Both hard drives and solid-state drives are fairly reliable, but both will also eventually fail, as all storage devices do. Which one actually lasts longer? Which external solid-state drive is best?

Understanding the Context

As software becomes more complex and file sizes continue to grow, there will come a point where you won’t have enough native storage left on your computer. The WD Black SN8100 (starts at $179.99 for 1TB, $279.99 for 2TB as tested) is the first WD-branded PCI Express 5.0 solid-state drive (SSD) to come to market, but it was well worth the wait. The SN8100 ... Save a bunch of files on a good ol’ magnetic hard drive, leave it in a box, and they’ll probably still be there a couple of decades later.

Key Insights

The lubricants might have all solidified and the heads jammed ... SlashGear on MSN: HDD or SSD: Which storage drive has the longer lifespan? Popular Mechanics: How to Use an External Hard Drive to Store PS5 Games If you're a longtime PlayStation player and have built up a beefy library of PS4 games, then the external SSD has a lot more value: While PS5 games can’t run off an external drive, the PS5 can do it ... Popular Science: The best Cyber Monday deals on hard drives and SSDs can help you get your digital life in order