HD vs SSD

Discussion in 'Scrapping Pad' started by littlekiwi, Jun 16, 2021.

  1. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    I may be in a position where I am forced to replace my hard drive on my laptop thanks to a blue screen of death. I’ve already talked to a friend of mine who thinks more than likely it’s a hard drive failure causing it based on age of laptop (4 years old) and some of the issues I had assumed were normal. I’ll know more in the next day or two though when I take it to the repair place as to what’s wrong with my laptop. She did suggest that upgrading to a SSD might be worth it if it is actually my hard drive failing depending on cost but I’m so confused even after using Google….

    Can anyone explain simply what advantages it would have for someone that uses their laptop for a) MS Office tasks b) Internet browsing and c) Scrapping with Photoshop Elements & ACDSee
     
  2. Memaw2Wm

    Memaw2Wm Well-Known Member

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    SSD is faster ... the hard disk in my desktop failed and I replaced it with an SSD on the advice of the computer repair guy at Best Buy, he told me I'd be AMAZED at how fast my computer would start up when I turned it on, and I was. Apparently the SSD's don't fail as often as a regular HD. Anyhow, if you can afford it, go for the SSD.

    My laptop (2 years old) has both ... SSD to run the programs on and a regular HD for my data, photos, etc.
     
  3. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    Thanks @Memaw2Wm I really appreciate your opinion.

    24 hours ago this wasn’t on my radar but one blue screen of death, several black screens after that and it’s suddenly 100% on my radar. Had no real warning or anything to find money so it may be a case of cheapest option to get it working again. At the moment I’m not even sure it is the hard drive (I’m hoping it is as my friend says that should be the cheapest fix)
     
  4. bestcee

    bestcee In love with places I've never been to

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    In the most simple form, SSD and HD are hard drives that use a different mechanism to read and write your data. SSD is like a MP3 (flash type memory), and HD is like a record player (Spindle and spinning disk). SSD are faster, and usually use less power. SSD's have been much more expensive, but now they usually are only a little more expensive than HD's.

    If you can afford the SSD, go for it. Especially in a laptop, SSD's are typically a better option since they are less susceptible to drops and bumps.

    I have a hybrid set up - my programs run on an SSD and I store photos, documents, etc on an HD drive. When I built my computer, I got a 128 GB SSD. I kept very little on the SSD besides Windows operating system because of space. I upgraded the SSD to a 1TB about 4-5 years later for the same price I had purchased the 128GB. That was pre-pandemic, so I'm not sure where prices are at now. I run Adobe on my SSD now and it's so much smoother and faster than when it ran on my HD drive. In fact, I run all my programs from the SSD. My computer runs better and quieter and that's the only thing I changed. I do still use the HD for storage - like photos. 4TB SSD's are still pretty expensive!
     
  5. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    Don’t worry @bestcee I did know they were two different forms of hard drives but that was it. If it is actually my hard drive I think it will come down to cost in the end (and yes post Covid prices are a thing I’m most certainly worried about for sure).
     
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  6. IntenseMagic

    IntenseMagic Some grannies cuss a lot. I'm some grannies.

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    My son and I both have the hybrid option. Like Courtney said, we keep programs on the SSD and use the HD for storage of photos and documents. Mine is a smaller SSD, but I haven't had any space issues with it.
     
  7. Tree City

    Tree City Get a stepladder, I'm busy

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    Ditto. It's really nice to have a dedicated SSD for programs and big HDD for everything else. The SSD is 250GB, which I worried would be small, but it's fine.
    I upgraded my old laptop's HDD to a SSD and it was glorious. I couldn't believe how lightning-fast startup was, and PS loaded in seconds. Now, on my 6mo "gaming" desktop, it's even faster. (I don't game; I scrap lol.) I'm a big believer in buying the best you can afford. If you're worried about price (and aren't we all?), or if the specs of a HDD laptop are better than a comparably priced SSD, I'd get the HDD. It's (usually) easy to upgrade the drive later.
     
  8. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

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    SSD are SO awesome for holding programs. Everything opens so much faster on those. The SSD doesn't have any moving parts, so is more robust long term. If you can afford the price difference, it's a great way to go!
     
  9. LivyBug

    LivyBug I should be considered yarned and dangerous.

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    Yep, team SSD and HD! If it's in your budget I'd definitely consider an SSD. But really anything to get you scrapping again is good IMO :)
     
  10. rach3975

    rach3975 Well-Known Member

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    The main expense for you is probably going to be the labor. The difference between SSD and HD may be pretty small in comparison, but it depends how big a drive you need. I also have a hybrid setup. My HD is 2TB for photos and data. I had a 128 GB SSD for a few years before upgrading to a 500 GB SSD in December. I have no idea how New Zealand prices compare, but the drive itself was only about $65 American.
     
  11. Nemla

    Nemla Stretching my skill set

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    I have everything on SSD now, but I was told by the person who gave my desktop new inners , to make sure I back up really frequently to a third drive, because if the SSD's go wrong , then usually nothing is saved , whereas with an old HD it is usually possible to salvage something.... But it is fast, and you get a ton of memory for your money.
     
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  12. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    That’s pretty much my number one goal but also I need it to apply for jobs as well….a phone doesn’t cut it for that unfortunately.
     
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  13. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    My current hard drive is 1TB and if need be I could go down slightly but my preference would be to stick to the same size

    It’s actually not as bad as I thought if it is my hard drive….less than $300 including labour according to the quote that I got a day or so ago. My biggest problem isn’t so much the cost as such, it’s the fact I have no “emergency fund” or ability to acquire funds quickly as I rely 100% on government financial help (totally not my first choice but I’m doing everything I can to get full time work so I have to take what I can get right now).
     
  14. rach3975

    rach3975 Well-Known Member

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    That stinks, Jennifer! I know you've been trying to find a job for a long time, and I'm sure Covid made it even more difficult. No idea what to suggest about the computer, so I'll commiserate instead!
     
  15. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    @rach3975 I’ve got an idea or two floating around - I’m going to apply for some work from home part time jobs to do with our COVID response (a virtual call centre). I’ve done similarish call centrework before so have some skills and experience - it might be nothing to do with my degree but even 10-20 hours of work while living at home would be enough to give me breathing space to build up an emergency/job interview fund of sorts and give me current experience of sorts.

    If it’s only my HD I’ll be ok, anything else and I’ll have to reassess. At the moment I’m ignoring the fact I also need a haircut, new iPhone battery and a doctors visit because priority is a working laptop.
     
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  16. jaye

    jaye My other car is a Zamboni!

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    @littlekiwi good luck with your job search!!

    I don't use my laptop (takes too long to boot up, think I need to clean it out). On my desktop, I have both an HD and an SSD. I keep PS, LR, and my font manager on the SSD (225 GB), and my HD has everything else (1 TB).

    Hope you find a good solution to get you back up and running soon!
     
  17. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    Yay, it was my hard drive after all. Spoke to the repair technician and they’re just doing final installation of windows and ram then testing it but I should have it in the next few hours if not first thing tomorrow. Bonus is it was less cost than expected and they’ve agreed to install the RAM I’d previously bought.
     
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  18. umyesh

    umyesh President of the Hangry Ladies Supper Club

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    I'm excited for you to get it back! That's great it's going to cost less than expected too!
     
  19. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    I’m excited too…..less so about setting it up again but it must be done.
     
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  20. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

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    That's great news Jennifer!
     

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