5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Solid State Drive | Drawbacks & Benefits of Solid State Drive

Both the storage mediums SSDs and HDDs have similar specifications. Furthermore the competition
between the SSDs and the HDDs is an rivalry for many years. But in terms of market demands the SSDs have significant advantages because of the technology used behind them. 

Speaking of Solid State Drives (SSD) it is a type of storage device which uses flash memories for storing data. Relying upon flash chips, the SSDs have become extremely popular nowadays. In fact many people during the last few years has decided to use SSDs as their primary storage device. Same as the number of benefits there are risks involved in using SSDs. Even though with that still many manufacturers and consumers favour towards HDDs as their primary storage medium. There are number of reasons for that. Hence, for an average user to decide whether to go for a SSD or not they have to know the advantages and disadvantages of it.

In this article, let's look at the 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Solid State Drive | Drawbacks & Benefits of Solid State Drive. At the end of this article you will know the pros and cons of using SSD.

Let's get started,

Advantages of SSD

1. Speed 

Because of the fact that there is no any mechanical parts in SSDs, it performs fast operations. A normal SSD is about 25-100x faster than a traditional HDD. This paves the way for faster boot times, file transfer, application loading and other basic computing works. Moreover all the read/write functions takes place inside the flash memory chips. Due to this the normal read/write functions are better and faster compared to a HDD.


2. Durability 

Another advantage of non-mechanical nature present in SSD is its durability. As there is no any physical components in SSD, it is not affected by external traumas. Therefore, it is more durable and resistant to drops and shudders. Perhaps even in the event of dropping, SSDs will not face any data losses making it more data secure. 


3. Compact 

There is a certain limit for the size that can be manufactured in HDD but in SSDs there is no such limitations. Due to the lack of moving parts, a SSD is more compact than a HDD. Because of their compact nature they are most suited for portable electronic devices. Therefore, whenever a portable electronic device such as ultrabook and tablets need the use of storage medium then SSDs will be the best option. 


4. Less Noise 

Due to the constant rotation of the metal platters and the movement of read/write arms, there is a frequent noise produced by the HDD. But unlike in a HDD there is no metal platters and read/write arms in SSDs. Therefore, when the SSDs are in operations it produces no noise at all. The noise value of SSDs have found to be 0 decibels. 


5. Power Consumption 

Unlike a HDD where it relies upon the magnetic coated platters disks for read/write functioning, there is no any moving parts in involved in SSDs. Because of this it generally consumes less power. Since there is no much power consumed by the SSDs it is considered to be highly energy efficient and less heat dissipation. 

Disadvantages of SDD

1. Cost 

The primary disadvantage of using a SSD is its cost. Comparing the price of HDD and the SSD, the price of a SSD costs more than twice that of a HDD of similar storage capacity. Eventually the computers with the SSDs as their primary storage medium is going to be more expensive. However the overall lifetime cost of a SSD is significantly lower.


2. Storage Space 

The storage space offered by a SSD is limited to certain values. The base storage capacity of a SSD is 128GB. SSDs with higher storage capacities are extremely rare to find. Moreover when the storage capacity of a SSD goes up then automatically the device cost keeps increasing as well.


3. Availability 

Considering the availability of a SSD, they are less abundant in the market. Comparing to a HDD, SSDs are harder to find and expensive piece of devices. But since the advancement of the portable technology, there is a gradual rise of SSD manufacturing, which means that SSDs are becoming more available. 


4. Lifespan 

The flash memories those are used in SSDs are limited to certain number of writes. Because of this the lifecycles present in a SSD is limited. In order for writing datas to a SSD, it uses a process known as Write cycles. In this process when a data is written on a SSD the previous blocks present in them will be erased. Whenever this process is completed this eventually lead to cell decaying. Cell decaying basically means that your SSD is slowly facing towards failure.


5. Data Recovery 

In the event of a data deletion on a SSD, it is almost impossible to recover the data back. Even though this can be advantageous in terms of data security, this can lead to serious issues if there is no proper backups made. Moreover unlike a HDD, the data present in a SSD is scattered inside the flash memories. Whenever there is any damage to the flash memories there will be no option to recover the data inside it.