New PC - Is it time to dump all HDD's????

[dd1509]

Just bought a new Dell XPS 8910. (not here yet..) Has one 512GB SSD on the M.2 connector which is running x4 PCIe so should be really fast. Comes with a 2 TB HD which i believe has a 32GB cache with it.

In my current PC, I have a 512GB SSD on Sata III and two HD's, one for data and one for backup.

Been thinking, if cost is not a significant objection, maybe I should get another 1TB SSD for data. My current data drive is 1TB and is 75% full but could use a good cleaning and could reduce a fair bit. I can also put this SSD on the PCIe x4 for highest speed.

Then maybe go back to backups on the GB network drive. That being said, maybe the SSD for backups is better, they would be pretty quick that way?

Then no HDD's in the system! Less heat I suspect, less energy costs, no moving parts, etc. Yes, some $ considerations but not way out there. This will be a many-year new PC for me, so why not invest?

Good idea or not a good idea? Is it a huge waste of $ to put data on an SSD where performance is likely not an issue.

Thx DD

 

[grmnlxndr]

I would say that nowadays it is still more reasonable to get big normal HDD for data storage, and SSD only for boot and applications. I would save those bucks for another upgrade (GPU). Having a SSD only PC is a great idea but it is very expensive. Perhaps in a few years would be the only way.

Best Regards

 

[dd1509]

Thx! Good considerations.... I'm not a gamer, but need great graphics as I do a lot of genealogy work reading old, handwritten documents. The GPU that came with this new box is a major step up from my old PC. It is AMD Radeon(TM) RX 480 with 8GB GDDR5 Graphics Memory. Probably ok for me, certainly not the top-of-the-line. I usually buy a loaded PC when I buy one. Not interested in building one, although I did that once. Usually, with a few upgrades over the years, I was pretty good with my old Dell XPS9000, which is running pretty well at 6 years old. So, I will keep the new one for awhile and maybe a bit more investment now is the consideration.

 

[MijRetrop]

It all comes down to cost .vs need. I don't have a big need for data as most of my important files (docs, pics etc...) are stored on a cloud so 1TB is generally fine for me. I haven't had an hdd in my last three builds and have been just fine without them. If i did have a bigger need for data storage, i would still probably go wih an SSD because budget isn't as big of an issue with me. If it were an issue, i'd get an HDD.

 

[dd1509]

@MijRetrop, thx for the input. Are you happy with retrial speed on having all of your data in the cloud? I have experimented a bit and it was just awful versus having it on my system, going to the Windows local folder approach which I know well looking for the file and opening it. I have a million word, excel files, pics, .pdf files, etc. There is certainly a benefit for having files in the Cloud and having access to them on almost any device, etc. But right now, I am not sold on the benefit I guess. With the one exception of not having localized infrastructure to support my preferred method of getting files.

 

[MijRetrop]

@MijRetrop, thx for the input. Are you happy with retrial speed on having all of your data in the cloud? I have experimented a bit and it was just awful versus having it on my system, going to the Windows local folder approach which I know well looking for the file and opening it. I have a million word, excel files, pics, .pdf files, etc. There is certainly a benefit for having files in the Cloud and having access to them on almost any device, etc. But right now, I am not sold on the benefit I guess. With the one exception of not having localized infrastructure to support my preferred method of getting files.

Mostly Happy. Let's face it, ideally i could access cloud documents as fast as i could on a local drive but that's just not going to happen. It's a bit of a trade off. For me it's worth it to have whatever doc, pic, or spreadsheet I need accessible on all of my devices and not have to stop to remember where I created or stored a particular item.

I use both dropbox and One Drive. Both do well at keeping everything in order when you need it and syncing to whatever computer you happen to be working on.