Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13

Thread: Solid State Hard Drives

  1. #1
    Platinum Member Chatmaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    1,065
    Thanks
    107
    Thanked 99 Times in 63 Posts

    Solid State Hard Drives

    Hi all, need some advice.

    I am far from a hardware expert, anyone on here ever bought a SSD for their notebook? If so I would like to know what you think of it? I am seriously considering buying a few for my Notebooks at the office.
    Roelof Vermeulen (Entrepreneurship in large organizations)
    Roelof Vermeulen| Rock flaps south africa

  2. #2
    Gold Member twinscythe12332's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    durban
    Posts
    769
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked 110 Times in 84 Posts
    I haven't bought any, but I can probably find you information on makes, models and expected read/write times vs standard rotating disk hard drives.
    it's a tough call on whether to go for it or not, I will be honest. I've seen a few benchmarks that have sayed yes and no to solid state.

    this one by computerworld basically said that it wasn't worth it: read here
    whereas this one says they're going miles ahead: read here

    my personal opinion is that solid state would be used better in read applications rather than write applications. it has shown the tendecy to be a bit crap in the latter. but a few of the benchmarks i have seen that draw graphs have shown that it is consistent. there isn't a jagged graph, it's a constant line.

  3. #3
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    South Arica
    Posts
    379
    Thanks
    38
    Thanked 26 Times in 23 Posts

    Post It is a good technology.

    This I think you will benefit from these drives. I have a 32 GB installed in my notebook and it is running like a dream. However there is an issue with latency but it’s not crippling. And the problem is with the SATA controller on the notebook and not the drive. I had it for 3 months now and no problems. However I recommend you set up two notebooks with these drives and tests it for your needs before a mass upgrade of all your notebooks. They are expensive! But they do eliminate moving parts that is the biggest enemy of notebooks so I recommend a test you will see the Speed is really noticeable!

  4. #4
    Platinum Member Chatmaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    1,065
    Thanks
    107
    Thanked 99 Times in 63 Posts
    my personal opinion is that solid state would be used better in read applications rather than write applications. it has shown the tendecy to be a bit crap in the latter.
    So in terms of the desktops I have, If run the OS of the SSD and have a second rotating drive for writing, would that make a difference then?
    Roelof Vermeulen (Entrepreneurship in large organizations)
    Roelof Vermeulen| Rock flaps south africa

  5. #5
    Platinum Member Chatmaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    1,065
    Thanks
    107
    Thanked 99 Times in 63 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by insulin View Post
    This I think you will benefit from these drives. I have a 32 GB installed in my notebook and it is running like a dream. However there is an issue with latency but it’s not crippling. And the problem is with the SATA controller on the notebook and not the drive. I had it for 3 months now and no problems. However I recommend you set up two notebooks with these drives and tests it for your needs before a mass upgrade of all your notebooks. They are expensive! But they do eliminate moving parts that is the biggest enemy of notebooks so I recommend a test you will see the Speed is really noticeable!
    Cost is not an issue atm. According to my calculations if these drives are as great as I have heard they are, the efficiency in terms of effective time spent on not waiting for the computer would pay for it within 2 months. I am looking for 128GB drives with a writing speed of more than 200MB/s but it seems like SA doesn't have any available. It seems like I will have to import... Grrrrrrr I do think your suggestion of testing it first is a good one though, I will do that then.
    Roelof Vermeulen (Entrepreneurship in large organizations)
    Roelof Vermeulen| Rock flaps south africa

  6. #6
    Gold Member twinscythe12332's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    durban
    Posts
    769
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked 110 Times in 84 Posts
    probably better than going to your local store and asking them to do it. after the markup is placed, might not be as good as going online.

  7. #7
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    South Arica
    Posts
    379
    Thanks
    38
    Thanked 26 Times in 23 Posts

    Right first of all sorry for not replying yesterday I had to check my facts.

    It is safe to say that the only problem with solid state hard drives is there cost. An online game server I know of that host Eve used to or is indeed still using only solid state hard drives.

    Secondly this is not a new technology. The first solid state hard drives looked like PC cards and some of the faster models still do look PC cards. I think if it is good enough for an online gaming server then you will have little trouble with this technology.

    My notebook is running fine and I do a lot of work on it. But always remember that the size of the information you are accessing on the drive determine speed. I remember when Maxtor had their 7200 RPM drives on the marked. My friend got one and it was fast however on bench the deference was really not that noticeable.

    So I will say this; a good main board aka motherboard, memory, CPU, and GPU together with a fast hard drive will give you good speeds and better performance. But hard drive speed was never that critical unless massif volumes of information needs to be accessed simultaneously but then you will need a dedicated bus controller and fast drives not just fast drives the controller is just as important.

    My advice to you is; build a good system. Something with a good motherboard CPU, Memory, and these new drives and test it. However please remember that a good power supply is a must when it comes to this technology.

  8. #8
    Gold Member twinscythe12332's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    durban
    Posts
    769
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked 110 Times in 84 Posts
    raptor vs SSD ignoring the fact that the raptor massacres the SSD in question, take a look at how steady the transfer is for the SSD versus the erattic line of the raptor.

  9. #9
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    South Arica
    Posts
    379
    Thanks
    38
    Thanked 26 Times in 23 Posts

    Ok... I forgot about the 10000 RPM drive...

    Now the extreme as far as I know the new black box systems used by Airbus and others use modified version of SSD.

    If you have the money do a drop test. ( 0_o ) Get two brand new drives one conventional and one SSD. Load nice big files on them so that they use 50% + of their capacities and drop the two from the same height and make sure there is a carpet if only to protect the casing.

    Chances are that both drives will survive the first drop. However the lack of moving parts in the SSD will be the winner on the drop test. “ I stand to be corrected” Because moving parts are sensitive to nocks and stuff.

    Now notebooks will benefit from the SSD because notebooks are constantly in transit. Fact... Stable read write speed is better but not necessarily faster than spinning disks and a moving head.

    Lastly both the conventional hard drive and the SSD is sensitive to power changes so power is a stable must for both drives.

  10. #10
    Gold Member twinscythe12332's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    durban
    Posts
    769
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked 110 Times in 84 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by insulin View Post
    Now notebooks will benefit from the SSD because notebooks are constantly in transit. Fact... Stable read write speed is better but not necessarily faster than spinning disks and a moving head.
    absolutely true. spinning disks have much higher "burst speeds" than SSD. I think in the test the raptor managed a 249MB/s max burst speed, but dipped below the 80 MB/s mark . the SSD kept steady at between 113 to 108.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. strange hard drive noises
    By gecko in forum Technology Forum
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 08-Nov-08, 12:48 PM
  2. State of the nation address by Evita Bezuidenhout
    By Dave A in forum South African Politics Forum
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-Nov-08, 10:45 PM
  3. No state funeral for P W Botha?
    By Dave A in forum South African Politics Forum
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 01-Nov-06, 08:32 PM

Tags for this Thread

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •