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Notebook Storage SSDs and HDs Compared

Posted by kdawson on from the now-what-would-you-pay dept.

The Raindog sends us a particularly timely showdown article comparing seven 2.5" mobile hard drives, four of them HDs and three SSDs, across a wide range of application, file-copy, power-consumption, and noise-level tests. Tom's Hardware was recently forced to issue a correction to a claim, which we discussed here, that SSDs aren't actually much more power-thrifty than HDs. The Tech Report's in-depth comparison provides some data points on the question of whether solid-state storage is ready to supplant traditional mechanical hard drives, but notes that the price disparity is still substantial.

17 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. It's not the power efficiency... by FlyingSquidStudios · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's the lack of moving parts. Try dropping both types repeatedly and see which one stops working first.

    --
    http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
    1. Re:It's not the power efficiency... by MagdJTK · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Fair enough, but is this particularly relevant to the market? Sure, it would be nice, but would you rather pay a couple of hundred quid or just look after the computer in the first place?

      The way I see it is that geeks would replace their laptop early enough that the HD will probably last long enough and that casual users won't want the extra expense. I think to be honest, the performance difference is the only real advantage and as soon as the prices come down, I'm getting one!

    2. Re:It's not the power efficiency... by FlyingSquidStudios · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Depends on what you're doing. If you have a laptop that just travels between home, the office and maybe a cafe or two, then no. You don't need a solid state hard drive. If, however, you do a lot of traveling with your laptop, you may very well drop it once or twice, especially if you're hurried at an airport or some other such situation. Are SSDs for everyone? No, but for power users who are on the go a lot, they make your data a lot safer.

      --
      http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
    3. Re:It's not the power efficiency... by MagdJTK · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Fair enough --- I can see how they would be very useful in the kind of environment the Panasonic Toughbook was designed for.

    4. Re:It's not the power efficiency... by ichigo+2.0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Sure, it would be nice, but would you rather pay a couple of hundred quid or just look after the computer in the first place?

      It's not really a matter of looking after the computer in the first place. There is demand for a rugged computer that can be manhandled without it breaking apart. When I come home I want to toss my computer on my desk like I do with my keys and wallet. After I've surfed a while I want to toss my computer on the coffee table like I do with magazines. The whole "holy laptop" approach where you have to carry it around on a silk cushion and press the keys one at a time so as not to hurt its feelings is the reason I've never bothered buying one.

    5. Re:It's not the power efficiency... by pthisis · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For me the selling points is noise. Most of the time whatever machines I'm near are plugged in, but having a nearly silent media pc in the living room, having a silent instant-on music player in the bedroom, and having a whir-less office would increase my happiness for many hours out of the day.

      Power savings would be pretty nice, too, but much less often.

      --
      rage, rage against the dying of the light
    6. Re:It's not the power efficiency... by keytoe · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When I come home I want to toss my computer on my desk like I do with my keys and wallet. After I've surfed a while I want to toss my computer on the coffee table like I do with magazines. The whole "holy laptop" approach where you have to carry it around on a silk cushion and press the keys one at a time so as not to hurt its feelings is the reason I've never bothered buying one.

      You know, there are degrees of ruggedness between carrying it on a pillow and beating the shit out of it. I've had a laptop at my side pretty much constantly for upwards of 10 years now. At no time have I ever treated it as anything other than a tool. I don't baby my tools. I don't coo to it wistfully at the end of the day. I don't 'press the keys one at a time'. I also don't fling it across the house - but I don't do that to my socket wrenches either.

      In all those 10 years of laptop lugging, I have never required any repairs or replacement due to mishaps. If you truly haven't bought a laptop because you picture them as fragile, I highly recommend you pick one up and give it a try. There is something to be said for carrying around a fully functional workstation wherever you go. Just remember that there is a continuum between 'holy laptop' and 'throw it across the room' - it's not a quantum step.

      --

      Culture is more than commerce

    7. Re:It's not the power efficiency... by billcopc · · Score: 2, Insightful

      In my experience, it's not so much shock as it is heat that kills the drive. When you encase a high-performance hard drive in a cheap plastic coffin, it can't withstand much sustained usage. Now if only laptop makers would turn that drive caddy into a semi-decent heatsink, things would probably be different.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    8. Re:It's not the power efficiency... by Glonoinha · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Take the hard drive out of the broken screen unit and put it in a new unit.
      Sixty seconds later you are back in business.

      The cost of the hardware is immaterial compared to the contents on the drive.

      --
      Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
    9. Re:It's not the power efficiency... by dgatwood · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I've never had to repair anything due to mishaps, and I treat my laptop with reasonable care. However, I have had to replace two laptop hard drives on three occasions due to drive failures in the last ten years. Actually, make that two in the past five years, and none prior to that. One was an acoustic failure (loud, whining drive, but worked perfectly for the better part of a year in that state before I bothered to get it replaced). The other one... I put the machine to sleep, woke it up a minute later, and the drive wouldn't spin up, making a click-of-death "can't find track zero" noise. My suspicion is that it was a failure of the head due to abrasion as it drags across the ramp when parking.

      Mechanical failures don't just happen to people who abuse their machines. Yes, they happen much more frequently to people who treat their machines like excrement, but they also happen randomly for no apparent reason... usually due to flaws in the mechanical design. Some drives have bad ramps that put too much stress on the heads when they park. Some drives have bearings that eventually start to leak oil all over the disk surface. And so on. I'd be much happier if I never had to deal with a Winchester drive again... particularly in laptops.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

  2. Re:What about recovery? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I've read that the algorithms used in SSD's are usually proprietary. The problem with SSD's is that they DIDN'T fix the wear leveling problem. It exists, just a lot slower now due to the algorithms referenced above. If my drive dies, I'll have to find a service that can recover my files, but they will have to be certified in samsung, seagate, white label, etc. I really feel uncomfortable with that idea.

    You could just backup your files...

  3. Practical observations by carp3_noct3m · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Boils down to a couple of things: Reliability = Good, Speed = Good, Space = Fair , Cost = Why can't I pirate this! Damn, but that would be "stealing". When the cost goes down and the size comes up a bit, Ill be ready to buy one.

    --
    "It's ok, I'm completely secure as long as my iron is off"
    1. Re:Practical observations by serviscope_minor · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I got so frustrated that I punch my laptop

      Never punch inanimate objects. You cannot win. Something will probably break, and both options are bad. I found this out when I got cross and punched a monitor. It was a while ago, so it was a CRT.

      I never punched a computer again.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
  4. Re:What about recovery? by MagdJTK · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I mean no disrespect, but I think this attitude is a bit damaging. A lot of people seem to think that a recovery service is a replacement for a backup regime rather than a last resort if an absolute disaster has occured.

  5. Re:Obviously the goggles do work by ceoyoyo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Nobody reads them anyway, so apparently the editors have decided not to bother including links anymore.

  6. Re:What about recovery? by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The larger the drive, the more space to spread the wear.

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  7. The best thing since the MOUSE by v(*_*)vvvv · · Score: 3, Insightful

    SSDs are the best thing to happen to PCs since the invention of the mouse.

    I have had a MemoRight GT for 3 months now, and my laptop feels amazing. I am disappointed Tom didn't include one in his review.

    Because the seek speed is 40x + than an HDD, data access is blazing fast on even the cheaper SSDs. The hangup is in the slow read/write speeds and problems with random access. MemoRight GT is the first SSD I saw that was faster than HDDs in all of these areas, and hence it not only outperforms I/O wise, you get the full benefit of fast access... And this will make your PC feel 4x faster.

    Everything becomes faster. Web pages load faster. Email arrives faster. Windows moves faster. No more HDD cache writing lag or "what is my HDD doing" moments.

    I don't care that much for battery life, though I am sure some do. As Tom concludes, that is pretty much a spec you just need to look out for, so if you want it, look for a drive that has it.

    What I do love though is the silence. Anyone who has gone through an HDD failure is sensitive to HDD sounds probably more than they know, or would like.

    SSDs make no sound, and there are no strange vibrations.

    I spent close to 2K on the drive, but it was worth every penny. If I buy a new SSD when the 3rd generation drives arrive, my Memoright will still always have a place in one of my notebooks.