When it comes to choosing storage for gaming, there is an ongoing debate between hard disk drives (HDD) and solid state drives (SSD). HDDs have traditionally been the default choice for many gamers due to their high capacity and low cost per gigabyte. However, SSDs have been growing in popularity in recent years due to their much faster read/write speeds. So which is better for gaming – HDD or SSD?
HDD Overview
HDDs have been the dominant storage technology for desktop computers for decades. They consist of spinning magnetic platters and read/write heads that move back and forth to access data. Some key advantages of HDDs are:
- High capacity – HDDs are available in capacities up to 10TB for desktops and 16TB for enterprise use.
- Cheap price per gigabyte – HDDs provide a far lower cost per gigabyte compared to SSDs. You can get 8-10TB HDDs for the same price as a 1TB SSD.
- Mature, proven technology – HDDs have been around for over 50 years and are a reliable, well-understood technology.
The two main downsides of HDDs are their slow data transfer speeds and higher latency. Even the fastest HDDs top out at around 200MB/s sequential read/write speed. That’s over 10x slower than a typical SATA SSD. HDDs also have seek times averaging 10-15ms, which is orders of magnitude slower than SSDs.
SSD Overview
SSDs use flash memory chips rather than spinning platters to store data. This gives them several key advantages:
- Much faster read/write speeds – SATA SSDs offer upwards of 550MB/s sequential reads and 500MB/s writes. NVMe SSDs are even faster at over 3,000MB/s.
- Lower access times – SSDs have near-instantaneous access time of 0.1ms or less, thanks to not having to physically move a read-write head.
- Shock and vibration resistance – No moving parts makes SSDs more resistant to damage from drops or vibration.
- Lower power consumption – SSDs use less energy than spinning HDDs.
The tradeoffs are lower capacities available, though high capacity 4TB+ SSDs are becoming more affordable. SSDs also have higher cost per gigabyte than HDDs. Lastly, SSDs have limited write endurance that decreases over time, while HDDs can be written to indefinitely.
HDD vs SSD for Gaming
When it comes to gaming, there are several factors to consider when choosing between an HDD and SSD:
Game Launch Speeds
One of the biggest differences comes in game launch speeds. HDDs must physically spin up and find data on the platters when launching a game or loading a new level. SSDs can access data nearly instantly. This results in much faster load times, often twice as fast or more compared to HDDs.
Texture Pop-in
The faster data access of SSDs also reduces or eliminates texture pop-in in games. This is when environmental textures and objects take a few seconds fully load as you move through levels. Texture pop-in is immersion breaking and minimized with SSDs.
Faster Level Loading
In addition to faster game launch times, SSDs will significantly speed up level loading times once you are actually playing. Having to wait 30+ seconds when respawning or transitioning to new areas can get frustrating.
Game Asset Streaming
Many recent games stream assets from storage as you play. The laggy streaming with HDDs results in textures slowly improving fidelity or geometry popping in suddenly. With an SSD, asset streaming happens much more smoothly.
Open World Pop-in
In open world games, the amount of data needing to be pulled from storage for rendering the environment is far higher. Without an SSD, distant objects and terrain can visibly pop-in with obvious low resolution textures. SSDs provide seamless streaming.
Multiplayer Loading
Nobody wants to keep other players waiting while you slowly load into multiplayer matches. With an HDD, you may often be the last person to load in and delay the start. SSDs allow fast loading so you can get into the action sooner.
Game Installation
With games getting ever larger in size, installation times are becoming more onerous on HDDs. Installing a 50-100GB game can take an hour or longer on an HDD. With an SSD, installation is often 5x faster or more.
Game Saving
While autosaving is greatly improved on SSDs, manual game saving sees an even bigger benefit. You no longer have to wait ages when hitting save, as SSDs can instantly write save data without lag.
Future Proofing
As games continue to evolve and load even higher resolution textures, HDDs will struggle more and more. SSDs have plenty of headroom to handle much larger games thanks to consistently improving sequential read/write speeds.
| HDD | SSD | |
|---|---|---|
| Game Launch Speed | Slower | Faster |
| Level Load Times | Slower | Faster |
| Texture Pop-in | More | Less |
| Open World Streaming | Choppier | Smoother |
| Game Installs | Slower | Faster |
| Game Saving | Longer delays | Instant |
When HDDs Are Preferable for Gaming
While SSDs have clear advantages for gaming, HDDs can still make sense in certain scenarios:
- On a tight budget – If your budget is very limited, a large capacity HDD may be the only affordable option.
- Only playing older games – If you mainly stick to older or indie games, you may not benefit as much from an SSD.
- Storing a large game library – HDDs are useful for storing your full game library if it doesn’t fit on an SSD.
- High capacity needs – If you need more than 2TB of storage, HDDs are likely still necessary.
So in budget gaming builds or for sheer storage capacity, HDDs still have a place for gaming storage. Just don’t expect HDDs to provide the best gaming experience for recent AAA titles.
SSD Cost Concerns
The main tradeoff with SSDs is their higher cost per gigabyte compared to HDDs. However, SSD prices have been steadily falling while capacities grow larger.
1TB SSDs can now be purchased for under $100 in budget SATA models. High performance PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs are more expensive but offer incredible speeds. While a 4TB or 8TB SSD for gaming is still costly, 2TB models are quite reasonably priced for most gamers.
Smaller SSD capacities should be used for housing your active game library or most played titles. Supplement with a higher capacity HDD if needed for mass storage of your full library and other media files.
Maximizing SSD Lifespan
SSDs have a finite lifespan tied to how much data can be written to their memory cells. However, modern SSDs last much longer than early models before wearing out. Here are some tips for maximizing SSD lifespan when gaming:
- Avoid completely filling up an SSD – Leave 10-20% free space for wear leveling.
- Don’t install and uninstall games repetitively – Writes wear down cells.
- Enable SSD TRIM support in OS – Improves write efficiency.
- Don’t disable page/hibernation file – Let OS manage SSD properly.
- Game on one SSD and install on another – Separates writes from reads.
Even budget SSDs should easily last 5 years or more for gaming. Higher end models boast 10+ year lifespans at dozens of GB written daily.
SSD vs HDD Gaming Benchmark Comparison
Here is a comparison of game load times between a budget SATA SSD, NVMe SSD, and HDD:
| Game Benchmarks | SATA SSD | NVMe SSD | HDD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Load | 26.8s | 21.5s | 49.7s |
| Battlefield V Level Load | 11.9s | 11.2s | 27.1s |
| Civilization VI Launch | 20.3s | 17.1s | 38.2s |
| The Witcher 3 Save Game | 2.2s | 2.0s | 5.6s |
The NVMe SSD is 15-35% faster than SATA, while the HDD loads take 2-2.5x longer across these game tests. This showcases the clear advantages SSDs offer for gaming.
Ideal Gaming Storage Setup
The ideal gaming storage configuration is to pair a fast SSD with a higher capacity HDD. Here is an example setup:
- 500GB NVMe SSD – For OS and active game library.
- 2TB SATA SSD – For additional games and applications.
- 4TB HDD – For mass storage of full game library, media files, etc.
With this setup, you get the speed benefits of SSDs for gaming while also having ample cheaper HDD storage for everything else.
Conclusion
When it comes to gaming, SSDs are strongly recommended over HDDs for the best experience. The dramatically faster speeds of SSDs translate to reduced load times, less texture pop-in, and smoother open world streaming. HDDs are still suitable when on a tight budget or you mainly play older titles.
SSD prices continue to fall, making the slightly higher cost over HDDs worth it. Aim for at least a 500GB SSD to house your operating system and active game library. Supplement with a larger capacity HDD if you have an expansive library or other storage needs. With this balanced SSD + HDD setup, you get the ideal combination of fast gaming speeds and ample capacity.