Hard drive vs SSD vs SSHD (hybrid)?

[bobbricks123]

Which of these has the longest lifespan before failing?

 

[Suztera]

Doesn't really matter with either, all will outlive you.
SSD will be the fastest then SSHD then HDD.

 

[USAFRet]

'longest lifespan'?

All of them. Lifespan is not something you should be concerned about. They will outlive you.

 

[bobbricks123]

Hmm..but surely some of them have higher failure rates?
Like this article suggests: http/www.extremetech.com/computing/170748-how-long-do-hard-drives-actually-live-for

 

[Suztera]

Hmm..but surely some of them have higher failure rates?
Like this article suggests: http/www.extremetech.com/computing/170748-how-long-do-hard-drives-actually-live-for

Well the data is collected by Backblaze, a paid online storage for consumers and business. They will represent their results in favour for their products.
Also, their hard drives are running 24/7 writing and reading data. HDD are stacked together not like a normal consumer desktop or laptop.
Basically, their article doesn't really apply to consumers.

 

[USAFRet]

Yes, some drives die.
But the dividing line is not SSD vs SSHD vs HDD.

I have HDD's that are getting on to 20 yrs old.
I have HDD's that have died within 6 months.

SSD endurance test: http/techreport.com/review/26058/the-ssd-endurance-experiment-data-retention-after-600tb

 

[iceblitzed]

well I know the old model ssds have a highest failure rate like ssds made in 2011.
but the current ones are more reliable but still the failure rate even for the old ssds is low.

 

[Walt D in LV]

Doesn't really matter with either, all will outlive you.

I really don't understand this reply, Suztera.
Mechanical hard drives fail. That's a fact of life. Sure, many will last a very long time, others just a few years.

 

[Suztera]

Doesn't really matter with either, all will outlive you.

I really don't understand this reply, Suztera.
Mechanical hard drives fail. That's a fact of life. Sure, many will last a very long time, others just a few years.

it will depends on what you do with the hard drive/ SSHD. If you write a large volume of data 24/7, then yes the life span is decreased. For a normal consumer, you probably won't see it fail unless you unlucky or didn't maintain the drive that well.

 

[pberb]

Doesn't really matter with either, all will outlive you.
SSD will be the fastest then SSHD then HDD.

'longest lifespan'?

All of them. Lifespan is not something you should be concerned about. They will outlive you.

Wrong. My OCZ SSD lasted 4 years then died 100% with absolutely no data recovery. I've had HDDs that have lasted 10 years without failure, and those that failed I was able to recover over 90% of the data off of them after they failed.

 

[USAFRet]

Doesn't really matter with either, all will outlive you.
SSD will be the fastest then SSHD then HDD.

'longest lifespan'?

All of them. Lifespan is not something you should be concerned about. They will outlive you.

Wrong. My OCZ SSD lasted 4 years then died 100% with absolutely no data recovery. I've had HDDs that have lasted 10 years without failure, and those that failed I was able to recover over 90% of the data off of them after they failed.

OCZ from 4 years ago had significant and documented issues. Do not base SSD lifespan on those particular drives.
Ask anyone who bought a Hitachi DeskStar, aka DeathStar, back in the day. Today, Hitachi has probably the best reliability.

 

[fuseless]

The mechanical design of HDDs gives them more possibility to remain functional for a long time as there is no solid limit for how many writes or reads you can throw at them.

With SSDs however, All flash devices can sustain a finite number of write and erase operations, also called program/erase cycles.

There are 2 types of SSD disks: MLC or SLC (muti level cell or Single level Cell)

Each time data needs to be written, the SSD needs to erase data within a cell then write the new data.

MLC NAND flash is a flash memory technology using multiple levels per cell to allow more bits to be stored using the same number of transistors. This reduces the lifespan of the cell itself since more bits are being written to it, therefore more program/erase cycles. Also, writing multiple bits to single cell requires increased granularity of the cell layers, which leads to reduced performance vs SLC.

SLC on the other end uses the cell on a single level, thus limiting the erase/write cycles and increasing the cell, thus the disk, lifespan. This process is faster than having to manage multiple layers within the cell, so more performance.

In read-dominant environments, MLC are OK as read operations do not erase/write, and the performance provided is much more than required.

In write-intensive operations, an MLC lifespan is limited and the use of MLC disk is not recommended.

For consumer laptops, I assume good quality MLC (vendors today have come up wit hsome enhancement to minimize cell damage in MLC disks) is OK as we usually read a lot more than we write.

 

[tulcak]

Doesn't really matter with either, all will outlive you.
SSD will be the fastest then SSHD then HDD.

so, I only have 5 years to live? what are you talking about. you can expect to get 5 years from any drive before it dies.

 

[graham3d3d]

Doesn't really matter with either, all will outlive you.
SSD will be the fastest then SSHD then HDD.

I've been working with computers for over 30 years, and from my experience the longest a hard drive has lasted is about 5 years. Through failure or the technology becomes either obsolete, too small or too slow.

Non mechanical drives such as SSD's should last the longest. However, do not rely on any drive system and make sure you have a reliable back up routine for the event of failure.
For instance:
I make an incremental backup of my SSD C: drive every two hours using "Easeus todo backup" to a cheaper 2TB Hybrid mechanical disk. It works in the background and takes 5 minutes or so. This can be restored to a new SSD using EaseUS if the C drive ever fails. I also use the 2TB drive for storage, which is cloned to an identical 2TB drive along with the "EaseUs backup" each evening using the free version of "FreeFileSync".
I think this is possibly foolproof, and doesn't seem to slow down the machine too much.

I have now run out of space on my 2TB drive and so I will buy a 4GB Hybrid drive, partitioned to 2, and clone this to the 2x 2TB old drives instead.

In the past I tried to use Raid 1 (clone disk) , but I found that when one disk failed, it corrupted both disks. Perhaps I was doing it wrong, but I wont use RAID1 again.

 

[Steele_1]

Hmm..but surely some of them have higher failure rates?
Like this article suggests: http/www.extremetech.com/computing/170748-how-long-do-hard-drives-actually-live-for

 

[Steele_1]

Must be some trolls on here.
They will live longer than you? Really?
I have been building computers since the Commodore 64 was out and I have had approximately 20 hard drives fail.
The click of death is something you don't want to hear.
Sometimes they just quit with no warning what so ever.
Most of mine have been WD but I have had a few Seagate drives fail too.
I am curious myself about the life of the SSD drives.
Wish I could be more help too you my friend.

 

[USAFRet]

I am curious myself about the life of the SSD drives.

Read this: http/us.hardware.info/reviews/4178/10/hardwareinfo-tests-lifespan-of-samsung-ssd-840-250gb-tlc-ssd-updated-with-final-conclusion-final-update-20-6-2013

I too started way back when. I still have a working C-64 and VIC-20. In the original boxes.

 

[drifterella]

I agree with the scepticals. I have been servicing servers for 33 years berfore retirement. the @@@@ @who said "dont worry HD lifetime is longer than yours plan to "live fast and die young" I guess, like 5 years..
Average a consumer HD in a nongaming, non downloading HD lives 5-7 years before fatal errors can occur, SSD's in a gaming evinroment can die within 2 years. Lots of temp files craeted, read, deleted and replaced nonstop et al. SSD: Make a hard backup if it's critcal..
Hybrid SSD/HDD, if the interface to the HDD part is though the SSD , if the SSD dies, no acces to the HDD.
SSD is quick and nice and lives like the i***t who planned to live fast and die young ;p
The only really longlived HDD is the "write once read many " storage drives, they can live as "long as you" depending on how many really access it at all to ready anything 8) Professional quality drives have a longer lifespan ofc, btu they are ratehr more expensive as well, not really some for homeuse.
Also, dont rely on "tests" from hardware manufacturers, they lie professionally to distort how good their product really is ofc, like ALL manufacturers, sigh. Live for 70 years and you'll notice... Hopefully ;p