ATA or SDD

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why is it that the capacity of the Solid State Drive (SDD) very low compared to the ATA hard drive?

I am assuming that the SDD is quicker, given the Apple website description,

"...solid-state drive (SSD), which has no moving parts and delivers increased drive performance for many operations".

however would one really notice the difference in loading applications / documents etc..i thought it is was the memory and speed of the processor that did the 'speed' thing

if this is true, what is the benefit of the SDD?

Thanks in advance
 

RavingMac

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why is it that the capacity of the Solid State Drive (SDD) very low compared to the ATA hard drive?

I am assuming that the SDD is quicker, given the Apple website description,

"...solid-state drive (SSD), which has no moving parts and delivers increased drive performance for many operations".

however would one really notice the difference in loading applications / documents etc..i thought it is was the memory and speed of the processor that did the 'speed' thing

if this is true, what is the benefit of the SDD?

Thanks in advance
The capacity is limited because SSDs are still relatively new and expensive.

The speed advantage is due to the fundamental design differences. In any process (and data storage and transfer is a process) the slowest step is the bottle-neck. In this case for ATA and SATA drives it is the electro-mechanical interface between the spinning disk platters and the heads.
In an SSD (solid state drive) this interface is missing and data transfer speeds are limited only by the electronic interface.

All of the above is a simplification, but I hope it helps.
 
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j0nb0y32
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Thanks

million dolla question;

Given that, as you say it is relatively new on the market, will the increased speed be beneficial for loading and processing applications? compared to the increased cost and low capacity (i say this as pre-installed apps are put on the SDD drive and not the ATA)

currently i am thinking it is not, as i have not experienced the difference

Thanks in advance
 

RavingMac

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Thanks

million dolla question;

Given that, as you say it is relatively new on the market, will the increased speed be beneficial for loading and processing applications? compared to the increased cost and low capacity (i say this as pre-installed apps are put on the SDD drive and not the ATA)

currently i am thinking it is not, as i have not experienced the difference

Thanks in advance

Only you can answer that question. It comes down to a cost/benefit analysis, and you are the only one who has the parameters to plug into that equation.

My gut feeling is no.
If you were rich or depended upon the output of this machine for your living (and finding the speed to be hampering you) then yes.
 
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j0nb0y32
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Razormac - Agreed and thanks
 

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