I need some reassuring on SSDs

[jayrap]

So I'm planning on buying a solid state drive for my OS and main non-game program files: http://www.sevenforums.com/installa...re-advise-fresh-installs-etc.html#post1674686

I'm pretty confident that I can do alright with that, but I want to make sure that my SSD lasts as long as possible while maintaining decent performance.

I came across this in a review on the SSD I want to buy: Corsair Force 3 120GB SSD review

I understand it is telling me to disable a few things in order to keep the SSD performing well.

I am also worried about things such as power loss. Where I live, power cuts are rare, but they do happen maybe twice or three times a year. I understand about getting a UPS but I don't know much about them and they are surprisingly hard to find. My PSU is a 750W one (which doesn't normally consume that much if you look at what is in my system).

So before I ask for a list of how to maintain SSDs, I have a few worries or unknowns in my head that I'd like busted. Does that make sense?

1. I read someone about SSD's continuing to consume power when the system is powered down? If true, what happens if you unplug the PC from the wall? Or remove the motherboard battery? Maybe I'm just paranoid but I'd love to know.

2. If there is a power cut and my SSD is not writing anything, will be fine?
2.1 If there is a power cut and my SSD is writing, is it likely to corrupt everything?

3. This The SSD Optimization Guide - The SSD Review
3.1 I would be using one SSD and 2 HDD's so would I be compromising the HDD's in any way?

I often read about failures of SSDs (although that's probably only because most people who write about them have had faulty SSDs and most people don't have failures) and I want to make sure I'm maintaining it well. It seems that HDDs are very good if you don't want complications but are more likely to fail from a mechanical failure (plus are slower) but a SSD (which also has a limited lifespan but much larger due to no mechanical parts) can still fail.

I just need to reassurance. I'm a bit paranoid maybe, but some expert information would be appreciated

 

[badger906]

im going to put this simple BUY ONE NOW!! NO WAIT GET 2!!

i have a corsair force 3 120gb in my gaming rig and its been amazing. I have done nothing special or changed any settings other than from IDE to AHCI in the Bios.

The failure rate of an SSD is a lot lower than a mechanical drive as there isnt any moving parts, and the life expectancy of an SSD is like 30years of nonstop use lol.

I cant see how an SSD can consume power on an off computer as there is no power being sent along the 12v rails, when its off its off. It doesnt need power to keep its memory, its just like a giant flash stick.

As for a power cut.. id worry about that if and when, i cant see it having any worse effect on a computer with a normal hard drive or an SSD.

If you buy a smaller SSD (60gb) you can enable fast cache, in conjunction with another larger mechanical drive, allowing the instand speed of an ssd but with the size of a larger drive, however it wont be as fast, and if on fails i think both set of data will be lost (might be wring on that)

i have only an SSD in my gaming rig, and im soon to add another, im that impressed id rather buy 2-3 SSD than add on mechanical drive.

and i think your paranoid. seek help in the form of retail therapy and get your butt on ebuyer and order an SSD!

 

[badger906]

lol dont look at the thread below this one... thats just epically good/bad timing...!

 

[Sedril]

I love my SSD's...

First, I'd say, get a UPS... It's one of the best things you can add to a computer setup to keep everything safe... If power fails, no matter what hardware you have, you run risk of data corruption or worse, hardware failures...

I have 3 SSD's now, and have always gone with the OCZ Vertex line, but almost went with Corsair this last time... I've had great success with mine, no failures...

Don't read too far into those guides that tell you to turn everything off... Don't defrag the SSD, move your user files to the HDD. Run WEI and most of the settings will be taken care of by windows itself...

My first SSD still has 100% of life left after over a year of use, and I leave my computers on 24/7

If you go with a sandforce controller (OCZ Vertex) you are recommended to change some power options, set the hard drive shut off timer to "never") That controller has what is called garbage collection which maintains the drive while it is idle, meaning it needs some idle time...

If you need any step by step install instructions we could help you out once you get your SSD....

 

[jayrap]

Cheers

Money is a big issue though as I am a student. I've had my current PC somce December 2009 (of course the gfx card has been updated since from a HD 5850 to a HD 6970. I am currently waiting for my next bit of money so I can get the SSD (as well as some new Corsair Vengence 1600MHz DDR3 (8GB) to replace my 4GB 1333MHz)

So multiple SSDs now is not an option.

Not in a family where Christmas is highly spent on (due to low family income we do a £30 per person secret Santa in the family but I have my pressie already - my first new bike since I was 9 years old. It also counts as my birthday present which will be in January (18th bday). To build my rig I worked hard in the summer holidays and after school in 2009 but this summer I was exhausted from college work and just wanted to relax. No time for a part time job anymore really. I do have a paper round which is what would pay for the stuff but it's not much. I also get EMA but I'm often late and unintentially missing lessons meaning no pay

So the 60GB SSD is a really big purchase for me. I want it to last well and long.

But the thread http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware...-i-need-some-help-restoring-backup-image.html posted just after me as pointed out is a worry again

As for a UPS, I probably can't afford one of those either yet

 

[badger906]

Like you said earlier you only hear about the failures as people don't often post about their success with them.

With your ram I wouldn't worry to much about its speed, it makes little difference in terms of performance. I've got the vengence 1866mhz ram, and I'm running it at 1333mhz speed mainly as I can't be bothered to go into the bios and up its voltage to 1.5v lol

 

[whs]

as 1. Answer is no. I have 6 SSDs and some are in Laptops. I have often taken the battery out and the laptops had no power. Nothing happened.

ad 2. Theoretically there could be corruption if a power cut happens in the middle of a write operation. But I would not worry about that.

ad 3. SSDs are only one other kind of Sata drive. There is no conflict with the HDDs.

4. Do not listen to all these "tuning tips" like in your first link. All I suggest is to disable defrag (which will be automatically disabled if you install from a Win7 installation disc) and delete the hiberfile to save some space.
Then you also should put your user folders on the HDDS. When you are ready, I tell you the easy way.

All other suggestions like e.g. disabling Superfetch are completely counterproductive. I have never done any of that and all my systems run great.

5. SSDs are not fragile. In fact they are more robust than HDDs. There is nothing to worry. Even with all systems features running, they will last at least for 10 years.

6. You might want to read one of my introduction guides. When you are ready, we will give you more guidance. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/149969-ssd-install-transfer-operating-system.html

7. For a desktop, a 60GB SSD for the OS is ample. The makes I would prefer are Crucial, Intel and OCZ. Once you narrowed your selection down, we will be glad to look it over.

 

[jayrap]

In the second link there was something saying that you should disable system restore? Good idea? Bad idea? The SSD Optimization Guide - The SSD Review (Step 3)

 

[whs]

In the second link there was something saying that you should disable system restore? Good idea? Bad idea? The SSD Optimization Guide - The SSD Review (Step 3)

That is a space problem more than anything else. Restore points take a lot of space (up to 1GB per shot) and on a 60GB SSD space is scarce. I always allocate 3GBs to the shadowstorage (that is where the restore points are kept) and then I make frequent images - which should be easy for you with your 2 HDDs.

For certain things, restore points are handy. But images are a lot better and safer.

 

[jayrap]

Btw, this is how I plan to run my drives:

60GB SSD (Probably Corsair Force 3):
-Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
-Programs such as Sony Vegas, Firefox, and other non-game programs
-Anti-virus (MS Security Essentials)
-Drivers for hardware

500GB WD CB:
-Games
-Steam
-Origin
*Question: If I were to install Steam and Origin onto the SSD could I easily run the games on the HDD instead? Some tutorials have looks complicated? otherwise I'll just install those onto the HDD.

250GB WD CB:
-My Documents
-My Pictures
-My Videos
-My Music
-iTunes
-FRAPS & Playclaw recordings
-Any random files

I know 250GB (really something like 220GB due to the way manufacturers badge drive size by rounding 1GB from 1024MB to 1000MB) id small for a drive that will store all my media, but I really do not download a lot of music, videos or take loads of photos in high resolution. I want to keep my 250GB HDD untouched as I've put all my important stuff to back up onto it as I don't have an external HDD.

If I were to put my user files onto THAT HDD while it keeps what's already on it that wold work fine right? Then with the 500GB just uninstall programs and once clear of all necessary games and programs, format it?

 

[whs]

I know 250GB (really something like 220GB

LOL - the binary number is still 250 billion bytes. It is just another unit.

 

[jayrap]

In the second link there was something saying that you should disable system restore? Good idea? Bad idea? The SSD Optimization Guide - The SSD Review (Step 3)

That is a space problem more than anything else. Restore points take a lot of space (up to 1GB per shot) and on a 60GB SSD space is scarce. I always allocate 3GBs to the shadowstorage (that is where the restore points are kept) and then I make frequent images - which should be easy for you with your 2 HDDs.

For certain things, restore points are handy. But images are a lot better and safer.

This is what scared me the most though...

This is the most important piece of information in this Guide. Recent testing has discovered that System Restore allocates restore points within many SSDs that do not work well with the SSD or TRIM. Typically, System Restore will degrade SSD performance significantly within a few weeks and makes it very difficult for TRIM to function. Disabling System Restore is not only recommended throughout the web, but also, Intel has lately also included this advise with respect to its ssds.

:huh:

 

[jayrap]

I know 250GB (really something like 220GB

LOL - the binary number is still 250 billion bytes. It is just another unit.

I was reffering to this Hard drive space less than expected - Tech Support Guy Forums

 

[Ivan the SoSo]

SSD's don't go bad, but there is a limit to the number of write/rewrite cycles....when that limit is reached the drive will become read only.....Here is a link to that programSSD life - tool for solid state drives health and endurance monitoring

Not to say they are not awesome, but they have their limits.....

 

[whs]

I know 250GB (really something like 220GB

LOL - the binary number is still 250 billion bytes. It is just another unit.

I was reffering to this Hard drive space less than expected - Tech Support Guy Forums

This is a post of someone who does not understand the system and mathematics. I think you read too much junk on the web.

 

[whs]

SSD's don't go bad, but there is a limit to the number of write/rewrite cycles....when that limit is reached the drive will become read only.....Here is a link to that programSSD life - tool for solid state drives health and endurance monitoring

Not to say they are not awesome, but they have their limits.....

These nums are indeed a bit disappointing. My nums are a lot better. Must be your particular model. I guess they are not all the same.

 

[essenbe]

I have 4 SSDs from 3 different manufacturers. I can assure you that your fears a unfounded. I leave my computers on 24/7 and have gone through several power outages with no damage or corrupted files. As far as your quote you submitted, I do not believe it. I have system restore enabled on my SSDs and, like WHS, have only reduced the space allocated for them. None of mine have degraded performance. As far as all the tweeks you read about, many were written for first generation SSDs. The current generation do not need them. I set min just as WHS said. I disable hibernate to save space, turn defrag to manual, leave superfetch enabled, and make sure it is aligned and in AHCI mode. There are no other tweeks needed or necessary. You can tweek an SSD to where the performance is degraded. Windows 7 knows how to deal with SSDs well. Just move your user files to another mechanical hard drive and yes, you can install games and steam on another hard drive with no ill effects.

 

[jayrap]

I've just had a read on Gibibytes and Gigabytes, I suppose that's the mathematics you were talking about - rather confusing :S

 

[Ivan the SoSo]

SSD's don't go bad, but there is a limit to the number of write/rewrite cycles....when that limit is reached the drive will become read only.....Here is a link to that programSSD life - tool for solid state drives health and endurance monitoring

Not to say they are not awesome, but they have their limits.....

These nums are indeed a bit disappointing. My nums are a lot better. Must be your particular model. I guess they are not all the same.

Yeah I wish it was better, but in a couple of years I could probably get a 512 gig drive for less than what I paid for this one....Then it can go in my old XP Pro laptop that I almost never use....Then I can use it as a archive disk.....

 

[whs]

I've just had a read on Gibibytes and Gigabytes, I suppose that's the mathematics you were talking about - rather confusing :S

Yeah, that's what you get when you fall asleep in school when they teach binary - lol.