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Permanant Memory - SSD or HD?

FauvistFauvist Posts: 2,091
in New Users

If I want to reduce the possibility of losing data stored on an external hard drive, would I chose SSD or HD?  What is the more permanant form of memory, SSD or HD?

Thanks!

Comments

  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,754

    If it's for backups only I would go with the SSD, for normal use the HD. Both have their pros and cons. HD suffer from failure of mechanical parts, SSDs do not. SSDs suffer from excessive write cycles, like everyday use. If a HD dies, you can usually recover the data. If a SSD dies, it is dead.

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,120

    SSD without a doubt. The only reason you'd buy HDD is because you need so much storage space you can't afford it in SSD so maybe if you are going to do something like rip all your DVDs and BRs to a single storage device so you can play without seaching through your closet through hundreds of them on a Andriod TV Box or something like that (maybe you have a large collection of YouTube Music Videos for example).

  • FauvistFauvist Posts: 2,091
    FSMCDesigns said:

    If it's for backups only I would go with the SSD, for normal use the HD. Both have their pros and cons. HD suffer from failure of mechanical parts, SSDs do not. SSDs suffer from excessive write cycles, like everyday use. If a HD dies, you can usually recover the data. If a SSD dies, it is dead.

    I thought there were no moving parts in an SSD, and they can't be magnetically erased.  How would an SSD die?

  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,754
    edited February 2019
    Fauvist said:
    FSMCDesigns said:

    If it's for backups only I would go with the SSD, for normal use the HD. Both have their pros and cons. HD suffer from failure of mechanical parts, SSDs do not. SSDs suffer from excessive write cycles, like everyday use. If a HD dies, you can usually recover the data. If a SSD dies, it is dead.

    I thought there were no moving parts in an SSD, and they can't be magnetically erased.  How would an SSD die?

    SSDs are purely semiconductor devices with no moving parts. The semiconductor technology, called flash memory, has a peculiar failure mode all its own. Every time one of the device’s storage cells is written to, that cell is degraded to a small extent. As the writes add up, eventually the storage cells are degraded to the point that they can no longer accept data, and no more writes are possible.

    manufactures have some workarounds to make them live longer, but both fail eventually

    Post edited by FSMCDesigns on
  • SixDsSixDs Posts: 2,384
    edited February 2019

    I agree completely with FSMCDESIGNS. The only thing that I would add is that your choice should be based in part on the expected use of the device. If you plan on updating and adding files, particularly large ones on a regular basis, that involves a lot of write/erase cycles, which are, as was mentioned, the bane of SSD's (or, more specifically, NAND Flash memory). If you are going to be using the device for mostly write-once-and-store, and reads, the SSD may be fine. If there is going to be a ton of writes, erases and rewrites, a HDD will do that 'til the cows come home with impunity. For my own part, I use an SSD in one machine for a boot drive because its fast, but it only contains the operating system and applications, with even the various caches and temp repositories all moved off of it to minumize writes and erasures. All data is stored on one or more mechanical disks. I also keep backups of that data, also stored on mechanical disks. Hard drive failures do occur, but I have to say that, given the large number I have owned and used, failures have been relatively infrequent. But I am prepared if one does fail, not only with backups of the data, but spare drives ready and waiting. Given their relative costs, I don't see myself having spare SSD's in storage. Whatever you do, bear in mind that not all SSD's can be treated equally, nor hard drives. Choose wisely.

    Post edited by SixDs on
  • CabLadyCabLady Posts: 0

    Thanks for that bit of info. It's exactly what I have been doing with my new SSD external drive, using it for storage mostly video and zipped games and using my HD drive for everything else. Something I am slightly confused about. When I want to play a movie, I just open it and play with my VLC which is on the HD and that won't make a write action to the SSD, correct? But when I want to unzip a game to replay I should unzip and write the game to the HD and play from there. Is this correct? Hope this doesn't come across as confused as it sounds to me!

    LadyLei

    aka CabLady

  • srieschsriesch Posts: 4,241

    I had heard a rumor that memory-based storage, if it remains unpowered for a great length of time, COULD start to loose data. For example, using an SSD to make an offisite backup that sits on a shelf for years at a time, although I think originally I heard this in relation to USB sticks.  I'm pretty sure I've had USB sticks that went unused for years without problems, but as always it could be a "it depends" situation.  However I was unable to locate much that was definitive or a reliable source on this, so I don't know if it's true.  Does anybody have any solid information on that? 

  • SixDsSixDs Posts: 2,384

     "I just open it and play with my VLC which is on the HD and that won't make a write action to the SSD, correct?"

    Correct. It is only reading the data when you are playing your movie. It is if you are altering the data or adding more that writes occur.

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