I have a NEW COMPUTER!! Sort of.

[F Horn of Valere]

I have an early 2011 Macbook Pro, and it was running like a dinosaur. After talking to the IT guy at work and someone else who did it, I followed the advice of a CNET.com article I read and upgraded my HDD to an SSD. And just like that, my computer is faster than it ever was when it was brand new... 

 

Not only can I now open a program and not wait a couple minutes for it top open, but I can switch users, having everything fully functioning in 7 seconds (previously 2-5 minutes). Which means DM is now FAR more accessible...

 

*does a happy dance*

 

(So if you don't know... an SSD is a hard drive that has no moving parts, so it is more efficient and eliminates the need for you PC users to do a defrag. I put the CNET article on my iPad and followed its instructions to open up my computer and do the surgery.)

[Sooh]

Yay! This is good news! Will we be seeing more of you, Horn?

[F Horn of Valere]

Yes, you will! (But especially more after I graduate on the 25th)

[Sooh]

Yay! *does happy dance*

[Daruya]

Yay!

 

On the 25th, we'll break out the orange confetti and have a party to celebrate your graduation!

[Nikonis]

SSD's are great for desktops and laptops... Actually good for about everything except servers and that is only because the data on old platter drives can sometimes be recovered even after a crash or fire... just takes a lot of $$$.

SSD's are kind of like big flash drives so if one dies then the data is GONE!

 

But with a desktop or laptop you have less CRITICAL data and can always backup anything that is critical to an external drive in case of disaster.

[Sooh]

*makes mental note to ask Nikon for advice before buying anything computer related next time*

 

Orange confetti? We better make some then... Come on, Dar!

[F Horn of Valere]

Orange confetti is always fun! I can't wait! This has been my most taxing term to date in grad school!

 

So besides an SSD (I got a Samsung Evo 850, which was temporarily reduced in price to $188 when I bought it), I also got a hard drive casing instead of a dock for when I copied my old one to the new one. The end result: My old hard drive is now an external backup, a clone whose only difference is being slow.

[Nikonis]

A backup drive doesn't need to be fast, just able to reliably store the data in case of disaster.

[F Horn of Valere]

Exactly! That slow dinosaur is just fine to periodically plug in and backup when I go to bed.

[Taymist]

Oh you lucky so and so. I'd love to have a SSD. Saving up for one as they're still fairly pricey here. Big pats on the back for the upcoming graduation too. Well done you.

[Thane Vakarian]

i'm quite happy with my Acre Predator gaming PC *nods* starts within 8 seconds. SSD is nice *nods* once it had started, you can immediately go to work. It rocks.