Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Off Topic Should I fit an SSD hard drive to my new laptop?

Being able to run virtual machines off of an SSD is of value for me. Not just boot times, but all drive based operations.

But being able to spin them up and down rapidly is very nice too!

My MacBook boots my VirtualBox Windows XP install in just over 20 seconds to login screen and finished logging in by total 30 seconds. No SSD involved.

But remember that SSD's have a limited life! All those switching operations will take their toll.

If it is just booting that you want very fast take a look at Hybrid drives. They cache frequently used files into a small amount of memory on the drive. The other files are kept on the magnetic platters like normal.

The lifespan is significantly greater.

I try to make sure that my VM images are NOT running off my SSD on my laptop to ensure I get maximum life.

/Marcus

XP boots faster than Vista or 7. This is a Win7 virtual machine.

I haven't bothered to time mine yet, and they have to come down another 25% before I'll buy.

I would just wait it out until it is time to buy another replacement system. SSD prices are still kind of expensive and since it is already a used product, I don't see you gaining much since you'll replace your computer every so many years.

I would sell it and get a new one, at least retain as much residual value before it becomes unsellable. The new processor computer are coming out and the benefits of the new computer w/SSD is probably worth the expense.

don't forget to remove all of the bloatware, that can speed up a WIndows box and free up some storage if you haven't already done that.

DrOne:

This is a new machine, but thanks for the advice

It's a personal choice, and I've been running machines of various type for long enough to know what is and isn't worth it for me.

I tend to run MacOS machines for 4-5 years and PCs for about 3 years.

Regards,

Oh, I thought I read that it was about a year old. My mistake. I don't have my reading glasses.

Thanks gIzzE I don't need a 256 GB drive do I?

CheeRS

Shaun

I don't know?

But that site does tend to have all the best deals for whatever size you're looking for.

I had a 256GB unit fitted to my iMac last month. Fresh install of Lion. Currently running at 77GB used with just one user Home file resident on the SSD (me). I do need to have a good hunt around to cull the stuff that I don't need, however.

Photos etc are stored on the standard hard drive.

Having foregone fitting a SSD to my Asus U2E when I bought it, about a year ago I took the plunge and fitted one. Suffice to say I'm not going back. All my media files etc. are stored on 32Gb SDHC cards so as to avoid wearing out the SSD write cycles. I'm not buying another laptop without one! A UX31 is tempting me to replace it but I'd need to spend a week reinstalling multiple GCC instances for different architectures

For a single user Win 7 installation primarily used for the OS and other applications, a 125Gb drive should be sufficient. On our main desktop computer (4 users; 2 years old), Win7 is currently occupying around 80Gb. Data is stored on two other HDs.