How To Choose A Computer Hard Drive? Comparison Of The Lifespan, Advantages And Disadvantages Of Mechanical Hard Drives And Solid State Drives

Most asked questions every day

computer hard drive How to choose is the biggest headache for many friends who are new to computer installation.

Especially in a fast-paced society, computers are needed to complete work. The speed of file storage and reading and writing will have a direct impact on the daily use experience.

You have to wait to open the software, and you have to wait to copy files. The feeling of lag is really annoying.

There are many hard disk brands in the market. Western Digital exists here, Toshiba appears over there, and Seagate remains here. These are all old brands in the field of mechanical hard disks. In addition, Kingston has its traces, Samsung has shown its presence, and Intelligent has shown its presence. These are new forces in the field of solid-state drives, and their prices are also different. One starts from one or two hundred, and the other covers thousands. The price range spans such a wide range, each with its own highs and lows.

Which one should I choose to avoid pitfalls?

Which one is more durable?

Where can I put important information so I can rest assured?

Let’s talk about these things clearly today.

Mechanical hard drives theoretically have a longer lifespan

From a structural point of view, mechanical hard drive The interior is full of real mechanical parts.

The disk, the magnetic head, the motor, the spindle, the transmission shaft with the transmission arm, and the reaction force return spring device, they all come together to complete the work.

Based on this design, it is difficult to make the mechanical hard drive smaller in size, and there is an upper limit on the speed. However, in exchange, there is no theoretical limit on the number of reads and writes.

As long as it is used normally and is not dropped or bumped, it is common for it to last seven, eight or even ten years.

And it has significant advantages, its price is low, the same expenditure of 300 yuan, mechanical hard drive can be purchased to 1TB or even 2TB, there is the possibility of recovery after data loss, and the compatibility is also good for old computers.

Of course, there are shortcomings. Its random read and write speed is relatively slow, it is afraid of vibration, you can hear sounds during operation, and its size is also relatively large.

SSD life is limited by the number of writes

solid state drive It is completely different. It uses chip storage and does not have any mechanical parts.

lifespan and Number of erasures Directly linked, each flash memory particle has a write upper limit.

But there is no need to worry. The currently dominant TLC particle solid-state drives can write dozens of GB of data every day in normal home use scenarios. Even if they are used for five or eight years, there will be no problems.

Its strength lies in its extremely fast reading speed. It only takes a few seconds to boot up. There is no need to wait when loading games. It makes no sound during operation. It has strong earthquake resistance and is extremely compact.

The disadvantage is that with the same capacity, the price is slightly more expensive than a mechanical hard drive, and there is a theoretical upper limit to the number of writes. Once the main control or particles are damaged, the data stored inside is basically impossible to recover.

Which one is more likely to be damaged in actual use?

The answer is mechanical hard drive .

Although the theoretical life is long, its mechanical structure is too delicate.

A sudden power outage, a drop while running, a bump, or even excessive vibration when moving the case may cause the disk to be scratched by the magnetic head and directly scrapped.

Many people's mechanical hard drives are not worn out, but damaged by shaking.

In turn, look at the solid-state drive. It does not have a magnetic head or a platter. The chip is welded to the circuit board. Its shock resistance is very strong and outstanding.

Even if the laptop falls off the table, the solid state drive will most likely still work normally.

Because of this, in the scenarios of daily mobile devices and laptops that are frequently moved, the durability of solid-state drives will be better.

Where is it safer to put important data?

This question depends on how you define "security".

If you are worried that your hard drive suddenly breaks down and all your data is lost, then mechanical hard drive On the contrary, it has advantages.

If a mechanical hard drive is damaged, it is possible for a data recovery company to use professional means to read out most of the data on the disk if the disk has not been seriously scratched.

If the main control of the solid-state drive is burned out, or the particles are damaged, then the data recovery will be extremely difficult, the cost will be very high, and in many cases it is directly irreparable.

And, from another perspective, given that solid-state drives have strong shock resistance, the possibility of sudden damage during regular use is lower than that of mechanical hard drives.

Therefore, the safest way is to place key data on two hard drives together, or use cloud backup and external hard drives to create a double protection.

Things to really pay attention to when purchasing

purchase solid state drive Don’t just look at capacity and price.

Look first Interface type , common ones are M.2 and SATA Two kinds.

Also pay attention flash memory particles and Hard drive master , the original granules of big brands are more reliable.

Choosing a mechanical hard drive is relatively simple. Just look for the three brands of Western Digital, Seagate, and Toshiba, and choose based on the speed and cache size.

If you are upgrading an old computer, solid-state drives with SATA interface are the most cost-effective.

Summarize

Whether to choose solid state or mechanical, or both, depends entirely on your budget and actual needs.

This combination of solid state and mechanical is the most practical. The solid state is used to install the system and commonly used software, and the mechanical is used to store large files and perform backups.

Don’t be misled by the concept of “all solid state”. Ordinary consumers can just buy what they need.

I hope this content can help you avoid detours and choose a hard drive that suits you.