Solid State vs Conventional HDDs

DenSweeP

DenSweeP

New member
Okay, been playing with the idea of getting SSD for some time now. But I'm not sure I can justify it. The price per GB is simply ludicrous. Is the speed improvement really all that and is that also only really on loading times, copying and boot up? I can't really see how it will improve your avg FPS in games?

So, is spending +- R2500 on a 120GB worth it?
 
I have a 60GB OCZ Vertex 2 and loving it. I have my Windows, Cod4, Cod Bo, and about 20 programs running on it with 27Gb left to spare. I must say that anything installed and running on it really improves it's performance greatly. Loading times are a thing of the past, however in Cod Bo there is still a loading time it's only a few seconds faster than when it was on y hard drive, Cod4 however is a noticeable difference in loading time. Windows boot time is possibly the most noticeable thing.

I paid R1,298.75 for it in January, here it is now: http://rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70_72&products_id=5405

If you ask me was it worth it, I would say yes it was worth every cent.
 
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IMO the only thing it will do is decrease load times, thats even if you keep your games on the SSD.
 
You will notice considerable increase in boot time, load time and that about it. Added to the fact that you have to tweak your SSD and window settings a considerable amount to a) get great performance and b) be able to maintain that performance and not ware out the SSD. Yes - SSD nand memory can degrade with use.

SSD tech is still evolving way to fast. Rather get 2 fast 500gb drives and go RAID 0 - short stroke them too while you at it - and be happy with that for now.

SSD's will continue to improve and the tech get better. It will however level out. That is when you buy. If however you just cannot live with a 30 odd second boot time (oh the horror!) and you NEED it to be 12seconds or less. Spend the cash :D
 
I see that these drives are available in SATA2 and SATA3, would the SATA3 performance be better than the SATA2 drives?

To me, it would seem the SATA3 should be MUCH faster? 3Gbps vs 6Gbps is quite a difference?
 
According to latest tests and benchies yes. If you are gonna spring cash for a sata III drive (Vertex 3 Agility / Vertex 3) then it pays to have it connected to a SATA III controller that can take advantage of the added speed ICHR 10 controllers are pretty damn good mind you.

It all is a question of personal choice. The speed boost is noticeable. You just have to ask yourself is it worth the money?
 
Okay, so unless you have nothing else to spend your money on, get SSD, otherwise don't waste it and rather buy booze?
 
TBlaar said:
I see that these drives are available in SATA2 and SATA3, would the SATA3 performance be better than the SATA2 drives?

To me, it would seem the SATA3 should be MUCH faster? 3Gbps vs 6Gbps is quite a difference?
Click to expand...

I can confirm that SATA6G is a lot faster than normal SATA3G. obviously make sure your Mobo supports 6G otherwise you'll sit with a 6G HD that you not going to utilise 100%
 
Thanks! I thought it would be faster, but I see very little people actually mentioning this when they speak about SSD drives, hence the question...
 
This is my next upgrade Den.
Not going to install games on it, just my OS and some 3rd party apps(Photoshop being nr 1 on that list).

Just get a SATA6G pci-X addon card if your mobo does not support it/if need be.

Ima believer!
 
I agree, have 2 1TB SATA3 in Raid 0 and it is much faster than normal SATA2 in RAID0. Im very happy it :)
SSD imo is still a little over priced. Not that I would mind it, but the price per GB is really not worth it ATM. Any idea when the SATA3 SDD is coming, cause im sure the SATA2 SDD prices would drop quite a bit then.
 
i would rather raid more drives. SSD is expensive and still very low capacity. striping drives like the raptor and cheetah drives can get you performance and space is not lost.
 
SSD's are farking fantastic.

I'm probably gonna ditch my Vertex 2 and get 2 x Vertex 3 in about 2 months time. Just gotta sort finances out.
 
Getting a SSD as my main drive was the single best upgrade I've ever made. It makes everything snappy. The drive makes no noise and it's amazing watching Windows boot up in record time. Games load so quickly.

I'm always amazed that some people will pay R5000 for a graphics card but they can't justify a SSD. Get a SSD as your bootup drive. Install your programs and games on there. Keep the movies and such on a normal drive. It's worth it.
 
SSD was pretty much the last upgrade I could get for my rig. Turns out it was also the best purchase. Very quick load times on Windows + apps (I mean, I have around 11 apps auto-starting with windows, and even with all these, windows is immediately useable). It really makes using a pc a pleasure.

Yes, raiding regular hard drives gets you similar speed, but the problem is that it uses two sata ports. For those of us with a load of sata drives it's just a complete waste in all honesty. Rather spend the cash and go for an SSD. Then you have a port free for another 2-3tb of harddrive space :D

And what Solitude said. My R8k (at the time) SSD has outlasted 2 graphics cards revisions, both of which cost substantially more in absolute terms, and it's changed my pc experience more than the graphics cards ever did.
 
If your are really concerned with load times and noise then yes. But as was said SSD performance of a lot of drives degrades over time. My Barracuda LP already saves a lot of power and if super quiet so does not make sense for me until capacities and reliability increases substantially.

SATA3 will only give an advantage if the drive actually outperforms SATA2 and then it may not be much.
 
Adding SSDs in your machine is one of the best upgrades you can do for your rig. The response times are insane. Things you don't really notice on a non-SSD rig you notice once you use SSDs. For example coming out of sleep mode etc is instant. I am RAIDing my SSDs in RAID0 and i only have my operating system, office and some programs on those drives. Games and the rest of my programs are all on 2x 500GB drives also RAID0. The response on the 2x 500GB are really far off the SSDs. Get the SSDs dude, you really wont be sorry. I would recommend the intel 510 or the OCZ Vertex3. The ocz drive is a bit faster and cheaper so go for that. I amd going to buy 2 of those and raid them for my next upgrade in September. Changed my mind from the Intels just because of the price difference.

Edit: the speed difference between the intel and ocz is large so like i said go for the ocz.

intel: SATA6G Read/write (MB/sec): 450 / 210
OCZ: SATA6G Read/write (MB/sec): 550 / 500
 
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