this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2023
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Are HDDs still relevant? Have they made any advancements since SSDs/NVMEs took over?
SSDs are still very unreliable compared to HDDs, any bulk or critical data storage is done on HDDs.
It might seem unthinkable to gamers, but speed isn't the only thing that matters when it comes to storage.
HHDs have mechanical parts that make them far less reliable.
It looks like they've gotten better recently, but exactly how much isn't really clear.
Backblaze lifetime annual failure rates for:
HDDs: 1.45%
SSDs: 0.90%
The HDD AFR is +0.55%, but if you look at the drive count and drive day numbers, you can see why the SSD AFR varies pretty wildly, and why the confidence interval is way higher.
If you think this is enough to say SSDs reliability is definitively solved, that's fine, but
is a bit much.
SSD's just need good power delivery and cooling, where as a HDD needs those plus a means of dampening vibration for good longevity.
HDD's are no longer a good choice for mobile devices like laptops as an SSD is more likely to survive a fall than a HDD.
SSD's however require periodic supply of power to maintain data integrity (power it on for an hour each year afaik), where as a HDD does not.