Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post

sclitheroe · 07-21-2009, 11:17 AM

You can't go wrong with an SSD in a laptop, even if it isn't cutting edge.

I know there are lots of synthetic benchmarks out there that point to issues with write speed, with gradual loss of speed due to wear levelling, etc, but having used a laptop with a run of the mill Samsung SSD (Macbook 13") for almost a year now, I can honestly say that in real world usage, the SSD is a monumental upgrade over conventional laptop hard drives, even 7200rpm ones.

At their very worst, they are performing as well as a 7200rpm drive, without the heat, vibration, noise, or vulnerability to mechanical shock. In general though, the machine boots quickly, apps launch incredibly quickly, and anything that does lots of little file operations, benefits enormously from the very low seek times. When I have to work on a conventional laptop now, I am astounded at how badly mechanical hard drives perform in comparison.

So if you are on the fence, I highly recommend taking the plunge. You won't regret it. You won't even regret paying the SSD premium once you experience it on your own machine on a daily basis. It's that good. The 128 gig SSD in my Macbook was a $800 option, and I can honestly say I'd pay that again if I had to.

07-21-2009, 11:17 AM	#3
sclitheroe #1 Goaltender Join Date: Sep 2005 Exp:	You can't go wrong with an SSD in a laptop, even if it isn't cutting edge. I know there are lots of synthetic benchmarks out there that point to issues with write speed, with gradual loss of speed due to wear levelling, etc, but having used a laptop with a run of the mill Samsung SSD (Macbook 13") for almost a year now, I can honestly say that in real world usage, the SSD is a monumental upgrade over conventional laptop hard drives, even 7200rpm ones. At their very worst, they are performing as well as a 7200rpm drive, without the heat, vibration, noise, or vulnerability to mechanical shock. In general though, the machine boots quickly, apps launch incredibly quickly, and anything that does lots of little file operations, benefits enormously from the very low seek times. When I have to work on a conventional laptop now, I am astounded at how badly mechanical hard drives perform in comparison. So if you are on the fence, I highly recommend taking the plunge. You won't regret it. You won't even regret paying the SSD premium once you experience it on your own machine on a daily basis. It's that good. The 128 gig SSD in my Macbook was a $800 option, and I can honestly say I'd pay that again if I had to. __________________ -Scott