[stratnetwork]

Good day computer geeks! My brother told me that he's planning to "upgrade" our current drive (HDD) to SSD before I give my go signal I just wanted to know first the advantages/disadvantages between SSD and HDD. 

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to be honest there are no disadvantages in my opinion unless you count cost per GB.

 

an ssd is about the best upgrade anyone can make to increase performance of a pc.

 

 

SSD Vs HDD Comparison

Now it’s time to do some comparisons and determine which might be best for your individual needs - SSD or HDD?  The best way to compare items is a table with a side by side comparison of items in which a green box indicates an advantage:

Attribute SSD (Solid State Drive) HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Power Draw / Battery Life Less power draw, averages 2 – 3 watts, resulting in 30+ minute battery boost More power draw, averages 6 – 7 watts and therefore uses more battery Cost Expensive, roughly $0.50 per gigabyte (based on buying a 1TB drive) Only around $0.15 per gigabyte, very cheap (buying a 4TB model) Capacity Typically not larger than 512GB for notebook size drives; 1TB max for desktops Typically around 500GB and 2TB maximum for notebook size drives; 4TB max for desktops Operating System Boot Time Around 22 seconds average bootup time Around 40 seconds average bootup time Noise There are no moving parts and as such no sound Audible clicks and spinning can be heard Vibration No vibration as there are no moving parts The spinning of the platters can sometimes result in vibration Heat Produced Lower power draw and no moving parts so little heat is produced HDD doesn’t produce much heat, but it will have a measurable amount more heat than an SSD due to moving parts and higher power draw Failure Rate Mean time between failure rate of 2.0 million hours Mean time between failure rate of 1.5 million hours File Copy / Write Speed Generally above 200 MB/s and up to 550 MB/s for cutting edge drives The range can be anywhere from 50 – 120MB / s Encryption Full Disk Encryption (FDE) Supported on some models Full Disk Encryption (FDE) Supported on some models File Opening Speed Up to 30% faster than HDD Slower than SSD Magnetism Affected? An SSD is safe from any effects of magnetism Magnets can erase data

If we tally up the checkmarks, the SSD gets 9 and HDD gets 3. Does that mean the that an SSD is three times better than an HDD? Not at all. As we mentioned earlier, it all depends on individual needs. The comparison here is just to lay out the pros and cons for both options. To aid you even more, here are some rules to follow when you decide which drive is best for you:

 

http://www.storagere....com/ssd_vs_hdd

 

 

sorry comparison layout got all squashed up and doesn't look like it did when i quoted it, so suggest visiting the link to see it properly and also get other good info about ssd vs hdd.

Edited by terry1966, 18 November 2014 - 09:55 PM.

[terry1966]

to be honest there are no disadvantages in my opinion unless you count cost per GB.

 

an ssd is about the best upgrade anyone can make to increase performance of a pc.

 

 

SSD Vs HDD Comparison

Now it’s time to do some comparisons and determine which might be best for your individual needs - SSD or HDD?  The best way to compare items is a table with a side by side comparison of items in which a green box indicates an advantage:

Attribute SSD (Solid State Drive) HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Power Draw / Battery Life Less power draw, averages 2 – 3 watts, resulting in 30+ minute battery boost More power draw, averages 6 – 7 watts and therefore uses more battery Cost Expensive, roughly $0.50 per gigabyte (based on buying a 1TB drive) Only around $0.15 per gigabyte, very cheap (buying a 4TB model) Capacity Typically not larger than 512GB for notebook size drives; 1TB max for desktops Typically around 500GB and 2TB maximum for notebook size drives; 4TB max for desktops Operating System Boot Time Around 22 seconds average bootup time Around 40 seconds average bootup time Noise There are no moving parts and as such no sound Audible clicks and spinning can be heard Vibration No vibration as there are no moving parts The spinning of the platters can sometimes result in vibration Heat Produced Lower power draw and no moving parts so little heat is produced HDD doesn’t produce much heat, but it will have a measurable amount more heat than an SSD due to moving parts and higher power draw Failure Rate Mean time between failure rate of 2.0 million hours Mean time between failure rate of 1.5 million hours File Copy / Write Speed Generally above 200 MB/s and up to 550 MB/s for cutting edge drives The range can be anywhere from 50 – 120MB / s Encryption Full Disk Encryption (FDE) Supported on some models Full Disk Encryption (FDE) Supported on some models File Opening Speed Up to 30% faster than HDD Slower than SSD Magnetism Affected? An SSD is safe from any effects of magnetism Magnets can erase data

If we tally up the checkmarks, the SSD gets 9 and HDD gets 3. Does that mean the that an SSD is three times better than an HDD? Not at all. As we mentioned earlier, it all depends on individual needs. The comparison here is just to lay out the pros and cons for both options. To aid you even more, here are some rules to follow when you decide which drive is best for you:

 

http://www.storagere....com/ssd_vs_hdd

 

 

sorry comparison layout got all squashed up and doesn't look like it did when i quoted it, so suggest visiting the link to see it properly and also get other good info about ssd vs hdd.

Edited by terry1966, 18 November 2014 - 09:55 PM.

[iammykyl]

Gday.

There may be one disadvantage to installing a SSD, it's limited capacity if,

you have heaps of videos, music, photos, or lots of Data or, lots of games.   After saving Data you require, you can format your existing HDD and use it for storage. 

[hazard209]

Depending on your setup, you could use the SSD as a boot drive. Just for installing your operating system/s and programs on it and use your old hard drive as a storage drive for everything else. It shouldn't be very difficult in a desktop. If you have a laptop then it is unlikely, but not impossible, that you would have a another space for a second drive.

[stratnetwork]

to be honest there are no disadvantages in my opinion unless you count cost per GB.

 

an ssd is about the best upgrade anyone can make to increase performance of a pc.

 

 

SSD Vs HDD Comparison

Now it’s time to do some comparisons and determine which might be best for your individual needs - SSD or HDD?  The best way to compare items is a table with a side by side comparison of items in which a green box indicates an advantage:

Attribute SSD (Solid State Drive) HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Power Draw / Battery Life Less power draw, averages 2 – 3 watts, resulting in 30+ minute battery boost More power draw, averages 6 – 7 watts and therefore uses more battery Cost Expensive, roughly $0.50 per gigabyte (based on buying a 1TB drive) Only around $0.15 per gigabyte, very cheap (buying a 4TB model) Capacity Typically not larger than 512GB for notebook size drives; 1TB max for desktops Typically around 500GB and 2TB maximum for notebook size drives; 4TB max for desktops Operating System Boot Time Around 22 seconds average bootup time Around 40 seconds average bootup time Noise There are no moving parts and as such no sound Audible clicks and spinning can be heard Vibration No vibration as there are no moving parts The spinning of the platters can sometimes result in vibration Heat Produced Lower power draw and no moving parts so little heat is produced HDD doesn’t produce much heat, but it will have a measurable amount more heat than an SSD due to moving parts and higher power draw Failure Rate Mean time between failure rate of 2.0 million hours Mean time between failure rate of 1.5 million hours File Copy / Write Speed Generally above 200 MB/s and up to 550 MB/s for cutting edge drives The range can be anywhere from 50 – 120MB / s Encryption Full Disk Encryption (FDE) Supported on some models Full Disk Encryption (FDE) Supported on some models File Opening Speed Up to 30% faster than HDD Slower than SSD Magnetism Affected? An SSD is safe from any effects of magnetism Magnets can erase data

If we tally up the checkmarks, the SSD gets 9 and HDD gets 3. Does that mean the that an SSD is three times better than an HDD? Not at all. As we mentioned earlier, it all depends on individual needs. The comparison here is just to lay out the pros and cons for both options. To aid you even more, here are some rules to follow when you decide which drive is best for you:

 

http://www.storagere....com/ssd_vs_hdd

 

 

sorry comparison layout got all squashed up and doesn't look like it did when i quoted it, so suggest visiting the link to see it properly and also get other good info about ssd vs hdd.

Hi terry1966, thanks for the link. I really like the table comparison part! 

[stratnetwork]

Gday.

There may be one disadvantage to installing a SSD, it's limited capacity if,

you have heaps of videos, music, photos, or lots of Data or, lots of games.   After saving Data you require, you can format your existing HDD and use it for storage. 

 

Is there an advisable size for SSD?

[stratnetwork]

Depending on your setup, you could use the SSD as a boot drive. Just for installing your operating system/s and programs on it and use your old hard drive as a storage drive for everything else. It shouldn't be very difficult in a desktop. If you have a laptop then it is unlikely, but not impossible, that you would have a another space for a second drive.

We plan to do this kind of setup, a separate drive for booting and storage (files). Is there any complications we could encounter if we used different kind of drives (SSD, HDD)?

[iammykyl]

OK, some info first, then we can give some instructions.

Is your computer a laptop or desktop? give the brand and model.

what is your budget?

in which country will you purchase the drive?

 

 

I advise a 250GB SSD for the operating system and programs only.   > http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820147253

A 1TB mechanical hard drive for Data storage.  

 

If your computer is suitable, you can install a SSD and keep your existing drive, back up any Data you want and turn it into the Data storage drive. 

You will need your Windows installation CD and a legal product key.

Preferable the Driver/utilities CD that cam with your Motherboard and the driver disc for your video card, if it is a discrete one, (add on card).

[terry1966]

You will need your Windows installation CD and a legal product key.
Preferable the Driver/utilities CD that cam with your Motherboard and the driver disc for your video card, if it is a discrete one, (add on card).

another option and the one i'd do is to image the hdd, remove the old drive and install the ssd then copy the image to it.
the pc will be in exactly the same condition, but faster, as it was in before installing the ssd. it'll have your windows os and all it's updates and programs now on it and working. it'll also save you hours of time downloading and installing all the updates and programs a clean install from cd would entail.

now add the old hard drive for your data.

 

personally with the old  hard drive, i'd only use all the space on it except for the restore/recovery partition if there is one,
i never delete a recovery partition, i think they are just to important to casually delete for the amount of extra space you gain.
 
i'd suggest using macrium reflect to create the image.
 

Is there an advisable size for SSD?

not really, the bigger you can afford the better usually, especially if your a gamer and want all your games installed onto it.

i'd suggest 120Gb minimum, but have installed and used ssd's as small as 40GB in size with great results.

 

 

Is there any complications we could encounter if we used different kind of drives (SSD, HDD)?

no, you can install and use both types in a pc without any problems at all, in fact that's exactly what most people do.

ssd for the operating system and programs

hdd for your data like, music, picture, video files.

 

Edited by terry1966, 19 November 2014 - 10:35 PM.

[Plastic Nev]

To add my little bit, SSD's are both increasing in capacity, and coming down a little in price, so my advice is to go for the largest drive you can afford, and ideally the same capacity as the original HDD as a minimum.

One small drawback is that most SSD's are the physical size of the 2.5 inch laptop drives, so therefore if fitting to a desktop that originally had a 3.5 inch drive, a suitable mounting bracket may have to be purchased as extra. (Unless your good at metalworking as I am and can make your own   )

I recently replaced a 500GB HDD with a 512GB SSD, the boot time alone is phenomenal plus a good drop in the time some of my larger programs take to open.

I used to press the start button, then go and make a coffee while it booted up, now I make the coffee first.

 

Nev.