Is your computer driving you crazy with its slow bootup time? Are your programs taking forever to open? It might be due to your hard drive.
Most computers come standard with the traditional spinning hard drive, HDD (hard disk drive), and up until quite recently in the history of computers, that was the only option you had when purchasing a computer. Today, you have options, you can stick with the standard HDD or go with a SSD (solid-state drive).
So what’s the difference? To read and write, the HDD requires a moving spinning disk, but the SSD has no moving parts and is much quicker!
Advantages of SSD vs. HDD
Durability: Because the SSD has no moving parts, it’s less likely to break. Say you’re in the car working (hopefully while someone else is driving) and you hit a speed bump or pothole, or you pick up your laptop and move it while you’re working, your hard drive is safe because there are no moving parts to break!
Speed: Information on SSDs can be accessed instantaneously which means faster speeds, infact, SSDs can be up to 100x faster than HDDs! Whether you’re gaming, designing a website, editing video, or simply turning on your computer, everything will load quickly and efficiently.
Energy Efficiency: If you’re using your laptop out and about and don’t have access to an outlet, energy efficiency is something you’re probably concerned about. The standard HDD uses 6-7 watts of energy, while the SSD using only 2-4 watts—that translates into 30 more minutes of battery life.
Cooler Temperatures: If you’re running software that has to access the harddrive frequently, there’s no need to worry about your computer overheating. Thanks to no moving parts, SSDs run at cooler temperatures! HDDs produce temperatures around 93º-111º while SSDs are only around 78º-86º F
Do You Need an SSD?
While SSDs are amazing, and can be very worth the upgrade, it’s not always worth to extra cost to upgrade to an SSD in your MacBook (SSDs can be about double the price). If you’re a student using your Mac for simple tasks like writing up Word documents or simply surfing the internet, the SSD may not be quite worth the extra cash that it costs to upgrade. But, on the other hand, installing a SSD in your MacBook will increase resale value in the future when you decide to sell your MacBook!