The joys of SSD (solid state drive(s))
Dec 3, 2015 14:52:47 GMT
Lynnrose, jojo, and 1 more like this
Post by mikkh on Dec 3, 2015 14:52:47 GMT
Finally got round to seeing what all the fuss is about with the purchase of a Samsung EVO 850 SSD (£65 from Ebay)
I got the 250 GB model because 120 was probably pushing it with me wanting Linux and Windows on it
I'm not one for keeping hoards of videos/music/pictures - IMO that's what external drives are for, so a bigger drive was an expense I couldn't justify
Installation was easy on my desktop, just unplug the existing drive and plug in the SSD.
I had no intention of saving/transferring my Windows 10, so I didn't need to use the supplied software to clone my drive
You need a lead (not supplied) to do that anyway (SATA to USB) but that didn't bother me as I intended to start from scratch with Windows 7
Insert the Windows 7 DVD and away we go.......
Much quicker install (as expected) and running the Windows experience index gave me a score of 7.7 for the hard drive speed.
The maximum is 7.9 on this very basic test and it did make me wonder what drive actually scores that, because the Samsung EVO 850 is highly rated in all reviews I've seen. Boot up time is noticeably MUCH quicker, so I didn't bother timing it - it was blindingly obvious, at least 3 times quicker than before
Programs load quicker and after various geeky tests I won't bore you with, I had one real World test left for it, to prove that SSD's really are the way to go
The bane of every Windows users life is running a full scan of their security software, which for virus checkers can be anything from 10 minutes to an hour or longer.
I run MBAM on an almost daily basis on other peoples PC's, so I chose to run a full scan of that rather than my virus checker - because I knew it would be quicker mostly
Full scan (including heuristics which can take ages on an older slower machine) took 2 mins and 3 seconds total. Very impressed with that, even though it was never going to be high on a brand new install
That would have taken 5-7 minutes with my mechanical drive on this PC
I've seen many claims by manufacturers of SSD's saying 5/8/10 times quicker, but in most of my tests I'm seeing 3 times quicker as an average.
My mechanical drive was a good one though, so for people with older slower drives the 5 times (or better) claim could well be true.
Worth getting one? That would be a definite yes
I got the 250 GB model because 120 was probably pushing it with me wanting Linux and Windows on it
I'm not one for keeping hoards of videos/music/pictures - IMO that's what external drives are for, so a bigger drive was an expense I couldn't justify
Installation was easy on my desktop, just unplug the existing drive and plug in the SSD.
I had no intention of saving/transferring my Windows 10, so I didn't need to use the supplied software to clone my drive
You need a lead (not supplied) to do that anyway (SATA to USB) but that didn't bother me as I intended to start from scratch with Windows 7
Insert the Windows 7 DVD and away we go.......
Much quicker install (as expected) and running the Windows experience index gave me a score of 7.7 for the hard drive speed.
The maximum is 7.9 on this very basic test and it did make me wonder what drive actually scores that, because the Samsung EVO 850 is highly rated in all reviews I've seen. Boot up time is noticeably MUCH quicker, so I didn't bother timing it - it was blindingly obvious, at least 3 times quicker than before
Programs load quicker and after various geeky tests I won't bore you with, I had one real World test left for it, to prove that SSD's really are the way to go
The bane of every Windows users life is running a full scan of their security software, which for virus checkers can be anything from 10 minutes to an hour or longer.
I run MBAM on an almost daily basis on other peoples PC's, so I chose to run a full scan of that rather than my virus checker - because I knew it would be quicker mostly
Full scan (including heuristics which can take ages on an older slower machine) took 2 mins and 3 seconds total. Very impressed with that, even though it was never going to be high on a brand new install
That would have taken 5-7 minutes with my mechanical drive on this PC
I've seen many claims by manufacturers of SSD's saying 5/8/10 times quicker, but in most of my tests I'm seeing 3 times quicker as an average.
My mechanical drive was a good one though, so for people with older slower drives the 5 times (or better) claim could well be true.
Worth getting one? That would be a definite yes
