Source: here
If you've read my previous post then you know that I've just installed an SSD to my old laptop a few days ago. Although I had problems making it work at first, I was pleasingly surprised at the end result.
I've spent more than 6 years with my current laptop and haven't made any upgrades to it. After all those years I finally decided to opt for an SSD. Now I just feel silly that I've waited that long for it. It's that good.
I did some tests and the results were pretty significant. I've tested with the software that I use on a daily basis. Anyway here are my results. You can also check the video if you like ;).
| Software | SSD (mm:ss) | HDD (mm:ss) |
|---|---|---|
| OS BOOST | 00:21 | 00:55 |
| ESTEEM App | 00:13 | 00:25 |
| Microsoft Word | 00:05 | 00:18 |
| Illustrator | 00:28 | 02:17 |
| Photoshop | 00:16 | 02:17 |
(Disclaimer: This is a very amateur comparison and may not be very accurate.)
Very impressive right. All the applications are loading way faster than before. It is even more noticeable on heavier software such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Everything seems very snappy and very responsive. Before the SSD upgrade, I've always faced the problem of 100% disk usage, that we can see on task manager. That use to slow down my computer so much that I had to close many programs before I could smoothly use the computer again. That problem is gone now.
Another noticeable thing is the speed at which new programs are installed on the computer. It's significantly faster. I was able to install all my daily software very quickly, which would have taken a lot of time if it was on a Hard Drive.
HDD (Hard Disk Drives) has circular disks called platters which is divided into sectors where data are stored. The platters are always spinning at a great speed. In order to read the data the hard disk need to move its read head to the right track and then wait for the sector to be underneath it. On top of that, an HDD has only one read head which means that it has to read one at a time. The whole process is quite time consuming and especially noticeable when lots of files need to be read even though they have a small size.
SSD has no moving components like HDD. An SSD is made up of memory chips where data are stored. It relies on embedded processor rather than a mechanical arm to read and write data. An SSD can access multiple memory chips at a time and order all of them to fetch the data. Most SSD can handle at least 8 requests in parallel which makes it really fast.
A typical HDD's read/write speed is 50-120MB/s while a consumer SSD is usually 500-600 Mbps. Keep in mind that I'm talking about the ones that general user uses.
One obvious advantage of HDD over SSD is the cost. HDD is really cheap and even 1TB of HDD won't cost a lot of money these days. Although SSDs have gotten significantly cheaper over the last few years, they are still expensive especially the better quality ones. Better SSD is typically 3-4 times more expensive for the same size and they can last as much as an HDD. SSD are susceptible to sudden and unrecoverable failure. In the case of data recovery, HDD has better odds.
What most people do is use both SSD and HDD. By doing so you're able to install Operating Systems and important software on SSD while storing data on an HDD. You're able to enjoy both speed and storage capacity.
I recommend you to give SSD a shot if you haven't. Your old machine will breathe a new life. No longer you'll have a slow computer disturbing your productivity. Just make sure not to go for a really cheap one as those might now be very durable.
Stay Safe Guys,
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It really is shocking when you're moving from a HDD to an SSD for the first time, and to admire those blazing speeds! I remembered at one point with Windows 10, just after a clean install and with no excess programmes to boot up, no AntiVirus or anything, it fully booted up from cold in just 20 seconds. 20 SECONDS, with the same crappy old 5400RPM HDD that now takes at least a minute.
Crazy! I don't quite know how I've managed it, but I guess keeping a clean disk works wonders indeed. I'm glad SSDs are getting more affordable nowadays, especially those connecting with SATA. Even just a few years ago, I talked at how expensive they were.