SSD vs HDD?

[endhalf]

Hi,

I just saw this youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf_QS...=rec-HM-rev-rn and I was pretty amazed... I know SSD is quicker, but in everything and so much? But what about battery? Isn't SSD a lot of more battery-consuming than HDD?

[juan david]

The difference depends on the particular units that you are lookin at, of course SSD are going to be be faster, but there is wide range of speeds according to what i have read in different reviews, some are only a little faster than normal HDD, others are much better. This is true also for the HDD, there is a difference according to the RPM, buffer size etc.

So i guess before being so amazed we shoud know exactly what disks they where comparing (was the slowest HDD aviable vs the fastest SSD of the other way around? for example), and also remember the impact on the price, the better SSD maybe are a lot better than HDD, but also cost a lot more, at least for now.

As for the battery i alway assumed SSD are better for batterylife, im not sure about it, since i dont have one to compare, but regular HDD have motors, and that kind of load (inductive) is a lot for the poor battery to take, so i suppouse SDD are more efficient, but i cant really assure it.

[endhalf]

True... It may be caused by slow HDD, or SSD, that cost more, than your mininote... When I see how much SSD cost in our country (64GB SSD cost more, than 500GB 7200RPM HDD? No way...), I don't know if it even worth it...

I was really amazed how quickly things happens... But extra 2-8 second for that?

[juan david]

I think SSD are like every new technology in PC,it has advantages, but with outrageous prices, and right now the advantages are not worth the price, unless you have very specific demands (like field work in certain enviroments).

I hope that in a short while they will be even cheaper than regular HDD with memory storage prices dropping (i think it was sandisk that mentioned they will have 1 and 2 Thera SD cards in two years), but until that happens i will keep my cheap as dirt 250GB HDD, maybe it boots slower, but i can keep all my movies and installers on it without worring about space.

[gregw]

When I switched my Hitachi 120GB 5400RPM HDD to a Samsung 128GB SSD, my boot time (to Windows XP login screen) went down from around 65 seconds to around 35 seconds.

Program startups are also noticeably faster. e.g. starting Photoshop CS3 takes about 10 seconds to a usable state instead of 18-20 previously.

Battery life estimates have also gone up by about 15 minutes on the 3 cell battery pack with the SSD versus the HDD, especially in activities where it constantly accesses the drive, like when you're watching a movie. I have no idea the battery gain on the 6 cell since I didn't have the 6 cell prior to switching out to the SSD. However, my estimated battery life on the 6 cell when watching movies is about 4 hours now. I can easily get 5+ hours if I'm doing less CPU intensive activities like browsing the web or writing a document.

Yes, the SSD is expensive, but it was worth it to me since the SSD allowed me to work/watch movies in a "bumpy" environment like a bus where the HP 3D Driveguard would stop the HDD for about 15 seconds everytime it was "bumped". In addition, the SSD is an upgrade that can be taken out of the MiniNote and put into any other laptop that uses a standard 2.5" HDD, so I'm not stuck with using it only on the MiniNote and I can also use it on my next UMPC once I've decide to upgrade to something else.

[Twisted]

I've read few articles in the last few months os SSD's, and it seems that the cost doesn't justify the price... at least not until technology improves a bit more.
Why this stuck in head I'm not quite sure, but, I remember reading that someone did a defrag on their SSD and it brought the system to a crawl.
Also I posted here somewhere that I added an 8gig SanDisc to use as a ReadyBoost drive, and my (slightly)choppy audio porblems cleared up. If you're looking for a little bit of improvement, this might be your answer

[gregw]

I've read few articles in the last few months os SSD's, and it seems that the cost doesn't justify the price... at least not until technology improves a bit more.
Why this stuck in head I'm not quite sure, but, I remember reading that someone did a defrag on their SSD and it brought the system to a crawl.
Also I posted here somewhere that I added an 8gig SanDisc to use as a ReadyBoost drive, and my (slightly)choppy audio porblems cleared up. If you're looking for a little bit of improvement, this might be your answer

I think the articles you read were referring to the first generation consumer grade SSDs.. Those were pretty slow, and some had "studdering" problems, i.e. the PC would slow to a crawl while the SSD was trying to read/write. For the first generation SSD drives, only the "Enterprise" grade SLC based SSDs performed well, but unfortunately, those are extremely expensive.

These problems have been eliminated in the 2nd generation consumer grade SSD drives like the new Samsung 128GB MLC SSD I bought, or the new Intel X25-M MLC drives.

BTW, there is absolutely no need to defrag an SSD since the data access is completely different from an HDD, and Readyboost only works on Vista, which I've always thought, is way to demanding for the Mininote..

[solipodi]

I own a OCZ core series SSD (first version not second one). Sometimes I notice that computer blocks 2-3 seconds when SSD access is high (disc led blink a lot).
Unlucky I use Windows XP. I hope Linux kernel will be better.

[ZBoater]

First generation SSDs are known to have some "issues". Second generation is out, and a lot of the stuttering has been resolved.

You can get a 128GB for about $350. That is as much as the mini-note itself.

Whether it is worth it or not depends. The mini-note is a lot snappier, but the performance gains are not as noticeable as a regular laptop. I put the Corsair P128 2nd gen drives in both my work laptop (Thinkpad X61s) and the mini, and the Thinkpad seems to have benefited a lot more, even though the benchmarks say the mini has better drive performance. I think that is because the drive is not the bottleneck on the mini as much as the graphics and Via processor are.

However, the other advantages, like better battery life, no moving parts, etc. are pluses. $350 worth of pluses? Only you can decide that.

[stankopp]

The first gen SSDs did have a lot of problems. The newer ones are much better. The larger the SSD, the better the read/write times. Any SSD will slow down over time due to the way that the data are erased. Things like garbage collection and TRIM are needed to keep the drive operating in a top notch fashion. Windows 7 is engineered to take advantage of the SSD features (built in TRIM for capable drives). For example if one does a clean install to a virgin SSD (as I have in my 2133 end DV5), the install will automatically align the partition. After booting to the newly installed OS, you will notice that readyboost and defrag have been disabled by W7 (if it detects a fast enough drive). There are other tweaks that can be done to inprove performance. My WEI went from 5.3 with a 7200 rpm Hitachi 200GB to 7.3 with a 2 gen Crucial CT64M225. Heat reduction, battery life extension, vibration elimination, noise reduction and weight reduction are all other beneficial side effects. Some caveats: not all controller firmware (FW) is the same. Make sure that the drive you intend to buy is capable of TRIM or at least has garbage collection tools. Some of the controller suppliers are waiting for the official release of W7 to update their firmware. I have 3 SSDs. One is 2 gen, but still awaiting a FW update. Another is pending a FW update (systems hangs, etc). The third - not TRIM capable, never gonna be TRIM capable. Ah the plight of the early-adopter (this was my first SSD). I have had some expensive lessons...