What is HDD
HDD is an electro-mechanical storage device, which is an abbreviation of Hard Disk Drive. It uses magnetic storage for storing and retrieving the digital data. It is a non-volatile storage device.
Hard Disk Drive is installed internally in our computer systems, which is connected directly to the disk controllers of the motherboard. Hard Disk Drive is a storage device which stores the operation system (OS), installed software, and the other computer files.
HDD means the data is retained when our computer system is shut down. HDD is also called a fixed disk, hard disk, or hard drive. The HDD was introduced in the year 1956 by IBM.
The first personal computer contains a hard drive of less than 1 megabyte, while modern computers contain the hard drive of 1 terabyte. The desktop computers which have external hard drives are used for backup purposes or additional storage.
Difference Between HDD and SSD
| HDD | SSD |
|---|---|
| 1. HDD is an abbreviation of Hard Disk Drive. | 1. SSD is an abbreviation of Solid State Drive. |
| 2. The time for reading and writing the data in HDD is longer. | 2. The time for reading and writing the data in SSD is shorter. |
| 3. There is a higher latency in HDDs. | 3. There is a lower latency in SSDs. |
| 4. Whereas, Hard Disk Drives supports fewer operations. | 4. Solid State Drives supports the more operations of input/output per second. |
| 5. The weight of HDDs is heavy. | 5. Because the SSDs do not have a rotating disk and motor, the weight of these storage devices is light. |
| 6. In the HDDs, the transfer of data is sequential. | 6. In the SSDs, the transfer of data is not sequential. |
| 7. Due to the mechanical movements, HDDs produce noise. | 7. This storage device does not produce noise. |
| 8. The size of the HDD devices is larger. | 8. The size of the SSD is more compact. |
| 9. The devices of Hard Disk Drives are cheaper. | 9. As compared to Hard Disk Drives, Solid State Drives are more expensive. |
| 10. In HDDs, magnets can remove the data. | 10. SSDs are safe from the magnetic effect. |
| 11. HDD devices generate more heat because of the mechanical part. | 11. SDDs generates little heat because there is no moving part included. |
| 12. HDDs require more power to keep all the parts moving. | 12. It consumes less power than the HDDs. |
| 13. The average boot-up time of OS is 30 to 40 seconds. | 13. The average boot-up time of OS is 10 to 13 seconds. |
| 14. The file opening speed of HDDs is slightly slower. | 14. The file opening speed of SSD is 30% faster than the HDD. |
| 15. Due to the spinning of platters may results in vibration. | 15. As there are no moving parts, so there is no vibration. |
Advantages of Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Following are the advantages of Hard Disk Drive:
- One of the significant advantages of a Hard Disk drive is that its cost is low.
- Another advantage of Hard Disk Drive is that it is readily available in the market.
- Hard Disk Drives are faster than the optical disks.
- The capacity for storing the data in HDDs are large.
Disadvantages of Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Following are the disadvantages or limitations of Hard Disk Drive:
- The speed of reading and writing in HDD is slower than the RAM.
- HDDs are noisy.
- Another disadvantage of HDD is energy inefficiency.
- HDDs consume more power.
- The form factor of HDDs is heavier than the SSDs.
