : Not Mentioned
• Rating : 4.6/5

Why do we like it:

• It gives better performance for Workstations.
• It has High Endurance which ensures Storage Reliability.
• The Intel Optane 905P has new possibilities with higher capacity.

4. Toshiba OCZ RD400 – best PCIe SSD

Specification:

• Capacity : 512 GB
• Interface : PCIEx4
• Warranty : Not Mentioned
• Rating : 4.4/5

Why do we like it:

• It gives better performance for Workstations.
• It has High Endurance which ensures Storage Reliability.

5. Samsung 860 Pro – best SATA 3 SSD

Specification:

• Capacity : 512 GB
• Interface : SATA 6GB/5
• Warranty : 5 years
• Rating : 4.4/5

Why do we like it:

• It is designed for gamers and professionals to handle heavy workloads of high-end PCs, workstations, and NAS.
• Advanced Drive Management through Samsung Magician Software helps you manage the drive. These tools help to keep your drive up to date, check drive health and even boost performance.
• The Innovative v-nand technology delivers ultimate read/write performance. 
• The 860 pro performs at sequential read speeds up to 560 mb/s with the combination of the latest v-nand and a refined controller, delivering sequential write speeds up to 530 mb/s.

Conclusion

Just like the  advantages of these two kinds of drives they have their downside also. The HDD read/ write speed is slow, heavy, not shockproof and noisy. The SSD is expensive and is not good for Archival for a long time. So choose which one suits your needs best.