Solid State Drive (advantage v disadvantage)

can somebody who has an SSD on their core i7 laptop tell me how much faster their computer is? is it a significant improvement over an 7,200 RPM HDD?

is it a good idea to spend 99 dollars on a 40GB SSD drive from intel?

 

I don't know which specific Intel drive you are referring to - there are varying levels of performance and durability among SSD drives, but in general an SSD drastically improves bootup, shutdown and load times for applications. If you work a lot with large files, for example in photoshop, creative suite, video editing applications, it can significantly improve your working experience.

Here are the benchmark results I get for the the dual Intel X18-M G2's in Raid0 which came with my laptop:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 x64 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : Crystal Dew World
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* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

Sequential Read : 522.459 MB/s
Sequential Write : 218.955 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 257.704 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 170.739 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 10.747 MB/s [ 2623.8 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 53.788 MB/s [ 13131.7 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 250.638 MB/s [ 61190.9 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 145.501 MB/s [ 35522.7 IOPS]

Test : 1000 MB [C: 18.7% (53.0/282.9 GB)] (x5)
Date : 2010/04/30 15:20:52
OS : Windows 7 Home Premium Edition [6.1 Build 7600] (x64)

 

specs:
General
Brand Intel
Series X25-V
Model SSDSA2MP040G2R5
Device Type Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Architecture MLC
Dimensions
Height 9.5mm
Expansion / Connectivity
Form Factor 2.5"
Capacity 40GB
Interface Type SATA II
Features Random 4 KB reads up to 25 K IOPS, random 4 KB writes up to 2.5 K IOPS
Read Latency: 65 microseconds, write Latency: 110 microseconds
Performance
Max Shock Resistance 1,500 G/0.5 msec
Max Vibration Resistance Operating: 2.17 GRMS (5-700 Hz)
Non-operating: 3.13 GRMS (5-800 Hz)
Power Consumption (Active) 150 mW Typical
Power Consumption (Idle) 75 mW Typical
Sequential Access - Read up to 170MB/s
Sequential Access - Write up to 35MB/s
MTBF 1,200,000 hours
Manufacturer Warranty
Parts 3 years limited
Labor 3 years limited

Thing is, is only 40 GB but i would still use my 500GB HD to store applications and things like that. Since the SSD would only be used for the OS and System apps, is that really an improvement?

 

Is 40GB large enough to keep all your applications and windows files with some space left over?

Newegg is selling the WD SiliconEdge Blue 128GB SSD for $199 and 64GB SSD for $139

 

SSD's smaller than about 80 gigs, and you have to start seriously considering what you put on them. You definitely want your applications on the SSD, but all of the data can go on the external drive.

Is the price worth it? I paid ~300 dollars for a 160 gig SSD (+250 gig spindle) over a single 500 gig 7200 RPM drive, and I'd have paid significantly more knowing what I know now. It was probably the single best purchase that I've made in the last 7 years.

I'd count that as one of the monstrously noticeable improvements in performance of my computer.
1. AGP video card ca. 1994
2. The 3dfx Voodoo addin card for my desktop in early 1997.
3. ATI 9700Pro in early 2003.
4. The nvidia 8800GTX 768MB card in late 2006.
5. The SSD in early 2010

I've done plenty of other upgrades between those points, but those were the "highlight" ones where I REALLY noticed a substantial jump in the computing experience.

My laptop (which has the SSD) is substantially "snappier" than my desktop (which has the WD Black 7200 RPM drive - one of the "fastest" 7200 RPM desktop drives around). The next drive I buy for any computer is more than likely going to be an SSD.

Hopefully, that answers some of your "concerns".

edit: Note that all of the performance improvements I've noticed with the SSD are only visible when the computer would normally be accessing the hard drive. This affects gaming load (and level load) times (but not performance while the drive is relatively static), starting applications, opening a file on the disk (whether from opening that file in an application, or double clicking a file to launch an application), or the huge saver I've noticed, Virus Scanning. I can now actually use the computer while a full virus scan is in progress. It's also had a substantial improvement on the performance of Subversion (more specifically, the beast known as "TortoiseSVN")...

 

No if it's your only drive. It's kinda small.

You won't see a performance increase in for example, gaming, but a smoother more responsive OS and applications. SSDs are all about access time (although their read and write speeds are handy).

There is a very visible improvement though. Makes the computer 'feels sharper'.

If you want capacity, good general performance and affordable price, look into the Momentus XT. It's a good trade-off.

 

other things to keep in mind with SSD's is since they have no moving parts they are very durable and very low power consumption

 

I just recently upgraded my envy 14 with a Crucial 128GB SSD.

Performance is excellent on the SSD. My boot times and application load times are much faster. I purchased the Crucial drive for $200 with a coupon code from their main site. So i paid $1.56 per GB.

It is housed in a plastic enclosure and conforms to the 2.5" SATA drive size. The SSD was significantly lighter than the HDD, so i considered the plastic enclosure a pro. The drive also supports Trim garbage collection to maintain performance over time.

I use an external drive for all my storage. The ESATA port on the envy is an excellent feature for being able to move bulk files back and forth when i need them.

Pros:
Faster load times of applications
No HDD vibrations or noise caused by spinning platters.
Less Weight
No moving parts, less prone to failure caused by bumps or drops

Cons:
Expense: Still expensive vs HDD storage options
Size limited

 

Just to be a little nit-picky, you went the wrong way. It's actually $1.56 per GB. Still a very good price, though.

 

Doh! Thanks for the catch.

 

Nothing techy to offer. Just experience. I recently went to a 256 SSD and it was the most amazing upgrade I have ever had in a computer. Load times are amazing, as well as heat reduction.

 

I think you're best off trying to find a used 80GB drive. You can ebay them for 150-175 bucks. 40GB is a chore to keep programs and OS on. I was able to do it, but it definitly detrated from the experience!

But the only disadvantage of an SSD is cost...Read and Write speads are orders of magnatitue quicker (Access times) and bandwidth is typicaly 3-5x greater for sequential reads (and for small read/writes again significantly faster).

As stated an SSD just makes everything snappier and smooth. Open the start menu...it pops open, same with firefox and every other program on the SSD. Windows boots up and shuts down extremely quick. It's well worth the cash IMO.

Games will not run faster but they'll load faster. I just recently bought a new 120GB SSD for my main machine (I've had the 40GB value drive and also an 80GB Intel)....I spent 260 for the 120GB drive but it's the fastest available if you don't have Sata 3!

 

yeah i have my o/s on 64GB (2 intel 32GB SSD's) and it was just barely enough

 

Aye. I'll routinely start a game of L4D2 after my friends, but get into the game before them. And I'll be loaded and waiting in the next level before they even join. Lets me get a jump on swiping the medkits