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SSD

Started by Phantom, March 07, 2019, 03:14:07 PM

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Phantom

From what I've read it seems a no brainer to replace my elderly HDD with a SSD - they almost seem too good to be true (bar the cost, which seems to be coming down rapidly anyway) - is there any downside to an SSD nowadays?

Regards
Keith

ArizonaTank

I have had two desktops now with SSDs for the operating system.  Basically a C: drive on a 250GB SSD. Then a D: dive for data that is a standard HDD.  The reason is speed...the OS gets pulled a bunch during operation, so this speeds that process.

If you can afford an SSD, it is probably better...faster...no moving parts...lower power consumption.

Besides price (and generally lower capacity), the only other reason not to go with SSD might be longevity. I have read that the lifespan of SSDs is much shorter than HDDs in environments where there are a bunch of read/writes. For this reason, some folks turn off auto-index on SSDs.  But admittedly, my info may be four or five years old. I think SSD technology has advanced. But they still seem to only last 5 to 6 years in heavy use systems.

Here is a recent article on the subject of HDD vs SSD

https://www.pcmag.com/article/297758/ssd-vs-hdd-whats-the-difference
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WallysWorld

When my HDD died three years ago, I replaced it with a 1 GB SSD and never regretted it. Windows 7 loads in about 10-15 seconds compared to almost a minute on the HDD. For my new PC that I will be getting in two months, I'll have only SSD's on it.

The only negative I heard about SSD's is that they can die on you without any warning unlike HDD's which give hints that something is amiss. I thought I read that a few years ago. But I run regular backups onto a portable drive just in case.

No regrets for me going to all SSD.
"I used to be with it, but then they changed what *it* was. Now what I'm with isn't *it* and what *it* is seems weird and scary to me." - Abraham Simpson

JudgeDredd

SSDs are superb. Superfast.

Downside? They'll likely have a lesser life than a HDD - but it's marginal and the speed benefit is more than enough to outweigh any potential shorter lifespan.

My only regret is going for a 120GB main drive...but in my defence when I bought it, it was very expensive and I just saw it as a "boot drive" - which it's awesome for. My second SSD was 480GB for games. My only regret is not getting a bigger one because I sometimes have to switch games from my HDD to my SSD (using SteamMover) so they load faster.

My 120GB SSD I got back in 2013 (6 years ago!) for £70 and my 480GB I got back in 2015 for £70. I've never had a problem with either of them.

Now a 120GB will cost you £18 and a 480GB will cost you £50. Make the jump! They're sweet.

Currently I have 2 SSDs and 3 SATA II drives. The SSDs are for games and, more importantly, my OS. The SATAs are for general stuff. You don't need a computer full of SSDs...my only additional advice would be to get a suitable size for what you'd want to store on it.

Go get it tiger  O0
Alba gu' brath

Grim.Reaper

Fully endorse SSD...on my new PC and my daughter's laptop, largely use SSD---except not on my backup drive.  As for longevity, although they might be shorter than other drives, most things I have read indicate the life of the drive will be fine for most people since they often will upgrade anyway before it has a chance to die.

I am not going back:)

Staggerwing

To add to the above I've heard (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) when an SSD starts to fail it has trouble writing data, not reading it. This means that you can still copy your files to a new drive if you don't wait too long.
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WallysWorld

#6
One game I did notice a good performance improvement (if I call it that) with a SSD over a HDD is Train Simulator. As the you drive along, the game loads more scenery files from the drive and with a HDD, you will sometimes get a one or two second stutter when the files are read from the drive. With a SSD, that stutter is now reduced to a half-second or is sometimes not even noticeable.

Article from November 2018 about dying SSD's: How to Deal With Warning Signs of a Dying SSD

I also read that you should keep at least 10% of your SSD drive space free to help with its performance?
"I used to be with it, but then they changed what *it* was. Now what I'm with isn't *it* and what *it* is seems weird and scary to me." - Abraham Simpson

Phantom

Thanks guys that's appreciated - seems a good move. I'd read about the limited amount of writes issue but I guess mine isn't that heavy use so should last me a few years yet. Now I've got the OK from science & the tech community, I've just got to justify it with the wife.