Just admit it!
We all need a fast computer.
And, sometimes, you never know why your computer is sluggish even if you have a good processor, RAM, Graphics Card, etc.
Well, your storage is one of the main factors in enhancing or decreasing the performance. But, unfortunately, we any how neglect this fact. But, I am here to tell you the truth.
So, today I am going to tell you an interesting thing. An SSD (Solid-State Drive) will make your computer faster.
Now, I am not saying that you just install an SSD and your system will skyrocket. But, SSD has a great effect on the application loading, OS booting, and data read/write times.
So, if you have heard about this technology and you are still thinking about whether or not you should purchase one for your system or a new system with an SSD, I am going to help you with the same.
Let’s know why you should buy an SSD and how it will enhance your system performance.
Also Read: How to choose the right SSD in 2021?
Average Read/Write Speed of an SSD
Before proceeding, let’s look at some statistics. Whether you are buying any SSD from the market, you are going to have a read/write speed of 200 MB/s to 600 MB/s.
Even if you are buying the SAMSUNG 860 Pro, it can give you a read/write speed up to 530 MB/s.
Note: It’s Ok if you are not aware of the read/write speed. We will get back to it later.
But, when you compare these numbers with an HDD, you will be amazed. If you buy a normal 7200 RPM hard disk, you will get a speed of only between 50 to 300 MB/s.
What is read/write speed and how it impact system performance?
You might be thinking that how to read/write speed is going to impact my system performance even after being related to file copy and pasting.
Well, there is a reason behind all that. A high read/write speed means how fast your system will is able to store and access the information.
So, let’s suppose you are going to open a large-sized game. Now, if all the required files are not ready, the game won’t open. Your processor, graphics card, and RAM can do nothing if all the important files are not available to them.
Also, when your HDDs get older, the overall speed starts to decrease more and more. The random speed is most likely to hit with aging.
What is Random R/W Speed in Hard Drives and why its important?
Normally, you get 20 to 30 MB/s random speed in most of the SSDs. But, a spinning Hard disk (HDD) will give you only about 1 to 5 MB/s.
Now, when it comes to the random speed, it is another major factor to determine how fast your files will open. Random speed determines how fast your storage device is able to retrieve files from any random location.
Random speed will always be slower in hard disks because the read/write head has to first find the location and then start the retrieving process. But, SSD will come with the advantage of accessing those random files within milliseconds. All thanks to the flash memory which is always quicker when accessing the random data.
Let’s understand it with an example.
Difference between Random speed and sequential speed in hard disks?
Suppose you are copying a huge file from your pen drive to your hard disk. Now, the files are being written from one place to a certain location. At that time, even your HDD can give you a good write speed because the data is being written sequentially at relative locations. This can be determined as the sequential speed of your hard drive.
This also makes a huge change whenever you paste anything or any of your apps tries to open. If your data is stored sequentially at nearby locations, you might get 100 to 200 MB/s read speed on your HDD. But, that’s a rare case, the data is mostly scattered at different disk location. So, along with the processing speed, the time that the read/write head takes to reach from one place to another will also add on.
Similiarly, when it comes to opening software, the CPU and RAM will need some random files from a random location. At that time, getting information from different location from the hard disk will take time. This actually delays the opening of your software and sometime the OS.
Now, even if you have Intel i7 CPU and a 16 GB RAM, if random speed is slow, you can do nothing to fasten up the loading process.
All these drawbacks can be overcome with the help of an SSD.
Does SSD only improve the read/write speed and nothing else?
I have written some other articles discussing the benefits of SSD for Photo Editing and gaming.
But, I want to say a thing again that I have neglected the importance of a fast storage device for so long. But, when I have installed an SSD in my system, I am fully amazed by seeing the results.
Windows never take more than 10 seconds to load and all the software works perfectly fine. I know there is always a need for other good components like RAM and CPU but upgrading your storage is very important for an optimal experience on any computer.
But, I have the latest processor and enough RAM
Well, that’s good for you. But, believe me, your HDD will become a bottleneck for your decent system for sure.
Your system might be working very fine until now or if you are going to purchase a new one, you may get decent results for some time. But, after a good amount of usage, HDDs starts to become slow. And, its my own experience.
So, if you want your OS to load very slow and so the software, you can keep an HDD. But, if you are really impatient like me, SSD will surely be like a gift for you.
SSD will always keep the data ready for any operation you want. So, when you have a good resource to process that data, you will be able to see excellent results.
What can you expect after an SSD upgrade?
Well, there are numerous great results you can expect when you switch from HDD to an SDD. No matter how good or bad your system configurations are, you will eventually see a big decrease in the load time of your apps and OS.
1. You can start using your computer instantly after booting
Sometimes, because of your slow storage, you can’t do anything on your computer once it boots up. This also happens because of a slow storage device. Basically, with an SSD, you can start using your laptop or computer just after the OS is loaded. You can start opening your software and play games without waiting for your system to wake up from its sleep properly.
2. Your software will load faster
After I have upgraded my system from HDD to SSD, I have seen a more than a 100% decrease in software and game loading time. I don’t know why I was waiting to take this decision.
3. Faster File copy/paste
Now, your system will not try to find the file locations first and then start to paste, copy, or delete them. Everything will happen instantly because the flash storage technology is best when it comes to data storage and access.
4. Better overall performance
All your apps will work smoothly. Photo editing, video editing, and every other thing will be done without lags.
Note: I would suggest upgrading other components along with an SSD if you have some greater needs. You can’t expect that your i3 system with 4 GB of RAM will do 4K editing just with the help of SSD. SSD is a good upgrade if you think your system is not performing well just because of poor storage technology.
SSDs aren’t cheap! What can you do?
Well, in my opinion, just go for a 256 GB of SSD. It will cost you around 20 to 30$. Make it your OS drive and see the difference. Install some software and see how the performance is increased.
If you are satisfied with the results then you can go for a higher capacity SSD. Else, you can keep your SSD as a drive for OS and software and HDD for all your raw data storage.
You can keep all your photos, videos, and files inside the HDD and keep SSD only for software and operating system.
Also Read: 10 Main Benefits of SSD over HDD
Final Verdict
I hope you are now aware of how SSD will increase your performance. I haven’t went too much deeper in to the details but I hope you will understand what I wanted to say. Make sure to use the comment section and ask more questions about SSDs.
Thanks for reading!