Hard drive, SSD, NVMe, M.2: which is best?

With games getting bigger and countless photos and videos taking up space, it’s inevitable that your computer will start running out of storage space. You can get External hard diskbut it’s hard to beat the speed and ease of installing or replacing storage inside your desktop or laptop.

There are multiple types of internal storage devices that are widely called “hard drives”. This includes the traditional large model, still called hard drives, as well as smaller, faster solid-state drives (SSDs) that include newer versions of M.2 and NVMe.

Each type has pros and cons, but one is likely best for upgrading your storage capacity.

What can you install?

On most computers, you’re limited by the motherboard in what you can install. Most desktop computers will have the ability to add additional SSDs and hard drives, and some desktops and laptops also have room for M.2s and NVMe. Keep in mind that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to replace the storage module in a laptop. It is significantly different from what is possible without special tools and knowledge.

Before you grab a screwdriver to open your computer case, try that first. On Windows computers, press the Windows and R keys on your keyboard, and then type “msinfo32” (without the quotes). research Base manufacturer and Board product. This is your motherboard. You can search for this online and see what kind of connections are available. Some of them may already be in use.

Important note: No matter which drive you have installed, You will need to configure it Before Windows can use it.

Macs generally have less upgradability than regular Windows PCs. Some models may have room for an additional drive, but no modern MacBook has an upgradeable SSD — at least, not according to Apple. To learn more about your computer, Apple Support has a helpful page To find out your model if you have forgotten.

How much storage space do you need? I recommend at least a terabyte, so it can fill up quickly with videos and some games. Always get at least one size larger than you think you need if you can afford it. You’ll eventually use up the space.

Hard drive: big and cheap

Pros:

• Inexpensive per gigabyte (most modern hard drives are several terabytes)
• Huge storage capacity
• Wide compatibility

cons:

• Physically large (not for smaller laptops or desktops)
• slow
• It is often audible when active

Best for:

• Store photos, videos and other content
• Expand storage on a budget

Worst for:

• Fast loading of games and other large files

Hard disk drives (HDDs) are huge boxes that have spinning platters inside. This is an old and outdated technology, but it still works and is the least expensive option for large storage capacities. You can have more than 10 terabyte For storage it’s about $200. For comparison, a $200 solid-state drive (SSD) will likely only store about 2TB.

Because they have moving parts, they cannot read and write data as quickly as solid-state drives (SSDs). Most inexpensive external backup drives use slow 5400 RPM drives. Faster 7200 RPM drives are available, which helps speed up load times for games, programs and large files. However, if you are using a hard disk drive (HDD) as the main drive for your computer, it will take longer to boot compared to a solid-state drive.

If you want more storage space, hard drives are the less expensive option. Their physical size may be a limitation depending on your computer, and the slow speed may be annoying if you regularly use them to access large files or load games.

Solid State Drive (SATA SSD)

Pros:

• Much faster and less sensitive than a hard disk
• Smaller than a hard disk
• Better compatibility compared to M.2-style drives with older computers

cons:

• Not as small as M.2 or as fast as NVMe (at 2.5 inches, in SATA form anyway)

Best for:

• Storing games when NVMe-compatible drives are not available or affordable

Worst for:

• Large amounts of storage
• Long-term unpowered storage

Technically, all storage that is not a hard drive is a solid-state drive (SSD). Inside, instead of moving plates, there are just a series of microchips. They have no moving parts, and are silent. They come in different sizes and shapes, but in this section, I’m referring to the 2.5-inch wide style common in desktops and some larger or older laptops. These connect via sata connection. SSD drives provide much faster data transfer speeds compared to hard drives. So, for example, not only will the game load faster, but loading times between levels and loading from saves will be noticeably faster as well. Some games require SSD performance to function properly.

SSD drives are a compromise for computer storage. They are smaller and faster than hard drives, but more expensive. They’re much larger than M.2 drives and slower than NVMe drives, but they’re cheaper per gigabyte. If your computer has a hard disk drive (HDD), you can usually replace it with a 2.5-inch SSD and see a significant improvement in loading speeds. If this is your main (boot) drive, you will need to reinstall your operating system.

The cost per gigabyte of SSDs is higher than that of hard drives, but that may not matter to you. A 2TB SSD can store dozens of games and tons of photos and videos, and gives you faster access to them all than a hard drive. There has long been a theory that SSDs are not as powerful as HDDs. Although they have no moving parts, their chips cannot handle as many read/write interactions as the magnetic platters found in hard drives. Since SSD drives have been on the market for a while, This does not appear to be the case for normal use. However, you should not expect any storage device to last more than 3-5 years. You’ve owned HDDs for a decade or more, and SSDs die after a few years, and vice versa.

Although this wouldn’t be a problem for internal storage, if you’re considering using an SSD for long-term backup, whether in a rarely used computer or an external drive, consider this SSD drives can lose data if Left idle for long periods.

M.2 and NVMe

Pros:

• Even faster than 2.5-inch SATA SSDs
• Small and flat

cons:

• Expensive, especially NVMe drives
• Less common compatibility with older computers

Best for:

• Fast gameplay and download/access of large files

Worst for:

M.2 is a connection type, while Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) is how data is transferred. There are SSDs that have an M.2 connection but are not NVMe, and there are NVMe drives that are not M.2. However, the two often go hand in hand. In all cases, these are versions of SSDs, but due to the higher performance capabilities and different connection type, I’ve separated them into their own category here.

If you are looking for the fastest possible performance, then… NVMe compatible SSD It is the perfect solution, assuming your motherboard supports it. NVMe uses PCIe data channels on the motherboard For speeds several times faster than the most common SATA interface. NVMe drives tend to be more expensive, and unless you regularly deal with large video files, the benefits may be marginal. A non-NVMe M.2 SSD is still very fast. If your motherboard doesn’t support it, an NVMe SSD probably won’t fit, even though connectivity and size are similar to non-NVMe drives.

There is a less common version of the NVMe drive that uses a physical disk drive Cry slot instead of M.2, but this is not common. The drives themselves will work similarly.

What should you get?

• If you just want to back up a large number of files, including photos, videos, and music: Hard disk. This is also the cheapest option.
• If you want a faster computer, especially when running and loading games: SSDeither SATA (2.5-inch) or M.2 style, depending on what your computer supports.
• If you want faster performance, especially for fast loading of games or large 4K video files: NVMe SSD (again, if your computer supports it).

Alternatives

Although installing a new hard drive or SSD is one of the easiest computer upgrades you can make, it still requires opening up your computer. If you’re hesitant to do this, there are two possible alternatives.

The first is the one mentioned above External hard drives. They can be connected to your computer via USB or on your home network (also called network attached storage or NAS). If you just want storage to back up your photos, videos, and other important files, this is all you need. It will be slower than an internal drive, but simpler. You can also back up multiple computers more easily. However, you cannot use it for gaming. there External hard drives designed for gamingbut when used with modern consoles, they are intended for archiving games only, not for playing directly from the drives.

The other alternative (again for photos, videos, etc.) is Cloud storage. You can enable automatic backups of entire computers or specific folders, and all your data is (hopefully) kept safely in a cloud storage data center. Larger storage amounts cost money, but usually not that much.

I do both: 16TB RAID 1 (redundant array of independent disks) for local backup and cloud storage. RAID 1 has two mirrored hard drives, so when one dies (and if it doesn’t), the other has identical data. Cloud storage mirrors photos and videos offsite.

Is this exaggerated? Not for me. There are only two types of hard drives, as the saying goes, those that fail and those that will fail.

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In addition to covering audio and display technology, Jeff makes the photo tours From museums and amazing sites around the world, including Nuclear submarines, Aircraft carriers, Medieval castles,epic A 10,000 mile road trip And more.

Also, check out Budget travel for dummies And to him Best-selling science fiction novel About submarines the size of a city. You can follow it Instagram and YouTube.