SSD vs. 7200 HDD

So, I'm looking at buying a new laptop (Envy 14) mostly for school, some light gaming and stuff (if you guys have any other suggestions tell me). Will there be a huge difference between getting a 7200 HDD and a SSD in terms of speed, weight and power consumption? Enough to justify 300 bucks? Thanks.

 

whether or not a small SSD is $300 'better' than a large 7200 rpm drive is ultimately up to you, but the SSD will be gobs 'faster'.

 

if you buy it from HP nope, but if you get the 7200 and upgrade to a good SSD later on it sure will and can be much cheaper too when a high end SSD goes on sale. performance wise it can be a huge improvement, as for power consumption it is a bit better but will depend on the unit you install.

 

Agree totally... upgrade after the fact. Alot are actually swapping the HD for a ssd and then swapping the dvd for the hd...

 

ive been thinking about this myself.
if i put the ssd in the main hdd compartment and the hhd in the optical bay, how will the presence of an hhd in place of the optical drive affect heat?

 

I have this setup. In my experience it will affect heat very little. You could always load a core temp monitor or something like it to monitor the temps. The drive in the bay is not doing much so don't stress on it. I don't...

 

Okay, I think I'll just upgrade after then.

 

Have a look Seagate Momentus XT too. To find out how it compares to SSDs and HDD check the review in my signature.

 

get a seagate monetus XT instead.. its is faster than a normal hard drive and almost has SSD performance... just get the stock drive from hp and buy a momentus XT to replace it.. an SSD from hp is not worth it as they give u crappy ones sometimes... if u want an SSD , buy one urself to upgrade... at least u'll know what u'd get but with hp you would have no idea.

 

Sorry to revive an old thread, but why does it matter if the SSD is purchased from HP - is the Sammy SSD that HP used in the Envy a poor performer?

 

Probably a poorer performer than what is available now, yes. But also over priced too.

You can get a better (bigger/faster) SSD for the same money as an SSD HP upgrade or get equivalent for much less $$$.

 

I don't know what HP puts in their consumer models nowadays, but Elitebooks get C300s... albeit with a SATA II interface instead of a SATA III (not that it matters, since the notebook interface is SATA II anyway). And with the percentage discounts you can usually get on an elitebook, the price is actually fairly competitive.

 

The SSD itself isn't the issue. The price is

HP usually overcharges for the upgrade. Most manufacturers do. It's one thing to pay for a screen upgrade, which is hard to do yourself, but it's another to pay way above market price for RAM or a hard drive, both of which are easy to install on your own. And as a bonus you have the leftover parts for an external drive or to sell the extra RAM, which you wouldn't get normally.

 

Hmmm... I've searched but haven't found any reviews with test results of HP's 256GB ssd (which I believe is made by Sammy). Do you know of any or have any support for your performance comments?

As to price, I've been offered it as a free upgrade so that's not an issue. What is an issue is performance, and it's hardly an upgrade if it isn't going to perform substantially better than an HDD.

 

The problem with an HP branded Sammy SSD is that it is severly locking up your options (with firmware upgrades, etc.).

As to 'it's a free upgrade' - why are you hesitating?

My direct experience with a clients M6400 + Samsung SSD is horrible - but, this is 18months later... so at the worst, I would simply accept the 'free' gift and sell it if it really performs subpar to a mechanical HDD.

Does that answer your question(s)?

 

Thanks. Not so much hesitating as I already accepted the offer as I am now wondering if I made a mistake.

 

'Free' is never a mistake - unless there is a catch somewhere.

 

I was given various "free" options and this was the one I chose, so the mistake would be not having chosen one of the other options. Also, not truly "free" as this is HPs compensation to me for various issues. If I had been offered a free SSD a month ago with the condition that I'd have to go through a month of service hell in order to qualify, I would have said no without question.

 

But the OP was to get a SSD at a $300 upgrade, and for that price, you can pick your ssd.

 

True, and now having done some more research I can understand why going the HP upgrade route at the full price makes no sense in terms of price or performance.

 

A good article here about SSDs vs 5400 vs 7200
SSD versus HDD in comparison - Notebookcheck.net Reviews