The SSD advantage
There’s been a lot of hype in the tech community — and rightly so — about the advantages of solid state drives (SSDs) over mechanical hard drives. Since SSDs don’t have small, moving parts, they’re able to access data almost instantly and they offer dramatically improved reliability and durability. Hard drives have been around since the 1950’s and basic operation is mostly unchanged. In contrast, SSDs were released in the late 2000’s and offer next-gen performance and technology to power the systems of today and tomorrow. Here are the advantages you’ll experience with an SSD.
Superior reliability
The continuous motion generated by a hard drive’s small moving parts creates heat, which is a leading factor in hard drive failure. In fact, hard drives are one of the notebook components most likely to fail. Since SSDs don’t have moving parts, common operating problems like heat dissipation and noise are significantly reduced, resulting in a very rugged and reliable offering compared to a mechanical hard drive. Also, the MTBF (mean time between failure) reliability rating for hard drives is around 600,000 hours, whereas for SSDs it's usually more than 1,200,000 hours. SSDs also have extreme shock and vibration tolerance, and their operating temperature ranges meet or exceed those of standard hard drives. The bottom line: your data – all of your photos, movies, files, and more – is much safer when saved to an SSD than when saved to a hard drive.
Instant-load performance
Without the moving mechanical parts that cause latency issues, SSDs are not impeded by spin-up, seek time, or rotational latency. This equates to faster boot times, nearly instant load times, and greater overall responsiveness.
Increased power efficiency
With no moving parts, SSDs require less power to operate, and they can help extend battery life in laptops and portable electronic devices.
Lightweight
SSDs weigh less than hard drives, so they make your system easier to haul around.
Quiet acoustics
With no spinning parts, SSDs are nearly silent when they operate, similar to that of a standard USB flash drive rather than the constant, noisy humming of a mechanical hard drive.