Solid State Drives Vs. Hard Disc Drives

The dawn of computer technology has bred innovation upon innovation - everything has progressed by vast leaps and bounds, and the computer power we have available to us today exponentially exceeds that available even as little as a decade ago. In terms of computer storage, we have seen this hold true. Hard drive storage has allowed for higher capacities in smaller spaces, allowing for internal drives with terabytes of storage or even small keychain drives with several dozen gigabytes of space. As hard drives continue to evolve, we are greeted by newer, faster, and smaller technology. One such innovation which is gaining popularity in the storage world is the solid state drive (SSD). Considering a solid state drive for your next hard drive? Let's look at the difference between a traditional magnetic drive and what many call the future of computer storage, the solid state drive.

The Difference Between Solid State and Mechanical?
Traditional drives are built on technology which has remained fundamentally unchanged for sixty years. A Hard Disc Drive (HDD) uses a metal and magnetically receptive platter to store data. As your computer needs to store data on the platter, the platter spins to a physical location and allows for data to be "written" on the location. Every time you need to retrieve or access that data, the platter must then spin and locate to that physical location. Solid State Drives (SSD) operate without any moving components, instead relying on an embedded controller to perform operations in the reading and writing of data in a highly accessible location.

The SSD Advantage
Because SSD's don't depend on a physical mechanism such as a spinning platter to retrieve data, it can offer much faster data write and read speeds. Whereas the mechanical hard drive must track to a specific location, a SSD can access it instantly. The speed of a hard drive does, however, depend on the quality of its imbedded processor. Despite this, an SSD typically operates at an eighty percent increase over high end hard disc drives.

The Catch?
Though SSD's are superior to the more traditional magnetic alternative in their operation and performance, there is a catch. Solid states currently cost a substantial amount more for equivalent amounts of storage. Whereas you might easily find a terabyte magnetic drive with a spindle speed of 5400 rpm (rotations per minute) for roughly $100, you would pay the same for only one hundred gigabytes of solid state storage. Thus, many people opt instead to use a SSD to store operating systems and applications on while preferring a large capacity secondary drive for file storage. A compromise between the two can be found in hard drives like the Dell GC826 146 gigabyte drive, which offers a 10K drive speed at a very low cost. If you're looking for high capacity, a hard disc drive would be ideal. However, if speed is your primary concern, solid state drives are unbeatable.