During the shopping festival, I heard that solid-state drives are on sale, and I plan to buy one to replace my computer’s old hard drive. However, I don’t have much computer knowledge, and I don’t know what the difference is between solid-state drives and mechanical hard drives. Can someone help me compare them? Thank you! “
Solid state drives and mechanical hard drives
As mentioned in the above case, what are solid-state drives and mechanical hard drives? We briefly introduce it as follows:
A mechanical hard drive (HDD) is a data storage device located in a computer. It contains a rotating disk, where data is stored in a magnetic manner, and a mechanical hard disk reads and writes data on the disk through multiple “heads”. Arm moves the magnetic head on the surface of the disk to access different types of data. Generally speaking, for data that does not require frequent access (such as backups of photos, videos, and business files), it is more appropriate to choose to store it on a mechanical hard drive because it is low-cost and practical. In addition, mechanical hard drives generally have two common specifications, namely: 2.5-inch for laptops and 3.5-inch for desktop computers.
The data in solid-state drives (SSDs) is stored in integrated circuits without the need for rotating disks, which has significant advantages in size and performance. They can be reduced to the shape and size of a stick of chewing gum, and even as small as the size of a postage stamp, making them suitable for smaller devices. Due to their different structures, the read and write speeds of SSDs are several levels faster than mechanical drives, making them more suitable for use as system disks or storing frequently used software.
In terms of price, solid-state drives are more expensive per GB of storage space than mechanical drives, but in recent years, with the rapid decline in hard drive prices, the price gap between solid-state drives and mechanical drives is gradually narrowing.
What is the difference between mechanical hard drives and solid-state drives?
So the question is, is solid-state drive or mechanical hard drive better? How should we make the appropriate choice? Before that, you need to understand the difference between solid-state drives and mechanical hard drives.
The difference between solid-state drives and mechanical drives
The two have different structural states
A mechanical hard disk has moving parts, including a spindle driven by an electric motor, used to fix one or more flat disks coated with a thin layer of magnetic material, where the read and write magnetic head is located at the top of the disk; Solid state drives, on the other hand, do not contain moving parts. They are essentially a storage chip that consists of three basic components: a controller, a buffer, and a capacitor.
The two have different risk resistance abilities
Mechanical hard drives have moving parts that make them susceptible to collisions and damage caused by vibration, while solid-state drives do not need to worry too much about such issues and can withstand vibrations up to 2000Hz, which is much better than mechanical hard drives.
The two have different reading and writing speeds
Generally speaking, the read speed of solid-state drives is 10 times faster than mechanical drives, and the write speed is 20 times faster than mechanical drives. This will significantly reduce boot and load times, and it is precisely because of this advantage that many users have decided to migrate their systems to solid-state drives for better performance.
The price ranges of the two are different
In terms of the price per GB of storage space, solid-state drives are more expensive than mechanical hard drives. A 1TB 2.5-inch mechanical hard drive is usually priced between 240 and 300 yuan. Due to the development of domestic solid-state drives, the price difference for solid-state drives with the same capacity and shape has been reduced.
How to migrate the system to a solid-state drive?
Do you know which is better between solid-state drives and mechanical hard drives now? Actually, each has their own strengths. After seeing the comparison above, if you decide to purchase a solid-state drive to make the system or application run faster, then most people cannot avoid moving the operating system from the current mechanical hard drive to a new solid-state drive.
How to operate it specifically? Here, I recommend using the Aomei Partition Assistant. With just a few mouse clicks, you can easily migrate your operating system from your current hard drive to a new solid-state drive. In addition, if you want to move data from one hard drive to another, you can also try using the hard drive cloning feature.
Please click the button below to enter the download center and download the Aomei Partition Assistant, then follow our demonstration process to learn how to migrate the system together!
Download software now
Win11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
Step 1. Connect your new solid-state drive to your computer and ensure that the system can detect it. Then open the Aomei Partition Assistant, right-click on the “Migrate System to Solid State Drive” option in the upper left navigation bar on the main interface, or click “All Tools”>”Migrate System to Solid State Drive”.
Select the option to migrate the system to a solid-state drive
Step 2. Select an unallocated space on your new solid-state drive and click “Next”.
Select unallocated space on solid-state drives
Note: If there is no unallocated space on the new solid-state drive, you can choose to check the “I want to delete all partitions on this disk to migrate the system to the disk” option below this window.
Step 3. You can left click on the hollow circles on the left and right sides of the green partition in the picture, and drag them left and right to adjust the size and position of the new system partition. After setting up, click “Next”.
Set the size and position of the new partition
Step 4. A confirmation pop-up will appear. Please click “Finish” and return to the main interface. Click the “Submit” button in the upper left corner to preview the upcoming task. Once confirmed, click “Execute” to migrate the system to the new hard drive.
Start migrating the system to a new hard drive
Step 5. After waiting for the system migration to complete, restart the computer and enter BIOS to modify the boot order to a new solid-state drive, then save and exit. Normal boot and enter the system to complete the replacement of the old and new system disks. For old hard drives, you can choose to use the erase hard drive function to completely delete disk data and then use it as a backup storage disk.
conclusion
What is the difference between solid-state drives and mechanical drives? Do you know which is better between solid-state drives and mechanical hard drives? Seeing this, I believe you already have your own answer in your heart. In addition, we also thoughtfully provide you with a simple and fast method of migrating your system to a new hard drive, making your hard drive upgrade journey easier!
