Jump to content

Opinions on "Hybrid" or SSHD Drives

Gingy
 Share
Go to solution Solved by Mighty_Miro_WD,
Hi there.

 

SSHD drives of Hybrid Drives are regular hard disks that have a small SSD drive that's used for caching. SSHD basically blends HDD capacity with SSD speeds by placing traditional rotating platters, and a small amount of high-speed flash memory on a single drive. So basically a hybrid drive only has a certain amount of fast storage (cache) for commonly accessed files, which means that the files within this cache are accessed at SSD speeds while the rest are accessed at standard HDD speeds. For everything else the drive functions like a regular HDD. You have no control whatsoever over what goes on the SSD portion. 

 

Furthermore, the biggest con is that with the hybrid drives you have no control over what the SSHD stores in its cache - the drive uses a built-in algorithm to determine which frequently used files it will cache and everything that is not in the cache will run at a HDD speed, and unless you're going to use the same file very often you won't see a big deal of benefit.

 

Hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

 

Cheers! :)

Posted

At some point today a Seagate 1TB SSHD will be a shell shocker deal on Newegg. I'm currently buying parts for my first build which includes a 1TB HD for about $50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339&cm_re=Western_Digital_1TB_SATA_6-_-22-236-339-_-Product and a 120GB SSD for about $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178937&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID= Depending on how discounted the SSHD is on Newegg, I might get it instead of the one I've selected now. (Note: I will be getting the SSD regardless).

So what is your opinion on Hybrid drives? Are they worth the markup? Or is it just a marketing ploy to make more money?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

With the current prices of 240GB SSDs they're kinda pointless. Used to make more sense in 30GB SSD days.

Asrock 890GX Extreme 3 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 @3.50GHz - Arctic Cooling Freezer XTREME Rev.2 - 4GB Kingston HyperX - AMD Radeon HD7850 - Kingston V300 240GB - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB - Chieftec APS-750 - Cooler Master HAF912 PLUS


osu! profile

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

The main question that I'm posing is; will the performance or reliability be affected at all in an SSHD vs a traditional HD?

 

My plans are to get a SSD for OS and 1 or 2 games, but if the sale price for the SSHD is comparable to price of the HD I might get that in addition to the SSD.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Solution
Hi there.

 

SSHD drives of Hybrid Drives are regular hard disks that have a small SSD drive that's used for caching. SSHD basically blends HDD capacity with SSD speeds by placing traditional rotating platters, and a small amount of high-speed flash memory on a single drive. So basically a hybrid drive only has a certain amount of fast storage (cache) for commonly accessed files, which means that the files within this cache are accessed at SSD speeds while the rest are accessed at standard HDD speeds. For everything else the drive functions like a regular HDD. You have no control whatsoever over what goes on the SSD portion. 

 

Furthermore, the biggest con is that with the hybrid drives you have no control over what the SSHD stores in its cache - the drive uses a built-in algorithm to determine which frequently used files it will cache and everything that is not in the cache will run at a HDD speed, and unless you're going to use the same file very often you won't see a big deal of benefit.

 

Hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

 

Cheers! :)

If this post helped you, please like and choose it as a best answer.   :)
http://www.wdc.com/en/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

the best hybrid drive you can get is the WD dual drive.

128gb ssd with a 1tb hdd.  in a 2.5" forme factor :
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1190

~New~  BoomBerryPi project !  ~New~


new build log : http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/533392-build-log-the-scrap-simulator-x/?p=7078757 (5 screen flight sim for 620$ CAD)LTT Web Challenge is back ! go here  :  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/448184-ltt-web-challenge-3-v21/#entry601004

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

i bought a 1TB SSHD from seagate and for me it was useless because i have 3 SSD's in my system...but for someone building a budget machine that does not feature an SSD it can be of good use install windows 10 on this and you'll see after 3 or 4 re-boot your boot times are the ones of an OS installed on an SSD pretty much and your most used applications such as firefox for example and steam will load in a heartbeat.

They are LOUD though...seagate drives in general are loud...if you already own an SSD for OS and programs this is not something you should consider...a standard WD caviar blue is a better choice...quieter and same performance on large files etc.

| CPU: Core i7-8700K @ 4.89ghz - 1.21v  |  Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING  |  CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i V2 |
| GPU: MSI RTX 3080Ti Ventus 3X OC  |  RAM: 32GB T-Force Delta RGB 3066mhz |
| Displays: Acer Predator XB270HU 1440p Gsync 144hz IPS Gaming monitor | Oculus Quest 2 VR

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

the best hybrid drive you can get is the WD dual drive.

128gb ssd with a 1tb hdd.  in a 2.5" forme factor :

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1190

 

Thanks man, appreciate the good words! :)
 
I just wanted to add that the Black Dual is not exactly a hybrid because it has different architecture compared to a standard hybrid.
 
While the typical SSHD has a certain amount of fast storage (cache) for commonly accessed files over which you have no control, the dual drive has two separate partitions that you can use. It shows up as two hard drives: a 120GB SSD and a 1TB standard platter drive once the special WD drivers are installed/loaded.

If this post helped you, please like and choose it as a best answer.   :)
http://www.wdc.com/en/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Thanks man, appreciate the good words! :)

 

I just wanted to add that the Black Dual is not exactly a hybrid because it has different architecture compared to a standard hybrid.

 

While the typical SSHD has a certain amount of fast storage (cache) for commonly accessed files over which you have no control, the dual drive has two separate partitions that you can use. It shows up as two hard drives: a 120GB SSD and a 1TB standard platter drive once the special WD drivers are installed/loaded.

oh, thats cool! Next drive I buy might be one of those :D

Donate your unused computer resources for cancer and other research. For Zinsey ❤

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Storage Devices

×