Storage Breakdown: HDD vs SSD vs M.2 (And What’s Overkill for Your OS)

HDD (Hard Disk Drive)

• Old-school, moving parts.

• Measured by RPM—higher is faster.

  • 5400 RPM: Slow, cheap, best for backup or archives.

  • 7200 RPM: Standard for most desktop drives.

  • 10,000+ RPM (RAID/Enterprise): Not common at home, louder, pricier.

• Slower read/write speeds, can be noisy, but cheap for bulk storage.

• Best Use: Storing big libraries (samples, old projects, backups).

SSD (Solid State Drive)

• No moving parts, way faster than HDD.

• Measured by read/write speed (MB/s or GB/s).

• SATA SSDs: Big speed jump over HDD, but capped at ~500 MB/s.

• Best Use:

  • System/boot drive (OS, programs, plugins).

  • Active projects that need fast load/save times.

M.2 SSDs

• Tiny, looks like a stick of gum—mounts right on your motherboard.

• Can be SATA (meh) or NVMe (the rocketship).

• NVMe M.2:

  • Uses PCIe lanes, can hit 3,500+ MB/s (Gen3), 7,000+ MB/s (Gen4), and now new Gen5 drives (10,000+ MB/s!).

  • Game changer for big sample libraries, video editing, loading projects lightning-fast.

4TB+ SSDs (And Why Bigger Isn’t Always Better for OS Drives)

• Yes, 4TB and bigger SSDs are dropping in price…

• But for an operating system drive, most people don’t need more than 1TB (maybe 2TB if you’re a packrat).

• Why?

  • Larger SSDs cost more, but your OS and main programs rarely need that much space.

  • Use a big SSD for samples, sound libraries, or video projects—keep your OS on a smaller, faster drive for speed and backup ease.

Cutting-Edge: Tiny New M.2 Drives

• There’s buzz about new M.2 formats the size of SD cards—ultra compact, higher speeds.

• Not standard in most PCs yet (check motherboard compatibility before buying!).

• Future-proofing is cool, but don’t buy the newest format unless your gear supports it.

Quick Comparison Chart

Type	Max Speed	Best For	Notes
HDD	100–200 MB/s	Bulk storage, backups	Cheap, slow
SATA SSD	~500 MB/s	OS, apps, faster loading	Reliable, affordable
M.2 NVMe	3,500+ MB/s	Video, samples, fast OS	Tiny, needs M.2 slot
New M.2	7,000+ MB/s	Future tech, not standard	Check compatibility

Echo’s Storage Tips

• OS & core programs: Fastest SSD you can afford, 500GB–1TB is plenty.

• Active project files & samples: Big, fast SSD or NVMe drive.

• Backups: Cheap, high-capacity HDD (and cloud!).

• Don’t get wowed by “biggest = best.” Buy for speed where it counts, capacity where it saves you money.

Next Up:Want to dig into RAID setups, storage pools, or how to safely backup everything? Studio+ has you covered.