Solid state hybrid drives (SSHDs) combine traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) with solid state drives (SSDs) to provide a balance of capacity, performance, and cost. This makes SSHDs an appealing option for laptops which require snappy performance for a reasonable price. There are several key factors to consider when evaluating if an SSHD is a good fit for your laptop.
What is an SSHD?
A solid state hybrid drive contains both a traditional hard disk platter as well as a small solid state drive. The SSD is used as a cache to store frequently accessed data, while the HDD provides mass storage capabilities. This allows an SSHD to approach SSD speeds for common tasks while providing the large capacity of a hard drive.
Most SSHDs include 8GB-32GB of NAND flash paired with a 500GB to 1TB HDD. The SSD handles the most performance-critical data while the HDD stores the remainder of your programs, files, and media.
Benefits of an SSHD
There are several notable benefits to using an SSHD in a laptop:
- Faster boot times: The SSD cache enables much quicker boot ups compared to a standard HDD.
- Improved app launch speeds: Frequently used applications and files load rapidly thanks to the SSD.
- Bigger capacity than SSD: 500GB-1TB SSHDs provide far more storage than comparably priced SSDs.
- Lower cost than SSD: SSHDs are significantly cheaper than SSDs with similar capacities.
- Power efficiency: SSHDs consume less power than traditional HDDs for improved battery life.
For laptops, the biggest advantages of SSHDs are the speed boost for common tasks paired with larger capacities at lower costs compared to SSDs. The moderate power efficiency gains are also beneficial for laptops running on battery.
Drawbacks of SSHDs
There are a few potential downsides to keep in mind with SSHDs:
- Slower than SSDs for some tasks: If data is not cached on the SSD, the HDD portion will be much slower than an SSD.
- Moving parts: The presence of platters and mechanical components makes SSHDs less durable compared to flash-only SSDs.
- Larger than SSDs: Being a hybrid device, SSHDs are larger in size than SSDs.
The main limitations are the inconsistent performance – fast for cached data, slow otherwise – and the mechanical nature of SSHDs compared to SSDs. The size difference is minor in most laptops.
When are SSHDs a good choice for laptops?
SSHDs can be a very good choice for laptops when:
- You want better performance than a HDD but can’t afford a large SSD.
- Capacity is important – 500GB+ is needed.
- Mostly web browsing, office work, media consumption – nothing extremely disk intensive.
- Some gaming, video/photo editing, programming – moderate disk performance needs.
- Boot times, app launch times, and everyday tasks are priorities but not peak sustained speeds.
In essence, SSHDs shine for typical productivity and entertainment laptops that need a balance of speed, capacity, and pricing. They split the difference between high-performance SSDs and spacious HDDs.
When are SSHDs a poor choice?
SSHDs may not be ideal picks when:
- Blazing sustained speeds are critical – some gaming and creative work.
- Disk intensive tasks like big data analysis, complex simulations, heavy multitasking.
- Very compact size is needed.
- Disk failure absolutely can’t be tolerated – less durable than SSDs.
For laptops focused on peak performance, ruggedness, or tiny form factors, SSHDs are likely not the best choice compared to pure SSDs.
SSHD vs HDD
Comparing SSHDs and traditional HDDs:
| SSHD | HDD | |
|---|---|---|
| Boot time | Faster | Slower |
| App launch time | Faster | Slower |
| Sustained read/write | Similar or slower | Similar or faster |
| Power efficiency | Better | Worse |
| Capacity | 500GB-1TB | 500GB-2TB |
| Cost per GB | Higher | Lower |
| Durability | Moderate | Moderate |
The speed gains of SSHDs show up for short burst workloads thanks to the SSD caching. HDDs can be faster for long sequential IO. Overall SSHDs sit in the middle between SSDs and HDDs in most aspects.
SSHD vs SSD
Looking at SSHDs versus SSDs:
| SSHD | SSD | |
|---|---|---|
| Boot time | Slower | Faster |
| App launch time | Slower | Faster |
| Sustained read/write | Slower | Faster |
| Power efficiency | Worse | Better |
| Capacity | 500GB-1TB | 128GB-2TB |
| Cost per GB | Lower | Higher |
| Durability | Worse | Better |
SSDs outperform SSHDs in almost every metric thanks to being pure flash memory. The advantages of SSHDs are largely the lower cost per gigabyte and higher capacities compared to SSDs.
Ideal SSHD workloads
SSHDs work best for workloads that:
- Involve short bursty reads and writes rather than sustained IO.
- Access common files regularly that can be cached on the SSD.
- Do not require the highest possible performance.
- Can benefit from some extra performance over HDD at a small price premium.
Everyday productivity and entertainment usage fits the SSHD sweet spot very well. The SSD caching accelerates common tasks like booting and launching apps without breaking the bank compared to large SSDs.
Non-ideal SSHD workloads
Types of workloads that are poor fits for SSHDs include:
- Sustained heavy workloads – large file transfers, complex computations, big data analysis.
- Latency sensitive applications – high speed trading, industrial controls.
- Mission critical data that cannot tolerate any disk failures.
- Very compact form factors where every millimeter matters.
When peak performance, tiny size, or high reliability are mandatory, SSHDs make compromises compared to SSDs. But for more moderate laptop workloads they strike an excellent balance.
Ideal laptop types for SSHDs
Great laptop types and use cases for SSHD drives include:
- Office/productivity ultrabooks and 2-in-1s.
- Mainstream entertainment and general use laptops.
- Gaming laptops for casual players.
- Multimedia editing rigs for non-professionals.
- Developer laptops for modest coding and compiling.
- SSHD as extra hard drive alongside main SSD in power users’ laptops.
Laptops that can benefit from improved speed for daily tasks without needing top SSD performance are ideal candidates for SSHDs. Even replacing or supplementing the main drive in more powerful laptops is a smart play.
Poor laptop types for SSHDs
Laptops that are poor pairings for SSHD drives include:
- Ultrathin premium ultrabooks where every bit of space and speed matters.
- Extreme gaming and workstation rigs that need uncompromising SSD speeds.
- Business laptops with sensitive data that can’t risk mechanical failures.
- Rugged laptops in harsh mobile environments.
When peak speeds, tiny form factors, and high reliability are critical, the compromises of SSHDs make them less suitable. They best serve more moderate mainstream laptop needs.
Top SSHD drive recommendations
Some of the best SSHD options currently are:
- Seagate FireCuda 520 (1TB) – cutting edge PCIe Gen4x4 SSD cache delivers top performance.
- WD Black SN750 SE (512GB) – great balance of speed, capacity, and value.
- Seagate FireCuda 510 (512GB) – affordable pick with PCIe Gen 3×2 interface.
- Seagate FireCuda 530 (1TB) – premium SSHD good for high-end laptops.
- WD Blue SSHD (1TB) – budget model still much faster than basic HDDs.
These SSHDs offer some of the best combinations of performance, capacity, features, and pricing for laptop use. The exact model to choose depends on your budget and needs.
Conclusion
SSHDs can be excellent storage options for mainstream laptops that need improved speed for everyday tasks without breaking the bank on large SSDs. The hybrid design allows for SSD-like performance for common workloads combined with the ample capacity of traditional hard drives.
SSHDs are best for office productivity, web browsing, media consumption, casual gaming, and light creative work. Peak speeds and heavy sustained workloads are better handled by pure SSDs. But for moderately demanding laptop storage, SSHDs deliver lots of performance per dollar.
By combining SSD caching and HDD capacity, solid state hybrid drives strike a compelling balance. For many laptop users seeking better speed without sacrificing storage or value, SSHDs can be a smart upgrade choice.