VelociRaptor, SSD, and Normal HDD. Is the extra money really worth the speed?
Asked by
sumfight (
15
)
October 19th, 2009
I am getting ready for Windows 7(yes, I am excited) and I’m getting rid of my old 80GB drive from 2005. I can decide what drive to buy to install my new OS on. I have a 1TB Western Digital in my computer for extra storage all ready. I would like speed, but I’m not sure if the speed is worth the money. I don’t want to spend above $250, so with that in mind I could get a SSD for about $240(80GB), a VelociRaptor for about $200(300GB), or just a normal HDD for about $80ish(1TB).
Do you think the speed is worth the extra money, or if any of you guys and gals have one of the faster drives, could you please give me some input on it?
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7 Answers
….. reliability…. then speed….. then size…... look at some current reviews on PCMag site, CNET site….. etc…...
Solid state drives are expensive.
I recommend getting a regular hdd at this point but solid state technology is pretty awesome.
Id say (and here comes the tech. talk)
Get more than 1 new hard drive. If you plus them all up and set them as dynamic, and do a stripped set youll have speed at low cost and high cap. All youd have to do is buy a cheapish 20 gig (or just keep youre 80) for youre OS, then format the other (2+) and set them as dynamic drives (assuming that windows 7 will still have the option) and list them as a stripped set.
booya! game, set, match.
I would buy a SSD. Not only are they faster, they are also more reliable. Or you can wait until they become popular and reasonably priced.
SSDs have shorter lives than traditional HDDs. Apparently, each physical node can only be written to/erased approximately 10,000 times (which is actually quite a lot). It is for this reason that defragmentation utilities are not recommended for SSDs, as it will reduce their life even faster.
With this in mind, it is only worth getting an SSD if you plan on using it as a primary drive to run your OS from (and not for storage). The speed of SSDs are incredible, and it’s one of the last places left in PC’s where speed can be increased in a way that is perceptible to humans. If you run your OS from an SSD, you WILL feel it. Also remember that you don’t need a very large SSD to run Win7; I’m running the Win7 RC right now, on a 25gb partition. I’m only using about 16.5gb right now.
@drdoombot
I was looking at going to SS if i built a tower. But i conformed and went with a mp laptop.
@virtualist That depends on the HD you buy. If you stick with people you know (Maxtor, Phantom, WD, Seagate) then you wont have any issues. Id hit up newegg.com. Took a quick browse and saw some 1T’s for $84. OP said no more than 250. Well how about a 3T sata stripped set ( assuming thats the original hard drive) data set, an isolated HD for your OS for only 160. If your comp doesnt support that many hard drives, either reduce youre data storage, or pick up a pci sata controller for $20 bumpin the price up only to 180. It would be fast, vast, and based on my experience with each part individually, quite reliable. Ive damn near run my WD 500g and Phantom 250g into the ground and theyre still runnin; and my A+ teacher had maxtors and seagate 20s and 40s since they were new, and they still ran like champs.
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