HDD bs SSD Reliability?

[Ashkin1194]

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Hi there,

I've heard rumors here and there about HDD and SSD reliability or lack thereof.

Im planning to buy a 13" mbp, and will likely use ~40gb of space right away for docs/programs/music. What's the deal with reliability between HDDs and SSDs? Where's the balance between hard drive reliability and effect on the speed of the computer.

In more complicated terms, at what point (which apple hd upgrade) do the functions f(HD Safety/Reliability) and f(System Speed) intersect?

Forgive my math analogy, I'm in the middle of Calc class haha

 

[kappaknight]

If you've heard rumors... then you should continue your research and keep digging. Just like HDD's, SSD's come in different brands and some have been proven more reliable than others. Also like HDD's, many come with warranties.

For both storage devices, if you're worried about losing important data, I recommend you establish a backup routine and setup a backup solution. Whether it's Time Machine w/ a Time Capsule, copying them to an external drive, or backing up to the NAS or in the cloud, you should always have multiple copies of your most important data.

Even the most reliable drives will sometimes fail. There's really no point to have 50 different people offering 50 different opinions (covering all the brands). At the end of the day, if you get stuck with a faulty drive - you would have considered the recommendation bad advice. Backing up your stuff is the best way to not lose data regardless of which drive you end up buying.

 

[awer25]

Both SSDs and HDDs are very reliable. Each type has certain models that may not be. Read reviews on sites like Newegg to see what's reliable, and go with that. Personally, if you can afford an SSD I'd highly recommend that. It's like night and day.

Either route, get an extra drive to back up your data with Time Machine.

 

[Ashkin1194]

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Thanks a lot guys.

I probably shouldn't be asking this here so if that's the case a link to an explanation would be fine: how does time machine "back up" my HD? If the drive fails wouldn't the time machine backup of the drive fail along with it? Maybe I don't understand Time Machine (I've never owned a Mac)

 

[kappaknight]

In a gist, Time Machine backs up snap shots of your computer and all its files. It doesn't work in the same way as RAID in that if a sector corrupts that sector would be cloned to the back up as it only picks up the changes in its backup. I don't think high level RAIDs copy over the bad sectors any more either, but I'm not 100% familiar with how they work.

Check out this video for an explanation of Time Machine. It's old, but still valid.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2102998/apple_time_machine/

 

[jav6454]

SSDs are much more reliable (no moving parts). As simple as that. Speed is an added factor.

 

[Ashkin1194]

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Fantastic, thanks for the info everyone

 

[squeakr]

SSDs are much more reliable (no moving parts). As simple as that. Speed is an added factor.

Not exactly true. Just because they have no moving parts has nothing to do with reliability (just their ability to withstand shock better) and they haven't been around as long, so longevity and reliability are relevant at this point. The one downfall to a SSD is that when they fail they are gone and data recovery is almost impossible. HDD's at least usually give some sort of warning that they are about to fail (noises in the mechanisms, failing sectors, etc).

That said, I still want a large and fast SSD.