Hard drives (HDDs) have been widely used storage solutions for many years, especially in computers. HDDs are electromechanical devices that allow permanent data storage. Inside, they contain a rotating disk coated with magnetic material and various components for reading data from this disk.

What are Hard Drives?

Unlike RAM, which temporarily stores data, hard drives are used for permanent data storage. Even when the device is powered off, the data remains stored. Hard drives, capable of storing terabytes of data, are still actively used today.

Features and Advantages of Hard Drives

Hard drives are the most cost-effective solution for storing large amounts of data. The cost per stored unit is much lower compared to SSDs. Today, it is possible to obtain hard drives offering 10 TB of capacity at affordable prices. HDD technology is a long-standing, reliable storage solution that can work with both old and new devices.

Development of Hard Drive Technology

Before hard drives, other storage solutions like magnetic tapes were used. The foundation of hard drives can be traced back to the late 1950s with the IBM 350 storage unit, which had a capacity of approximately 3.75 megabytes. Storage technologies continually evolved throughout the 1960s and 70s. By the 1980s, IBM developed hardware capable of offering 300 megabytes of capacity.

Over time, HDDs evolved into the 3.5” and 2.5” sizes we know today, with capacities reaching terabyte levels. As we moved into the 2010s, NAND technology and the development of SSDs accelerated. With increasing consumer demand for SSDs, many manufacturers decided to reduce or stop HDD production.

Differences Between HDD and SSD

Although HDDs are still a viable solution for storing large amounts of data at low costs, they are gradually being replaced by SSDs due to their mechanical parts and slower read speeds.

SSDs, or Solid State Drives, are more advantageous devices used for data storage compared to HDDs. Their main advantage is higher read and write speeds. Instead of rotating disks and read heads, SSDs use flash memory chips (NAND). Therefore, they do not contain any mechanical components and consist entirely of a circuit board. This also makes SSDs more durable. They are more resistant to physical impacts and vibrations compared to HDDs. Since there is no physical movement inside, they operate more quietly and produce less heat. Moreover, their power consumption is lower than that of HDDs.

In HDD vs. SSD comparisons, 2.5” SATA versions of both are commonly compared. However, the latest SSDs, such as M2 SSDs, are far superior in both size and performance.