Want to buy a new PC.

[Maksim 1,504]

Ram is like the number of magazines you have for the gun. It stores more ammo, so while your finger hurts from loading new mags.... you still have plenty of mags to shoot.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Pros & Cons of SSD's

http://www.90minds.com/2009/01/11/the-pros-and-cons-of-ssds-solid-state-drives/

[Wolfy 51]

I know what RAM is I was curious how it is different from an SSD?

[Cylinder Head 22]

I know what RAM is I was curious how it is different from an SSD?

 

RAM is used for a different purpose, and (correct me if I'm wrong) is not permanent memory, but only temporary. You shut your computer down, the RAM is wiped. The SSD is a type of STORAGE device, like your hard drive.

[Maksim 1,504]

I know what RAM is I was curious how it is different from an SSD?

 

 

SSD is a type of a hard drive. =) Most hard drives are disks which spin. SSD is like those sandisk storage cards you use in phones and cameras. there are no moving parts, so access data quicker, and you can shake it all you want.

[Wolfy 51]

So Maks it is basically a RAM linked up on a card. Uses the same principles as RAM.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

So Maks it is basically a RAM linked up on a card. Uses the same principles as RAM.

No, other then both being solid state, there is very little in common.

SSD is a place to store things, SDRAM is a place to run things. They are both designed to do two completely different tasks.

SSD's may use the same technology as SDRAM in terms of memory, but function is completely different. I think most SSD's are Flash anyway, so in those terms they dont even use the same technology.

 

In a couple years time, SSD's will drop in price. If you want to utilize the perks of SSD's u could buy a small one and load your OS onto it, and programs. And then use a HD for storage. You only need about 150g's for the OS and typical programs. And then a 1TG HD for storage. I would stick with Seagate or western digital for HD's, ive been using both for years with no issues.

[Malsua 1,422]

I put an 80gb SSD in my wife's gaming rig. She loads wicked fast when zoning and loading levels. It also boots like a mofo.

 

It was an 80gb Intel XM25 and I paid around $300 bucks for it a year and a half ago. Windows 7 automatically handles trimming so there's no real issue there.

 

I'm a big fan of the Caviar Black series of drives for standard hard disks. You can get faster a bunch of different ways but for a single plug and play solution for a good price, the Caviar Black is a winner.

[bbk 188]

Building a computer really is plug-n-play. I started building my own rigs when I was about 14 or 15 (roughly ten years ago for reference), to include troubleshooting software and hardware. So, definitely pretty easy, considering I've never had an engineering-type mind.

 

As for SSD, I'm not completely sold on the tech for the price yet. For a laptop/notebook, maybe-- depending on the intended use. If I carried it around for work/classes constantly, then it would be more favorable. However, if it played the same role as a desktop, seems a bit over the top. To me, there seems to be cheaper alternatives of improving load times then spending the extra money on an SSD.

[Drew 4]

If you don't want to splurge on a SSD, you can buy a 10K rpm drive and use that for your C-Drive. I have a 150GB WD VelociRaptor for my boot drive and it loads game maps much faster than others. Some will say that they wear out faster than other drives, but I haven't seen any difference in lifespan.

 

IMO, your better of building than buying built, for both cost and repair reasons.

 

P.S. When you think you have the build all planed out, post it on Tomshardware.com forum under the New Build section and ask for advice. They can help you to make the best bang for your buck choices and point out anything you may have missed.

[Anselmo 87]

I only buy AMD!! I thought i was the only one left!

 

My last Intel was a 600mhz Celeron.

 

My Win7 box has a quad core AMD and my Linux boxes run a dual core AMD. Love the AMD chips.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

My last Intel was a 600mhz Celeron.

 

My Win7 box has a quad core AMD and my Linux boxes run a dual core AMD. Love the AMD chips.

I've been running the 64bit dual core for years now, while there not the fastest out there, there some of the most reliable i have found. I just built a comp for my friend with the new quadcore they released, thats one sweet chip. I find AMD to be way less finicky then Intel, and better priced for what you get.

[Maksim 1,504]

And you can unlock the other cores. My main pc is still and Anthony 2500 barton core oc;ed to 3200. Years and years of stability.

 

First amd was an amd k6-3 with the first level 3 cache. That was a beast back then, right before athlon came out in the slotted versions.

[Maksim 1,504]

Or it could of been a k3-333 or k4. Don't recall.

[notmetoo 41]

Thanks guys. So how is that different from RAM?

 

The BIG difference between RAM and SSDs is that once power is off, RAM loses the data. SSDs maintain data even without power, which is how they can be reliably used as storage (versus volatile RAM). And they have improved rapidly and do not wear out as mentioned above. They'll last longer than the realistic life of any computer.

[Wolfy 51]

Why does SSD wear out? If it solid state don't the switches work on electricity?

[Malsua 1,422]

Why does SSD wear out? If it solid state don't the switches work on electricity?

 

Each memory location in SSD can flip it's charge from 0 to 1 or 1 to 0 a fixed number of times. Basically, it wears out.

 

The reality is, they've run destructive tests on these drives and they far far outperform their rated lifespan.

 

Caveat...if you're buying one that seems to be a lot cheaper than the others, there's a reason for it. It either is very slow or it's using second or third tier memory.

 

Windows 7 automatically manages SSD so that no parts of the "disk" get over used. The internal controller in the drive also manages this. The two together will give you a nice long life. It's still very spendy.

[Wolfy 51]

I find this topic fascinating. It will be useful once the price drops.

 

 

[Dan 177]

For those bashing SSD drives for whatever reason, have you ever owned one?

 

The only bad experiences with SSDs that I've seen were around the prior generation models that lacked garbage collection running on XP that does not support TRIM. Nowadays almost all the newer models support both internal garbage collection, and Windows 7 fully supports TRIM.

 

I have 5 of them total, in a pc and 2 laptops.

 

In my mind they have revolutionize computing. The single largest bottleneck in any system is the mass storage subsystem. Regular hard drives are mechanical, like a record player with an arm moving back and forth reading and writing disk sectors. They are horrible an anything but pure sequential reads.

 

SSD's knock the socks off of standard HD's in every performance aspect. If you can afford one, you will not regret it.

 

The newer generation SSD's, especially Sandforce controller models take very good care of themselves regarding garbage collection and memory wear leveling. I haven't even seen reports of first generation SSD's from years ago self-destructing due to memory wear. Couple that with most activity a hard drive does are reads... and you will have an SSD that lasts a long long time.

[Wolfy 51]

Are any manufacturers including these in their laptops?

[Dan 177]

Are any manufacturers including these in their laptops?

 

Pretty much all of them that I know of.

[Malsua 1,422]

Pretty much all of them that I know of.

 

The issue is that you really have to go out of your way to find a laptop with an SSD in it.

 

A few years ago, all the ASUS netbooks(and competition) came that way but before long they were all back to spinning platters again.

 

I have an ASUS netbook with an SSD and while it was a first gen SSD and sort of a slow one, the netbook is super light and can take a beating.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

For those bashing SSD drives for whatever reason, have you ever owned one?

 

Haven't owned them besides the SSD drive in my iPod Touch. I'm not really bashing them - just warning of the potential of failure. I'm actually considering getting a SSD drive for my laptop, however the cost and amount of storage available is a bit prohibitive.

[Malsua 1,422]

I've owned an 80gb SSD for 16 months or so, in the wife's computer. No problems at all, very fast. When I rebuild my rig, the base C drive will definitely be an SSD.

[Maksim 1,504]

You can still run SSD's in Raid 0 + 1?

[Maksim 1,504]

And it drove me up the wall... had to look it up... AMD K6-3 400. =)

[Dan 177]

You can still run SSD's in Raid 0 + 1?

 

I'm pretty sure that running SSD's in raid prevents TRIM from working. You would have to get a model that can do self contained garbage collection.

[Dan 177]

Haven't owned them besides the SSD drive in my iPod Touch. I'm not really bashing them - just warning of the potential of failure. I'm actually considering getting a SSD drive for my laptop, however the cost and amount of storage available is a bit prohibitive.

 

I hear ya. Everything has potential for failure, and its a big misconception that SSD's are out there failing all over the place to the point that its not worth buying. They just aren't.

 

That being said, I back up all of my important things both locally and online using Mozy. Backups have saved my a** plenty of times, just too many things can go wrong with digital storage to not back up.

[BRN169 6]

Each memory location in SSD can flip it's charge from 0 to 1 or 1 to 0 a fixed number of times. Basically, it wears out.

 

The reality is, they've run destructive tests on these drives and they far far outperform their rated lifespan.

 

Caveat...if you're buying one that seems to be a lot cheaper than the others, there's a reason for it. It either is very slow or it's using second or third tier memory.

 

Windows 7 automatically manages SSD so that no parts of the "disk" get over used. The internal controller in the drive also manages this. The two together will give you a nice long life. It's still very spendy.

 

Except in my case... My SSD ate a turd this morning... At least I have a good image of the data. 600GB Velociraptor on its way from Newegg tonight. Not a happy camper. 3 year warranty on the SSD so they will replace it but I was just getting used to the new machine...

[Drew 4]

Well now that we got the hard drive nailed down we only have to figure out the proccessor, motherboard, power supply, RAM, video card, the CD/DVD/Blue-Ray burner(s) and case

 

Seriously though, I dont think a SSD is going to be in his budget anyway. I wouldn't use anything less than 160GB for a boot drive, so with up to 2K to spend a $300-$400 SSD eats up to much of the budget IMO. For budget reasons I would buy a Velociraptor instead.