10,000 RPM HDD (WD VelociRaptor) vs SSD for OS?

10,000 RPM HDD (WD VelociRaptor) vs SSD for OS? I currently have a 10,00RPM 150GB Raptor that I use for Vista. I'm about to upgrade to Windows 7, and while doing that I thought I'd buy another drive and install Ubuntu 9.10 on it. I don't want to partition the current drive I have, but I don't need 150GB for another OS.
Asked by: Guest \| Views: 402

Total answers/comments: 2

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Guest [Entry]

You should definitely use an SSD for the OS(s) you use the most, if you can afford to. As Drake mentions, the various drives differ in speeds, so it's worth checking the reviews to make sure you are getting decent value for money. Also, smaller SSDs will tend to be slower because there is less free space for the controller to manage the drive.

Guest [Entry]

"So, I'm having trouble deciding
whether its worth it to buy a 64 GB
SSD at the same price point as the
150GB WD VelociRaptor? Or should I
just get a 7,200 RPM drive for really
cheap (around $50)?
Would it be better to use an SSD for
the OS than a mechanical drive? I
could always get a 32GB SSD too...

Well, since you really didn't supply us with intent or how you plan to use the drive, SSD is far superior than mechanical drives. But these days, unless you're in dire need of some serious I/O, I'd stay away from SSD as the technology isn't quite as mature as good ol' spinning plate hard drives. From micro controller issues to write heavy wearing, there are numerous stories of issues with SSDs, granted they could be in the minority of all SSD owners.
So storage size seems less important to you so I'd say if money is no object, another Raptor wouldn't hurt. If money is a factor, any 7200rpm drive with 16/32MB cache should do just fine."