SSD vs HDD pls help

[Shmuel_06]

Apart from faster load times (obviously) are there any other reasons why a SSD is a better choice then a HDD for gaming? Btw pls not fighting in the comments

[Epimetheus]

I think that's the only difference but you always need an ssd anyways for windows 10, so most of the times there's no point in buying an hdd

[GoldenLag]

its more reliable, its smaller. it doesnt make any noise. it renderes faster. 

 

games like skyrim that load in on the go benefit from it. and its better to pagefile to. 

 

 

an SSD is a must anyways for windows 10 for a great experience, and getting a 1TB SSD does not cost a whole lot. compared to a 1TB HDD + 250GB SSD solution. 

[Mr.Humble]

SSD is great for OS, games, programs, and frequently used data or workloads benefiting from fast load times - photo and video editing, databases etc.

 

HDDs are great for storage of large volumes of data that isn't accessed as often - finished projects, media files, backups etc. They're also great for NAS setups and generally everywhere where you need large capacity.

 

These days HDDs only really make sense when you're buying 3TB+ capacity drives, as 1TB SSDs, even NVMe ones, are ridiculously cheap right now.

[Shmuel_06]

Alright thx guys that was bugging me for a while and I think that the storage difference is worth it for performance now thx a lot

[Chiyawa]

Okay, this is generally through my experience.

 

Capacity per price ratio: HDD still offers the best ratio. For the cheapest 2.5 inch 1TB (Marketed as 960GB) SATA SSD, you can buy close to 4TB 3.5 inch HDD.

 

Resilient: SSD has no moving parts, so it is not prone to vibration shock or drop like HDD.

 

Speed: You know by now. However, I would like to add something that many may not talk about it: The Write Speed, or writing to an SSD in general. Writing to SSD actually is a bit different than HDD. For HDD, it can override the existing data just like it was writing a data on a empty space. For SSD, if there's data in the place it needs to write, it needs to purge the data first then only it can write, which you will see a dramatic speed drop if you write a lot of data (over the stated capacity). Fortunately, there's a trim function where you can purge the deleted file space.

 

Data recoverability: This is up to debate, but let's say if your drive died, and you need to recover the data. Usually, for HDD, the data can be recovered easier as the HDD platter can be swapped to a new controller. SSD, on the other hand are a bit difficult, as the chip is soldered to the board, which it needs to be removed from the board and soldered into the new controller. Also, if there's a spike in the power rail and if the chip is burnt, the data is very hard to recover.

 

Longevity: This is also up for debate. I can't say much because I don't have any experience.

 

Heat: Up to debate, but I found certain SSD generate quite amount of heat (still in the warm range of about 40c). However, most stays pretty cool.

 

So, this is through my experience. The SSD is super fast (even for the SATA one). It is pretty much light and consume way less power. It all boils down to what purpose your are going to use, however, whether you need the capacity or the speed.

Edited August 22, 2019 by Chiyawa
Some terminology errors. Fixed.