What type of storage is faster, SSD or HDD?

Solid State Drives (SSDs) are significantly faster than Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) due to their fundamental differences in technology and architecture. SSDs use NAND flash memory, which allows data to be accessed almost instantaneously because it does not rely on moving mechanical parts. This results in much quicker read and write speeds, leading to faster boot times, quicker file transfers, and improved overall system performance.

In contrast, HDDs use spinning magnetic disks to read and write data. This mechanical process introduces latency due to the physical movement required to locate and access data on the disk, which makes them slower in comparison to SSDs.

The speed differential is particularly pronounced in operations such as booting the operating system, loading applications, and transferring files, where SSDs can outperform HDDs many times over. The advancements in SSD technology have made them a popular choice for both consumer and enterprise applications where speed and performance are critical.