[SOLVED] SSD or HDD for secondary drive?

VERX

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Jun 17, 2014
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The most important factor is reliability, these are my options

SSD

Kingston SSD KC600 1TB [SKC600/1024G]

HDD

Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB 7200RPM

Western Digital 2TB Red Hard Drive 64 MB


Which one has the most reliability for the long run?
 
Solution
SSDs can potentially lose data faster if not powered than HDD, since the data cells in SSDs act like really slow draining capacitors. But the scale at which this happens likely still months to years. However, with regards to reliability, I don't believe one is more reliable than the other within the lifespan a user will care about it. I've had HDDs running in my NAS box which is on all the time and so far haven't had any issues with it.

The choice of SSD and HDD really comes down to how anal you are about load times with the stuff you're going to put on it. And there is a point of diminishing returns for certain types of data.

VERX

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Jun 17, 2014
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Yup seems like I'm going for an SSD, put all my files on it and never worry about it breaking down.

One more thing, if i was to leave that SSD (the one listed above, it's on sale so I'll be getting the exact model) with no power lets say for 3-4 months will it lose data? and its specifications are pretty well and up to date correct?
 
SSDs can potentially lose data faster if not powered than HDD, since the data cells in SSDs act like really slow draining capacitors. But the scale at which this happens likely still months to years. However, with regards to reliability, I don't believe one is more reliable than the other within the lifespan a user will care about it. I've had HDDs running in my NAS box which is on all the time and so far haven't had any issues with it.

The choice of SSD and HDD really comes down to how anal you are about load times with the stuff you're going to put on it. And there is a point of diminishing returns for certain types of data.
 
Solution

SteveRX4

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Sep 29, 2020
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Yup seems like I'm going for an SSD, put all my files on it and never worry about it breaking down.

One more thing, if i was to leave that SSD (the one listed above, it's on sale so I'll be getting the exact model) with no power lets say for 3-4 months will it lose data? and its specifications are pretty well and up to date correct?

I've had two SSDs that I put in a drawert for 4 months while I was upgrading my PC. I never had any problems with them when I put them back in my PC.
"If a drive is stored at 25C or operated 40C, expected data retention for a client drive is 105 weeks, or nearly two years. Let the storage temperature creep up to 30C, or 86F, and the drive should still hold data for an entire year "
 

USAFRet

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I've had two SSDs that I put in a drawert for 4 months while I was upgrading my PC. I never had any problems with them when I put them back in my PC.
"If a drive is stored at 25C or operated 40C, expected data retention for a client drive is 105 weeks, or nearly two years. Let the storage temperature creep up to 30C, or 86F, and the drive should still hold data for an entire year "
That is actually somewhat misleading.

That is from an article, from 2015.
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/205382-ssds-can-lose-data-in-as-little-as-7-days-without-power

Which was based on this JEDEC presentation:
https://www.jedec.org/sites/default/files/Alvin_Cox [Compatibility Mode]_0.pdf


Key parameter that is only stated in the JEDEC pdf is:
These drives were written to their published TBW rating, and then stored at the test temperatures.