When I first got my Samsung N120 Netbook, I really liked its compact size, very long battery life and how well it handles even heavy multimedia websites. With the lengthy time it took to open the web browser, launch applications and go into and out of hibernation, I knew it was time to replace its HDD with something quicker.
Apr 142011
As with reviewing hard disks, every product reviewer has their own way of reviewing Solid State Drives and each reviewer also has their own preferred testing methods. Some reviewers swear by simulated real world tests such as PCMark Vantage, some believe that synthetic tests are enough, while the more patient reviewers will go all the way to the bother of test driving the SSD in the real world such as timing the installation of popular software products, measuring game launch times and so on. Continue reading »
While there are a wide range of disk and partition cloning utilities available, many users may not realise that Windows 7 has its own disk imaging utility that is just as effective, but with the advantage of not costing anything to use. The user just needs either an external HDD or a second internal hard disk, the SSD to clone to and either a blank CD-R or the Windows 7 OS installation disc. Continue reading »
Most SSDs have two speed ratings for reading as well as for writing. The first rating is the sustained MB/s performance, which is the main marketing most manufacturers use. The second rating is the 4K Random IOPS performance, which gives a much better idea of how the drive will perform in the real world. The sustained MB/s rating is the sequential transfer rate the SSD will maintain continuously, such as over a period of 30 seconds. The 4K Random IOPS on the other hand is how many 4K (4096 byte) operations the drive will handle per second with each block being read or written to a random position. Continue reading »
Apr 292010
While eBay is generally a way to get a great bargain such as cheap compatible batteries, it’s also plagued with fake goods with flash pen drives and memory cards being a very serious problem now. Like imitations of branded clothing and footwear, these imitation flash drives look very realistic, including the shrink-wrapped packaging and appear to work fine at a first glance. However, they usually end up costing the unsuspecting users far more than the cost of the drive! Continue reading »
With the low price of Netbooks, forking out on an SSD is going to cost anywhere between one-quarter to half the price of the Netbook. Regardless of how often the Netbook is used, this article will aim to show many of the advantages of replacing its hard disk with an SSD. Continue reading »
Most people get put off by the high cost of SSDs without realising that they don’t actually need a large SSD to store all their data. A small SSD coupled with a large capacity HDD would suit most user’s needs. This guide covers choosing an SSD, preparing for the OS installation/cloning, choosing what data to put on the SSD and maintaining peak performance. Continue reading »