When you look at the latest models of laptops or desktop computers, especially the ones for gaming purposes, they are all coming equipped with SSD instead of the traditional mechanical Hard Disk Drive (HDD). Manufacturers nowadays prefer to use SSD in place of HDD because of the enormous benefits in speed.
If you consider gamers for example, they prefer to use also SSD in their PC desktop gaming computers, so the trend is not only on Laptops.
When a user runs an application residing on an SSD drive, the results in speed increase are immediately noticeable.
The hard disc drive (HDD) is the modern computer’s bottleneck. To boost your system’s speed, you can replace the storage with SSD as it has a much faster read/write speed performance compared to traditional HDD.
To compare the two storage technologies, an SSD writes data up to 20 times faster and reads data up to 10 times faster than a mechanical HDD.
For most laptop or desktop computer users, a 512 GB SSD is sufficient. It provides enough speed and storage to simultaneously load applications or play games.
Keep in mind though that when the space on your SSD reaches around 75% capacity or more, its performance (and hence your computer’s performance) will begin to slow down. So, getting an SSD with enough storage space is essential.
In the market we usually see SSD drives in the range of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB capacity sizes.
In this article we will compare the last two types, i.e 512GB vs 1TB SSD drives.
The quick comparison between the two SSD capacity sizes is as following:
1TB of SSD storage space is the best choice if you are looking to store large sized videos or millions of photos, and also for hard-core gamers that store many large games on their local PC.
However, if you are a regular user with maybe casual gaming activities etc, then 512GB SSD will be more than enough for you.
Best use case for 512 GB SSD VS 1 TB SSD
One of the best spec combinations you can get for daily use of a general-purpose laptop or desktop computer is 512 GB SSD together with a decent CPU (Intel i5 or Ryzen5 and above) and at least 8GB RAM. This setup provides fast speed and storage and will support the operations of most users.
If you have a laptop, a 512GB SSD is an excellent choice. For starters, it’s a great all-around storage device that can handle just about anything.
On the other hand, if you are a professional who does video or photo editing, multimedia processing etc, then 1TB SSD is the best choice.
Moreover, for hard-core gamers, you’ll have enough storage space for your operating system and to load more games with a 1TB SSD as well.
Overall, the 1TB SSD can be used if you don’t care about budget and just want plenty of space to support your computer usage.
Price comparison
Of course, the cost between 512GB and 1TB SSD is one factor to take into account when comparing the two options.
Keep in mind though that SSD prices have dropped significantly over the past years and are going on a decreasing trajectory in the future as well.
The average price of a good-quality 512 GB SSD in the market is around $50-$100. So, users can choose this option if they can compromise on space. Moreover, we suggest to get a PCIe NVME interface type which is much faster than SATA III.
On the other hand, the average price of 1TB SSD is around $90-$150. This is the actual amount in which you can go for a good SSD drive having exceptional specs.
To get a reliable SSD product, we suggest to shop from one of the well-known SSD vendors out there.
Top SSD Models
In this section, we will tell you guys some top SSD models that users can choose for very good performance for their systems.
Samsung SSD 870 QVO
If you are looking for a great all-purpose 2.5-inch 1TB SSD drive that can perform really well with solid reliability and keep your system working flawlessly, then this is one of the best options for you.
Although it is a little bit expensive, people who want to go with branded SSD can’s go wrong with a Samsung brand. The maximum sequential read of this SSD is 560 MBps.
Moreover, you also get a three-year warranty from the company so users never need to worry about this amazing brand.
Addlink S70 M.2
The users who need a fast NVMe M.2 SSD drive on a budget price can go for this product option.
You all need to give it a try as it gives you amazing features at a low price. The maximum sequential read of this SSD is 3400 MB/s and comes in capacities from 256GB up to 2TB.
Not only this, but it also provides you with a 5 years warranty.
WD_BLACK 1TB SN850 NVMe
Another very good SSD brand, this Western Digital internal SSD drive is great for gamers. With its built-in heatsink, it can withstand extreme temperatures for demanding gaming and other applications.
It is more expensive than other models however. It comes in capacities of 500GB up to 2TB.
Is 512GB SSD Enough?
Many people ask this question often, wondering if a 512GB SSD disk will be enough for their storage needs.
Keep in mind that a 512GB disk used as the main C: Drive (i.e the Operating System drive) will have free space of around 400GB or less since several gigabytes are already consumed by the Operating System (e.g Windows or MAC) and the various software installed on the computer (e.g office, browsers, antivirus etc).
So, a 512GB SSD drive (used as the single main storage disk of the computer) will offer you around 400GB of available storage space.
For many regular users this storage space is more than enough. If you are a user that does office work, browsing, gaming etc then 512GB disk is enough.
Now, if you are a heavy power user and gamer that wants to download and store large games locally on the computer or you do heavy multi-media work (video editing, photo editing, storage of all these media files locally etc), then 512GB will NOT be enough. For such cases, its better to get a computer with 1TB SSD.
Final Words
In summary, two of the most popular SSD capacity sizes for modern computers are 512GB and 1TB SSD drives.
Choose a 512GB SSD if you are a regular computer user with casual gaming activities and just want a budget option which however will be a great middle-ground between the smaller 256GB and the higher 1TB capacities.
Choose 1TB SSD size if you are a professional in the multimedia industry (video editing, 3D animations, photo editing etc) or if you are a person with heavy storage needs.
How to decide which laptop is good, in terms of efficency, speed, rigidity, prices….
This article was very informative. It gave me the information I’m looking. It’s clear and easy to understand.
Thank you!
I’m glad my article helped you Herman.
Thanks for commenting
Harris