My desktop is about to get the Windows 7 treatment when my discs arrive. I'm looking to upgrade the system drive from the 160GB WD drive I've been using for almost 3 years now.

I'd love a good SSD for the simultaneous access abilities and everything else, but considering the price, I'd rather not (and can't). A 150GB VelociRaptor would offer enough storage for my system drive and I know they perform well.

I also know that many modern drives have almost caught up to the somewhat dated VelociRaptors at this point. My 1TB WD Black drive is pretty zippy, but the VelociRaptors still hold the lead in certain performance aspects which are useful for a system drive.

Anyone got any thoughts? VelociRaptors worth it? A better and perhaps cheaper alternative?

I'm not sure why you can't go SSD if you are considering a 150GB VelociRaptor. All the places I checked have the VelociRaptor at a bit over $200, which is very close to the price for a good 60 GB SSD. If you are already paying $200+ for your system drive it simply doesn't make sense to go anything but SSD. 60 GB is plenty for a boot drive. I have one in Windows 7 and I could have gotten away with a 30 GB. Use your 1TB drives for storing stuff.

If you really need more than 60 GB on your boot drive just get a good 1TB like your WD black. The very minor speed increase a VelociRaptor gives you is not worth doubling the price.

If you want you can even "short stroke" some 1TB drives to get one that beats a VelociRaptor in everything except access times. This limits the drive to 300 GB, but you still only pay around $100 for it.

I've used all three (normal 7200, VelociRaptor, SSD) as a boot drive in W7 and only the SSD is worth the money over a normal drive. The SSD is night and day faster than any magnetic drive.

60GB isn't enough because then I would require another drive for applications and I don't really have space for that. The improvement in throughput is there with any drive upgrade from what i've got now. The improved access times are one of the main things I'm looking for in an upgraded system drive.

The 150GB VelociRaptor is in the $160-170 range while the SSDs I could consider are a fair bit more. With the space crunch in my case going that route would not likely be doable. I'd have to look around in the case and contemplate, plus I need to see if I have the SATA connections to support having an additional internal drive.

I guess their is more price difference in the US then in Canada between the Raptor and an SSD. Go with a good 1 TB if you can't swing the SSD.

I'd still suggest the 60 SSD and keep your current 160 for apps that don't need speed. Do you really have that many apps that need to load fast?

I'm looking at a 60GB as a possibility if I do that. The OCZ Agility 60GB seems to be a good option that's about the same price as the 150GB VelociRaptor. I'm going to have to look in my case to see what the space situation is.

How do you find your SSD? I was watching them very carefully when they first hit TigerDirect but I've yet to read one good review, most of which ended up with then crashing and burning after not even 24 hours of use.

Posted by Protios How do you find your SSD? I was watching them very carefully when they first hit TigerDirect but I've yet to read one good review, most of which ended up with then crashing and burning after not even 24 hours of use.

First off, I wouldn't trust the reviews on a site like TigerDirect.

Second, most SSDs are crap. The crappy ones aren't too bad if you need a fast mostly read only drive, but they suck as an OS drive which is what most people use them for.

Get yourself a GOOD SSD and you'll be happy. In order:

1. Intel X25m series or OCZ Agility/Vertex. These are the best with out paying insane money for a SLC drive. There are a couple other minor players that also use the good controller found in the OCZ drives, but it's easier just to go with the known good brand.

2. OCZ Summit. These are OK if they are new (don't by used/refurbished/old stock) and they are cheap. They often go on sale which makes them a good deal, but if the price is close to an Agility/Vertex then they aren't worth it. They must be new as only the most recent ones have the newest firmware which gets rid of most of the performance issues.

Anything else = probably crap.

I've had to rule out SSDs, simply far too expensive to get one with enough storage for OS + programs.

I wouldn't consider using SSD drives for anything buy my OS drive for the simple fact to get the storage capacity I'd need, I'd have to pay out the ass for SSD. I'm also in the IT sector and have seen enough over the years to be super paranoid and HAVE to have Mirroring set up for my important data files.

Oh well, give it 2 - 3 years and they'll be affordable and reliable.