Ok I now want, no *need* an SSD

[MaddAussie]

Wasnt really fussed with the idea of an SSD but we have just had 10 new Sony Vaio's i5 laptops delivered with 120Gb SSD's inside and OMG they are quick, I used to think my Raptors where quick but these are smoking and I'm assuming they are a bottom end SSD, oh the temptation...

[azrael316]

lol. DO it dude.

Cant wait to get one myself, but that's going to be a while.

[Callum1001]

Okay, excuse my COMEPLTE newbyness but I've seen the SSD stuff mentioned alot. Im going to ask a really stupid question; what is it? whats the benefits?

Sorry.. lol >.<

[GheeTsar]

Yeah, it makes a big difference. I wouldn't go back now.

[azrael316]

Okay, excuse my COMEPLTE newbyness but I've seen the SSD stuff mentioned alot. Im going to ask a really stupid question; what is it? whats the benefits?

Sorry.. lol >.<

No moving parts, its in effect a GIANT usb memory stick. lol.

[GheeTsar]

Okay, excuse my COMEPLTE newbyness but I've seen the SSD stuff mentioned alot. Im going to ask a really stupid question; what is it? whats the benefits?

Sorry.. lol >.<

It's a form of hard disk based on flash memory rather than spinning platters. The good ones are MUCH faster than regular hard disks and are silent to boot, but sadly are much more expensive to buy.

[Callum1001]

So I guess you just used to it store your information not, not run an os to make things run faster?

[jim]

Main difference is that it's instant.

Instead of taking 8ms to find a file, it takes a fraction of that. 5ms might not sound like a lot, but when your PC is booting or opening a menu and the drive has to look for perhaps 1000 files, that's suddenly become 5 seconds.

[jim]

So I guess you just used to it store your information not, not run an os to make things run faster?

Eh?

You wouldn't use an SSD for storage, it's for things that are accessed often, are comparatively small, and slow the system down.

Operating system, games if you find they take too long to load, databases, things like that. You'd have to be a bit loaded or dim to put your collection of mp3s or videos etc on one.

[Ulti]

Any chance of actually finding out what SSDs they are? Would love to compare. Oh and if you could sneak in some benchmarks it'd be great!

[Saracen]

Okay, excuse my COMEPLTE newbyness but I've seen the SSD stuff mentioned alot. Im going to ask a really stupid question; what is it? whats the benefits?

Sorry.. lol >.<

What it is is Solid State Disk.

i.e. storage that appears to the computer to be a hard disk, but is actually a form of memory, not unlike (in operation) RAM. It's a form, however, that doesn't lose all the contents when you cut power.

The advantages are that it's fast, because it doesn't have to wait for the mechanical functions of a disk drive, i.e. spinning the disk, and moving the read/write heads. There are also benefits in durability, since again, the parts of a conventional drive most likely to fail don't exist.

There are drawbacks too, though. Though the mechanical failure isn't anything like as likely, and it's much more resilient if, for instance, dropped, there are other points of failure.

But the biggest single drawback is that current models are either of pretty limited capacity, compared to hard drives, or very very expensive. There are different types of SSD technology too, and again, the faster types are extremely expensive. Even at the more affordable "consumer" end of the market, the cost per megabyte is (last time I looked) around 20 times that of hard drives. So .... the consumer drives will be (typically) in the 30GB-160GB range, and in the £100 (or a bit under) to £200 or more range.

If you think 40GB SSD for broadly the same money as 1TB (or more) HD, you'll get the idea.

So what you get is a small, light, very fast and resilient drive, and the price you pay is limited capacity and/or a lot of money.

A lot of people use them for very fast boot times, and especially for portable devices like notebooks or netbooks. Others use them as an OS drive in a desktop, for speed, but have a high capacity HD for main data storage.

And that, more or less, is an SSD.

[Callum1001]

What it is is Solid State Disk.

i.e. storage that appears to the computer to be a hard disk, but is actually a form of memory, not unlike (in operation) RAM. It's a form, however, that doesn't lose all the contents when you cut power.

The advantages are that it's fast, because it doesn't have to wait for the mechanical functions of a disk drive, i.e. spinning the disk, and moving the read/write heads. There are also benefits in durability, since again, the parts of a conventional drive most likely to fail don't exist.

There are drawbacks too, though. Though the mechanical failure isn't anything like as likely, and it's much more resilient if, for instance, dropped, there are other points of failure.

But the biggest single drawback is that current models are either of pretty limited capacity, compared to hard drives, or very very expensive. There are different types of SSD technology too, and again, the faster types are extremely expensive. Even at the more affordable "consumer" end of the market, the cost per megabyte is (last time I looked) around 20 times that of hard drives. So .... the consumer drives will be (typically) in the 30GB-160GB range, and in the £100 (or a bit under) to £200 or more range.

If you think 40GB SSD for broadly the same money as 1TB (or more) HD, you'll get the idea.

So what you get is a small, light, very fast and resilient drive, and the price you pay is limited capacity and/or a lot of money.

A lot of people use them for very fast boot times, and especially for portable devices like notebooks or netbooks. Others use them as an OS drive in a desktop, for speed, but have a high capacity HD for main data storage.

And that, more or less, is an SSD.

Ahhh! Now I get you. Thanks very much for that! I have googled it but it didnt make any sense.

[matty-hodgson]

Just do it! Buy an SSD
Wait for the 80GB Intel to come onto Scan Today Only again, I bought another on Friday to RAID0 up with my existing 80GB Intel.. With RAID0 now supporting TRIM .

What it is is Solid State Disk.

i.e. storage that appears to the computer to be a hard disk, but is actually a form of memory, not unlike (in operation) RAM. It's a form, however, that doesn't lose all the contents when you cut power.

The advantages are that it's fast, because it doesn't have to wait for the mechanical functions of a disk drive, i.e. spinning the disk, and moving the read/write heads. There are also benefits in durability, since again, the parts of a conventional drive most likely to fail don't exist.

There are drawbacks too, though. Though the mechanical failure isn't anything like as likely, and it's much more resilient if, for instance, dropped, there are other points of failure.

But the biggest single drawback is that current models are either of pretty limited capacity, compared to hard drives, or very very expensive. There are different types of SSD technology too, and again, the faster types are extremely expensive. Even at the more affordable "consumer" end of the market, the cost per megabyte is (last time I looked) around 20 times that of hard drives. So .... the consumer drives will be (typically) in the 30GB-160GB range, and in the £100 (or a bit under) to £200 or more range.

If you think 40GB SSD for broadly the same money as 1TB (or more) HD, you'll get the idea.

So what you get is a small, light, very fast and resilient drive, and the price you pay is limited capacity and/or a lot of money.

A lot of people use them for very fast boot times, and especially for portable devices like notebooks or netbooks. Others use them as an OS drive in a desktop, for speed, but have a high capacity HD for main data storage.

And that, more or less, is an SSD.

Very well summarised . And it wasn't too long either.. Were you fighting the urge to write?

[Saracen]

Ahhh! Now I get you. Thanks very much for that! I have googled it but it didnt make any sense.

Just be aware I've taken a liberty or two in that description with the technical side, for the sake of trying to get across what you asked, which was what they are and the point. I've certainly skipped over a fair bit .... and will probably get corrected.

But if it makes sense now ... job done.

[Terbinator]

Just do it! Buy an SSD
Wait for the 80GB Intel to come onto Scan Today Only again, I bought another on Friday to RAID0 up with my existing 80GB Intel.. With RAID0 now supporting TRIM .



Very well summarised . And it wasn't too long either.. Were you fighting the urge to write?

Thats what i thought but curiously Anandtech kept it out of todays RAID0 review and someone on the Aria forums is saying its only to pass TRIM to a SSD when the user also has a RAID of HDD's.

[Saracen]

....

Very well summarised . And it wasn't too long either.. Were you fighting the urge to write?

Not at all, Matty.

The thing is, for years, I've written for part of my living. And it's (nearly) always been to a defined objective, and to a specific commission. In other words, for a particular type of readership, and to a specific word length. If an editor says he wants 800 words, he really, really does not want 1500. Why? Because he has space allocated for 800 words and if you send 1500, he has to work on it cutting it down to what he asked for ... and will pay for. Do it too often and you'll stop getting work from him. And sometimes, once is too often.

What that readership is defines the way you write. I wouldn't write the same way for the Telegraph as I would for PC Pro, because the readership is different, and so is what you can assume about their technical level.

I can write for experienced readers, or novices. I can write to long or short commissions. But then, I'm being paid to.

On here, I just want to relax. I want to express myself my way.

Some people like it. I regularly get thanked for detailed and comprehensive answers. Some people don't like it, and moan.

The thing is, on here, I write to suit me. If that means not worrying at all about word count, and some people don't like it, well that's their problem. They don't have to read it.

If this comes across as angry at you, be assured I'm not. It's merely an explanation. But having that comment thrown at me regularly is getting tired. If I feel like posting a long reply, I will, and if some (or all) people don't want to read it, the solution is self-evident.