Microsoft’s new goal is to make hard drives disappear from PCs.
According to a report by the data storage industry analyst firm Trendfocus, Microsoft is reportedly pushing OEMs to ditch hard drives as the primary storage device in pre-built Windows 11 PCs. And therefore, to use SSD disks instead. As a reminder, the deadlines for the transition are set at 2023.
First, a little clarification. Most of the latest PCs have already made the transition to SSDs. But there are exceptions. In short, currently many laptops and desktops are already equipped with an SSD as a boot device. Some use a secondary hard drive for bulk storage of large files, such as photos, software, and videos. Other, lower-end models still use a hard disk drive (HDD) for the boot disk.
SDDs are not required but recommended
To install Windows 11 on PC, the minimum system requirements does not mention the use of an SSD. Specifically, it requires a processor “of 1 gigahertz (GHz) or more, with at least 2 cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or system-on-chip (SoC)”.
In short, an SSD is not required for a standard installation of Windows 11. On the other hand, Microsoft indicates that two features, namely DirectStorage and the Windows Subsystem for Android require an SSD. These two features are not essential.
Why an SSD?
A hard drive is an older generation storage device. To access data, it uses mechanical platters and a moving read/write head. The SSD drive is a newer and faster version. Clearly, it stores data on memory chips that are instantly accessible. These memory chips are also called “flash memory chips”.
Concretely, for operating systems, SSDs are much faster than HDDs. Simply put, the user experience is much better which provides a faster and more responsive user experience. On the other hand, SSDs have a limited lifespan compared to HDDs, which have a maximum lifespan of around ten years. Second drawback, SSDs are much more expensive than HDDs. In an article by Tom’s Hardware, John Chen, the vice president of Trendfocus, explains that to replace a 1TB hard drive, you have to upgrade to a cheap 256GB SSD. Which is not enough capacity for most users. “Conversely, moving to a 512GB SSD would be against the budget of low-end machines that are strictly price limited”, compares the item. In short, HDDs are cheaper and have larger storage capacities, while SSDs are lighter, faster and consume less power.
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