I'd say if you dont load a lot of programs etc an ssd is a bit of a waste , if you multi task thats where you would get the benefit, most home users I guess do one task at a time and if gaming just leave the browser or whatever loaded
SSD or HDDs??
- Thread starter sk82jack
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If you are not planning to put anything huge like games on a SSD then a 60-64gb drive is enough. Which can be had for roughly £80 something now could go less after the new SSDs are coming out. Not sure which one it was but get 2 single plate 500gb 7200rpm HDD was it samsung I saw a few week back and raid0 them they had some amazing writing/reading on them 220mb/s+. <£30? each.
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Yeah I heard about these new SSDs coming out. Are they worth looking into or am I better off staying with the current ones?
Soldato
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- 31 May 2009
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Perhaps, but I thought the intell 300gb drive was brand new and sata3,maybe not.
I haven't read the whole thread, but i'd give a +1 for the SSD's.
Boot times, games etc all load sooo much faster it's unbelievable, I really couldnt go back to a 'normal' hard drive.
I got a vertex 120gb when they were launched (a good couple of years +) and it's still going strong
Boot times, games etc all load sooo much faster it's unbelievable, I really couldnt go back to a 'normal' hard drive.
I got a vertex 120gb when they were launched (a good couple of years +) and it's still going strong
Was it not the 320 series they was talking about? Which would be this which is SATA II?
The 510 series is SATA3 though
What I am going to do after a bit of research is Have 2 sata drives in raid 0 for storage ect and have a ssd for os. From what I have read is ssd are fantastic and worth the investment (if you can afford it).
I still feel ssd are a bit expensive.
If you have never tried Raid 0 the speed with the right combo is fantastic not as fast as a ssd but cheaper to setup.
I would personally tried raid 0 first, and if you feel you still need more speed (not likely unless you are an enthusiast) get a SSD at a later date (Maybe prices would have dropped then).
As for the life life span of a SSD it depends on how well you look after your pc, cooling cleaning will increase the life span of any component. (although make sure to do research on components good news travels slow but bad news travels fast if an item has a history of being unreliable google will find it)
I still feel ssd are a bit expensive.
If you have never tried Raid 0 the speed with the right combo is fantastic not as fast as a ssd but cheaper to setup.
I would personally tried raid 0 first, and if you feel you still need more speed (not likely unless you are an enthusiast) get a SSD at a later date (Maybe prices would have dropped then).
As for the life life span of a SSD it depends on how well you look after your pc, cooling cleaning will increase the life span of any component. (although make sure to do research on components good news travels slow but bad news travels fast if an item has a history of being unreliable google will find it)
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The only thing about raid is that I heard its a nightmare if you upgrade your mobo or anything because you have to back-up everything and then format your drives and apply raid with your new mobo and then copy it back. Something along those lines if my memory serves me well. That seems like quite a bit of hassle, especially if you don't have any spare HDDs lying around.
Sometimes but not always, you can normally check raid set for motherboards before you buy them so are compatible (usually the brand of raid controller).
3 hd setup works
2 = raid 0 os/games general use
1 = stand alone for backups + extra storage.
2 Sata drives are still cheaper than 1 SSD
I like using a 64 Gb C300 for windows, and Raid 0 Sammy F3s for games.
Its hardly any hassle setting up raid 0, and you get 2 Tb of super fast space for all your games.
From benchmark results I've seen around here, its only worth bothering with raiding the Samsung F3 7200 rpm version. Other dries, even WD Caviar Blacks were slower in Raid 0 than the samsung F3s.
I tried 3 games between my raid 0 F3s and crucial C300 - Demigod, Baldur's Gate and Civ V. I couldnt notice any difference between the two for loading times, but the Raid 0 was significantly faster than when I used to play games off an un raided F3.
Windows on a C300 connected to a Sata III port just absolutely flies. Its completely eliminated all loading lag for me. Back when I had windows installed on its own partition on a pretty full sammy F3, I had 10-20 seconds of loading lag when starting up, windows would stay stuck on the login screen for a while, and then take ages fully loading up before it could be used.
On the C300, it boots up and works immediately with no lag. All my windows load up immediately with no lag. Everything I do in windows, plus any apps installed to the SSD all loads up immediately with no lag.
I could never go back to running windows on a mechanical hard drive now. An SSD to Windows is like a top end graphics card to games, I really cant stand it everytime I see naysayers who think that SSDs are crap because they are too expensive for the amount of storage. SSD are not meant to be storage drives, and while larger capacity drives are really expensive, a 64 Gb SSD for windows will be one of the best possible upgrades you can do for your PC.
Its best to buy a drive with a fast read speed for windows, a 64 Gb C300 is absolutely perfect if you have a mobo that supports Sata III, but if you have some patience it will be a lot better to wait for the Crucial M4 64 Gb drive.
Its hardly any hassle setting up raid 0, and you get 2 Tb of super fast space for all your games.
From benchmark results I've seen around here, its only worth bothering with raiding the Samsung F3 7200 rpm version. Other dries, even WD Caviar Blacks were slower in Raid 0 than the samsung F3s.
I tried 3 games between my raid 0 F3s and crucial C300 - Demigod, Baldur's Gate and Civ V. I couldnt notice any difference between the two for loading times, but the Raid 0 was significantly faster than when I used to play games off an un raided F3.
Windows on a C300 connected to a Sata III port just absolutely flies. Its completely eliminated all loading lag for me. Back when I had windows installed on its own partition on a pretty full sammy F3, I had 10-20 seconds of loading lag when starting up, windows would stay stuck on the login screen for a while, and then take ages fully loading up before it could be used.
On the C300, it boots up and works immediately with no lag. All my windows load up immediately with no lag. Everything I do in windows, plus any apps installed to the SSD all loads up immediately with no lag.
I could never go back to running windows on a mechanical hard drive now. An SSD to Windows is like a top end graphics card to games, I really cant stand it everytime I see naysayers who think that SSDs are crap because they are too expensive for the amount of storage. SSD are not meant to be storage drives, and while larger capacity drives are really expensive, a 64 Gb SSD for windows will be one of the best possible upgrades you can do for your PC.
Its best to buy a drive with a fast read speed for windows, a 64 Gb C300 is absolutely perfect if you have a mobo that supports Sata III, but if you have some patience it will be a lot better to wait for the Crucial M4 64 Gb drive.
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Yeah I'm only getting background knowledge now. Gonna be buying parts in June (birthday lol) so that gives me a bit of time to check out all the new releases between now and then
Always have a backup drive for raid 0 and have it doing an auto backup every few months at least!
Raid 0 is best only used for games. Anything else that you dont want to lose shouldnt be stored on it.
Yeah I'm only getting background knowledge now. Gonna be buying parts in June (birthday lol) so that gives me a bit of time to check out all the new releases between now and then
Thats ok then, hopefuly the M4 should be released by then.
Theres very little difference between a C300 and M4 for everyday PC use, it would be even less than the difference between my C300 and Raid 0 F3s which I absolutely couldnt notice. But if you're going to be getting a new drive, you may as well try and get the best.
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+1 for ssd.
Ignoring boot times and games loadin....the whole of windows is SO much more responsive it has to be seen to be believed...put a smile on my face
Or as Energize said get 16Gb of ram and make a ram drive thats more than 10x faster than current ssd drivers
Ignoring boot times and games loadin....the whole of windows is SO much more responsive it has to be seen to be believed...put a smile on my face
Or as Energize said get 16Gb of ram and make a ram drive thats more than 10x faster than current ssd drivers
Oooooh, how do I make a ram drive with my 12 Gb ram? 
Will this work:
http://www.starwindsoftware.com/high-performance-ram-disk-emulator
OMG WOW !!!!
Are there any programs that let me make larger than 1 Gb ramdrives?
Will this work:
http://www.starwindsoftware.com/high-performance-ram-disk-emulator
OMG WOW !!!!
Are there any programs that let me make larger than 1 Gb ramdrives?
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i was thinking of gettin the smallest, cheapest ssd and booting from that and having my 2tb for my storage... but when i thought about it, i coudnt be bothered with the effort or the expense, wi i ended up going with a sata 3 caviar blue 500gb (£24.99!) for booting which is plenty quick enough in real life non-benchmarking non-overclocking world