Considering an SSD for my next laptop... Advice?

I'm thinking of getting a Sony Z or a Thinkpad T400.

The harddrive on my current laptop (a 6-year-old Inspiron) has died twice already. I'd like my next laptop to last longer (without having to buy new parts).

I have 2 questions:

Is an SSD worth it? ($800 is a lot, but if it does it's job...)
Is 64GB too small? (I'll be programming, taking notes, playing older games, doing a bit of photoshop work)

What do you think?

 

Not at the moment. Prices are way too high as compared even to the premium 2.5" 7200RPM SATA HDDs.
64GB should be fine for you, though you could also keep an external HDD handy to store the extra stuff. (But 64GB is a bit scarce if running Vista)
If you will be battering that notebook alot, go for the SSD (OCZ)....and if not, get a fast 320GB 7200RPM SATA HDD, and upgrade it later to a SSD when the prices fall a bit. Its your choice....

 

I actually read a very in depth review on these which stated they run ALL the time! even when laptop is off = battery drain (even though its minimal, its still some..!)

Performance gain isnt much either per many tests found here (with VERY analytical review) : Link
$800 IS WAY too much for 64gb allways on hd..

 

Assembling Asus C90S = had same two questions...
long story short shopping 'round I found;
Samsung $400ish for 32Gig, $800ish for 64Gig [was reading Samsung seem's the leader in SSD]
and actually found a 128Gig for $3000.00
Ouchy...!

K
So, kept looking.. FOUND RiDATA SSD 128Gig for $475 !!!! WHAT? How can they be so low in price?

Seem's MLC (multi cell tech) Nand is different. Uses little more power and a "bit" slower than SLC nand I had read...But what a different in price!

Researching more, found specs that show only in "Random Write" catagory are they 50% slower than Samsung ( or SLC-based) SSD.

And just now found article announcing Samsung's going to manufacuter 256Gig by end of year.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/09/samsungs-low-power-128gb-ssds-go-mass-production-on-the-cheap/

Guess RiDATA is first out of the gate!! http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/15/ridata-ultra-s-plus-mlc-ssds-arrive-in-32-64-128gb-flavors-star/

So I opted for "ALL THE ABOVE" meterstorm!

V low power consumption, low heat, 1500G impact resistant, super fast boot times, SUPER lightwieght (got it yesterday in mail)
As soon as I assemble all parts, will be able to answer if the XP Pro OS "likes" it when attempting to perform video rendering.
Hope my foot-work of late helps one and all ( as much as I want to be the only kid on the block with one !!

 

The SSD I just bought shows full SATA II compatibility.
The specs for these drives denote idle versus active power consumptions so
under XP OS, the drive(s) should be able to be "spun-down" or put to sleep using standard OS and bios settings...

..YES?

 

Articles below....

Be careful of the present 128Gb mlc ssds....there have been alot of troubles experienced through the 'first out of the gate' round which can be found on several posts.

No....ssds do not remain on all the time. ehehehe That was kinda funny though.

The best drive right now for what you seek would be the 64Gb Samsung SATA II which I have reviewed below. The best way to purchase it is with a new system...

Oh...and...Samsung has ramped up production...ne release date as of yet on the 128/256Gb mlc ssd.

 

If true, they should also have minimal lag to restart as well.

Cheers,

 

A couple more questions:

How long should a 7200rpm drive last if it gets jostled around a lot (carried in a backpack)? Is it still safe to get one? I don't plan on dropping the backpack, but...

Do we know how hard/easy it'll be to replace the HD on a Sony Z or Lenovo T400? (It wasn't too bad on my Inspiron, but I hear some laptops are a pain.)

 

Jostled in a back pack is not really an issue with a turned off notebook as heads are parked. Very wide gap in performance of SSD's make sure to get a good one not just an "SSD". Unless you are rich, it is not worth it. Anyone want to take issue with that last statement? It is just too expensive for most at this point. $800 buys an entire system for some.

 

Yeah, no kidding... I don't want to spend that much on the harddrive

What if the computer is on Sleep mode? It should still be ok to run about with it?

If so, I should probably get a 7200rpm drive and wait to replace it much later.

 

If the question is will the heads park? I think so but you can certainly control that to make a non issue.