Battery: M.2 + HDD or SSD?

[Jotoco]

Hi, all. 

 

I would like to know if someone has made any significant testing for battery life difference for using just a single Sata SSD or keeping the mechanical HDD + an m.2 SSD? 

 

Since 99% of my files will be in the M.2 SSD, will the HDD impact my battery life that much? Can I configure the HDD to only spin when needed? 

 

My budget is a bit tight so an SSD + M.2 is not an option at this time. 

 

For M.2 I was eyeing a Kingston A1000 240Gb, alongside the already existing 1TB HDD WD BLUE 5400RPM drive (10SPZX).

 

If I went the SSD only route it would probably be a Kingston A400 480Gb, because that is just a bit pricier than the previously mentioned M.2. 

 

Of course, for storage I would have 1.2TB under the first option and only 480Gb on the second. 

 

So, for battery life, would it be that different? 

 

I'm reading that SSDs will improve battery by about 10%, but if I have a mechanical HDD that is idling 95%+ of the time, will I have the benefit of using an SSD?

 

 

 

[LukeNukem9]

get the m.2 and the HDD. you can store your backups then disable the drive in device manager. when i did that i could hear my drive spin u only when needed.

[jj9987]

SSDs use very little power, SATA or M.2 connector, about 1-2 watts. 3.5" HDD uses much more, but if we are talking laptop, then you have 2.5" HDD, which is also around 2-3W. So the difference is quite negligible. It is possible to turn off the drive, but constantly turning it off and on (especially in a laptop, which is already being turned off/on a lot) will shorten it's lifespan by a bit.

[Jotoco]

9 minutes ago, jj9987 said:

SSDs use very little power, SATA or M.2 connector, about 1-2 watts. 3.5" HDD uses much more, but if we are talking laptop, then you have 2.5" HDD, which is also around 2-3W. So the difference is quite negligible. It is possible to turn off the drive, but constantly turning it off and on (especially in a laptop, which is already being turned off/on a lot) will shorten it's lifespan by a bit.

I didn't know turning the HDD on and off could shorten it's lifespan. 

10 minutes ago, Dubious Gaming: bl4z3 said:

get the m.2 and the HDD. you can store your backups then disable the drive in device manager. when i did that i could hear my drive spin u only when needed. 

Wait. If I disable the drive will it appear as a drive letter? And will it automatically enable it when I try to access something off of it? If so, that is great! Might do that. 

[LukeNukem9]

It keeps its drive letter but it dosnt show up. you would have to re-able it. you could probably enable low-power mode in your BIOS. you could keep it enabled in windows.

[jj9987]

3 hours ago, Jotoco said:

I didn't know turning the HDD on and off could shorten it's lifespan. 

Applies to every piece of electrical equipment if done too often.