Load AH on SSD drive?

[AKIron]

http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/feature/Server-SSDs-open-up-storage-possibilities-in-data-centers

[AKIron]

It may be more than 2 or 3 years but don't doubt that the days are numbered for the production of mechanical drives.

[Skuzzy]

https://www.micron.com/solutions/why-nvme-should-be-in-your-data-center

Of course they are going to say that.  They are selling the technology.

It may be more than 2 or 3 years but don't doubt that the days are numbered for the production of mechanical drives.

Again, non-sense.  Investments in mechanical storage has technology which will not be in mass production for another 10 years.  We are talking about the potential for 50PB, of storage, in a 3.5" half height drive.  Beyond that, who knows.  Sounds like a lot, but considering Youtube uploads tally more than 1PB/day in uploads, it is not that much storage.

For mass storage, SSD is just not a cost effective technology as compared to mechanical drives.

[AKIron]

SSD (I include NVMe) technology is improving rapidly and costs are dropping fast. At some point in the very near future SSD will be cheaper than HDD. New Servers already support it and it can be scaled comparable to HDD. Why would anyone buy the older slower technology?

[AKIron]

But who knows, you may be right Skuzzy. Technology sometimes changes very rapidly and sometimes it doesn't as expected. Sometimes it takes a turn few expected. 

[AKIron]

One thing I know for sure, SSD in a PC is miles better than an HDD.

[OldNitro]

So, is there a clear verdict, AH3 better on SSD or HDD?
And, if SSD is NOT preferable, what is the reason?

SSD's are new to me. I am gettin the drift that due
to rewrites, they are a perishable commodity?

[Bizman]

You won't gain a single frame per second on an SSD, not in any game. The only advantage in games run from an SSD is that they load faster, i.e. you'll see the start menu some seconds sooner. Also, if there's video episodes in the middle of a game, they'll load faster.

I'm not against SSD's, on the contrary. They're clearly a good product in many ways and they've got rid of most of their teething problems. However, an SSD is not the Holy Grail or a Final Solution.

[Chalenge]

One thing I know for sure, SSD in a PC is miles better than an HDD.

This is only true on limited budget PCs. In the years ahead you will be asking yourself why you ever considered SSDs in the first place.

[100Coogn]

I put my OS on my SSD and games on HDD.
Makes for a very snappy Windows 10. 
Games perform the same on the HDD as they would on an SSD.

Coogan

[AKIron]

This is only true on limited budget PCs. In the years ahead you will be asking yourself why you ever considered SSDs in the first place.

I don't know what you mean. I use SSD in the generic sense, a solid state drive, to include NVMe. I am using the term SSD to describe the function, not necessarily the technology. I've been using SSD for about 5 years on my own machines but provide IT support for many that use HDD. The difference is painfully obvious to me.

[TequilaChaser]

I have 3 different computers that l have had AH loaded on 4 different Crucial m4 series 128GB SSD's since April 2011 on 3 of them and August 2011 on the 4th Crucial m4 128GB SSD...

Only had one issue show up on one of them about July 2012, that was fixed by updating the firmware...have not had nor experienced any other problems or issues outside of that 1...

I know that back during closed beta of AH3, that some were getting corrupt downloads/installs on their computers with AH beta being installed on their SSD'S due to iirc SSD timing out on the write cache'ing.....thinking that is what HTC deciphered it down to...that closed beta forum has been removed, so can't go back to check for correctness

That is just 1 of the handful of reasons to not install AH on your SSD....

I know it's a risk in doing so, but all our different computers are backed up weekly with double redundancy, these days here at the house...on top of that, I have started to back up the server to my old server about every 2 to 3 months, then I pull the HDs out and put them in the gun vault

TC

[OldNitro]

  Got it. Thanks for the solid answers.

[Skuzzy]

SSD (I include NVMe) technology is improving rapidly and costs are dropping fast. At some point in the very near future SSD will be cheaper than HDD. New Servers already support it and it can be scaled comparable to HDD. Why would anyone buy the older slower technology?

Server class SSD's are still running about $500.00/TB.  Server class hard drives are running about $50.00/TB.
 
There is a reason only a very small percentage (less than 1%) of Googles servers have an SSD in them.  Cost.  And I quote, "

Also, Google isn't interested in SSDs despite their higher IOPS because they cost too much per gigabyte.

"

Looks to me like a consumer grade SSD is still around $250.00/TB, while the consumer grade HD is aroun $42.00/TB.

[Chalenge]

I don't know what you mean. I use SSD in the generic sense, a solid state drive, to include NVMe. I am using the term SSD to describe the function, not necessarily the technology. I've been using SSD for about 5 years on my own machines but provide IT support for many that use HDD. The difference is painfully obvious to me.

What I am referring to is the stacked storage limitations of solid-state versus the storage capacity of platter-type drives, which experience tremendous increases in capacity regularly (which drives the cost down, also). Cost reductions in SSD technologies have not been revolutionary, especially compared with HDDs which can be $40-50/TB. Either one of these technologies should outlast an individuals need for them, because as your (or my) need for more capacity develops we simply buy a new device rather than experience the end-of-life for either one (there are still cases of early demise). Obviously, a HDD will always satisfy that need with the smallest $cost/TB, because as flash density increases the reliability of the device declines. This is why enterprise level facilities are not all adopting SSD technologies, because those same enterprises know the units have limited lifetimes in practical use. The device probably will be replaced before it dies, but the replacement will be a HDD.