512gbSSD vs 256gbSSD + 1tbHDD

[Bounti]

Hello everyone, the question of storage has reemerged after taking another look at my build.

I was planning on using a Samsung 840 pro 256gb ssd along with a western digital 1tb caviar black hdd. Lately, however, I've been thinking about dumping the hdd and going the full ssd route for multiple reasons.

Firstly would be the fact that I don't use very much space at all, I've filled up maybe 200 gigs in the past year and a half. Secondly, I aim to build an extremely quiet pc, and a hard drive with less than 100 gigs seems a poor reason to break such a goal. Thirdly, I've read about the reliability of these hdds and I'm not too impressed.

These thoughts made me move in a different direction. Perhaps buying a 512gb 840 pro and putting all my programs and files on that drive might be a better option. I am still not convinced.

Any feedback on this topic will be greatly appreciated!

 

[drtweak]

If you don't think you'll need the extra space then go for it! The 512 is a bit faster than the 256 too. Not much but a little.

 

[mad-max79]

Or just go with the 840 Evo, which usually has enough performance for a typical single user environment and you get more space for the money.

 

[Bounti]

Hah sounds good, it's just that I'm unsure whether 500 gigabytes is enough. Do you think the system will be significantly quieter? Is it troublesome to be managing two different drives when storing files and programs? Thanks mate!

 

[Y0GI]

"Hah sounds good, it's just that I'm unsure whether 500 gigabytes is enough."
If your current max is 200 GB then 500 GB should be plenty of space.

"Do you think the system will be significantly quieter?"
An SSD is totally and completely silent - no moving parts.

"Is it troublesome to be managing two different drives when storing files and programs? Thanks mate!"
I have Windows set up to save docs and downloads to my G: drive and photos to my H: drive. (G: and H: are logical partitions on my single HDD) The system works very well for my purposes.

Yogi

 

[drtweak]

Yea its fine using multiple hard drive. You can tell it where you want like the folder for Music, Docs, Downloads ect to be saved to.

As for programs you just have to tell it what drive letter you want. Like I have 3 drives (Really 4. 2 are in a Raid) and 1 drive is my OS for programs, the next is for my game installs, and the last is my storage where everything from my pics, to desktop get saved to.

 

[Bounti]

Oh thanks fellas.. And how about a 1 TB Samsung 840 Evo? Would that be worth buying over the 512gb samsung 840 pro?

 

[Y0GI]

Oh thanks fellas.. And how about a 1 TB Samsung 840 Evo? Would that be worth buying over the 512gb samsung 840 pro?

If you are only using 200 GB at present, that would seem like overkill, to me, but on the other hand, you can never have "too much storage".

Yogi

 

[Adrian Ocampo]

Oh thanks fellas.. And how about a 1 TB Samsung 840 Evo? Would that be worth buying over the 512gb samsung 840 pro?

Firstly, weigh out your needs.
What would you be storing?
How much is your budget?
Do you have a SATA3 port?

In reality SSD are just for luxury.

If you really need 1TB SSD then go.
If not settle for what seems fit.

 

[giantbucket]

i've had better luck with a 2.5" WD Black than with an SSD, and it costs less, has more space, and is quite fast and very quiet and made to be reasonable rugged. for less than $100 you can get yourself a 750G. and partition it for Win7, maybe for OSX or Linux if you're feeling fancy, or just use the rest for storage of every CD and DVD you own.

unless you absolutely need the dead-silent behaviour of SSD, or the super-fast boot times (uh, how many times a day do people actually reboot to care about this???), or you just want to have chest-thumping bragging rights for all of 12 months (because by then, your SSD will no longer be bleeding-edge, and everyone else can buy one just like it for at least 30% less)

 

[Bounti]

Well, I am almost convinced on going with the 750GB evo. I don't think a 1tb HDD is worth it, especially considering the potential noise it will cause (rest of the system is dead silent) and considering I won't be saving large media files of any kind. I figured a 1tb ssd would be overkill and a 512gb ssd might give some constraints nearing the ~400 gig zone. Thanks for the feedback guys!

 

[popatim]

I would suggest you begin with a 500-ish GB drive and add another if/when you need it. It will be much cheaper in a few years than it is now.

Regarding your build, usually the loudest part is the cooling fans. Plan on a case, power supply, and cpu cooler with larger fans.

Lastly, be sure to include a backup device of some sort and backup your important files. All drives fail.

 

[Adrian Ocampo]

Hopefully you can buy what ever suites you the most.

Dont forget to pick an answer. Goodluck

 

[Bounti]

Would you suggest the 512gb pro drive over the 750gb evo Popatim? It seems to me that 512 gigs is too small to be the main desktop drive. Both drives cost $480, so that may be something to consider. Thanks.

 

[popatim]

You will notice no difference at all between them unless you run a benchmark.
I'd go with the evo myself. I have the 512GB 840 (non-pro/evo) in my laptop.

 

[Bounti]

All right, sounds good, thanks