I didn't really want this thread to become about SSDs, but since the component choice is out of the way (thanks guys!), let me clarify my (stubborn) SSD position further
Firestarter wrote:Yeah I think you missed the crux of his argument there
Not at all. Reliability was a major thing in his post. I simply addressed that point. I am aware about the speed arguments. I am aware of SSDs. I have used them.
Firestarter wrote:I.. uh.. what we are collectively trying to get through to you is that SSDs actually present a *better value proposition* than HDDs. Sure, when you're scraping the bottom of the barrel to piece a budget gaming PC, it might make sense to get an HDD instead, but for all other scenarios you are shooting yourself in the foot if you don't get at least a small budget SSD for your OS.
I think I said earlier that I find my current system perfectly responsive, so that tells you something about how important an SSD would be for me in this rig. My main goal is simply to improve graphics gaming performance so I can play more modern games more effortlessly.
To put things in perspective (and to get my point across further), even if an SSD were the same price and size as a platter drive, I'd still choose the platter drive. No, I am not making that up. Yes, I am serious. I simply don't trust SSDs to my data for the longer-term. In a portable device SSDs have more use to me since their shock resistance and reported lower power use is great, but even then...no thanks. Platters for me. I trust them more. So my particular distrust of SSD outweights any and all advantages SSDs bring to the table. Reliability is something I love and if I don't trust the tech on a long-term basis (rightly or wrongly), forget it. I felt the same way about the Zip drive (remember those?) before the famous Click Of Death became an issue.
Firestarter wrote: It's blindingly obvious that you've never had the pleasure of booting up and using a PC that has one, because if you did you'd have seen the added value immediately. That's why friends don't let friends buy a PC without one these days.
Friends should understand their friends better
Actually I have used SSDs, touched SSDs and seen the improvements made with Windows 8 regarding logging off, waking from sleep, app responsiveness too. I've seen the changes with and without SSDs. Just because I have lost touch of the finer points of graphics hardware doesn't mean that I haven't actually used modern devices
And despite seeing what they bring to the table, I still don't find the value compelling for my particular system. Since I find regular hard drives more than fast enough for my uses.
Firestarter wrote:No argument there, you can have both you know..
I could but would I want to? Becasue I can get thousands of other things insead (camera, phone, etc), or simply not spend anything at all. I regard them as a total waste of money at this point and (only speaking for myself) find their value extremely low. So in that sense I am not in agreement with (perhaps) most enthusiasts. Same with overspending on CPUs for little gain in my usage; I will buy what will do the job and not overspend on what won't. The industry changes fast enough as it is and I don't believe in looking too far into the future to 'future-proof' myself. Though in reality I can spend more, I don't see the point (for my uses). I usually buy what I need (or a little more) but not much else when it comes to computers.
Of course others can and do judge value differently and I'm not about to argue that. I know you guys are looking out for me. It's just that...I find this particular storage tech largely irrelevant for my purposes. I would rather put $100 - $200 more in virtually any other area of a system than buy an SSD, to be perfectly honest with you. Because I consider their value lower than virtually any other area. For example, I'd rather do illogical things like buy 16 or 32GB of RAM than buy an SSD, despite the questionable need to do it. If I had to spend X amount of money, you better believe I'd spend it in the illogical bits of the system, and not the SSD. I don't trust them to hold my data over the longer-term compared to a regular hard drive, so that makes the 'illogical' logical to me. I could be wrong or right (write, hah), but that's how I feel about SSDs. I don't like the very tech they are based on, even though I generally like the move away from shock-sensitive mechanical devices. In a few years some magical new tech will improve SSDs, probably. But until then no speed improvements or shock resistance or lower power use is going to convince me getting one is any better for me than throwing money down the toilet, since I am completely satsified with existing tech and the bang-for-buck of existing tech, even though the existing tech is far from perfect (no technology is). What SSDs bring to the table is low value in my books. IF I didn't have write life concerns I'd find them pretty compelling though. I won't argue it isn't the best thing since sliced bread to others. I can see how many others love them and why they love them. Just not for me though.
Firestarter wrote:I guess you could still get an SSD to complement your HDD later on, but when you do, you'll look back at this thread and wonder why the hell you've waited that long.
I don't think this will ever happen. I am 'longevity concerned' about SSDs and I don't yet trust the tech for daily random writing and reading of my data. So you could really try to convince me 1,000 ways that they are the best thing since sliced bread and I still wouldn't be interested because I consider platters magnetically writing on rapidly spinning discs a more stable and mature technology after literally decades of refinement (and despite suffering hard drive failure on some of these too). Of course each technology has their pros and cons (including optical media of various types) and of course each of us perceive value differently.
I'm happy to see so many of you like them (and like them enough to recommend them highly to me). They still represent a very interesting technology to me but ultimately are a low-value item that I'd never spend on until the tech improves, both in terms of reliability of the written data and the cost. So in that sense, they are not 'ready' to me. However illogical it may seem to some of you convinced of their benefits and using them daily