Because the process of writing data involving a copy process the drives are made bigger than what is says on the cover, so that the drives have headroom to move and delete data without impacting on the overall storage capacity. The data on the old block has to be copied to a different block, the block is erased, and the data is rewritten with the changes to a new block. With SSDs all the data in a block must be refreshed when any portion of it is updated. Updating data is more complex for SSDs than HHDs. The gates are organised in a grid pattern, which is further organised into a block. At the lowest level, floating gate transistors record a charge (or lack of a charge) to store the data. NAND, the technology in most SSDs is a kind of flash memory. SSDs rely on electronic storage in what is called ‘non-volatile’ memory, which basically means that your data won’t disappear when the computer is turned off. However, SSDs have progressed rapidly in recent years, adding more storage capacity and the prices dropping. Solid State Drives (SSDs) - SSDs are a relatively new technology, when compared to hard disk drives. If this is the case, we recommend that you have a separate drive, or drives, just for your sample libraries.

If you are using a lot of virtual instruments then you are likely to have significant sample libraries. Most DAWs will allow you to put your projects and sessions on the same drive as your operating system and applications, but it is always better to use separate drives for your projects and sessions and leave the internal drive in your computer to handle the operating system (Mac or Windows) and all your applications. It’s the drive that your computer starts up from or ‘boots’ from hence its name. This drive has your operating system, either Mac or Windows, as well as all your applications.

The Boot drive is nearly always a drive inside your computer, often called an internal drive. In this updated Production Expert Buying Guide we are going to unpick the jargon, take you through the different options available and help you choose the best solution for your situation. Hard drives are an essential part of any digital audio workstation, whether it is Pro Tools, Studio One Logic Pro or any of the other DAWs available.

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