Your SSD is fast, but it's got a dirty side
Every PC user appreciates an SSD. They're fast, they sip power, they're tiny, and they don’t make any noise. The stalwart mechanical hard drive isn't going anywhere though, at least for the next few years, thanks to their density and $/GB advantage. Turns out, those aren't the only advantages the HDD has. That HDD may have a lower lifetime carbon footprint too.
According to a study(opens in new tab) carried out by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of British Columbia (via Tom's Hardware(opens in new tab)), SSD manufacturing is quite an intensive process. The cost of NAND flash, the controller chips, and all the advanced components is high, as are the energy requirements to produce them.
This is because many of the parts are highly advanced—it's not just the manufacturing of the drives themselves, but all of the underlying equipment, raw materials and chemicals.
In fact, SSD's are so carbon-intensive they reportedly have by far the largest carbon footprint of any other PC component, making up 38% of a typical PC, followed by the motherboard at 17% and the CPU at just 4%. Enlightening stuff.
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The researchers further attempted to measure the carbon footprint of SSDs and HDDs in general use. They concluded that a 1TB HDD emits 99 kg of CO2 over five years and 199 kg over 10. This compares to a 1TB SSD at 184 kg and 369 kg respectively. it's hard to
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