"SSDs are faster and more robust than HDDs"
Really? Is there any data to support that statement? I know in theory SSDs are faster and less prone to failure, but I have seen some test data that disagrees. Has anyone actually done testing on netbook performance comparing the two drive options? How about data on failure rates? Rather than just giving us marketing slogans, how about some actual numbers.
Asus cuts Eee PC storage options
Summary
Asus will soon stop offering a choice between solid-state and hard-disk storage for its Eee PC, a spokesman said.
Topics
Asus plans to offer fewer storage options for users of its Eee PC netbook range, a company representative said on Monday.
The manufacturer's spokesperson told ZDNet UK that, while Eee PC models are currently available in each country with a choice of hard-disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), the company will from August offer only one version per model in any given country.
"We plan to make the product line a lot clearer for consumers," Asus's spokesperson said. "Currently you have a lot of choice of SSD and hard disk, but we plan to find the one consumers want the most and make the choice easier."
The spokesperson stressed that Asus would still manufacture HDD and SSD options for each model, but would choose which version to sell in each market.
Asked whether UK users would be offered HDD or SSD versions, the spokesperson said the decision would depend on the model in question, with "high-end" models generally coming with SSDs and "mainstream" models with HDDs.
SSDs are faster and more robust than HDDs, but are also significantly more expensive. As a larger memory capacity costs more to manufacture, SSD options in current netbooks tend to offer much less storage space than HDD options. However, Asus also bundles varying amounts of hosted online storage with many of its netbooks, independently of whether a particular model of Eee PC uses an SSD or an HDD.
Dell started to use a similar strategy in February for its Mini 10 netbook.
This article was originally published on ZDNet.co.uk.
Talkback Most Recent of 4 Talkback(s)
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itpro_z16th Mar 2009 -
YMMV
Bear in mind that the speed and robustness of an SSD depends on the operating system, too. Microsoft seems to have tuned their filesystem performance more for rotating storage, and the relative speed of SSD suffers compared to a Linux system.
Whether that's because the MS system is getting better performance out of the HDD or worse out of the SSD is a topic for a different day.
Yagotta B. Kidding16th Mar 2009 -
There are also read and write differences...
...that affect performance depending on the type of application being used. Also, in theory a solid state device should be more reliable, but early indicators seems to not support that idea in the real world. We have all certainly seen flash devices fail at the drop of a hat. While being more shock resistant is a plus, I am curious just how long term reliability will compare with HDDs. In my experience, it is the screen that is most likely to fail from rough treatment rather than the hard drive.
It would be nice to see some actual data comparing warranty issues with both types of storage.itpro_z16th Mar 2009 -
RE: Asus cuts Eee PC storage options
I just bought an HDD Eee PC. A drop in the bucket for
Asus HDD America.
casualreader17th Mar 2009
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