Nowadays, we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to storage. We got USB drives, Hard Drives, SSDs, and even cloud storage.
But for the most part, if you wanna keep a large number of files for local storage then you’d most likely look into either Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) or Solid State Drives (SSDs).
To put it simply, you will be getting much faster speeds when it comes to loading or transferring files with an SSD while HDDs are much slower but are rather cheaper.
In general, most SATA HDDs will have read and write speeds of around 100 to 150 MB/s while SSDs can manage much more.
Then there’s also the difference between SATA SSDs and PCIe NVMe SSDs, apart from being smaller and needing a different slot, PCIe NVMe SSDs are also notably faster than SATA SSDs.
Most SATA SSDs usually have read and write speeds of about 500 MB/s, although this could vary slightly.
PCIe NVMe SSDs can manage faster speeds with PCIe Gen 3 going up to 2,000 to 3,000 MB/s and PCIe Gen 4 now reaching 5,000 to 7,000 MB/s depending on the specific drive.
Below is a list of a few SSDs and HDDs available in the Philippines along with our conclusion on which you should get.
SATA HDD | Type | Capacity | Price |
---|---|---|---|
WD Blue SATA HDD | SATA HDD 3.5" | 1TB | PHP 2,195 |
WD Blue SATA HDD | SATA HDD 3.5" | 2TB | PHP 2,975 |
WD Blue SATA HDD | SATA HDD 3.5" | 4TB | PHP 5,225 |
WD Blue SATA HDD | SATA HDD 3.5" | 6TB | PHP 9,325 |
WD Blue SATA HDD | SATA HDD 3.5" | 8TB | PHP 10,395 |
WD Black Gaming Hard Drive | SATA HDD 3.5" | 1TB | PHP 4,650 |
WD Black Gaming Hard Drive | SATA HDD 3.5" | 2TB | PHP 6,950 |
WD Black Gaming Hard Drive | SATA HDD 3.5" | 4TB | PHP 9,850 |
WD Black Gaming Hard Drive | SATA HDD 3.5" | 8TB | PHP 15,229 |
WD Black Gaming Hard Drive | SATA HDD 3.5" | 10TB | PHP 18,500 |
Seagate Barracuda | SATA HDD 3.5" | 1TB | PHP 2,150 |
Seagate Barracuda | SATA HDD 3.5" | 2TB | PHP 2,795 |
Seagate Barracuda | SATA HDD 3.5" | 4TB | PHP 5,095 |
Seagate SkyHawk Surveillance | SATA HDD 3.5" | 1TB | PHP 2,599 |
Seagate SkyHawk Surveillance | SATA HDD 3.5" | 4TB | PHP 4,600 |
Seagate SkyHawk Surveillance | SATA HDD 3.5" | 6TB | PHP 8,759 |
Seagate SkyHawk Surveillance | SATA HDD 3.5" | 10TB | PHP 18,215 |
Seagate SkyHawk Surveillance | SATA HDD 3.5" | 16TB | PHP 26,495 |
SATA SSD | Type | Capacity | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Samsung 870 EVO | SATA 2.5" | 250GB | PHP 1,950 |
Samsung 870 EVO | SATA 2.5" | 500GB | PHP 2,495 |
Samsung 870 EVO | SATA 2.5" | 1TB | PHP 4,195 |
Adata SU650 | SATA 2.5" | 240GB | PHP 895 |
Adata SU800 | SATA 2.5" | 512GB | PHP 3,395 |
Adata SU800 | SATA 2.5" | 1TB | PHP 3,950 |
Sandisk SSD Plus | SATA 2.5" | 240GB | PHP 1,195 |
Sandisk SSD Plus | SATA 2.5" | 480GB | PHP 1,895 |
Sandisk SSD Plus | SATA 2.5" | 1TB | PHP 3,495 |
Sandisk SSD Plus | SATA 2.5" | 2TB | PHP 9,550 |
PNY CS900 | SATA 2.5" | 250GB | PHP 850 |
PNY CS900 | SATA 2.5" | 500GB | PHP 1,495 |
PNY CS900 | SATA 2.5" | 1TB | PHP 2,995 |
WD Blue SA510 | SATA 2.5" | 250GB | PHP 2,355 |
WD Blue SA510 | SATA 2.5" | 1TB | PHP 3,875 |
WD Blue SATA SSD | SATA 2.5" | 2TB | PHP 9,225 |
WD Blue SATA SSD | SATA 2.5" | 4TB | PHP 22,069 |
WD Blue SA510 | M.2 SATA | 500Gb | PHP 2,750 |
WD Blue SA510 | M.2 SATA | 1TB | PHP 4,250 |
Kingston A400 | SATA 2.5" | 120GB | PHP 917 |
Kingston A400 | SATA 2.5" | 240GB | PHP 985 |
Kingston A400 | SATA 2.5" | 480GB | PHP 1,492 |
Kingston A400 | SATA 2.5" | 960GB | PHP 2,533 |
Teamgroup Classic CX2 | SATA 2.5" | 256GB | PHP 1,550 |
Teamgroup Classic CX2 | SATA 2.5" | 512GB | PHP 1,750 |
PCIe / NVMe SSD | Type | Capacity | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Gigabyte (GP-GSM2NE3256GNTD) | PCIE 3, NVMe | 256GB | PHP 1,050 |
Gigabyte GEN3 2500E | PCIe 3, NVMe | 500GB | PHP 1595 |
Gigabyte GEN3 2500E | PCIe 3, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 2,795 |
Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 5000E | PCIe 4, NVMe | 500GB | PHP 2,450 |
Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 5000E | PCIe 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 3,795 |
Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000S | PCIE 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 6,450 |
Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000S | PCIE 4, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 11,950 |
Samsung 980 | PCIE 3, NVMe | 500GB | PHP 2,895 |
Samsung 980 | PCIE 3, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 4,750 |
Samsung 980 Pro | PCIe 4, NVMe | 500GB | PHP 2,895 |
Samsung 980 Pro | PCIe 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 5,695 |
Samsung 980 Pro | PCIe 4, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 10,595 |
Seagate Firecuda 530 with Heatsink | PCIE 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 8,350 |
Seagate Firecuda 530 with Heatsink | PCIE 4, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 14,495 |
WD Green SN350 | PCIE, NVMe | 240GB | PHP 1,195 |
WD Green SN350 | PCIe 3, NVMe | 480GB | PHP 1,840 |
WD Green SN350 | PCIE, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 3,295 |
WD Green SN350 | PCIE, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 6,995 |
Kingston NV2 | PCIe 4, NVMe | 250GB | PHP 1,225 |
Kingston NV2 | PCIe 4, NVMe | 500GB | PHP 1,650 |
Kingston NV2 | PCIe 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 2,743 |
Kingston Fury Renegade | PCIe 4, NVMe | 500GB | PHP 3,950 |
Kingston Fury Renegade | PCIe 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 5,250 |
Kingston Fury Renegade | PCIe 4, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 10,750 |
Kingston Fury Renegade | PCIe 4, NVMe | 4TB | PHP 49,995 |
WD Blue SN570 | PCIe 3, NVMe | 250GB | PHP 1,739 |
WD Blue SN570 | PCIe 3, NVMe | 500GB | PHP 2,150 |
WD Blue SN570 | PCIe 3, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 3,995 |
WD Black SN770 | PCIe 4, NVMe | 250GB | PHP 2,325 |
WD Black SN770 | PCIe 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 8,890 |
WD Black SN770 | PCIe 4, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 21,265 |
WD Black SN850X without Heatsink | PCIe 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 6,705 |
WD Black SN850X without Heatsink | PCIe 4, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 13,750 |
WD Black SN850X with Heatsink | PCIe 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 7,795 |
WD Black SN850X with Heatsink | PCIe 4, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 14,450 |
Corsair MP600 Pro LPX | PCIe 4, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 4,950 |
Corsair MP600 Pro LPX | PCIe 4, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 8,950 |
Adata Legend 700 | PCIe 3, NVMe | 256GB | PHP 1,250 |
Adata Legend 700 | PCIe 3, NVMe | 512GB | PHP 1,450 |
Adata Legend 960 Max | PCIe 4, NVMe | 2TB | PHP 7,150 |
Adata XPG SX6000 Pro | PCIe 3, NVMe | 256GB | PHP 1,050 |
Adata XPG SX6000 Pro | PCIe 3, NVMe | 512GB | PHP 2,050 |
Adata XPG SX6000 Pro | PCIe 3, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 2,595 |
PNY CS1031 | PCIe 3, NVMe | 256GB | PHP 1,150 |
PNY CS1031 | PCIe 3, NVMe | 500GB | PHP 1,695 |
PNY CS1031 | PCIe 3, NVMe | 1TB | PHP 2,895 |
Transcend M.2 2230 | PCIe 3, NVMe M.2 2230 | 512GB | PHP 3,395 |
Corsair MP600 Mini | PCIe 4, NVMe M.2 2230 | 1TB | PHP 5,950 |
On average HDDs have an average price of about PHP 2/GB of storage, while SATA SSDs average roughly PHP 4.7/GB of storage, and PCIe NVMe SSDs average about PHP 5.4/GB of storage.
Thus, we can clearly see that overall HDDs are still more affordable when it comes to getting the most storage for your money. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Cause it may very well be worth spending a little extra to get the much faster speeds of SSDs. Most especially that a few years ago SSDs used to be way more expensive than HDDs.
But now in 2023, we can clearly see that gap has narrowed a lot with even some SSDs being priced below PHP 3,000, meaning you’d only have to spend a few hundred pesos extra to get much faster speeds, which is a trade-off that we think is worthwhile the investment.
However, HDDs do still have the edge when it comes to raw storage capacity, as most SSDs up to 1TB have seen much more affordable prices, some larger capacity SSDs that are 2TB, 4TB, or more are still rather expensive compared to larger capacity HDDs that still remain a much more affordable option.
So that leaves us with our conclusion that if you’re looking for fast storage of up to 1TB on a single drive, then it’s probably best to get an SSD whether it be SATA or PCIe NVMe for much faster speeds.
But if you need upwards of 2TB of storage or more, then it’s probably best to get an HDD while pairing it with a faster SSD to install your operating system so that you simply get the best of both worlds.
Editor’s Note / Disclaimer: The SSDs/HDDs mentioned are not all that are available on the market. Prices noted are gathered from official stores and retailers at the time of writing. Your price may vary depending on retailers or current deals.