Monday, November 15, 2010

Solid State Drive vs SATA Hard Drive : Which one should you choose?

With the ever-so changing equipment in computer technology, hard drives have been a part of the latest debate. Let's first talk about the match-up.

Solid State Drives

Solid State Memory has speeds that are similar to RAM but have the ability to store data like SATA. SSDs are distinguished from traditional hard disk drives (HDDs), which are devices containing spinning disks and movable read/write heads. SSDs, in contrast, use microchips, and contain no moving parts.


Pros: Compared to traditional HDDs, SSDs are typically less susceptible to physical shock, quieter, and have lower access time and latency. SSDs use the same interface as hard disk drives, thus easily replacing them in most applications.


Cons: Solid State Drives have been known to wear out like there's no tomorrow, and they don't last very long. The price for these drive are currently very expensive.








SATA Drives

SATA is the method of connection between the motherboard and the drive. This is standard hard drive that is currently found in most systems.



Pros: They are very reliable, and the cost for these drives are very affordable--if you can take advantage of using RAID; however, RAID works best if you are using the same hard drives, especially the same brand, same speed, and same connectors. You can use two different kinds of hard drives, but it would make the system unstable.


Cons: 
1. Very noisy spin-up is required
2. High read latency times,
3. Low mechanical reliability, moving parts does not eliminate the risk of mechanical failure 
4. Smaller range of operating temperatures



The Verdict:


Since the price of SSD drive is so expensive, it really sways the stick to the SATA drive. We all have been used to the noise by now, so I doubt that will be worth the extra $$ you would have to spend. Though the SSD is very fast in accessing data, the read/write the reliability of those drives have been an issue. Once the market settles and the technology gets better, I believe that SSDs will be more prevalent in laptops and desktop computers.

79 comments:

KRUNOSLAV DUNDOVIC said...

SSD is to much expensive!

Christie Klein said...

I have a SSD netbook and I like it. I never really see a difference in lag or anything between that and my normal HDD computers.

Suciô Sanchez said...

SSD for a quick boot, SATA for a slow tug.
(Why would you store pr0n on SSD?)

dee jey said...

cool poste dude

Diego said...

I guess the pro´s are worth it

i could give it a try, thanks!

Sugar said...

64 gb??

Sam said...

I would stay with a SATA

Matte said...

Good info! Thx for sharing.

rominoutozor said...

Wow ! Amazing !

LoneIslander said...

Yeah, I'm running on SATA right now. I almost got a solid state for my new laptop but went against it last minute.

Izi said...

I have a SATA drive

Gurney said...

I would love to have a SSD but at the moment with how expensive they are and how fast they wear out, SATA is the way to go.

Ishu said...

Solid states drives xD

Buff Drinklots said...

I hate SSDs, that shit will be used for 2 full weeks and then you have to buy a new one. Future of HDD folks.

Fred said...

SSD FTW!

I've got a 64GB Runcore in my netbook and I love it!

The Angry Vegetarian said...

I'm sticking with SATA for the time being. I never understood why the noisiness was that big of a deal to people. It's not like it's right next to your ear. And if it's noisier than something you're listening to, well....that's something else.

JRam said...

I generally feel like SSD drives have lower capacity compared to regular drives. Perhaps that is just a result of price influence.

Archi said...

Isn't the google OS only designed for being used on SSD's ?

Tsipise said...

It's too soon to go to solid state devices. But in a few years, implementations with memristors will come in place, and revolutionize the whole data storage concept.

Velkon said...

got sata and i don't have any problems :x

iMonei said...

damn,thanks for the info man. im gonna upgrade the comp

One said...

Great comparison! I'd been wondering about the differences. Hopefully it won't take long for SSDs to improve.

Teutorix said...

i take reliable and cheap over super-complicated and expensive always.

icequeen100 said...

Nice post! I've been wondering what the difference was between drive types, so this was perfect. Thanks!

SoreLosersGaming said...

I'm sticking with traditional drives until the tech on solid state is a bit more reliable, and a little less expensive!

El Trombone said...

This is one of the better states for drives to be in.

Big Poppa said...

my old beater PC is still using IDE drives, i have ONE SATA though, i use it for my OS.

rebekillah said...

I'm running on SATA right now.

Voacaroo said...

If you have the money, buy the SSD.

Anonymous said...

Cool writeup dude, I have SSD on my laptop and sata raid0+1 for the desktop, while the desktop drive setup has way better throughput, the seek time benchmarks on the laptop blow it away.

stoneycase said...

SATA, it's a no brainer. cost per GB and reliability. $100 for 2TB, today. it'll take 3-5yrs for SSD to get close to that value.

Anonymous said...

would rather have to SATA

Anonymous said...

ssd still uses sata

uses ssd and mechanical hdd
on ssd install windows and programs for faster work and on hdd store large files

Copyboy said...

You convinced me...SSD it is.

Brandon said...

SATA, at least for now

Shimizu said...

hdd is cheaper... i payed 150 bucks on mt 2tb drive o.O

Amberclad said...

'till SSD gets cheaper HDD is the way to go... would love to have a SSD in my pc though

comradejoker.blogspot.com/ said...

still going to stick with HDDs

Ronoh said...

Wait till SSD prices come down, then we will talk pros/cons.

Cpt Pownzor said...

ssd is good if you want the best of the best..id still prefer a massive amount of storage for a cheaper price though.

Bubbles said...

i used raid in one of my old laptop systems
and the fasten up was recognizeable
so i would stick to raid all the time if i had the money for it

but can't wait for the future and the advantages in ssd
keep up the good work

Dan said...

Ugh I can't wait until the price drops to at least $1.5 per GB. Then I would gladly pick up a 64 GB SSD. I really don't need much storage, so I wouldn't mind just having one super fast drive with my OS on it. I can always get a sweet external raid setup or create a network to store any large files. :)

Anonymous said...

i would stick with sata, never failed me yet

T.dot said...

eh i dont know about any of this lol

Milhouse said...

This is a really informative post. Thanks, I'll definitely be coming back for more!

CAE.II said...

I have both, and have no problems with my SATAs, and my Solid State I do have problems with because it is such a small size and upgrading is expensive!! So I would stay with SATA for the time being!!

Great idea for a post, interesting topic!

The Blind Prophet said...

I prefer SATA.. it's cheaper (right now).

Galwarrior said...

Sweet Post!

RoodNverse said...

^^^yup . HDD are gonna be around for a few more years they need to work on the SSD for now since they die...

trashpandas said...

I really wanna get a supplementary SSD for my SATA HDD, should speed me up infinitely... it's like adding 32 gigs of RAM!

Come At Me Bro said...

I should buy a SSD soon!

Luigibomb said...

SSD all the way man!

Anonymous said...

I use sata :D

Das Auto! said...

i heard the new Macbook Air has flash memory

SC2 Strats said...

Good post, but I feel like I should say that they're both technically "SATA" drives. That's the type of connector. One is an SSD, and the other is an HDD (hard disk drive). Not to be a jerk or anything, just thought I'd clarify.

Fred said...

I'm digging the love for SSDs in here ;)

TravisTouchdown said...

SSDs are the wave of the FUTURE. I prefer them but they're still so expensive for the time being

unintentional critic said...

solid states are not stable! they die over time faster than spinning plates

Crammarc said...

stay with a SATA

textileengineer said...

You are wasting your money. The affordable SSDs are not fast enough to be of any value. The seek times are very low but the read / write times are also very low. Save your dough until they increase the speeds.

Kartoffeln said...

Nice entry, now I have more info to make a correct choice.

Unknown said...

I couldn't give you an answer because I'm not very familiarized with these kind of stuff, but "Solid State Drivers" seems better than "SATA" I'd choose that one. =)

kokojesta said...

im happy with my sata atm, i guess il be happy with it always

David Davidson said...

SATA user here!

CookingManiac said...

SSD for the wins.

Unlogic said...

I'll have to buy SSD disk for video editing purposes ... SATA just won't do it :/
it's too slow

Quinn Electronics said...

ssd for os. hands down. at least 80gigs

Michael V said...

SSD is the best : )

Someone said...

i would deff pick HDD, UNLESS i had an array of SSD's to increase write performance, as of now, the right performace of ssd is trash.

Anonymous said...

nice!

Sinisa said...

good informations...

Monster Madness said...

Nice post, looking forward to the next!

Anonymous said...

So harmonious :D

hindenburg said...

I cant deal with noise well so I would choose differently from you :)

i_love_weed said...

its easy:

ssd HD for speed
normal HD for cheap space

caretaker said...

good to know!

Willow said...

The technology in my opinion is still to new (hence the not lasting long) and the expense. I mean I would love SSD but until the newness factor wears off and they figure out how to increase it's life, I'll stick with my SATA.

Anonymous said...

great post! amazing stuff ;D

Oh oh! Banana! said...

I love my SATA drives. My case fans already sound like a Kirby running, so the noise doesn't bother me.

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