What Is SSD and HDD & How Do They Differ

  Solid State Drive or SSD is a non-volatile storage device that locks in continuous data using solid state flash memory. (NAND )  It isn’t your usual traditional hard drive. There are no moving parts that make it work. It has a wide arrangement of semiiconductor memory that has been systematized as a disk drive, using Integrated Circuits ( IC’s ). It is known as non-volatile because it retains your data when the computer is closed.  SSD uses a controller and it is known as the processor. The processor is ingrained in to the system and it is known as the brain of the computer. The processor determines the speed of the SSD. There are a lot of high speed processors out there. One example is the Intel I7 Quadcore 2.9 4.2 GHz turbo boost with 8MB of cache. There are so many like it in the market. AMD also has it’s own version of speedy processors. The connector used for the SSD is what we call  SATA ( Serial Advanced Technology Attachment ). It is a computer bus interface that connects  ATA hard drives, Solid State Drives and Optical drives  to the computer motherboard.

There are different qualities that define SSD's and HDD's

1.  Power/Battery: SSD-needs less power to oiperate ( 2-3 watts ). HDD- needs more power to 

     operate ( 6-7 watts ).

2.   Price: SSD- expensive $0.20//GB ( 1TB ). HDD-cheap $0.03/GB ( 4TB ).

3.  Capacity: SSD-maximum of 1TB for laptop; 4TB for Desktop. HDD  maximum2TB for laptop 

     and 10TB for desktop.

4.  Time For OS To Boot: SSD-10-13 seconds ( average ). HDD-30-40 seconds ( average ).

5.  Vibration: SSD-none. There are no moving parts. HDD-spinning parts can make computers 

     vibrate.

6.  Heat: SSD-less power with no moving parts produces little heat. HDD-does not heat up but the 

    amount is more than of the SSD because of the moving parts and more power to operate.

7.  File Copy and Write Speed: SSD-normally above 200MB/s up to 550MB/s. HDD-anywhere       

     within 50MB/s-120MB/s.

8.  Encryption: SSD-Full Disk Encrption ( FDE ). Some models support FDE. HDD-Full Disk 

     Encryption and some models support FDE.

9.  File Opening Speed: SSD-25% to 30% faster than HDD. HDD-slower than SSD.

10 Magnetism Effect: SSD-not affected by magnetism. HDD-magnets can wipe out data.

   Hard Disk Drive or HDD is a non-volatile computer storage device that is composed of magnetic disks or platters that continually spin around at high speed. This acts as a second storage with the random access memory ( RAM ) being the first storage. HDD is more popularly known as Hard Drive. It is also non-volatlile ( same as the SSD ). The HDD’s have been here for quite long a long time now. (  over 60 years  ). IBM was the first to use it in 1956.  It’s really a very old technology. It relies on magnetism locked  in your data on a platter that rotates. The faster the platter goes around, the faster the HDD’s performance will be. The normal laptop drives spins for about 5400 RPM

( Revolutions Per Minute ) up to 7200 RPM. If it is server based then it can reach up to 15,000 RPM. The advantage that it has is that it can store a lot of data. The price of the HDD is inexpensive when compared to the price of an SSD.

  When buying computers, users must know what they need.  You buy a laptop or desktop based on the things that you do. If you are in to business, there are laptops and desktops that are readily available for you.  This also holds true for those that have a creative mind. Do not buy because of instinct. Think before you decide.This write-up is just a guide.