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When choosing the right hard drive for PC gaming, you have two main options: solid-state drives (SSDs) and hard disk drives (HDDs). Both of them have their ups/downs and the one you go for ultimately comes down to your preferences and budget. To make your selection criteria easier, I’ll explain both of them to you and the circumstances under which one is better than the other!
HDDs In Gaming
HDDs are massively popular in gaming due to their relatively low cost and ample storage capacities. In a world where games can go upwards of 200+ GBs, their huge storage capabilities definitely are a sight for sore eyes!
Due to this, HDDs can enable you to install, store, and play tons of video games without having the need to delete any of them. However, HDDs’ god-send storage capacities and budget-friendliness comes at a huge cost – slower access and longer load times.
Generally, HDDs are much slower than SSDs which is the main drawback that they have.
SSDs In Gaming
SSDs are a game-changer, pun intended! The main thing you need to know about SSDs is that they’re fast – really fast. The technology utilized here enables significantly faster access times and speeds compared to an HDD.
In gaming, this leads to shorter load times and overall improved performance. Now this is all great and fine, but the issue arises at their costs. SSDs can cost an eye-watering amount of money because of their increased capabilities.
This can often be a deal breaker when you’re on a budget!
SSDs vs HDDs – Key Differences
When comparing HDDs and SSDs for gaming, we have to focus on 4 different avenues. I’ll outline these here!
Speed
One of the main advantages of SSDs over HDDs is speed. SSDs use flash memory to store data. This allows them to access data much faster than HDD. Due to this, SSDs can significantly reduce load times during your gaming sessions!
Additionally, games installed on an SSD tend to load faster, leading to quicker start-up times. If your top priority is speed and you want to get into your games as quick as possible – SSDs tend to be the best option.
Capacity
Another important bit to focus on is that HDDs offer larger storage capacities at a much lower cost than SSDs. This makes them perfect for you if you plan on storing a ton of games and don’t want to waste too much money. Additionally, you can easily find HDDs with terabytes of storage space, SSDs are typically more limited in capacity and can be much more expensive for you! In this case – HDDs are the clear winner.
On the other hand, if you don’t plan on storing different titles and just want to play the same game, a larger storage capacity is useless – SSDs are for you.
Durability
SSDs absence of moving parts means that they’ll be less prone to physical damage from hits or drops . This can be especially important if you frequently transport your gaming PC. For the most part, however, I’m assuming there’s not a lot of portability involved in your gaming session. If that’s the case, this won’t be a huge deciding factor for you.
Modern HDDs and SSDs have lifespans of several years which is more than enough to cover you, so there’s not anything special to focus upon in this area.
Price
Your budget ultimately is one of the most important factors to consider when purchasing your new storage equipment. As I’ve explained, SSDs provide much faster speeds and a smoother overall experience than an HDD – but they cost more.
If you’re on a budget and don’t want to throw away too much money on your storage medium, the choice is easy – go for an HDD. This way, you’ll be prioritizing larger storage capacities and budget-friendly rates over speed. If, however, you have a decent amount of money to spend on your rig – SSDs clearly are the winner.
