Topic: SSD System Storage Pros and Cons

[lncc63]

Am contemplating using HTPCs instead of NMTs in our setups.  I'd like them to be as NMT-like in terms of convenience and user friendliness. 

I'm wondering how much faster using an SSD (solid state drive) for the OS and XMBC would improve boot up time.  Any idea?  Our media will be stored on a NAS, if so what would be a good size of storage?  Aside from speed what other advantages are there? 

Please recommend brands, mention of current prices would also be most helpful.

TIA

[Stagea]

The performance improvement is definitely noticeable when it comes to system responsiveness and bootup/shutdown time.

The SSD Big 3 (Samsung, Intel, Micron and their rebrands) make fairly safe consumer SSD choices. Imo, 96-128GB is enough for a typical OS and Application drive for HTPC use. You'd know your needs far more than I do.

Don't worry too much if you are not getting the fastest of the current crop, just make sure that you're getting something fairly new and reliable. Even the slower SSDs these days still perform much better than the best consumer HDDs (and older SSDs) for the most part. Also keep an eye on faulty models that were released --- shockingly, there are quite a number of them.

Lastly: Make sure that you configure your OS to minimize write cycles on your SSD. SSD wear (life, reliability and performance) is directly tied to the number of write cycles made.

Best of luck.

[toys4geeks]

cons :lower capacity, cost and life on writes
pros: fast, reliable

for storage, have you considered wiring a central NAS and access via network?

[lncc63]

Thanks guys for pointing out the limited writes.  This actually worries me because the OS and application would do a good number of write operations on the SSD. 

@toys4geeks  Yes, am considering a central NAS.

[toys4geeks]

@toys4geeks  Yes, am considering a central NAS.

If wired,  ok yan if walls are still open, go for wired with backup line (two per wall, 1 LAN 1 for backup or phone) and drop every line to where your DSL router is)
If wireless, signal strength na lang bantayan mo before installing kasi depends sa placement ng devices mo (HTPC/NMT)


for video -- challenge sa wireless is the performance sa video on 1080p, so make sure you get wireless N 300. 720p over wireless is ok, 1080p occasionally may lag pero if you dont mind that, least cost ang wireless (mura and easy din kasi wireless).

for music -- since each play seperately, HTPC source has a jack, the best pair is a powered speakers into a 3.5" jack to your player/source.

I avoided the ceiling speakers by using screen off feature of my LG.  i select the audio from my diskless,networked NMT which is velcroed at the back of my display, LG screen off  , voila. I guess acceptable kasi medjo maganda ang speakers ng LG 5500.

for the other rooms where i wanted audio, since NMT ang source ko, i used powered speaker  -> jack to RCA jack adaptor -> NMT stereo out. alternately, i have wished there's a jack by the headboard where i can plug the powered speakers so i can control the volume manually via the speakers knob.

goodluck sa project mo.

[DTNS]

Am contemplating using HTPCs instead of NMTs in our setups.  I'd like them to be as NMT-like in terms of convenience and user friendliness. 

I'm wondering how much faster using an SSD (solid state drive) for the OS and XMBC would improve boot up time.  Any idea?  Our media will be stored on a NAS, if so what would be a good size of storage?  Aside from speed what other advantages are there? 

Please recommend brands, mention of current prices would also be most helpful.

TIA

I use an Intel SSD on my desktop and a Patriot SSD on my laptop. both can boot in less than 30 seconds. application launch times are also much much faster. (for programs saved/ installed in the SSD)

I recommend the following brands:

Intel (most reliable)
OCZ (fast)
Corsair (fast)
Crucial (fast)

"OK" brands: (very good prices, but don't seem to reach their claimed speeds in real-world use)

Patriot

Avoid brands:

G.Skill (I've seen negative reviews about G.Skill's SSDs)


as for recommended sizes: I think the ideal price/size of an SSD is the 120GB size. these go for 8+k now. 120GB would be enough for both the OS and a couple of programs. if you just want a fast boot drive, get a 60GB SSD. smaller sizes like 32 or 40GB ARE enough for an install of Windows 7 64bit. but you might run into problems with the page file and updates in the future.


HTH! 

[Stagea]

Thanks guys for pointing out the limited writes.  This actually worries me because the OS and application would do a good number of write operations on the SSD.  

Wear levelling helps things significantly, and there are ways to prevent windows from writing too much unnecessary stuff.

The following can be useful when using SSDs:
1. Enable TRIM, if available
2. Don't Defrag, as this just adds write activity
3. Have sufficient RAM
4. Keep the scratch and page files in a separate drive (if this is not feasible, there are many other tweaks to reduce access to these)
5. As with other scratch files, also transfer the temp, download and browser cache folders to a separate drive.

[lncc63]

And long time ago, I seem to remember using RAM drives for temporary files to speed things up.  This was when a 4Gb drive cost $1000 and access times were in the 100s of ms.  Can such still be done with Win 7.  With Linux, I think so but how I could also use help with.

[frequenzy]

major cons lang cguro ng SSD is yung price at lower capacity. problem sa ram drive is capacity, if you have small databases that requires a quick response then it has an advantge. otherwise its best to stick to hard drives.

[Stagea]

And long time ago, I seem to remember using RAM drives for temporary files to speed things up.  This was when a 4Gb drive cost $1000 and access times were in the 100s of ms.  Can such still be done with Win 7.  With Linux, I think so but how I could also use help with.

RAM is cheap now, so it's certainly something to consider if you're after ultimate speed. The volatility might be a huge inconvenience though (unless you'd just be using it for scratch files and the like).

There are multiple utilities in the market that allow you to build a RAM drive. I think RAMDisk is quite popular.

[lncc63]

Thanks to all.  Finally got a Vertex 60 Gb.  Yeah not in the list but is according to the vendor better than the Corsair.  It does boot Ubuntu very very fast ... haven't timed it but probably about 20 seconds ... faster than the Mede8er. 

Not really a fan of open source desktops but this is another topic.

[Stagea]

Thanks to all.  Finally got a Vertex 60 Gb.  Yeah not in the list but is according to the vendor better than the Corsair.  It does boot Ubuntu very very fast ... haven't timed it but probably about 20 seconds ... faster than the Mede8er. 

Not really a fan of open source desktops but this is another topic.

If that's an OCZ Vertex 2, that's probably a Sandforce driven device with Micron chips inside.

[lncc63]

Actually it's an OCZ Vertex 3 ... was just putting away the box.

[Stagea]

Actually it's an OCZ Vertex 3 ... was just putting away the box.

I see. That's still Sandforce based, with most likely Micron chips (Vertex 3 normally uses Micron or Intel). Vertex 2 comes with versions running Hynix and Intel chips, but majority supposedly utilize Micron or Spectek components.