The major difference between HDD and SSD is their method of storing and accessing data. HDD hard disk drive is a memory storage device that consists of mechanical plates and a moving head to process the data and information. On the other hand, SSD solid-state drive consists of memory chips for storing the data. As compared to HDD, SSD is more advanced and faster.
What is HDD?
HDD is also a storage device and is non-volatile. It can store a large number of data and maintain data even when the power is turned off. Hard disk drive consists of mechanical moving parts and is easily available in the market.
It is installed inside the computers and other devices and is used to run and control the data. It usually acts as a primary or secondary storage device.
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Advantages of HDD
- The cost of HDD is usually lower than SSD and also the system containing the hard disk drive is not that expensive and is easily available in the market.
- HDD provides more storage options for its use as compared to SSD and also has more storage capacity.
- They are easily available in the market and are approachable to the customers due to the flexible price range.
- Moreover, they are non-volatile and unlike other memory devices, they do not lose data when they are out of power.
Disadvantages of HDD
There are the following disadvantages of HDD:
- They are relatively slow in processing the data for the user than SSD.
- Due to the mechanical components, HDD produces sound while working and also release heat.
- The power consumption of hard disk drive is high and some power is lost in the form of heat during the working.
- Mechanical parts present in HDD make it more vulnerable to mechanical failures.
What is SSD?
A solid-state drive is the type of storage device it’s an advanced form of device and consists of a memory chip called NAND flash memory and can access data in a small period.
In the modern world, mechanical parts are replaced by chip-based memory devices as they are more advanced in features and can store and access data at a very high speed. Moreover, they are less vulnerable and also produce less sound while working.
Advantages of SSD
There are the following advantages of a solid disk drive:
- Because SSD consists of memory chips instead of mechanical parts, it works faster than the other drives.
- Another benefit of a solid-state drive is that it is durable due to its non-mechanical parts and there is less possibility of SSD losing data due to some mechanical drop or injury.
- SSD is more compact as compared to HDD and can be used in any portable device including ultrabook and tablets to increase the storage medium of the device.
- Another advantage is that SSD does not produce any sound because it does not have any mechanical plates or parts.
- There is less loss of energy and power in using SSD because it consumes less power and does not release any heat or very little heat during the process.
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Disadvantages of SDD
There are the following disadvantages of SSD:
- SSD is almost two or three times expensive as compared to HDD and it also causes an increase in the price of the computer.
- The storage space of SSD is usually limited and it’s very difficult to find the SSD with high storage and its price also increased with an increase in the storage.
- SSD are hard to find in the market however with the change in trends and technologies there is an increase in the production of SSD.
- It’s really difficult to recover the data in SSD as compared to HDD.
Comparison Chart between HDD and SSD
| Basis for comparison | HDD | SSD |
| Abbreviation | HHD stands for Hard Disk Drive. | SSD stands for Solid State Drive. |
| Speed | The latency of HHD is comparability higher and has longer read and write times and supports some IOPS. | The latency of SSD is comparability faster and has longer read and write times and supports more IOPS. |
| Heat, Electricity, Noise | Hard disk drive produces more heat and sound due to the use of more electricity to rotate the platters. | Solid-state drive does not produce any heat and sound as there is no rotation required in SSD. |
| Defragmentation | Fragmentation causes the decrease in the performance of HHD, therefore there is a continuous need for defragmentation of HHD. | Defragmentation is not required in the case of SSD as its performance does not get affected by fragmentation. |
| Components | HHD consists of moving parts such as
platters that consist of motor-driven spindles that hold flat circular disks coated by a layer of magnetic stuff. Read and write disks are present. All these things are packed in the metal case.
|
SSD does not contain any moving parts. It consists of three basis components such as
· Controller · Cache · capacitor |
| Weight | HHD is weighty than SSD drives. | Due to the lack of rotating disks, spindle and motor SSD is lighter than HHD. |
| Dealing with vibration | The vibration of HHD due to the moving parts makes them susceptible to crash. | The vibration tolerance of SSD is almost 2000Hz which is more as compared to HHD. |
Conclusion
The decision of choosing between HDD and SSD depends upon the need of the client. Both disks offer different features and ease. For instance, if you want to have huge space then you should go for HHD because it has the good capacity to store a large number of data and keep it safe. On the other hand, if you want to save your primary data including operating system, applications, and programs then you should choose SSD because SSD dramatically works faster than HHD.
Regardless of your choice about drive whether you are choosing HDD or SSD you need to keep it clean for its better functioning. As the operating system of the device needs huge disk space and decrease in space can cause many problems in the operating system of the device.