I have been using a Dell XPS M1330 with a 32GB SSD fro over a year now and have been nothing but pleased. Two caveats have been mentioned here before, defragmenting and swap/paging files. The first one it less of an issue and more of a bonus in my mind, because no matter how fragmented files become there is no real loss of performance (same speed to read or write anywhere on the drive). As for the latter, I solved that by just getting rid of the page file completely. Granted I could do that because I had 2GB of RAM (3GB now), so I don't have any performance issues even when running a VM on my laptop. Note, I am using Windows XP so my OS isn't a memory hog (*cough* Vista *cough*). Personally I think my system is a bit more snappy after getting rid of the paging file. Not the most scientific test I know, but I have since done the same with my office workstation. Also there are gains in power savings (but not as great as some promote) and the fact that my laptop never turns into a heater (HDD are a main component of heat dissipation).
That being said I do not use laptop for storing anything permanently and only copy what I need to it. I rely on a variety of file servers to hold the majority of my data including my rather large iTunes library ;). Even with this I am soon to replace this drive with a larger 64GB drive to handle a few more VMs when I need them. I consider my lack a local storage a reasonable trade off to having less issues/worries with drive failure. The laptop also has 4 years of complete care warranty coverage, so if it does have write issues Dell will have to give me a new one :)
If you are planning on relying on a laptop exclusively I would go with a larger conventional drive and not an SSD, but I'd also back it up regularly. I have had at least a dozen requests for help with dead laptop drives in the last few months.
Stephen Bogdanski
Network Services
College of Veterinary Medicine
Michigan State University
>>> Al Puzzuoli <[log in to unmask]> 11/6/2008 2:30 PM >>>
Why or why not?
I've seen a lot of contrasting reviews. Some say that performance is
markedly better while others point to major issues with storing outlook
PST files, slowness do to prefetch, etc.
Any opinions welcomed,
Al Puzzuoli
Information Technologist
Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities 517-884-1915 120 Bessey
Hall East Lansing, MI 48824-1033 http://www.rcpd.msu.edu
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