SSD Questions

Heya!

Will the SSD drives have less heat output?
How much more efficient is it as opposed to an HDD?
Heres a dumb question, does XP support it?
Can it be partitioned?
What is the SSD drives specialty, because i think i read somewhere that it isnt very good for video encoding, but how much of a perfomance difference is there?

I would google it, but i dont know which SSD drives Dell uses for their XPS 1330 line.

Thanks a lot!

 

Dell currently uses the Samsung SATA II "Ultra Performance" 64 GB SSD. If you search this forum, all the questions you ask have been previously answered. Here goes my response for redundancy:

1. Yes, less heat output from SSD (in HW Control, my SSD temp reads 0 C)
2. SSD uses less power because it has lower operating temps and thus doesn't require the use of the notebook's fan when performing intensive tasks. Thus, an SSD can be significantly more efficient (efficiency being defined as the ratio of energy/productivity output to energy input).
3. Yes XP will support it, just make sure to have the AHCI driver slipstreamed prior to format and installation.
4. Yes it can be partitioned just like any regular HD.
5. SSD's main speciality is really low access times. I can't comment on performance relating to video encoding, but if you look at Les' benchmarks, you can get an idea of ideal transfer rates.

 

The SSD does give off less heat.
I don't know what your definition of "efficient" is, but if you are referring to speed then yes, it is faster than a HDD.
You can use it with XP.
I believe it can be partitioned, however since its such a small capacity that may be questionable.
Specialty? I didn't know that computer components were self aware and could form preferences. I would say its specialty is that it is quick, more power efficient, gives off less heat, and isn't affected by forces against it.

Edit: booji is too quick for me, beat by like 1.5 minutes

 

1) Under most circumstances, yes they will be cooler. 0C is not a realistic temp, more like 27C is though (room temperature or so).
2) MUCH more depending on the type of SSD you get. Do research on transfer rates for the SSDs you are looking at. Standard drives peak at around 70MB/s for fast notebook drives. Most are 50MB/s or lower usually I think. A lot less power is used though, so battery life goes up.
3) Yes.
4) Try shaking a standard drive VERY hard...your data is going to get damaged. Shake an SSD? Your data is fine. THAT is the big deal...it is not mechanical, is usually faster, and your data won't get lost because of a drive bouncing.

 

1) Yes definately cooler due to no moving mechanical parts

2) Yes significantly more efficient than the traditional drives

3) Yes XP supports it with a small workaround

4) Yes it can be partitioned like a normal HD

5) SDD's write times are slower but they are still improving it. It does have excellent read and seek times though

 

Thank you very much, sorry for the trouble; i wish the search function was turned on, going through so many pages not knowing if its in this subcategory is why i decided to make a new thread XD

Les' benchmark says "Samsung SATA II were consistently around the 100MB/s mark with write speeds at 80-90MB/s mark and a disk access time of .2ms."
Sorry if this is a newbie question, but what is that in comparison to a regular 5400/7200rpm drive?
Basically i am debating between the 1530/1330; but my main issue is the heat i know since the T9300 is 45nm, its less heat and less power consumption, so it shall fare rather well in a smaller chasis (i can afford the SSD in the 1330 but not in the 1530) All the immediate data i need will be on the laptop, but the rest is going to be stored on an external.

Thank you!

 

There are two types of SSD drives. MLC and SLC. Both read just about as fast, but SLC drive read/write speeds are almost identical and MLC drives are not even close. MLC drives are much lower when writing.

MLC drives write a bit slower than normal drives, while SLC drives outperform by a large margin.

Standard drive read/write speeds are identical, so if you find a read benchmark you can assume that is the write speed as well.

 

You will have to ask Les about that. It seems the newer SSD's are as fast or faster than a 7200rpm write times

I havent been keeping up with SSD's much. The write times werent that great before. That why you probably heard "Its not great for video encoding". Im sure they have improved it.

 

If you would like a comparison between the ssd and hard drive, see my "New SSD Thread below for the benchmark of the Seagate Momentus 160Gb 7.2 hd in comparison to several other ssds. You can also pull up the SATA II Thread and put the benchmarks side by side.

Except for capacity, I would believe your best move here would be to get Dell to include the "Ultra-Performing" SATA II ssd. You may have to ensure thise words are stating because a few have ordered and gotten the first version of the Samsung SATA I ssd which performs much slower. The SATA I benchmarks are in the New SSD Thread as well. This is why I used the words above; this is Dells description of this drive which I have.

I believe it is an additional $720 add on with a new system but you will be able to get that price adjusted somewhat I am sure; I have seen Dell with the same drive as low as $540 with included systems. It is all finding the right sales rep.

With respect to the hd/ssd comparison, you need to consider that a hd spins 5400/7200revs per minute...This is alot of movement which requires alot of power at full use, creates alot of heat, subsequently causing alot of fan use and so on....

The ssd has no moving parts. I have the M1330 and it is completely, 100% silent. Very little heat is noticed unless I plug in my external monitor. When I am using just the laptop, the fan is virtually non-existent. Startup times for me are around 30 seconds and shutdown around 5 seconds. My system is tweaked to its fullest potential and, in comparison to either of my sons or wifes Toshibas, its a totally different experience.....alot faster in all operations.

Any other q's...just ask!