SSHD V HD?

Hi just wanted to ask about SSHD's. Are they worth getting over HD's? Or are they unreliable? I'm about to buy a laptop with a 500gb SD and am trying to decide between an SSHD and HD for storage.

 

They are just as reliable (almost) than HDD's. Much more durable, of course (knocks, drops, etc.). Overall, there is no reason to not have an SSD of greater than ~512GB today (OP'd, of course).

What are your workflows/workloads? If (for example) all you do is buy a mobile system and use it effectively as a desktop for email/web browsing and is mostly left 'on', then an SSD isn't warranted today.

If however, you value a responsive system (start/shutdown/program launches and generally browsing your O/S), then an SSD is mandatory. HHD's just cannot compare.

If your workloads/workflows are more specific/extreme, then that will mandate what specific SSD/setup you should be considering.

Note that SSD's are not created equal. In the 2.5" SSD space (the only one I recommend, still...), the SanDisk Extreme Pro is still the #1 SSD for a sustained, over time, workflow (or, if you simply want the most consistent 2.5" SSD money can buy).

See:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/adata-ultimate-su800-ssd-review,4824-2.html

Look at the last few graphs in the link above. The SanDisk Extreme Pro is the most balanced SSD you can buy today. Even if the Samsung Pro is up to 10% faster in 4 out of 18 test cases...


Btw, if those graphs contained HDD's? They would be at least an order of magnitude difference in any specific test - and overall, they would be closer to two to three times slower in real world workloads (avg.).

The question isn't whether SSD's are reliable today (they are). The question is how cheap can you get the biggest and highest quality SSD that is 1TB or larger and OP it by 33% or more - and then do a clean install of Windows 10 x64 Pro on your new, optimally OP'd SSD.

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...b-samsung-850-evo.772091/page-4#post-10399040

• Buy your notebook with the cheapest HDD/SSD option you can configure it with. Buy the best/biggest SSD you can - separately.
• Test that the new notebook is fully working with the HDD supplied. Remove the power, battery and then swap the HDD for the new SSD you bought.
• Do a clean Windows install and at the advanced setup screen, OP the SSD by only using 67% or less of the actual shown MB's available by multiplying the Total MB's shown by 0.67 (or lower).
• When Windows boots up, install any drivers required for your notebook's hardware.
• Add any additional languages as required.
• Finish all remaining Windows updates and the Store updates too.
• At this point, you should see a stable and fast system.
• Install your software.
• Install your data.

Enjoy!

 

@Cariblo they're OK reliability-wise, but given current SSD prices it is not wise to put anything but SSD inside a notebook - you sacrifice not only performance, but also battery life and data security (SSD are much more resistant to physical damage, especially when operating).

p.s. oh, @tilleroftheearth already answered while I was slowly typing my post doing other stuff simultaneously.

 

Shouldn't that last line be called HDD not SSD as they are not mechanical device but Solid State. So clarification is needed here.

 

@StormJumper should have written physical instead of mechanical. What I'm saying is, SSD has much higher chances of survival if a notebook falls on the floor etc., compared to SSHD/HDD.

 

So I shouldn't buy a 500GB SD and a 1TB SSHD for storage?

 

@Cariblo by SD you mean SSD, right? SSHD is absolutely useless for storage, it performs the same as HDD unless used as OS drive. You would save a lot of $$$ by getting a notebook with cheap 1TB HDD and buying an SSD yourself - you'll likely afford 1TB SSD instead of 512GB this way.

 

I beg to differ here.

With the price of SSD at the moment, I don't see any reason to use an SSD as a strictly storage drive. I can literally buy 5-6 1TB HDDs for the price of a 1TB SSD.

 

You're taking things out of context here.

For one thing, where would you put 5-6 HDD's in a current notebook?

(Nobody said anything about this being a storage drive...).

 

Carefully read OP's post again, it's mentioned explicitly.

 

Hee hee, I didn't read it like that. SSD's, HDD's, they're both storage mediums. But you're right, the OP did ask for something a little different (my additional answer below...).

OP, I would not put an SSD and an SSHD or HDD into a notebook system (ever). The two main reasons are:

1. Durability - SSD's can take the mobile lifestyle, HDD/SSHD's? Not so much.
2. Performance. In any system that has both types of storage mediums, I see a performance (and battery life) hit. So not worth it when point #1 is considered also... (in a desktop system; the performance hit isn't as much: no power saving features like notebooks employee on all components - CPU, BUS, and everything below...).

Dual SSD's (or more, if you have the connections/bays available) is the only sane recommendation for a mobile system just shy of 2017.