SSDs vs HDDs – Coffee Break Episode 1

Our customers specialize in every field service niche imaginable, but they still all have one thing in common; every Smart Service user appreciates the value of using technology to augment their business. At My Service Depot, we’d like to become more than just your software provider. We’d like to become a resource for using technology in your business.

That’s why we just launched Coffee Break, a brand new video series that offers helpful technology tips you can put to use around the office. Instead of focusing on Smart Service and iFleet, we want to help you get more out of the other tech tools (computers, monitors, internet browsers, smart phones) you and your business use every day.

Our inaugural episode compares the traditional hard disk drives found in most desktop computers to the more advanced solid state drives currently on the market. Used properly, solid state drives can greatly increase computer speed.

But, let’s back up for a moment. When you first arrive at the office in the morning, you probably sit down at your desk and turn on your computer, only to wait several minutes for your machine to boot up. This kind of delay is often caused by older hardware, specifically an old hard disk drive that takes a while to access and load data. While you can run out and buy a new computer to resolve this issue, new machines often cost a pretty penny. Solid state drives offer an easy, cost-effective solution to this problem.

Solid state drives (or SSDs) represent the next step in storage technology, surpassing the old-school, traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) most commonly found in office computers. While SSDs and HDDs perform the same function, SSDs are significantly faster and sturdier than traditional hard-drives. An SSD is vibration resistant, generates less heat, and functions more quietly than an HDD due to a lack of moving parts (hence the name “solid state”).

In the video above, we conduct a simple demonstration to show the difference in speed between SSDs and HDDs. First, we boot up a computer with a traditional hard-drive installed. Once Windows boots, we open QuickBooks and Smart Service. The process takes a total of 2 minutes and 34 seconds.

Next, we power down the computer, remove the HDD, and put an SSD in its place. Then, we boot the computer, again opening QuickBooks and Smart Service. This time, the entire sequence takes only 52 seconds.

WARNING: Removing and installing hard drives and solid state drives is a delicate process. We recommend consulting an IT professional or computer expert before attempting such a procedure.

In our demonstration, the SSD outperforms the HDD, offering a greatly improved boot time. This performance improvement will carry over across the board in all other hard drive related functions. These time savings add up big time over the course of days, weeks, and years working on the same machine.

We hope you can put this tip to use. For more office tips and tricks, subscribe to our YouTube channel. We hope you’ll join us again for our next Coffee Break!