SSD or HDD

[InfamousP]

Hi everyone, I'm building a new PC on a budget and could really use some advice on using an SSD or an HDD.

Samsung 830 Series 128GB SSD

or

Western Digital Caviar black 1TB HDD

Both drives are priced very similarly with the SSD only costing about $5 more. I know the SSD is far faster but is it worth sacrificing the much larger storage space of the HDD?

If I do decide to buy the SSD, is it a good idea to use an external hard drive that I already own as temporary storage until I can buy an internal HDD?

Normally I would go with the SSD but I also think that if I purchase the HDD first, the prices of the SSD will only continue dropping then I can buy it later on.

Any help would be appreciated

p.s sorry for the multiple questions

 

[RealBeast]

Both SSD and HDD prices will continue to fall, although SSDs probably faster perhaps only matched by large format HDDs like 4Tb when production comes up enough.

You will need to reinstall your system if you start with a HDD and then switch to an SSD.

 

[InfamousP]

So would you recommend getting the SSD first or the HDD?

 

[RealBeast]

I would get the SSD so I didn't have to reinstall everything.

 

[doct3rphil]

Prices have dropped on SSD's, but unless you have buco bucks you can't live on them alone. Generally you need the SSD for Windows and programs, and the HDD for pics, music, movies, etc. All depends on what you do with your PC.

 

[RealBeast]

Prices have dropped on SSD's, but unless you have buco bucks you can't live on them alone. Generally you need the SSD for Windows and programs, and the HDD for pics, music, movies, etc. All depends on what you do with your PC.

Which is why he can use his external HDD for a while until he can afford an internal HDD, rather than reinstalling his OS in a few months.

 

[InfamousP]

Thank you I think I will be opting for the SSD

 

[nukemaster]

I am with Realbeast on this. Why reinstall windows again and again.

Get everything the way you want it and when the new drive comes in(you get to buy one), just clone it and swap its letter then any shortcuts or custom folders linked to the drive will be the same.

 

[bliq]

Both SSD and HDD prices will continue to fall, although SSDs probably faster perhaps only matched by large format HDDs like 4Tb when production comes up enough.

You will need to reinstall your system if you start with a HDD and then switch to an SSD.

why would you need to do that? Just this weekend, I used Macrium Reflect to image a hard drive onto an SSD and then swapped out the SSD and booted. Works fine.

But still, I'd use an SSD. if you find you need more space for media, then go buy a hard drive as prices are falling again (I'm sure because demand is dropping as more people move to SSD). I have 5 SSDs among my various machines now. All work great and carry 5 year warranties. I back up more carefully now though (easy with my macs, a little harder with windows, as I have to do full backups with Reflect).

 

[nukemaster]

I do backups as well for files only, not concerned with windows. I have enough systems that I have little worry about that(still use Second Copy 7 for my file backups, it works so no need to replace it).

On the other hand, despite the issues some have cloning from one drive to another, I have put almost all(Win8 was the only scratch install) my SSDs in with just a simple clone of Windows as well. I was using some software from EASEUS because it is free for personal use

 

[Jay-Z]

Yeah, get the SSD now, then add a HDD. If you already have an external then you can DIY and put that in as an internal if you really want to. It depends on the external how easy that is.

 

[jemm]

I have both Samsung 830 Series 128GB SSD and Western Digital Caviar black 1TB HDD in my system. You can live on a SSD for a while -- I have a lot of programs on it and I still have 80GB free.