SSD vs HDD

[Piezoq]

I understand SSD faster than HDD, but I'm curious about how this speed translate into actual daily usage benefits.

I read that SSD starts OS faster, faster BIG file transfer etc. But to me these are small non-consequential benefits. You only start your system maybe once a day, how much is an extra 20-30 seconds wait? Also how often do an average user transfer 20-30gb files to reap the benefits?

From reading HWZ, seems most people are upgrading their system with SSD, but looking at brand name full system, majority are still using HDD. Is it due to price difference?

HDD wins hands down in term of price per GB, and most of today's are 7200rpm. And today's increased Internet bandwidth means most users are downloading more contents. Our take-everywhere mobile phones camera means we are taking more high resolution photos and full HD videos. So won't it seems more logical to get the bigger, cheaper HDD when the benefits are more tangible?

Maybe some specific users may constantly require the high speed of SSD, but does the average home users reap the full benefit?

Personally, I'm all for HDD until the cost and capacity of SSD can match. To me, it seems most SSD buyers are upgrading just because this is the newest and latest. But is it cost effective? Don't mean to diss SSD users, just trying to discuss and understand. Hope we can have a healthy discussion without getting flame...

I'd like to take a little detour to answer this.

Take a modern day smart phone. Many apps and mobile-optimized sites are way more responsive than their desktop cousins. These portable computers have puny ~2W processors (desktops/laptops consume 10-50x) but they all share the same type of storage--namely, solid state. The UX (user experience) is partly why we enjoy using our smart phones.

One of the main advantages of a desktop/laptop is multi-tasking which can easily saturate data pipelines (disk or memory). SSDs win hands down in heavy demand scenarios, especially when multiple data calls are made simultaneously.

On a HDD, the physics of platters and heads means every bit of information has a unique seek and read speed, unlike a SSD, where information is handled homogeneously (well, almost).

Modern HDD consume about 5-10W of power. That's about 5 smart phone processors at full tilt. Doesn't sound like much but laptop users will appreciate every bit of juice they can squeeze out of their portables.

The best way is always direct experience. Go to any big box retailer and spend 10-30 minutes with both SSD and HDD laptops. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised.

 

[wikky]

Maybe there is appreciable power savings using SSD since no need to spin platters.

If SSD puts out less heat, casing temperature is lower ?

Can mount the SSD in any orientation you like, maybe this will lead to new casing designs ?

If using a SSD-only system, less need to worry about mechanical vibrations / shocks ? Eg bumps against the table.

I've not used SSD before, but sometimes when I move/copy large / multiples files around for backup, the HDD I/O bottleneck causes my system to respond slower.

 

[Phen8210]

ssd for laptop? definitely
ssd for desktop? if budget permits.

 

[ykgoh]

SSD: good, very fast, reliable, light weight, low power consumption, battery saving
HDD: poor, slow, old, heavy, power guzzling, good for nothing

#hardstoragetruth

 

[wad3v3r]

i can boot up my pc in less than 8 seconds and open chrome etc instantly without any delays after booting into desktop


observations after jumping onto ssd few months back when i got it for cheap

 

[jtjt00]

With dropping price, SSD is beginning to wrestle into storage arena. More are buying 500GB or bigger one for both OS and data.

 

[tungsten2]

I understand SSD faster than HDD, but I'm curious about how this speed translate into actual daily usage benefits.

I read that SSD starts OS faster, faster BIG file transfer etc. But to me these are small non-consequential benefits. You only start your system maybe once a day, how much is an extra 20-30 seconds wait? Also how often do an average user transfer 20-30gb files to reap the benefits?

From reading HWZ, seems most people are upgrading their system with SSD, but looking at brand name full system, majority are still using HDD. Is it due to price difference?

HDD wins hands down in term of price per GB, and most of today's are 7200rpm. And today's increased Internet bandwidth means most users are downloading more contents. Our take-everywhere mobile phones camera means we are taking more high resolution photos and full HD videos. So won't it seems more logical to get the bigger, cheaper HDD when the benefits are more tangible?

Maybe some specific users may constantly require the high speed of SSD, but does the average home users reap the full benefit?

Personally, I'm all for HDD until the cost and capacity of SSD can match. To me, it seems most SSD buyers are upgrading just because this is the newest and latest. But is it cost effective? Don't mean to diss SSD users, just trying to discuss and understand. Hope we can have a healthy discussion without getting flame...

It depends how you see it. Save money or save time .
For many ppl who had moved to SSD, they are enjoying a better computing experience . For as little as $99 (check out at lazada.sg) you can get a SSD and runs 3x faster then before. You will be asking yourself why have you not moved on earlier.

Look are the review here : http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feat...sung-ssd-750-evo-vs-sony-slw-m/conclusion-218
SSD price had drop to as low as S$0.40/gigabyte. Why are you still waiting.