SSD vs HDD for OS (poll included)

Hi all,

How many have used an SSD for an OS install vs a normal HDD.

Anything not think the performance increase provided by an SSD drive is not worth the cost of an SSD at current street prices????

I am a huge SSD fan. Wondering how others feel about it too.

Share your thoughts please.

I think I am a bit more passionate and decisive on the issue. That is all.

For me it's night and Day.

My decision is only to build new PC's with SSD drives for the OS. My decision is only to own and use and operate PC's with SSD for the OS. The decision and final and absolute.

It's not worth my time or effort to bother with a PC without an SSD for any significant period of time or function. If it's something I am going to use at any siginificant period of time or consistency- then I must have an SSD.

If I can not- I choose to go without or not use a PC. It's really quite simple.

I don't mean to sound upity or a PC snob- but non SSD based OS installs and PC's are decidedly beneath me. I have neither the time nor the patience to suffer the complete horribleness that a HDD OS install provides.

Lags, hang ups, and generally poor/slow performance is frustrating. One thing I don't have any more of is time. My time on this planet is limited, and I am not wasting any period of my life waiting for a crappy PC any longer.

I have experienced both SSD and a HDD and I make the choice to never experience HDD again- I gladly make this choice.

If SSD prices doubled tomorrow I would continue to own, purchase and build PC's with SSD drives for the OS. It's still worth it to me.

I understand your concern is that people might see my comments and think or decide not to bother getting into HTPC because they can't or don't want to spend the money on a SSD. To that end- I would agree with you and say if someone has not exerienced and SSD before they would never know the difference and find the experience perfectly acceptable.

But- I think for anyone that has used a good modern PC with a good SSD drive would tend to agree with me.

I think anyone that has experienced SSD, the choice in the future is almost automatic. They would do it again over a HDD.

Sorry I am so passionate about this subject but I really do enjoy the performance of an SSD. I am so spoiled with my work and home PC's that anytime I try someone's normal laptop or desktop I find the experience clearly unacceptable to me.

This will never change untill all these slow PC's have been eradicated from this planet, and the performance bar of general population of PC's has been raised.

The current average household PC is probably a dual core laptop with 2.5" HDD or a dual core CPU based desktop on a 3.5" HDD. It's probably 70% laptop and 30% desktop mix on average.

That general median curve of performance on average is completely unacceptable to me.

It's horrible and slow. It's the sole reason why so many people like new tablets, and Ipads and all these strange little devices. It's because for an ordinary person with little PC knowledge- the equipment is already poor performance and it's made worse with poor set up- and maintaince. When these people get a new Ipad it seems fast to them and they are silly in thinking it's higher performance.

Give them a real PC like a SSD on SandyBridge Desktop or an Ultrabook SSD based Laptop and it would open their eyes totally and recalibrate the idea of "acceptable performance" vs "unacceptable performance"

I understand I am a bit ahead of the curve of normal people here, becuase I am an enthusiast and operate higher quality stuff daily. But the entire population will catch up in the next few years.

I have no doubt 5 years from now a non SSD based OS install and PC will be thought about like people think about dial up internet access now. Totally ancient and generally unacceptable in performance.

SSD is getting better, faster, and cheaper each day. It's already operating in a territory that HDD's can't go in terms of pure performance. That's never changing. It's only going to get worse.

HDD's are purely for storage only in my mind. I can not recommend in good consience to anyone- to use one for an operating system.

If you can't figure out a way to include an SSD into the equation your better off going without. I know we are going to always disagree on this, because you care if people get into HTPC or not. You want them to get into it, even it it means they must use a HDD to do it.

But I know better. I know how much better an SSD can be. So I think it's better off going without than using a HDD.

You can buy a 60GB SSD for $59.99 all day long. If you can't swing $60 to include one, save up untill you can- or just go without forever. That's how I think.

Sorry we disagree.

Well - You can either choose to use one or not.

Are you saying you have used both and would happily decide to use a HDD again over an SSD?

or- are you just finding fault with the question ?

I wanted the poll to be pretty clear cut. Both is really an easy way out. Too easy.

Would you buy a HDD over an SSD to use for OS install ? (please answer this) I mean, not a HDD you already had, but if you were charged with building a totally new system with all brand new purchased parts. Would you spend on a HDD and use it for an OS?


I am just curious.

I am probably on the extreme side. I undersand this.

But I am trying to be open minded. It's difficult for me because logically I can't see how anyone that has used an SSD would want to go back to a HDD.

I am curious if someone is out there that would. Does this person exist?

I understand it's probably more likely, easier and popular to attack me for whatever reason- since I am probably getting under some people's skin.

That's ok.

But seeing this happen and no one stepping forth to say "Sure I would go back to HDD" kinda validates my opinion and feelings a little.

I mean- I am sure there is probably a few readers out there that want to go against me for the pure reason of it is ME , and they want to go against me. The point I have, or they have is irrelevant in the matter really.

That is going to happen. But I can recognize when it's happening and why as opposed to someone who actually really does disagree with me about SSD.

I am curious if there is really a person that is out there that disagrees with me about SSD's, for no other reason than they really do and feel HDD is acceptable. No personal feeling or anything getting in the way. Just pure... different opinion than mine.

Anyone ?

My last hdd install was a i3 2100 on Asrock motherboard with 8 gb Ripjaws ddr3 and 2tb WD green ears.

I did indeed install the mfg install cd using the "install all " option

That process alone was unbearably slow.

After several restarts it was done.

I then went online and did windows updates, visited Asrock website and updated to newer versions of important stuff.

After many restarts I then installed thunderbird, adobe reader, winrar, chrome , firefox, iTunes, media browser, and some others.

Restarted again...

It was painfully slow even after driver wizard confirmed I had all newsy versions of drivers including intel chipset drivers.

It was quite terrible in all respects.

Even prior to my first SSD I was running dual raptors or velociraptors in RAID 0 for years.

I was not prepared for the extreme lack of performance and speed. Intact I had never installed an OS to a Green drive before.

I thought it might be me. But I built this htcp for my friend and business partner. He also complained about how slow it is.

It's in the agenda to SSD upgrade this machine.

Prior to this he had a socket 939 with a 4800 x2 and dual original raptors 74GB's in RAID 0. They were over five years old !!!!

He thought the green drive was slow. His wife too.

He replaced this 939 4800x2 a month earlier because his raptors were too noisy and loud. He took home a basic HP 5700 desktop I bought on eBay with no HDD for 60$ from office. I installed a spare vertex3 60gb SSD into it that I got for 65$ after rebate. It was based on a pentium d or a lower end core2 CPU I think.

He thought the speed was amazing. It only had 2gb ddr2.

So he expected the i3 2100 with 8gb of DDR 3 to be much faster. It was actually slower and he was disappointed.

But he only wanted spend 384$ total on everything and wanted a big HDD for torrent downloads.

I am reinstalling whs2011 as I type this on my phone waiting for it to install.

Did you use driver mfg cd or go AsRock website for drivers ?

You use windows 7 drivers?

Me too. CD is noob. But in this case the LAN would not work without the LAN driver so I could not get online without the cd first... Lol

That's abnormal though ...

Any reason x64 windows 7 drivers would not work on WHS2011 ??

It's funny now but it will come. Years from now we might tell kids about how we used normal storage drives for OS installs... Lol

Like how we used to have black and white tv or before HDTV ... Or before the Internet lol...

SSD is same thing. It's a game changer.

Sure. Rub it into my face.

lol.

Yes. Install the chipset drivers.

Visit the motherboard MFG site and click your model and install the.

That stuff is there for a reason.

A stock Windows 7 disc from years back can't include everything it needs driver wise to run optimally.

I know. It's like "the" feature.

besides having enough SATA ports, I can't think of anything I would rather have.

My Asus Z68 Deluxe has Intel (dual).

But I want it for my server board, and I want something cheaper.