Hard drives and solid-state drives are the two most important technologies that we use in our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. So, this is a subject that comes to mind when we start playing a game. We are not sure which device to use, and this has resulted in a number of decisions in the past. Well, in this post, we will discuss the key differences between the two and how this affects the overall gaming experience.
A little history of hard drives and SSDs.
It is hard to imagine a world before SSDs. This technology is really new. While hard drives have been around for a long time, SSDs (Solid State Drives) came into existence only a couple of decades ago. A hard drive is basically a spinning disc that uses magnetic fields to store data in the form of “pits” on a magnetic surface of the disc.
An SSD, on the other hand, is a flash memory, usually a NAND-type flash memory. The functionality of SSD is completely different from typical HDD. Because an SSD has no moving parts, the whole of the device is the same. There is no mechanical element to the data storage system which allows them to process data at faster speed.
If we look at today’s computers, you will find that most people use SSDs for storage. The reason behind this is that the SSD improves the overall performance of the system by providing better speed than HDD. The speed is so fast that you cannot notice it. If you are used to playing games on a computer that uses an HDD and you switch to an SSD, you might be shocked at the difference. This is due to presence of the moving parts in HDD which can create bottlenecks that slow down the process. An SSD, since it’s a flash memory, the bottleneck is non-existent and faster.
So, let’s move on to the main topic and see the differences between SSD and HDD are.
Hard drives and SSDs are different devices, and they have different purposes. So, what is the purpose of a hard drive and how does it differ from an SSD?
HDD vs SSD
1. A hard drive is made up of several parts. At the core, you have a spinning disk. At the centre of the disk, you will find that there is a read/write head. This head is responsible for reading the data stored in the spinning disc. The read/write head reads the data as they move across the surface of the disk. It writes data to the disc when it receives a request to do so.
2. Hard drives use a cable to transfer data to and from the computer. The technology is pretty old and it is used by all the computers in the world.
3. Hard drives use an internal motor to move the read/write head. The speed is as high as 120MB/second, and you will find that a hard drive can store as much as a terabyte of data. This means that it is more than sufficient to handle the current needs of the computer.
4. In a typical hard drive, there is a read/write head. However, this read/write head has no moving parts. This means that it cannot be destroyed by a single crash or temperature change. Instead, it is the moving parts inside the computer that are responsible for providing these protections. So, if the HDD is not working properly, it is not the fault of the hard drive, but of the part inside the computer. For this reason, a hard drive can handle a huge number of crashes and temperature changes and still provide the proper service to the computer.
5. It is also worth mentioning that a hard drive can be replaced with a new HDD when the old one is not working.
6. The SSD is different from a hard drive. It does not have any moving parts and is made up of non-volatile memory.
7. In addition to this, the SSD is much smaller than an HDD. You will find that a typical SSD is around 10mm to 15mm in size whereas a hard drive is as much as about 4mm thick.
SSDs are quite costly. But if you are looking to improve the performance of your system, you should go for SSD. They have their own pros and cons, but regardless, SSD is a lot faster than an HDD and a necessary add-on for all the gamers.