Computers, Equipment
Which is better: SSD or HDD? What is the difference between SSD and HDD?
When buying a new PC or updating the disk system of an old electronic computer, the question arises: "What is better - SSD or HDD?" Five years ago this question did not arise. There was no alternative to the usual hard disk (its second name is "hard drive" or simply "screw"). That's why such devices for information storage were used everywhere. But now the situation has changed dramatically. Increasingly, users pay attention to solid-state drives, which, although more expensive, but at the same time their performance is much higher.
History
Before we find out what the difference between SSD and HDD is, let's take a short historical digression and understand the data storage technologies that are used in each type of device.
The first full-fledged hard disk drive (the official name) was made by IBM in 1973. Then its volume was 60 MB (2 plates of 30 MB each). Over the past 40 plus years, such devices have evolved, and their performance has improved at times - both capacity and performance. But the essence of technology has not changed. At the heart of any HDD (from the English words "hard" - hard, "disk" - drive and "drive" - in this case the drive) is a plate covered with a ferromagnetic layer. With the help of the head, a certain orientation is created in it ("north" and "south" poles, which correspond to logical "0" and "1"). Solid-state drives were first introduced in 1978. But their widespread use has begun relatively recently - the first PCs, equipped with them as a main drive, appeared in 2009. Solid-state storage devices are built on the basis of semiconductor materials, which consist of "cells". Only two values "0" (no signal) and "1" (potential is present) can be written into such a "cell". Hence the difference between the hard drive and the SSD. Difference from HDD It consists in the fact that another material is used in the production (silicon against ferromagnet) and another principle of information storage (chips against plates) is committed. This should be remembered when choosing a new device of this class.
Classic Edition
In order to answer the question, which is better - SSD or HDD, we will consider each device for storing information separately. Let's start with the second one. This is a classic version of the organization of the disk system. The main characteristics of hard drives are as follows:
- Capacity - the amount of stored information in the decimal system of calculation. In this case, this indicator in the operating system will differ, since here the calculation is already in the binary system. Now on sale are available storage capacity from 250 GB to 8 TB.
- The interface of connection can be IDE, USB and SATA. The first one is morally and physically obsolete and is only used on PCs that were released 5 years ago and earlier. The second is great for portable storage of information. And the third, the main one, is now used almost everywhere. The latest version has an index of "3". All devices capable of working with this version of this interface allow data transfer at speeds up to 6 Gb / s. Also, SATA has a special performance with the "m" index, which applies only to laptops and netbooks.
- Data transmission speed. As noted earlier, it depends on the type of interface used. The higher it is, the better.
- Frequency of rotation of plates. Now on sale there are models with 5400 and 7200 об. in a minute. The more this indicator is, the faster the response.
These are the main characteristics of hard drives. To answer the question, which is better - SSD or HDD, you need to consider the parameters of solid-state drives. What will be done next.
Know-How
In another way, as know-how, SSD can not be called. These devices appeared on sale 5 years ago. Immediate deterrent factors were their high cost and not a large size. But now the situation is gradually changing. Increasingly, they can be found on stationary computers and laptops. They have the following main characteristics:
- Capacity is the same as that of hard drives. Models from 32 GB to 1 TB are now available.
- Manufacturing technology can be from 19 nm to 26 nm. The smaller, the greater the speed, but the number of cycles of overwriting cells decreases.
- Interface connection. All of them are similar to those previously mentioned for HDD, except for IDE, which is not used for SSD.
- Number of rewriting cycles. Can be from 1000 to 5000 cycles. The larger this value, the longer the SSD will last.
Based on the above, you can easily answer the difference between HDD and SSD And that of them is better.
Drive Comparison
Comparing the performance of each of the drives, it can be noted that the solid state has a higher data transfer rate. This is provided by the technology itself. Microchips are better in this respect than magnetic plates. This benefits the advantages of this type of device. If you compare the cost and size of the drive, it turns out that at a price of 40-50 USD you can buy either 32 GB
What and where is better?
Now we'll figure out what is better - SSD or HDD - In each case. For multimedia stations and office PCs are excellent for hard drives with a capacity of 160-320 GB. And the price is small, and this size will be enough for the tasks to be solved. A similar situation with netbooks and notebooks of entry level. But high-performance mobile computers will be better equipped with a solid-state drive of 128-256 GB. Game PCs, graphics stations and servers must necessarily be equipped with 2 drives. One for systems and programs is the SDS. The second one is a hard drive, on which user data will be stored. This will allow you to get high performance, and the necessary volume for storing information.
Results
Within the framework of this article, a comprehensive comparison of HDD and SSD was made, their main characteristics are indicated, recommendations for their use are given, following which one can easily select the storage device that will best suit your needs.
Similar articles
Trending Now