SSD vs Hybrid SSD

[Xtremegey]

I been hearing the Hybrid SSD is better price and preformance then a regular SSD. but right now the SSD price have drop to about .80$/Gb.I'm wondering if i should get a hybrid SSD or just a regular SSD?

 

[rocknrollz]

A hybrid hard drive is just a normal drive with platter, except that it has a SSD cache. Around 4 GB? This allows for SSD like speed when opening programs or starting your OS. The read/write speeds are a different story, if you are considering an SSD for the read/write speeds they provide, get a real SSD. If you are getting one for the speed of starting up programs, I suggest the hybrid drive.

 

[Xtremegey]

wait i dont get what u mean by opening programs speed, wouldnt the ssd will have a faster time. because i dont do a lot rendering, i just wanna start my program fast/ os and game faster and stuff like that. and converting stuff faster and transfering data faster

 

[cin19]

Go to get the SSD, yuo will get fast start, converting stuff faster and transfering data fasterand but only load the game map fast. And SSD don't run game fast only you are using better video card to run game better.

 

[Xtremegey]

Go to get the SSD, yuo will get fast start, converting stuff faster and transfering data fasterand but only load the game map fast. And SSD don't run game fast only you are using better video card to run game better.

what about opening programs?

 

[geofelt]

How well you depends on how much of your active data can be held in the cache. If the cache is 4gb, it is not much.

For the most part, a hybrid drive will be a bit faster than a conventional hard drive, but still significantly slower than a pure ssd.

A better strategy is usually to put the OS and some apps on a ssd, and use a hard drive for overflow.

 

[dish_moose]

Remember stereos that had everything in one case - sure you got it all but nothing was very good. I suggest going with separate components. Pick your HDD & SDD that you can afford and suit your storage needs. Tom's has several articles on SSDs and there is also a database maintained by one of Tom's staff.
-Bruce

 

[Xtremegey]

well the hybrid is the same price( almost like 20 more) then an average hdd, so idk. does ssd worth its cost might be the question

 

[RetiredChief]

Do the math.
A hybred HDD (ie seagate has a 750 Gig drive with a internal 8 gig SLC SSD About $150) will only speed up what is in the cache. Generally most of the performance whould come from the OS load, For programs and Games load time is a gamble as you are limited to 8 Gigs.
With say a 120/128 gig SSD, everting on the SSD is speeded up. However it is more expensive as the SSD will be around 100 bucks plus the cost of the HDD, around $200 - About $50 more than Hybred with limited caching.

For desktops, and with performance as an objective, go with a seperate SSD for OS + programs and a HDD for storage. The Seagate hybred would be a good choice for a laptop that only has a single drive bay - reason, might want more that the 128 gigs space.

Typical Windows 7 OS + programs is around 30 gigs, add to that games you would install. You figure, 8 gigs in cache speed up, or the 30 gigs + games speed up - YOUR Choice.

 

[Xtremegey]

So i should aim for the 128gb ssd, beacuse i have ton of game from steam thats around 50gb and some software like autocad and soildwork( major program around 50gb>) plus the 26gb of window 7? or do i need to leave a little spaces for it to load

 

[RetiredChief]

With a 128 gig SSD, One you lose 8 gigs, difference between way manufs cound and the way a computer see it (same as a HDD). that gives you about 121 gigs. You MUST leave 10->15% (12 to 18 Gigs free so that wear leveling, Garbage Control and trim can work their magic to keep performance near "New".
So your down to 103 to 109 Gigs.

But you can save an amount equal to your Ram by disabling hibernation.
Then By managing your page file (Virtual memory) you can save an amout equal to or > than ram. Windows will allocate disk space approximatly 1.5 x ram. By setting your Max and Min both to 1024 mb (if you have 8 gigs, if only 4 gigs recommend setting min/max both to 2048 mb).
EX if you have 8 gigs of ram, You save 8 gigs on hibernation file and approx 11 gigs on managing your page file.

 

[Xtremegey]

im struggling with spentint 100$ on a 128gb ssd or a 50-60% for 60gb ssd, and thx for the quick reply and help me make a choice for picking ssd

 

[RetiredChief]

With a 60/64 gig SSD you are down to about 50/52 gigs max usable space.
Some say that's OK, But I recommend a Min size of 80+ with the recommended size of 120/128 gigs for an OS + Programs+ some games.

 

[Xtremegey]

ok, do u know any good series for ssd? with low cost? i heard the agility 3 is great

 

[RetiredChief]

Have a pair of 128 gig Agility III. Not a very reliable SSD, also it is nothing more than a SATA II SSD with a SATA III wrapper.

My Recommendation has been and still is the Curcial M4 or The samsung 830, both often go on sale. Newegg recently had the 128 gig m4 on sale for $100 - BLOW right out the door and they were sold out by the afternoon that they went on sale. I also recommend the Intel 510/520, but they do not warrent the higher price.
As a Company, I do NOT recommend OCZ.

For SATA III SSDs I have
2 x 128 gig Samsung 830's
2 x Curcial M4s
2 x 120 gig Agility III

 

[masterjaw]

Personally, I would rather go with the SSD + HDD combo than buying one of those hybrids in the market. Using specialized parts though they tend to cost more would procure a better return of investment in the future.

 

[Xtremegey]

Im currently think bout the OCZ for its price and the agility seems to be fast and the octane have a new controler rather then just a sandforce 2281, and the petrol from ocz is on sale so idk but it have a lot of bad review about it

 

[Xtremegey]

and i just realize my 880g e45 dont have 6gb/s sata it have only 3gb/s for the sata, and i wonder if it still worth it to get a ssd? or just go with the ocz petrol since it is like 70 for 128gb, and will the writing and reading speed matter when i have a 3gb/s sata

 

[RetiredChief]

For older systems I would avoid and SF22xx Controller based SSDs such as the agillity III.

1..You will probably take a small hit on performance due to AMD chipset (not sure)
2. There is NOT that big of a Hit going with a sata III SSD on a SATA II port. Yes you will take probably a big hit on Sequencial performance, BUT THIS is the LEAST important parameter. The Hit on random 4K is much smaller and this is what counts for a OS + program drive.
3. If you plan on moving this SSD to a New system build down the road, then get the SATA III SSD. If you plan on keeping the system for another year or two, Look at the Intel, or samsung SATA II SSDs.

 

[Xtremegey]

will there still be a big performance boots over hdd? im using a
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

 

[JohnnyLucky]

The answer to your last question is yes.

Here is a link to an article published by Tom's Hardware about upgrading from a hard disk drive to a solid state drive and what performance gains to expect:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-upgrade-hdd-performance,3023.html

 

[Xtremegey]

thx i mean cuz of the sata iii i have with 3gb/s is getting me worry bout bottleneck the ssd

 

[RetiredChief]

The primary advantage of runing a Sata III on Sata III is the Sequencial performance; However Sequencial performance has Little effect on OS + Program drive as Most files are small and "randomly spread on the drive.
What is important is the small 4k Random performance, and Here the Sata III SSDs do Not saturate a Sata II performance. So while you may take a performance hit, it will not be near as much as many think.

 

[masterjaw]

Agree with the above statements.

Bottle-necking the SSD should be the least of your worries. I would rather be concerned with the reliability of the drive rather than not getting the full sequential speed rates by using sata II.

 

[Xtremegey]

wait i though that ssd will max out ur sata ii so it will have writing or reading of 300Mb/s?