Solid State Hard Drives

[Abarbarian]

Okay okay. Not for me i'm afraid...i'd have trouble plugging in a flash drive LOL
Zzzzz

If you can replace a fuse in a household electrical plug you can replace a hdd in a laptop it ain't rocket science.

 

[Abarbarian]

The main hard drive on my main system is only 138Gb (150Gb) and is 2 x Western Digital Raptors in a RAID 0 config.

Current setup:

To replace them with an SSD, nearest size is 160Gb, would be £565.00 (inc postage) Link

That's still a lot of money.

And I wonder whether this single SSD would be faster?

I have a feeling it would be.

It would most certainly be quieter.

But - still too little gain for the price for me to be interested.

Prediction: Give it six to nine months

That SSD you linked to is quite a bit slower than this one,

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...k=view&id=298&Itemid=60&limit=1&limitstart=15

A 120 GB version of which can be had from here at $364 = £229 but that does not include shipping,

http://www.ewiz.com/query.php?categry=0&s=ultradrive

So Overclockers are selling slower drives at much higher prices.

Taken from my first link above,

" In conclusion, the Super Talent UltraDrive ME Solid State Drive offers tremendous performance in read and write bandwidth speeds and an exceptional 0.10 ms response time at a attainable price. The Indilinx 'Barefoot' controller is second to none, and the UltraDrive series easily outperforms a RAID-0 set of Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drives. The only drawback is price, which keeps the ratio just under $3 per gigabyte or storage space. I can recommend the Super Talent UltraDrive ME 128GB MLC SSD FTM28GX25H to cutting-edge super-users and performance enthusiasts who want unmatched response and speed from their computer system."

An interestingly

" Many consumers have a personal attachment to manufacturers inside the computer hardware industry. For example, if asked which brand of system memory products an enthusiast prefers, the answer could be Crucial, Super Talent, Patriot, OCZ, or Corsair. The irony is that Micron makes the DRAM IC units for all of these manufacturers, and what you're ultimately paying for is the name, label, and warranty. Of course, the companies would all have you believe that their product is better than another, but the truth is that most of these products are licensed and/or sold from one source. Another parallel example is Solid State Drives. "

So it looks as though all SSD's are made with the same basic ingredients and it all comes down to how they are thrown together a bit like cake baking.

Yup I agree a few more months and it will be time to buy and fly.

Of course you could get two and raid them but then the problem would be could the old grey cell keep up. Result operator error which is the usual case for pc cock ups.

At least in my case.

 

[floppybootstomp]

OCUK are probably desperately trying to sell the stock they have before they supply newer generation SSD's.

The SSD's you've linked to are faster, agreed, but it's not really possible to set a UK price from that reference, other factors come into play and you cannot do a straight dollar to Pounds sterling conversion to reach a price.

Everything to do with computers in The States is cheaper than in the UK. Why this should be I do not know but I suspect it's to do with lower taxes in America.

I've found in the past that something selling for $60.00 in the USA will actually sell for £60.00 in the UK, in other words like dollar for like pound.

And that's probably more now as the dollar has strengthened against the pound recently.

And so far, I haven't found any USA online suppliers willing to ship to the UK.

You can, of course, get an individual to ship you goods and send them real dollar bills, I have done this several times in the past.

If your goods pass through customs without attracting import duty, it's worth it. If you are unlucky enough to have your parcel chosen at random by customs and pay the duty, it's hardly worth going to all the bother, the savings are minimal.

I'm looking forward to the day when these devices become affordable.

I also wonder, when they become common and demand for mechanical storage devices drops, will this in turn raise prices of conventional hard drives? Food for thought

 

[Abarbarian]

Points taken it is best to buy in the uk if you can for returns etc. That supplier will ship to the uk. I have bought several items form the states in the past. Some came through without duty and a couple had duty applied but they were still cheaper than in the uk. The exchange rate at the moment is awful so as you say it probably is not worth it .

It is proving to be a exciting year what with the latest AMD cpu's SSD's, 7 , emerging Linux, Chinese cpu's etc etc . Great.

 

[captain zed]

and send them real dollar bills

What other kind is there man?? have you got a press going somewhere

Zzzzz

 

[floppybootstomp]

What other kind is there man?? have you got a press going somewhere

Zzzzz

Ok, smarty-pants

I meant cash that an American could bank without hassle, rather than a bank transfer or cheque, is all.

Of course, sending cash is a risk but it's always worked for me when I've traded with those Stars n Stripes fellows

 

[captain zed]

Ok, smarty-pants

I meant cash that an American could bank without hassle, rather than a bank transfer or cheque, is all.

Of course, sending cash is a risk but it's always worked for me when I've traded with those Stars n Stripes fellows

Sorry man couldnt help meself...in a funny mood all day, not so funny either if ya know what i mean.
I suppose posting anything carries a risk these days....i think postal staff have a nose at what goes through the mail and i wont say anymore about that incase i may later regret it LOL. Is a bank transfer electronic, cos if it is then it'd be safe enough....would the solid states be in a decent state all the way from the states, i state??
Zzzzz

 

[floppybootstomp]

You're in a bit of a state aren't you?

Cold shower. Now

 

[captain zed]

Dont do cold showers man....thats for kids....my ticker couldnt take it anymore....did you get back to the steam thread this evening??? Also i have worked it out meself like, that youre a DJ and was curious as to the type of tunes ya listen to and then the fact your switching em to digital is it house or techno or summat??

Zzzzz

 

[floppybootstomp]

Dont do cold showers man....thats for kids....my ticker couldnt take it anymore....did you get back to the steam thread this evening??? Also i have worked it out meself like, that youre a DJ and was curious as to the type of tunes ya listen to and then the fact your switching em to digital is it house or techno or summat??

Zzzzz

We are getting seriously off-topic now and those with big furry brown eyebrows and an American Sensible Eagle expression may take umbrage, wag a finger and murmur 'tut-tut'

In brief: I DJ'ed from 1971 until present with gaps taken between 1975-79 and 2001-2006. I'm still doing it.

Mostly I played heavy rock and Indie stuff, have played many many venues including the Bulldog Bash, the biker's thingie.

One week from now I'll be packing up the equipment after doing my niece's wedding disco at a rather posh place in Bexley, Kent.

I specialise in rock and Irish music, have done countless Irish weddings, 1st Holy Communions, Christenings, birthdays and wakes.

Was never a club DJ in the dance sense but if I had to pick a dance genre, it would be trance.

Ok, happy now?

And you?

 

[captain zed]

I'm a slave to anything with a hard bass beat....has to have lotsa drive and be uplifting...i'm packing all my stuff up though....i DJ'ed in Dublin City Centre but never made much money....then drugs exploded onto the scene just as i was getting good and it was time to leave.....i dont know whether to sell me gear n records or store them in the attic.
I must have about 800 12" vinyls most of which i would call anthems (more like 30 percent) and are really, probably only valuable to me. Also i think that vinyls and decks are dying out. Are there any dance tunes you might be looking for??
Zzzzz

 

[floppybootstomp]

Nice offer but no thanks, I'm in the process of getting rid of all my vinyl and will shortly be listing lots of stuff on E-Bay.

I invited a few friends round to view what was on offer and young Andy the DJ couldn't believe his luck when he found 12"- er's of Dominator by Human Resource and Take Me Away by True Faith - quite made his day

Dave the Bass bought about 25 albums and I sorted out all the ones (about a 50/50 mix of albums & singles) that were in no fit condition to sell. That meant I gave away about a box and half's worth to the local charity shop. Last I saw, customer's were fighting over them, lol

That leaves about 4 boxes full to sell, which could take a long time unless I took them to a dealer and got peanuts for them, which I may very well do. Each box is about 55cm/21" long btw and no, I don't know how many each box holds.

Over the last few years I've backed up trax I want to keep and now have 65 CD's of recorded vinyl. Plus at least 50 albums transferred from vinyl to CD. I'm almost finished now. Oddly enough, the transferred vinyl on CD does sound better than it's commercialy available CD.

There doesn't seem to be much of a market for 7" vinyl singles, of which I have lots. I will try a few on E-Bay but if they don't sell I figure they're due to go to the charity shop.

 

[Abarbarian]

Dont do cold showers man....thats for kids....my ticker couldnt take it anymore....did you get back to the steam thread this evening??? Also i have worked it out meself like, that youre a DJ and was curious as to the type of tunes ya listen to and then the fact your switching em to digital is it house or techno or summat??

Zzzzz

He wears purple boots if that helps you format an impression off his character.

 

[Abarbarian]

Corsair enter the field

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2813/corsair_p256_2_5_inch_solid_state_disk/index.html

Looks to be pretty darn good for home use. An the price is dropping. The last page of the article is worth a read.

 

[PotGuy]

I doubt these will be in everyday use as soon as some of you have suggested, simply because it will take one hell of a long time IMO for them to drop sufficiently in price.

Three years ago, 250gb was the maximum I could afford. Now, 500gb is the same price. But it has taken three years for that to happen really, and probably an equal-ish amount of time for it to go from 160~ to 250~.

There will be simply no need to put an SSD in an average office computer until they are cheaper than the mechanical one, and that won't happen for ages I reckon.

 

[Abarbarian]

I doubt these will be in everyday use as soon as some of you have suggested, simply because it will take one hell of a long time IMO for them to drop sufficiently in price.

Three years ago, 250gb was the maximum I could afford. Now, 500gb is the same price. But it has taken three years for that to happen really, and probably an equal-ish amount of time for it to go from 160~ to 250~.

There will be simply no need to put an SSD in an average office computer until they are cheaper than the mechanical one, and that won't happen for ages I reckon.

If it is cheaper to manufacture SSD's they will come down in price rapidly once they have covered their development costs. They have already droppped 50% in price in a very short time. Once the "I must have" herd starts to pick up on the idea that they are better than sliced bread after a few gaming reviews, prices will drop.

 

[TriplexDread]

YAe been pottering around with the idea myself. Problem is 30gig is about the maximum i could afford at present so I would only purchase one for video editing and encoding. An issue I have with that then is the other drives in the system my act as a bottle neck so it maybe a bit pointless

 

[Abarbarian]

YAe been pottering around with the idea myself. Problem is 30gig is about the maximum i could afford at present so I would only purchase one for video editing and encoding. An issue I have with that then is the other drives in the system my act as a bottle neck so it maybe a bit pointless

Personally I'd give it another six months or early next year. Seagate have to enter the fray yet and they are tweaking the firmware etc.
I do all me recoding overnight with the application set to shut down the pc when the job is finished. Makes for a cooler pc.

 

[Abarbarian]

Prices are plummetting ........

Crucial have a second entry to the field and it is a winner both in price and practice. An don't forget Seagate have still to make a move.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2846/crucial_m225_256gb_solid_state_disk/index.html

"In our first Crucial solid state drive review we tested the companies first generation product at the same time other companies were releasing their second and third generation drives. As you can imagine, the drive didn’t perform as well as the newer drives. A few months after the review, Lexar, the parent company of Crucial, announced that a new SSD was headed our way, but after weeks of waiting we found out that the product wouldn’t materialize. Looking back now it is easy to see why Crucial let the paper launch turn into vaporware; JMicron drives were all the rage and even though everyone knew about the issues that accompanied them, the companies still released the drives, all except for Crucial."

Looks like the strategy of waiting is going to pay off for Crucial.

Want to know how the SSD's are made,

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/2845/runcore_factory_tour_video_production_of_an_ssd/index.html

An a short on the Runcore latest free migration software.

http://www.viddler.com/explore/TweakTown/videos/46/

 

[floppybootstomp]

Prices are plummetting?

A pair of 256Gb Crucial SSD drives will cost you £841.78p at time of posting.

A pair of Velicoraptor 300Gbdrives will cost you aprox £338.00 inc postage.

They'll have to plummett a bit further before anybody takes them seriously...

Each time I read one of these posts I get all excited then am always disappointed

There is absolutely no point whatsoever in giving prices in USD, it's a completely different market/pricing structure in the States. They're spoilt and they don't even realise it.