They are faster and more reliable, but think carefully before spending

YOU WILL LEARN How solid-state drives store data, and the things to look out for when buying and using one

SSDS OFFER A QUIETER, MORE RELIABLE AND FASTER WAY TO READ AND WRITE YOUR DATA

KEY FACT

Unlike with a hard drive where defragmenting brings scattered blocks of data together to increase the speed at which they are read, defragging makes absolutely no difference to the performance of an SSD. In fact, defragging an SSD will only increase the number of writes on the drive and this will cause unnecessary wear and tear, reducing its lifespan.

WHEN YOU BUY A NEW MAC, you can choose how much storage you want. Our advice? Don’t rush your decision. While opting for a higher capacity drive is going to cost you hundreds or, in some cases, thousands, making the correct, upfront choice will determine how useful your Mac will be in the future. One thing’s for sure, don’t bank on going larger later down the line!

Not too long ago, the situation weighed less heavily on your wallet. The choice of high-capacity internal computer storage was generally limited to hard drives (highly mechanized devices which use a head to read and write data on rapidly spinning discs, aka magnetic coated platters) and they were easier to access and relatively inexpensive compared to the solid-state drives (SSDs) that Apple now places in its modern machines.