In today’s computer market, two common types of storage units are available to be considered. Hard Disk drives (HDD, rotating magnetic discs) and solid-state drives (SSD, flash memory). The first commercial HDD shipped in 1956, and the first commercial flash-based SSD shipped in 1991.
At first, SSD is expensive and is in a small capacity. However, an SSD is about 15 percent faster than an HDD. As a result, a PC or Mac with SSD boot faster, launches and runs apps more quickly, and transfers files faster.
SSD technology continues to advance. Per gigabyte pricing, SSD now becomes close to HDD’s cost. In addition, its capacity catches up with HDD.
SSD adheres to the 2.5-inch notebook HDD form factor to be interchangeable for the upgrades. As netbooks and other ultraportable laptops became more popular, PC and storage devices manufacturers design one kind of drive bay for both technologies.
HDD relies on spinning platters, and there is a limit to how small it can be manufactured. SSD is a flash memory; it can go as small as 42mm, 60mm, 80mm, and 120 mm lengths. As a result, it became an integrated part of smartphones, tablets, and Apple computers.
How to take advantage of SSD technology?
- It can bring new life into older PCs (desktop or laptop) by replacing an HDD with an SSD as the boot drive.
- When we considering invest in technology, it is not worth buying HDDs based new PCs.
- A bigger SSD lasts longer. Just as HDD wears out after four years, yes, SSDs wear out too, and they can “crash.” SSD’s service life depends on how many times it is written over and how much reserve space for replacing the bits in the part of the drive that has gone bad. The larger the drive, the longer the probable lifetime. An average life span of an HDD is about five years, and it is about the same for the SSD of 500 GB or smaller. For larger SSDs, seven years might be safe.
