HDD vs SSD questions

obeliskk1 · Oct 22, 2016

Hello guys,

I have to buy a storage device for second computer, since old hdd is slow and just old.

It is going to be used for everyday stuff, so no gaming involved or any photoshop editing, video editing, or some heavy stuff. Just regural googling, saving pictures probably, some videos maybe (not movies), etc...

Now, what's better to buy for durability in this situation?
How much does some entry level 120gb ssd's (e.x. kingston v300) last ? Is it really much faster then some better 320gb new hdd?

I woudnt go over 320gb if i would buy hdd, just so you know, it's just not necessery.

What do you guy think is better? I wouldn't buy expensive ssd for this computer.

PsyKhiqZero · Oct 22, 2016

Durability os always a crap shoot regardless of wethwr you go ssd or hdd. I bought a brand new patriot blast 256 gb ssd that died in 3 months. While my first gen 32gb. Patriot torx is still kicking in my backup machine.

I would go with an hdd as it looks like you wanna use it for storage. Even if you don't plan on using a lot now, it will add up. Windows 10 is also pretty quick to boot from an hdd.

USAFRet · Oct 22, 2016

Durability probably leans towards the SSD now.

1. Don't buy a 120GB drive. The price v size heavily leans toward a 250GB.
For instance, the price difference at Newegg is $6 for a Samsung 850 EVO, 120GB vs 250GB.
$89 vs $95.

2. Don't buy a Kingston V300 of any size. They had issues early on. Yes, that is probably fixed, but why bother when there are so many other, more reliable drives.

Is this to be the OS drive? That is what you really want it for, instead of the OS on the HDD and the SSD for 'storage'.

geofelt · Oct 22, 2016

A SSD Will transform your old pc.
Files open quicker, you see photo thumbnails instantly.
Maintenance goes much faster.
And... with no moving parts, a ssd is more reliable and quieter.
As to endurance a desktop ssd will be long obsolete, even under severe activity long before you run out of update capability.
Buy the 240gb ssd The price difference is minimal.

-----------You will not regret buying a ssd -------------
Look at your hard drive and see how much space is actually used.
If the contents will fit on a ssd, buy a Samsung evo of suitable size.
A 120gb ssd will net to about 110gb available, a 240gb ssd will net to about 223 gb.
Plan on no more than 90% full.
Samsung has a free ssd migration app that will copy your old hard drive to their ssd.
Can't be easier.

Tumeden · Oct 22, 2016

geofelt :

As Geo said, If you're looking for faster boot times, and load times with applications and viewing pictures, as well as transfer speeds then a SSD is the highly recommended way of doing so.

HDD's are cheaper for bigger sizes and great for storage of large files such as movies that you don't access often, but have a much slower response time and with today's technology (in my opinion) a lot less durability then a SSD.

jsmithepa · Oct 22, 2016

Durability? Solid State trumps anything mechanical of course. Just stick with Samsung/Crucial and you should be fine.

obeliskk1 · Oct 23, 2016

Thank you for you answers, but here is a little update:

This computer is using old 775 motherboard, g31 chipset, so it means it's got SATA 2 port.
The storage device is meant for installing OS, NOT as a storage device, like there won't be some huge data. It should be maximum 80-100gb (if even that much), and if there is need for more space, i can use old hdd, for storage.

I don't live in US, so prices are not really cheap for me on SSD. My budget for SSD would be around 50 euros. (I managed to find Samsung EVO 750 - 120gb for 53 e).
Also i would have to buy probably later on some pcie card for sata 3 if i want more performance, i understand that.

If i plan to use HDD, i would spent maximum of 25euros, and something with maximum storage of 320gb. If i decide to buy the hdd, which one is actually good and fast ?

USAFRet · Oct 23, 2016

obeliskk1 :

Given those parameters, the 750 EVO 120GB would work just fine.
On a SATA II port you will lose a little performance, but not "half"

Just be careful of how you fill it up. Don't let it go over about 90GB full.

geofelt · Oct 23, 2016

Do not worry about sata II vs sata III.
A ssd will be 50x faster doing small random I/O and that is what windows does 90% of the time.
That speed is unaffected by a sata II interface.

On sequential operations, sata 2 will be twice as fast as the fastest 10k rpm hard drive. compared to 3x as fast with a sata 3 connection.
Not important at all.

Usually, 240gb is not much more than 120gb in the US.
A 120gb ssd will give you about 110gb useable.
Try not to let it get to 90% full, or you sill start to lose performance and endurance.
Plan on keeping your hard drive for large sequential files such as videos.

Tumeden · Oct 23, 2016

My computer is also a LGA775 Socket motherboard with Sata 2.0 connectors, I bought myself a Sandisk 240GB SSD.
Read/write speeds on Sata 2.0 can reach up to 3GBP/s data transfer speeds with your SSD.

The wonderful thing is, if you ever decide to upgrade to a newer motherboard in the future you can still use the SSD and possibly benefit from the Sata 3.0 6GBP/s data transfer speeds.

Either way the performance gain is very noticeable if you get a SSD, I'll never run my Operating System on a HDD ever again. Highly recommend.

obeliskk1 · Oct 23, 2016

Thank you for all of your answers, you were all very helpful, but i am forced to pick only one answer, so sorry for that :/
I'll be picking 750 EVO 120GB most likely, if something better doesn't come up.

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HDD vs SSD questions

obeliskk1

Commendable

USAFRet

PsyKhiqZero

Splendid

USAFRet

Titan

geofelt

Titan

Tumeden

Honorable

jsmithepa

Polypheme

obeliskk1

Commendable

USAFRet

Titan

geofelt

Titan

Tumeden

Honorable

obeliskk1

Commendable

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