A game can run from either a Solid State Hard Drive(SSD) or a Hard Disc Drive (HDD). There are some advantages and disadvantages based on which Hard Drive you are using.
The table below depicts the pros and cons between the 2 Hard Drives for general gaming.
| HARD DISC DRIVE (HDD) | SOLID STATE DRIVE (SSD) | |
| SPEED | HDDs are mechanical drives that are not very quick compared to SSDs. | SSDs use flash memory technology to speed up access to content. (WINNER) |
| STORAGE | HDDs have been in the market for a long while. They’ve perfected storing large amounts of data. (WINNER) | Although SSDs can somewhat match the raw capacity of an HDD, they are still inferior when it comes to overall storage. |
| PRICING | HDDs are cheaper than SSDs. (WINNER) | SSDs are more expensive than their HDD counterparts due to the newer flash technology. |
| OVERALL | HDDs can be used for gaming, especially for titles that require a lot of storage space. | SSDs make sense for gaming titles that frequently pull data from the Hard Drive. |
Based on our quick analysis of HDD and SSD for gaming, we can see that HDD comes out on top. We believe the SSD’s advantage in the speed category wouldn’t make a big of a difference to overall gameplay.
Going with an HDD gives you more space for a cheaper price. With that being said, we strongly urge buyers to choose HDDs over SSDs for gaming.
However, we would recommend that you run your OS on an SSD and store all your games within an HDD. Newer computers allow you to easily do this as they come with both an SSD and HDD. However, If they only come with an SSD, adding an additional HDD is quick and simple.