SSD Lifespan

[CagedAlchemist]

Okay I've decided on buying a Intel 330 Series 60GB SSD along with a 1TB HDD and I'm wondering if it's really okay to use the SSD to put my OS on. I've heard so many things about Solid State Drives having fixed lifespans and so I'm like what the heck...do I buy one or not? I want something that's going to last me the life of my computer, should I just stick to using a HDD?

 

[Dereck47]

Yes, SSDs have a fixed amount of P/E (Program/Erase) cycles, but current generation SSDs will definitely last the life of your computer with normal use.

If you're uploading & downloading torrents 12 hrs. a day, 365 days a year, then a SSD might not be for you.
Otherwise use your SSD the same way you would a HDD.

 

[CagedAlchemist]

Yes, SSDs have a fixed amount of P/E (Program/Erase) cycles, but current generation SSDs will definitely last the life of your computer with normal use.

If you're uploading & downloading torrents 12 hrs. a day, 365 days a year, then a SSD might not be for you.
Otherwise use your SSD the same way you would a HDD.

What if I do torrents but save the data to a different drive....would it still stress the SSD?

 

[Dereck47]

No, it wouldn't.

 

[CagedAlchemist]

Best answer selected by CagedAlchemist.

 

[smilinggeek]

Still looking for more evidence, but two articles stand out right now:
http://www.storagesearch.com/ssdmyths-endurance.html and
http://www.corsair.com/blog/force-series-ssd-life-testing/

These (and other) technically complete and reasonably argued articles have convinced me that worrying about SSD endurance at the "user" level - even the "heavy" user, is a mugs game. By the numbers presented in that article, lifespan for SSDs is now at about 25 to 50 YEARS if you're over-writing the disk 3 times per day, every day.

I personally intend to just get the ones I can afford and stop worrying about it. Looks to me like SSD has come of age, but as usual it will take a while for the tech to live down its early problems of "low lifespan". Even though it seems it was just that - early problems with a new technology that have now been resolved.