Post: #51

(05-15-2015 10:19 PM)kbell Wrote:  Life remaining? The tool tells you when it will fail? Mines a samsung and I don't believe it has a tool like that.

This is an increasingly relevant point with SSD's. It used to be write limits were constraining their lifespan, but now SSD's fail more often from controlers overheating and failing which catastrophically makes the whole disk more or less worthless in one fell swoop. An SSD doesn't negate a sane back up plan.

Post: #52

(05-18-2015 03:19 PM)Tigre Wrote:  

(05-16-2015 12:43 AM)samsamsam Wrote:  Slight tangent, but what free program do you recommend to clone an HDD?

I'd like to clone all my programs including OS, so in case the drive fails, I can just pop open my backup, drop it in and fire it up.

I have googled and looked around on Tom's but value this community's opinion. Thanks.

I'm going to use this guide for the switch over:
http://lifehacker.com/5837543/how-to-mig...ng-windows

It suggests EaseUS Todo Backup Free as the disk cloning utility.

I ended up using Acronis Total Image. Clonezilla looks pretty good if you are slightly technical. I used both. If I didn't have bad sectors I think Clonezilla would have been fine. Acronis was able to complete it and I was able to use my windows install disc to repair the few errors to get my new drive to boot.

Both were free.

http://support.wdc.com/product/downloadd...p?swid=119
http://clonezilla.org/

Post: #53

(05-08-2015 04:50 PM)Fast Eddie Wrote:  Now that I've finished venting, the point is I have to replace this drive. I was considering going the SSD route, but even expensive ones provide a paltry 256GB. Once you subtract OS space and basic necessities like Office etc, you're left with basically no space for additional software. Modern software suites are massive hard disk hogs. Are you guys saying it's possible to run programs off of a secondary HDD and dedicate the SSD to just the OS and the most commonly used applications?

The Intel SSD I posted above you'll notice is a 60 GB model. This computer has Windows 7 Pro and Office installed, not to mention Dropbox with all my folders synced and it's only half full.

Post: #54

Extreme SSD usage example:



(warning: nerdiness)

Post: #55

The bottleneck in computing hasn't been memory speed, FSB speeds, or processing speed or capacity... It's been drive read/write/seek times until SSDs came out.

Most consumers don't think about this, but all those 1-20 sec waits you do for a files and programs to load add up to a waste of life.

I have SSDs in 2 laptops and a desktop, and none of them are the fastest processors or maxed memory. But all of them perform fast as hell and have changed my outlook on computing.

SSD SATA 3s really scream, but for a bigger boost, install a PCI slot SSD, another 20-40% faster but big bucks still. I love them, but they are susceptible to crash.

Don't think buying the best rated drives means a helluva lot. I've had the highest rated SSDs crash, and when they do, they're completely done, don't bother trying to fix. Of course the two I've had crash did so 1 month beyond warranty dates. However I'd avoid total junk too. Many options, absolutely love the performance boost.