SSD

Hey guys, I was wondering if SSD is worth it?

install gentoo

yes but expensive

Nope. You almost certainly don't need one. 
1."SSD boots my OS/Apps in seconds"= They reboot/start the same apps uncached several times per day
2."It reduces my compile times N times"=They don't have enough RAM to cache the files
3."They don't have any noise"=They typically have a noisy fan or ancient HDD model
4."Its power efficient"=Only on battery powered computers and the difference is not that significant( see http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2012-mobile-hdd-charts/-20-Power-Requirement-at-Database,3003.html ).
5."Its more reliable"=SSD will suddenly die without any warning. They are sensitive to power loss. Data on them is very hard to recover in case of failure. They have limited write cycle, after which they are useless. They are shock-resistant and more durable, but do you drop your harddrives often?
6."The speed is always worth it"=These applications are better served with a RAMdrive or RAM-based storage. If its worth it, RAM is always faster.
7."They are more compact and light weight"=Only relevant for mobile computing, and guess what these additional 100 grams are not that hard to carry(and HDD can be compact: http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives/laptop-hard-drives/laptop-ultrathin-hdd/ 5mm-thin, 3.3 oz(93grams)).

>>1
Install more ram, disable swap, turn on disk caching to the maximum. You'll see the difference.

>>4
Is that you FV?

SSD boots my OS is seconds
They don't have any noise
They have no moving parts
The response rate is always worth it.

>>1
- SSD is fast and reliable, but has low capacity.
- HDD is slow and unreliable, but has high capacity.

so I suppose you want to keep your huge anime collection on HDD, while running your SBCL and Racket from SSD.

>>4
2."It reduces my compile times N times"=They don't have enough RAM to cache the files
Believe me, no RAM would help with HDD fragmentation. Especially when you hibernate your OS.

They don't have any noise"=They typically have a noisy fan or ancient HDD model
No. They don't. My MacBook Pro is completely noiseless. It is just your bad PC design.

5."Its more reliable"=SSD will suddenly die without any warning.
No moving parts = reliable.

I see a lot of people saying SSD are unreliable or have very limited lifespans. This is based on older SSDs and is not true to the same extent anymore. Sure, your HDD will last you longer than the SSD in theory, but realistically you'll probably throw away both before they die (unless you get a defective unit).

The only real drawback to SSD is that it doesn't store as much as HDD, but even so they've come a long way if you're willing to pay the money for them. They just haven't gotten stupid large for stupid cheap, like HDDs have.

The obvious solution, then, is to use a giant HDD for archiving, storing media, and managing documents (non-loadtime-intensive tasks) while using SSD for game, OS, compiling, etc (more time sensitive). If you're feeling ballsy, swap space on SSD is pretty hot, too.

>>9
|fragmentation
|my macbook
"tfw linux doesn't need defragmenting, even with HDD

My super fast SSD allowed me to get these sweet dubs! this thread is still garbage though, so be sure to keep piling the dubs on to save it.

>>10
"tfw linux software is so slow, you wont notice fragmention, even with magnetic tape"

>>11
do you really think that you got dubs ? check them again you little bitch.

>>10
>not true to the same extent anymore
write cycles decrease every time geometry shrinks.
SSD dies if electricity suddenly stops.
SSD doesn't just die: it does it randomly without warning.

Always remember to defragment your SSD for extra speed.

>>15
defragment your RAM

>>16
 Back in 2007, Microsoft introduced Windows Vista and one of its new features, SuperFetch, which is responsible for taking up as much of your computer’s memory as possible—albeit for a good cause!

    SuperFetch predicts which applications you will run next and preloads all of the necessary data into memory. It also does that with boot files. This helps prevent accessing the slower hard disk too often. The result? Programs launch much quicker, and Windows boots faster.
    SuperFetch’s prediction algorithm is able to determine which application users will open by a certain time of day and by a certain day of week. It is able to predict up to the next three applications that the user will launch.
    SuperFetch is smart—it prioritizes the programs you currently run over the background tasks, such as defragmentation. These tasks run when the computer is idle, but when they are complete, Windows SuperFetch populates the memory again.
    SuperFetch is dynamic—it adapts to your needs all of the time. So, if your favorite programs change over time, SuperFetch is able to quickly adapt to this.

Windows SuperFetch populates the computer’s memory with this preloaded information, to speed up programs and Windows features. So, what’s the benefit for you? Your favorite programs—for example, your Web browser, your media player and your e-mail application—are likely to start faster after a couple of days. Don’t worry, even if you install a new application, SuperFetch will not have a negative impact on performance. As soon as the new application demands memory, the SuperFetch data gets flushed. As far as this program is concerned, the memory is empty.

>>17
Linux has no SuperFetch

>>14
What's the problem when you maintain a proper backup? You keep your many years of fast response rates and when it suddenly dies, you swap it out for a new one and recover your backup.