Posted on 09/29/2020 2:37:08 AM PDT by sushiman
About to buy new all-in-one PC . Not a gamer and don't edit video , download music , movies , etc...Just use for basic stuff at the present time . For the same price I can get 1TB 5400 rpm+256GB SSD or a 512 SSD . I understand the 512 would be a little faster . Which would you guys recommend ? I feel so computer illiterate and dumb ! Trust you guys so asking ! ^_^
“How full is the HDD on your current computer?”
I have two PCs : one an 11 year old HP Touchsmart which is half full , as is my 7 year old Dell desktop upstairs .
“512Gb might get filled up quick.
If you download movies.”
I don’t .
“
What brand of PC? “
Lenovo All-in-one 540
Fast SSDs used to be gamers toys. Now, with sizes like rotating HDDs, Id go with the SSD only (the 512) for simplicity and quietness.
It probably is a good idea to see if your choice has another bay (almost certainly since one choice has two drives). Then, if you need to, you can buy a second SSD or big cheap HDD.
Define Half full.
How big is the hard drive on those machines?
This will tell you a lot on whether a 512G will be enough. I suspect it will.
Now for the next difficult question: How are you doing backups?
The real question....just how much are you taking up with photos, imagery, songs, and video? Evaluate how much you have now, and how much you might add over the next three years.
I agree...but isn’t it amazing how fast a 1T hard drive can fill up.
Just sayin'...
Whichever way you go be sure to backup. So many people say they don’t have anything important on their computer but are surprised to find out they do when the hard drive dies. Make sure you have a quality surge protector as well.
I put the OS on ALL of my computers on SSD’s and store the bulk of my data on old school hard drives, either fixed or removable, or both.
I reckon that in the last five years since I did that, I have saved at least fifty hours of time by not sitting there twiddling my thumbs waiting for the computers to finish booting.
I love SSDs.
That’s the axiom. No such thing as too big a harddrive
If youre not a gamer, you dont need 1 TB of space. You will not regret having the SSD. The speed difference is substantial, and you can always add a spinning disk later if you find yourself lacking for space.
Take advantage of OneDrive in Windows 10 for backups.
I assume that the 256GB SSD would be for the OS, and the 1TB HD for storage, which is a good combo except that a 5400 RPM is slower (but likely runs cooler) than the standard 7200RPM, while the much faster and (said to be) longer lasting 256GB SSD should not be filled to more than about 70% its capacity. I am blessed to have a 240GB SSD (cost as low as $27.00 now) which is is for the OS and is only about half full while using HDD drives for my main storage. Hope this helps. PeaceJesus
However, I see 1TB SSDs as low as $58 versus about $44 for a HDD.
get 1TB 5400 rpm+256GB SSD
It depends if you want to keep control of your data. If you trust offsite storage with Microsoft, Amazon, et al., you don’t need much in the way of a hard drive. If you like to keep control of your data, go with the largest you can (and get a detachable backup).
The main place a SSD makes a difference is in booting and loading programs. Once you are on FR (or watching Youtube), you aren’t going to notice much, if any, difference.
Dont buy an all in one. When your monitor dies you are SOL
There is no advantage to an all in one
I’m a dummy as well. Need info. Best cheap computer brand?
Are current releases easy to use?
Remember when Bill gates said people didnt need more than 640K of RAM? Howd that work out?
The problem is: Operating systems are getting bigger and more complex to add all those bells & whistles that make using the system more enjoyable and less of a hassle.
While a mechanical disk does have its drawbacks, it does have a time proven track record thats gotten better over time. For basic storage on a limited use system, its more that sufficient. The 1TB would be the minimum size these days and I remember when 20MB was huge. Both in capacity and cost.
SSD is great. The speed advantage on boot up alone is worth the price of admission, IMHO. But Im not the one paying the Bill for this machine so its not my call. A 7200RPM drive would be better than 5400, but Im not up on the current MTBF for those drives.
A mixed config, SSD for system services with and external platter based drive for overall storage, would be a good compromise.
In the end though, get the most bang for your bucks.
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