If you are shopping around for a gaming PC and you are wondering if getting an SSD is worth it, you have come to the right place. Deciding whether or not to get an SSD is an important decision that could affect the quality of your gaming experience.
A gaming PC needs a Solid-State Drive (SSD) to run complex programs and games in a reasonable amount of time. Though old-fashioned hard drives generally have a little more storage capacity for the price, the SSD is smaller, faster, and more reliable.
Below is a summary of why a Solid State Drive is so essential in a gaming PC. You’ll want to incorporate one of these into your computer (if you haven’t already).
Gaming Computers
As technology improves and progresses, computers have gotten faster, more reliable, and more capable. Computers have also gotten cheaper and cheaper, with different companies offering models for every need. Of all of the different models of computers on the market, gaming computers consistently demand the highest speeds, the most memory, and the best graphics.
This is because, when it comes to gaming, performance is a big deal. As computers have gotten more powerful, games have become more and more demanding. Computers with low space, low memory, and bad graphics will make playing some games nearly impossible. Gamers are customers that are almost always willing to pay a little bit more money to improve performance, which makes companies that make computers compete with one another to always have the best options for sale.
When it comes to the most important specifications of a gaming computer, gamers look at the storage space and the memory. A computer’s memory capabilities refer to how much information the computer can hold onto at any given time. For example, to run a large and complex game, a computer might need to hold onto all of the information that pertains to the level that you are on, your character, and all of the things around you. While you play through the level, your computer can access the information about that level almost instantaneously, allowing you to play through without any slowdowns or loading screens.
When you finish the level that you are on, the computer needs to deposit what is currently in its memory (including whatever might have changed in the game) back into storage while it loads up the next level in its memory. For a computer to do this well, it needs to have a lot of storage space and it needs to be able to access the information that is in that space as quickly as possible. That is where your hard drive comes in.
There are 2 main storage options available, the hard drive and the solid-state drive. Each uses a different method to store information on your computer, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a summary of what the two types have to offer.
Hard Disk Drives
Hard disk drive technology has been around for a long time, as they are comparatively inexpensive to make and they offer what computers were lacking for decades: long-term storage capacity. By the mid-1980s, practically every computer was using hard disk drives to store information.
Hard disk drives store information on a magnetic disk. While the computer runs, the disk spins rapidly, while a small arm rubs along the outside, reading data from storage and writing data when necessary. Through the years, storage capacity on hard disk drives rose and rose until modern times, in which hard disk drives can store multiple terabytes of information at a surprisingly low cost.
This high amount of storage is attractive to gamers, as it means that you can keep dozens (if not hundreds) of games downloaded to your machine at all times. Furthermore, upgrading a computer’s hard drive is fairly simple, with new hard drives being relatively inexpensive for the amount of storage that you receive. Unfortunately, hard disk drives do come with some drawbacks.
The biggest problem with hard disk drives is that they are significantly slower than solid-state drives. They require more time to start up, more time to open apps, and more time to load games. This is because a hard disk drive has to read and write from the magnetic disk every time a computer needs to swap something in its memory for something in its storage.
Furthermore, because of the moving parts in a hard disk drive, these drives are more likely to become damaged. They are also slower to turn off and less resistant to sudden movements. For this reason, almost all laptops made today avoid using a hard disk drive.
Solid State Drives
The other side of the storage coin is the Solid State Drive. Though the technology involved in this unit has been around for a long time, solid-state drives have always been much more expensive than their hard disk drive counterparts. However, recent advancements have brought the costs of these drives down while their capabilities continued to go up.
Solid-state drives are very different compared to their hard disk drive counterparts, as solid-state drives have no moving pieces. All of the storage is contained in something called “Flash Memory”, which records information by changing how resistant the metal in the drive is to electricity. This is a valuable system because, by not holding memory in electrical charges, flash memory does not require a constant power source to hold onto information.
In addition to not requiring battery power to hold onto information, the lack of moving pieces in a solid-state drive means that these drives are much less likely to be damaged or impaired. Laptops with solid-state drives can be quickly slid into backpacks or even dropped without ever risking the computer’s storage. Solid-state drives are also less prone to overheating, which helps improve the overall speed of your computer.
However, the biggest advantage of the solid-state drive is its speed. Computers can swap information between memory and storage quickly, leaving almost no wasted time while playing video games. These computers start up extremely quickly and download just as fast. When a computer’s performance is the top priority, SSDs are always the way to go.
The SSD vs. HDD
Though the solid-state drive is almost always preferred for gaming laptops and desktops, there are some downsides to this method of storage. The biggest difference that gamers will look at is the difference in computer storage. In general, computers that have a solid-state drive will have a storage capacity of about 512 gigabytes. There are some with more than that (and many with a lot less) but a 512 gigabyte storage capacity is considered sufficient for most people’s needs. If you’re using a laptop, having more than that is unnecessary.
For most gamers, having 512 gigabytes of storage is enough. Though some games can take as much as 60-90 or even more gigabytes, the majority of games require less than 10 gigabytes. If you have a large library of games, having a solid-state drive might mean that you need to switch out the games you have downloaded at a time. Thankfully, your SSD will be able to download new games fairly quickly, and gamers usually have a strong internet connection that will make space-sharing a minor inconvenience.
However, hard disk drives do offer much more storage space, with the most robust options providing as much as 8 terabytes of storage. Furthermore, hard disk drives are byte for byte less expensive. 512 gigabytes of storage on an SSD will cost a user about $70, while an HDD of the same space will only cost about half that much. Because of these cost restrictions, a gamer who secures a large SSD might have to cut some corners on other aspects (like memory capacity or graphics quality).
Thankfully, SSD prices are falling while their capabilities are rising. Though alternatives to the solid-state and hard disk drives have been proposed and even used, such alternatives aren’t a priority while solid-state drives continue to become cheaper.
If you need some extra space on an SSD, cloud storage is always another option. You can purchase ongoing storage from any number of storage providers, upgrading how much information you can access for a monthly subscription. It’s not the best option, but if you hit your storage capacity quickly and can’t find anything to purge, cloud storage can save you.
Upgrading to an SSD
If you already have a computer with a hard disk drive and you want to upgrade its speed, you should be able to manage it without any problems. You can buy a solid-state drive for a good price online or from a local electronics store. Be sure to find a solid-state drive that is compatible with your device and follow the instructions carefully on how to make the exchange. You might miss all of the free space on your device that you never had to worry about, but the new speed from the SSD is worth it in just about every profession.
Other Considerations For a Gaming Computer
Besides the type of storage that your computer uses, there are a couple of other things that you will want to be aware of while you are shopping for a gaming computer. For example, you will want to know if you are looking for a desktop computer or a laptop. Another consideration is the amount of memory that your computer has.
Though desktop computers are usually a lot more robust than laptop computers, you might be surprised at how capable laptops can be. Laptops will always come with a solid-state drive, and will often have the desired 512 gigabytes of storage space. Laptops are also portable and usually cost less than their desktop counterparts. However, if you are unlikely to need to move your computer around and if you are looking for something more reliable, a desktop computer will probably be the way to go.
As long as you have at least 256 gigabytes of storage space on an SSD, you should be able to play most of your games pretty easily on your machine while maintaining fast speeds. However, another consideration to make while choosing which computer to get is the amount of memory that the computer has. Random Access Memory (RAM) is a measurement of how much information your computer has access to at any time. Though you might have all of the space you might ever need to download a game, the game might still be unplayable because your computer lacks the necessary resources to run the game.
Gamers should ensure that they have 8 gigabytes of RAM (at the very least) to play games. Games that require more than 8 gigabytes are very rare, but they do exist. Many laptop and desktop computers that are specifically made for gaming offer as much as 16 or 32 gigabytes of RAM, providing the capability to run multiple complex programs at once. Research beforehand the specifications required to play your favorite games before you make a final decision on how powerful of a laptop or desktop you want to buy. If you decide that you want more RAM at a later date, you can still get an upgrade, though it can be a lot of trouble.
One final consideration to make as far as machine specifications go is the computer’s graphics card. Graphics cards are an essential part of a gaming computer and are often one of the most expensive parts. There is a lot of demand for these cards, as they can make a big difference in how precise your computer is. There are a lot of different graphics cards for sale, so look here to learn more about them.
All in all, whether you are getting a laptop or a desktop, gaming is best when done on a computer that has a solid-state drive. It is faster, more efficient, and more reliable than the hard disk drive. Though there are lower levels of storage, gamers honestly don’t need as much space as a graphic designer or an engineering professional. If a gamer truly needs the space, there are plenty of solutions to solve the problem.