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Is this cross between a hard drive and an SSD right for you?
Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA-certified technologist with more than 10 years of experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.
If you're considering upgrading your computer's hard drive, you may have come across the term SSHD (solid-state hybrid drive). These drives blend conventional platter-based hard drives with the newer solid-state drive technologies. Seagate introduced this term to label what was previously called hybrid hard drives.
SSHDs are compatible with any computer, regardless of the operating system, as long as the appropriate bay or connector is available.
Seagate's tagline for their SSHD lineup is "SSD Performance. HDD Capacity. Affordable Price." This slogan highlights the drive's dual benefits: the speed of SSDs combined with the storage capacity of HDDs.
An SSHD combines a conventional hard drive with a small-capacity solid-state drive. The SSD acts as a cache for frequently accessed files, allowing for faster access to these files compared to traditional hard drives. This setup is similar to using a small SSD as a cache in a computer system, such as with Intel Smart Response Technology.
Using an SSHD can provide faster boot times, quicker file access, and a more responsive system, all while keeping the large storage space of a traditional hard drive. It's an affordable option for those who want both speed and plenty of storage.
An SSHD is essentially a conventional hard drive with an added SSD cache. As such, it offers capacities similar to magnetic hard drives, with both laptop and desktop variants available.
The SSHD does cost slightly more than a magnetic hard drive because of the addition of the more expensive solid-state cache memory and additional firmware to control the caching processor. The prices range from about 10% to 20% more than a conventional drive.
The SSHD is cheaper than a full solid-state drive. For the same capacities, SSDs can be several times more expensive due to the cost of NAND memory chips.
The real test of a solid-state hybrid drive is in its performance compared to magnetic hard drives and solid-state drives.
The performance of any storage medium is a function of its most common use cases. Specs must be evaluated in light of how the hardware is employed.
SSHD performance depends on the amount of solid-state memory in the cache. SSHD drives may have 8 GB of this solid-state cache. The cache is a small amount that can be filled up quickly, requiring the frequent purging of the cached data by the system.
People who see the greatest benefit from these drives use their computers with a limited number of applications, such as browsing the web, reading and sending emails, and using a couple of productivity applications. A gamer who plays a variety of PC games won't see the same benefits as it takes several uses of the same files for the caching system to determine which files to store there. If files aren't used repeatedly, the solid-state cache benefit is limited.
SSHDs show an improvement over magnetic drives but not as significant as a pure-SSD solution. Beyond that, improvements prove much more variable. For example, when you copy a large amount of data, the cache overloads and the drive performs at the same level as a normal hard drive.
The primary market for a solid-state hybrid drive is laptop computers. The limited space on these systems generally prevents more than a single drive from being installed. While SSDs offer excellent performance, their higher cost and smaller capacity may not be ideal for everyone. SSHDs provide a balanced solution, offering improved performance without sacrificing too much storage space.
As SSD prices have continued to fall, the market for SSHDs has shrunk dramatically. For example, a 1 TB SSD often costs under $100, making SSDs more attractive unless large storage capacity is required.
On the other hand, a magnetic hard drive offers lots of space but doesn't perform as well. An SSHD can offer an easy and affordable way to improve performance moderately without sacrificing storage capacity. SSHDs are best for people who are eager to upgrade an existing laptop system or want a compromise between the two extremes in a new system.
For desktop systems, a combination of a small solid-state drive with a conventional hard drive likely offers greater performance improvements with only a slightly higher cost over an SSHD. However, mini desktop PCs with limited space may still benefit from SSHDs, similar to laptops.
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