Computer build- HDD/SSD questions

Mr.Moose

Mr.Moose

New Member
Hello people, I'm currently working up a computer build but due to money issues I'm changing up my build from all angles. It's not really new news that floods in Thailand are halting HDD production (primarily Seagate/WD) and that HDD prices are going up. Paying 200 bucks for a drive I that I could have bought for 60 a few months back isn't the best if you're on a budget such as I am.
So here's the deal,
I have 2 old 500GB 5200rpm drives that I plan to use for data storage. The only problem is that I don't think I should use the drives for booting. I want my boot drive to either be a small (≥ 60gb) SSD or a 7200rpm 32 mb cache HDD. The only problem with the HDD option is that to get those speeds you generally need to opt for a larger drive which means more money. As mass storage is covered I'm mainly focused on a boot drive.

So any HDD/SSD recommendations? Not sure if it will make a difference but my motherboard is a GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 so it supports SSD caching though personally I'm not a huge fan of the technology.

Another option but I'm not sure if it's possible... Since I have 2 hard drives could I install only the OS on 1 drive then put all my personal data storage on the other. Eventually when prices go down could I not just take out the OS drive, stick in a large faster one and re-install the OS on the larger/faster drive?

Thank you for taking your time to read my post!

Good day to you
 
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Mr.Moose said:
-I want my boot drive to either be a small (≥ 60gb) SSD or a 7200rpm 32 mb cache HDD. The only problem with the HDD option is that to get those speeds you generally need to opt for a larger drive which means more money. As mass storage is covered I'm mainly focused on a boot drive.

-motherboard is a GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 so it supports SSD caching though personally I'm not a huge fan of the technology.

-Eventually when prices go down could I not just take out the OS drive, stick in a large faster one and re-install the OS on the larger/faster drive?
Click to expand...
-If by larger you mean 32mb, the cashe doesn't play that big of a role in the speed of the hdd.
-I'm not either. Just use it as a straight up boot drive.
-I think the day of the $40-50-60 good hdd is gone for good. I think the prices will eventually come down from where they are, but it's going to be a while, 6mo - yr imo. And when they do, they won't be 60 bucks.

I think the ssd os/programs drive and your hdd's as storage is the way to go right now. You could get better data storage later on. Hopefully you right now have backup for those old drives.
 
Thanks for your reply man, appreciate it.

Yeah, after looking at prices I also think an SSD is the way to go...

Now, anyone know any reliable SSD brands? I've never really looked into it and don't know where to beign...

My budget would be around 100 dollars? Since it's for my OS/1-3 programs it doesn't need to be larger than 60GB. Also, I don't need the fastest SSD on the market under 100, anything that's just a little quicker than a 7200/10000 rpm drive would be fine by me.

I've also heard that SSD drives can be unstable/don't have a long life span? Can anyone verify this/tell me where people could come to this conclusion?

Thanks again Bennyboy!
 
Benny Boy said:
I think the ssd os/programs drive and your hdd's as storage is the way to go right now. You could get better data storage later on. Hopefully you right now have backup for those old drives.
Click to expand...

i agree...

SSD is the best bang for your buck atm.
and you should definitely not be looking to purchase any HDD right now either.
but if you are in the market for HDD, good luck to you.

anyways, i would always recommend getting anyone a SSD for a bootdisk drive, that will be a really nice boost for your computer, for sure.

i cant help you on any specifics, but i always find this site very useful...
http://www.eio.com/c-762-solid-state-drives.aspx
brand recommendation: Intel, OCZ, Corsair
 
tremmor said:
I would try harder to get into a 80 gig minimum. Maybe a 60 will get ya by.
For fastest speed and set up check this out and installation.
http://www.computerforum.com/192436-setup-manage-ssd.html
Click to expand...

Why would I need anything really over 40? I mean all I'll be using it for it a boot drive and for 3-4 programs that'll load on startup. (Google Chrome, Utorrent, foobar, and my AV) 80 seems pretty overkill, at least for my purposes
 
Programs ya use often. Firefox or what ever. Ya can do what ya want. Intel is cheap and what i have. Cheaper than others. have a 80 gig. Keeps ya flexible. Goto Newegg and query Intel ssd drives. the other hd can be used for installation of other programs and the other you say ya have for backups of programs, pictures or what ever.
Do read the installation guide. 30 gig is very small. Your choice.
You will be to tight with 30 gig SSD drive as a primary.
 
I think what I may end up doing is sticking with a 40GB drive for now as a boot drive, load what I can and if I need more just get another 40+GB for extra programs and such. Mainly as I'm on a budget and want to spend as little as possible...
 
Some have 3yr warranty and all the good ones have 2,000,000 hrs MTBF. I woudn't worry about it failing, they're very reliable.
With 30gb you'll wind up with what Windows sees as about 26-27. I agree with tremmor that that's cutting it too close.
c:\ will grow some over time and having extra unused space keeps the performance up longer.
As you'll find, the extra 20-24gb the 60ish gb drive has over the 40,,doesn't cost that much more. If any.
 
I'll have to slow down my build a little but I've gone with your advice and instead of a 40 im going with a 60. I noticed with most SDD's there's alot of 5 star reviews, and alot of 1 start review and not much in between.

This Crucial drive has 126/148 are 5 stars so...

I'm going with this
 
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