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Traditional Hard Drive vs. SSD

Post Date: 2012-04-26
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zhoeffner View Drop Down
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Posts: 6 		  Quote zhoeffner Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Traditional Hard Drive vs. SSD
    Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 4:11pm
Hello everyone!

I have been doing some extensive research, and after seeing an ad in a magazine was interested in what Digital Storm had to offer. After doing some looking around on the site, I (think) I have finally decided that the xm15 laptop would be good as I am still a student that needs a portable computer with decent battery life.

The only thing I am stuck going back and forth on is the primary storage. I am having difficulty deciding whether the speed and more importantly supposed power efficiency of the 120GB SSD is worth the extra $142. So the question is... does anyone have experience with one of these with an SSD, and does it actually improve the battery life enough over a traditional drive to be worth considering spending the extra $142?

Any help will be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance!
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BF3Addict View Drop Down
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Posts: 49 		  Quote BF3Addict Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 4:30pm
Typical SSD's draw about 1.5-2.5W of power.  Typical HD's will draw about 4-7W.  Power consumption is directly related to battery life, but how much of that power draw from the storage (SSD or HD) compared to the total power draw of the system is what will determine your total battery drain.
 
I can only guess at what this means in real terms, but if you assume that you save 5% on total power draw by using the SSD then if you see five hours with the HD then you would see an increase of about 15 minutes with the SSD.  Granted there are a lot of assumptions here, but I think it gives you a feel for how it works.
 
The biggest reason for getting an SSD is speed with power efficiency as icing on the cake.  15 second boot times and around 10 times faster read/write speeds.  Is that worth an extra $142?  Only you can answer that question.
 
 


Edited by BF3Addict - 26 Apr 2012 at 4:33pm
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josephlee View Drop Down
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Posts: 168 		  Quote josephlee Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 27 Apr 2012 at 8:45am
Keep in mind, once you go SSD, you'll never go back.

Just saying.
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darbebo View Drop Down
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Posts: 515 		  Quote darbebo Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 27 Apr 2012 at 9:13am
Originally posted by josephlee

Keep in mind, once you go SSD, you'll never go back.

Just saying.


i second that, SSD is well worth it
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josephlee View Drop Down
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Posts: 168 		  Quote josephlee Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 27 Apr 2012 at 10:16am
It is one of those things where you don't realize just how long things take to boot up on a HD, until you experience a SSD and you're like, wow, that was fast. Highly recommend it if the budget allows.
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criTalon View Drop Down
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Posts: 234 		  Quote criTalon Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 27 Apr 2012 at 1:00pm
And while we're at it, SSDs are much more durable. And since you are referring to the xm15, I assume you will be moving around a lot, which makes the SSD much more preferable than your standard HDD.
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zhoeffner View Drop Down
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Posts: 6 		  Quote zhoeffner Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 8:19am
Thanks for all the responses! Seems the general consensus is that the SSD is the way to go. Looks like I'm ordering mine with an SSD! Unfortunately, the funds aren't there right now... but I will be ordering sometime this summer!
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xdragon76 View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote xdragon76 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Apr 2012 at 2:42pm
Guys, I heard limited rewrite on SSD while HDD doesn't have such limitation (other than drive crash).  Do we know whether one's system can out live their SSD write limitation?  Because it is a pain to spend another batch of cash to replace a worn out SSD drive.  How many rewrite is possible on SSD?
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Martys View Drop Down
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Posts: 68 		  Quote Martys Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Apr 2012 at 5:31pm
Hi Xdragon76,

As far as wearing out NAND from too many write cycles it's a non- issue. For example, here is an article from Anandtech which shows calculations combined with real life-experience on the issue. Also there is no way a company like Intel would give a 5 year warranty (or even 'only' 3 yrs as on the new 330 drives) if it were.

      Marty

        Marty
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