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What is an SSD or Solid State Drive?

If you have looked into upgrading your computer, no matter the age, you’ve probably heard about the brilliant “SSD” or; “Solid State Drive” and may be wondering what it is. 

Well, we have this answer for you!

To start off, a SSD is now recommended in place of the standard hard drive that comes with the common laptop or computer. This standard hard drive is referred to as a “HDD” or; “Hard Disk Drive”. The SSD is much more reliable and runs a lot faster than a HDD. These can be installed in Windows or a Mac as well.

An SSD has no moving parts to it as it stores data in microchips, unlike a HHD, which operates on spinning platters to read data, making it more reliable.

Often, people think of an oversized memory stick when explaining what an SSD is, since these also store data on chips. SSDs are generally considered more robust when it comes to placing these in transportable devices like laptops, as they don’t have as many mechanisms to them.

Besides all the advantages noted below, there are a couple of things to consider when it comes to purchasing these. One in particular is that they do cost more than the standard HDD, if you are looking for a new drive for your computer. However, they are well worth it and we will explain why!

A lot of computers purchased these days contain a 1 TeraByte HDD (equivalent to 1,024 GigaBytes). The average computer user doesn’t actually need this much storage, so it is definitely worth fitting a 250GB SSD, for the cost of a 1TB HDD (if purchased outright), even though this is a lot smaller.

So, let us tell you the advantages to running your computer on an SSD.

  • Less Power: These use less power than a HDD. The standard HDD uses around 7 watts and the SSD uses 3 watts. This can give you an additional battery life!
  • Temperature: As the SSD doesn’t have to spin to run, if this is in a laptop, you should notice a decrease in the temperature of your laptop while running. Some do get quite warm when running with a HDD.
  • Faster Boot-Up Time: These generally boot up your computer within 10-14 seconds, compared to the HDD which boots in 30-40 seconds.
  • Faster Speed: When it comes to saving files, these will save faster than the standard HDD. It is said that the write speed of an SSD is up to 30% faster!
  • Sound: These are extremely quiet and you may not even notice that you left your computer on. Because the HDD has to spin to operate, generally you can hear these spinning and occasionally hear vibration.

 

Of course, like all products, it may not be the solution for you.

If you are wanting a large drive to store lots of data at a relatively cheap price, or just use the internet on your computer to browse and don’t really have the need for an extremely fast computer, then the traditional HDD may be a fine fit.

However, if you are starting to notice that your computer is running slow and it’s only been a few years since you purchased it, then don’t worry about upgrading your whole computer! An SSD would be a perfect solution to speeding your computer up.

Lastly..

The final great thing about purchasing an SSD and upgrading as well is that if you purchase a new computer, you can transfer the SSD from your old computer to the new computer you purchase.

So, why not contact us today about upgrading your computer with an SSD to speed up your computer!