Everyone running SSD as their OS drive: Is it worth it?

I've seen videos on YouTube showing that boot times are twice as fast, but I'm not too concerned about that since I seldom reboot my computer. I put it to sleep mode 60% of the time, hibernate 30% of the time and actually turn it off 10% of the time.

I saw the thread on people replacing their optical drive with a second hard drive and that's what got the idea of using an SSD for my OS drive in my head! And moving the OEM 320gb to the optical bay for data file storage.

But, ouch, the cost of SSD's is crazy. You can get a 1TB 5400rpm 2.5" drive for cheaper!

So, I'm asking all you SXPS owners out there who have pimped out your OS drives with SSD, is it worth it? What other types of advantages are you seeing (besides faster boot times)?

I use my laptop for these functions:

• General web browsing
• Android, Flex & Flash dev using Flash, Flash Builder, Eclipse
• Image processing using Canon DPP, some light photo editing using Photoshop
• Watching lots of tutorial videos online and offline
• Light mp3 listening and movie watch usage

 

I just like having a silent computer. An SSD isn't really that much faster than a mechanical drive, except in those situations where you're traditionally I/O bound. You might see some gains in your first three tasks, but definitely not your last two.

 

I have a M1330 with an Intel X-25M G2 160gb and would never run a personal laptop without one. It has been a revelation and makes it a joy to use. If only I could convince my work to fit one.....grrr.

Bearing in mind most laptops come with 5400rpm drive the SSD's are so much quicker in comparison.

 

Thanks Commander, those are some good considerations.

BTW, what is this "Fanless Dell Latitude E6400" in your sig? I'm curious, link?

@smjohns: holy crap, how much was that? the 80gb model is about 330.

 

I'm running it with the fan unplugged. It tops out at around 65C with the SU9300.

You can get the 80GB X25-M for around $200. I got mine for $170 and it was months ago. Heck, the lowest G1 is $150 right now:

80gb x-25m items - Get great deals on Computers Networking, Electronics items on eBay.com!

 

just a note about your sig:

there is only the
GMA 4500MHD

Nothing less, nothing more

 

I had an XPS 1530 that became an entirely different machine when I added an Intel SSD. When I upgraded to a 1647, I didn't even bother trying the hard drive that came with it. I turned it on long enough to create the restore DVD's and then removed the 320 gb mechanical drive and replaced with my 80 GB Intel SSD. No complaints so far....

 

Until the higher gb drives come down in price it is not fesibal for me to get a drive as i have filled more then half of my 500gb. A ssd boot drive i have thought about and still debating whether or not to get one. If i can get a good sale on 120gb i think it would be the best upgrade i could give my notebook

 

Funk,

The upgrade will be the most cost efficient and noticeable upgrade that you can do to your system. I know of nobody who has regretted it as of yet.

 

Dell sells a 64 gb ssd on a mini PCI-e card to use as a boot drive on their mobile workstations. Might be worth looking into doing something similar for anyone who wants a 2nd hd while keeping an optical drive.

 

Agree with Les

It's an upgrade that you will immediately notice ,
and it's the best value for the money invested in an newer laptop

I have SSD's in all my 3 laptops



Alex

 

Is the I/O speed equivalent to internal SATA tho?

 

Thanks Les. My OS partition is currently 100gb (out of a total of 320gb on the oem drive, the other part is data). I set it for 100gb cuz I wasn't sure how much space I'd need for everything. Turns out, with Win7 Ult x64, Adobe CS5 Master Collection, Office 2010, Eclipse and other random things...it's only taking up about 40gb.

I feel more comfortable having at least 100% more free space than what my OS/apps use on fresh install, ie, if my OS/apps is 40gb, then have an 80gb partition or larger.

I don't mind getting a bigger OS SSD drive, but question is, are there optimum SSD sizes as far as speed goes, like in the HDD world? Cuz in the HDD world, you want drives in 320gb increments cuz that's currently the densest platters available today, which helps with speed.

 

If you are using a Crucial SSD, the write speeds change depending on the size. If you are using a Sandforce controlled drive, the size doesn't matter. The spped is always the same.

 

Well, I would also say that once you have the SSD, you are not going back. At least, it is my case.

From cold boot, my Win7 finishes loading up within 25 seconds, what else can I expect? Especially when my SSD is not the fastest one available on the market...

When I used my laptop next to my girl friend, who was using her laptop that had a 5400rpm HDD, we both could hear the sound from her spinning HDD while nothing except the fan from my laptop. Though the spinning sound wasn't that loud, still, obviously you don't want extra noise like this.

Wait, did I mention that I got my MS Word and Excel 2010 open within 1 sec?

 

My Win7 finishes loading in 30 seconds on a cold boot, and my MS Word/Excel 2010 open within 1 sec as well. I'm using a 7200 RPM HDD; honestly, I can't see the justification for such an expense over the very slight sound that it makes.