128GB SSD vs 500GB 5400 HDD

I am trying to decide between the following 2 Z's which are approx. the same price.

Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53GHz / 4GB RAM / 128GB SSD / DVD±R/RW / Hybrid Graphics / 802.11AGN / WWAN / Bluetooth / GPS / Webcam / Windows 7 Professional [ SON VGNZ880GB ]

Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 2.66GHz / 4GB RAM / 500GB HD / DVD±R/RW / Hybrid Graphics / 802.11AGN / WWAN / Bluetooth / GPS / Webcam / Windows 7 Professional [ SON VGNZ850GB ]

I do everyday tasks like MS office,MS Streets, and use approx. 10GB for my multimedia files.

My first question is, will I notice the difference in speed? Will be the SSD with P8700 faster than the HDD 5400 RPM with P8800 in terms of boot,read-write documents etc?

If I go with the 128 GB SSD, how much free space can I expect to have on the drive after W7 ?

Thank you so much in advance for your inputs.

 

I just made a clean install on a 80GB notebook. I have 66GB available from 74.5GB, after Win7 Pro installation.

Guess you will get at least 95GB available space just after unboxing.

I would go for the Z880, since you probably won't be using the whole 500GB space, SSD tends to perform better.

 

I've never used one but it seems that for an OS they are much faster, with the short access time. But some SSDs are much better than others. You should try to find out what unit it has, and look up reviews.

If it's a good one, it would come down to how you use your computer. If you are the type of person who likes to have all your media files with you, a 500gb magnetic is better, but if you keep stuff like that on an external the smaller SSD would be OK


Edit: just noticed you only use about 10gb for multimedia, and have a few big apps. Seems like 128gb is enough for you

 

Yes, I believe you'd see performance improvement with the SSD.

But 128GB is too less today. I personally would never recommend anything less than 320GB as it would run out pretty soon. If you can afford to get a 256GB SSD, then I guess it would be a good choice.

Do you have two hard drive slots in your laptop? If yes, then you can go for a SSD and HDD both. SSD for windows and other installed applications and HDD for other misc. stuff.

If you have just one slot, I would go with a HDD of 7200 RPM. 5400 is outdated, try if you can get a 7200 one.

By the likes of your PC, I don't think its the right time to go for a SSD, a nice 320/500 GB 7200 RPM would be sufficient for you.

 

I would go for the one with the SSD option in your position because even say you have 90GB left then add in say 15GB of your files 75GB left, and programs like 5GB for the programs you have listed or if you have any others, that i think over 65GB is more than sufficient in your case. A lot of people need more space for movies, bigger music collection or installation of software like Adobe Collection, and add on Gaming software etc...if thats not your case then i would go for the SSD otherwise go for the 500GB
and i agree with webwizzy try to find one with a 7200RPM drive spin, since its faster than 5400RPM but not as fast as SSD.

 

Dude, get the freaking SSD notebook. You can get an external 500GB hard drive if you need it for cheap. You cannot get a 128GB SSD for cheap.

Granted it will be a Samsung SSD, but that is still a much better drive than a hard drive in terms of speed. You cannot really get a new SSD that has that kind of capacity for less than $300 so grab this one if it is the same price as the 500GB laptop.

 

I can give you an exact answer to part of your question since 2 days ago I bought the Z880G with Win 7 Pro 64 bit and the 128gb SSD. I've only installed MS Office 2003 which is 300mb, and AVG antivirus which is 85mb. I have not done a clean install but I did un-install some of Sony's bloatware. I have 83.3 gb free.

128gb is plenty of space for me, if you're only using 10gb for multimedia and the primary function will be everyday use, hands down go for the SSD. If you're like me and have never used a SSD before, no way will you be able to tell the difference between a Samsung vs an Intel X-25 (ignorance is bliss I guess, lol).

 

SSD is the best thing ever happened to PC's and laptops these days! Are you still in doubt? Get the 128Gb SSD and you will have THREE times faster access. It will make your laptop as "on steroids" against traditional HDD-laptop.

 

Than you for all your advise. I will go with SSD and get a portable 500 GB external USB2.

I have one quick last question though. While downloading files directly to the USB drive which is powered by the port itself, am I going to get heat or power
balance issues? Is it possible to "overwork" the USB port?

 

Or you can have both inside ...

http://www.fashionno5.com/2009/07/01/sony-z-short-review-diy/

I like that idea.

TDO