Alternative OS drives to SSD

[scaryjim]

Are there any sensible / worthwile alternatives to an SSD as an OS / Programs drive?

I'm considering sticking a Kingston SSD Now V-series 128GB in a build for a mate as his OS drive. If I decide against the SSD (which is a pretty big chunk of his budget), are there any HDDs that are worth consideration for this purpose, or should I just stick the OS on a big old SATA drive and have done?

disclaimers: I know that in SSD terms the V series aren't brilliant. Yes, I've considered the £200 Intel 80GB drive - I'm still undecided on whether 80GB is enough, plus the 128GB V is cheaper. I'm interested in real world noticable performance enhancements. The rest of the rig is most likely to be a Phenom II X3 or X4 + AMD770 based mobo.

[nibbler]

128mb? :s

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Have you considered the 500GB version of the Samsung F3?? It is under £40 from Scan and is a single platter hard drive.

[scaryjim]

128mb? :s

Have you considered the 500GB version of the Samsung F3?? It is under £40 from Scan and is a single platter hard drive.

Thanks CAT, sounds like a reasonable option! I'll look into that.

[vicar]

The 1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 seems a better buy IMHO.

All the best.

[jim]

Same thing at the end of the day, just two platters rather than one.

[scaryjim]

Would there be a performance differential between a single platter 500GB and a 2 platter 1TB drive? or do the 2 platters essentially work independently so the performance should be identical?

And is the Velocirpator worth £110 for a 150GB drive, or would it not show much of a performance improvement? I assume it's still slowish (comparitively) for random access compared to an SSD?

[Pob255]

Actually I'd consider two of the 500gb F3's and raiding them, which should add another bump to the performance and still give both more space while still being cheaper than an SSD.

[Pob255]

A Velociraptor is a bit faster than a high end single platter drive, but not by much these days.
A SSD can be a chunk faster (depend on SSD)

However at nearly 3 times the price the Velociraptor is not 3 times faster.

No the platters are connected to a single spindal and the arms are also 1 unit, so a two platter disk is slower than a single platter disk.

[SiM]

I would go for the SSD. The 40gb Kingston is the one to get (it is rebranded intel unlike the 128gb)

[dirky]

Intel have just launched a 40GB (branded intel) "value" one at just under 100, these are basically the kingston 40GB drives (which have apparently been retired now). However as with the kingston they have low write speeds. Which is why people have been buying two and using them in a RAID0 - but then you have trim issues
Beware of the other kingston drives as they have the jmicron controller and are prone to stuttering etc.
Basically due to the price hike SSD is something to possibly put off if you are on a budget. Mostly you will want an 80GB G2 Intel, or one of the OCZ Vertex 64GB, Crucial M225's. All are around 200 now

[jim]

Would there be a performance differential between a single platter 500GB and a 2 platter 1TB drive? or do the 2 platters essentially work independently so the performance should be identical?

And is the Velocirpator worth £110 for a 150GB drive, or would it not show much of a performance improvement? I assume it's still slowish (comparitively) for random access compared to an SSD?

I wouldn't bother with a Velociraptor, you can get a 500GB for so much less, then put the leftover money into savings and spend it on an SSD in 12 months' time. You'll notice the extra £60-70 you can spend on the SSD far more than you'll notice the performance increase on the Velociraptor.

[scaryjim]

Thanks for all the input guys - based on my mate's budget and your advices (? can you pluralise advice?) it looks like a single platter HDD is the way to go and spread the leftovers around the rest of the build (better CPU / GFX / RAM). I'm currently waiting on the retail availability and prices for Core i3, but I suspect it'll end up being a trusty old Phenom II build

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for all the input guys - based on my mate's budget and your advices (? can you pluralise advice?) it looks like a single platter HDD is the way to go and spread the leftovers around the rest of the build (better CPU / GFX / RAM). I'm currently waiting on the retail availability and prices for Core i3, but I suspect it'll end up being a trusty old Phenom II build

If you can get hold of a Phenom II X3 720 for under £90 it is still better than a Core i3 530 in most games:

http://en.inpai.com.cn/doc/enshowcon...88&pageid=6461

Also the X2 550BE does suprisingly well considering its price when compared to the Core i3 540 too:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...w_9.html#sect0

Not bad for a processor which is available for under £70 from Ebuyer!!

[mikemikemi]

Intel have just launched a 40GB (branded intel) "value" one at just under 100, these are basically the kingston 40GB drives (which have apparently been retired now). However as with the kingston they have low write speeds. Which is why people have been buying two and using them in a RAID0 - but then you have trim issues
Beware of the other kingston drives as they have the jmicron controller and are prone to stuttering etc.
Basically due to the price hike SSD is something to possibly put off if you are on a budget. Mostly you will want an 80GB G2 Intel, or one of the OCZ Vertex 64GB, Crucial M225's. All are around 200 now

I've got a couple of the 40gb kingstons, they definately make good OS/software drives as read speed is much more important than the write speeds.

Did not know that the Kingstons have been discontinued though, real shame as I've just seen the intel drive and there's a £20 price difference compared to when I got my kingstons; not cool.

[dirky]

Yup, main issue is TRIM within the raid. I guess you could image the raid, break it, wipe it and reimage onto it again when you see a performance drop