30/05/2026
SSD vs HDD: which should you buy?
The single cheapest upgrade that makes an old computer feel new again.
If your computer takes ages to start up, the storage drive is usually the culprit. Here's the difference between the two main types.
Hard drives (HDD)
HDDs use spinning platters. They're cheap per gigabyte, so they're great when you need lots of capacity for backups, photos and media — but they're slow and more fragile.
Solid-state drives (SSD)
SSDs have no moving parts. They're dramatically faster, more durable and silent. Booting Windows, opening apps and copying files all feel instant.
Which one?
- Main/boot drive: always an SSD (NVMe if your machine supports it).
- Bulk storage: an HDD is fine as a second drive for archives.
Upgrading an old laptop from an HDD to an SSD is the best value upgrade you can make. Browse our storage or ask us which fits your machine.