SSDs: Not ready for prime time?

I'm considering buying a SSD and throwing Windows XP on it, but I've read user reviews online that indicate SSD technology can be finicky (especially with XP), requiring some hacks and obscure tweaking to get the drive working properly. As well, I've read that SSD performance degrades over time unless you spin around three times and say magic words or something.

So is SSD technology not quite fully baked? I mean, I'm all about having the latest-and-greatest (especially if Windows can boot in four seconds), but not if it requires an engineering degree to get working.

Any insights and/or experiences appreciated.

Thanks.

The technology for SSD has been around for a long time, there shouldn't really be anything to worry about.

I can safely say that prior to me buying an SSD I was a skeptic, but now that I have one in my PC its the most drastic performance boost ive seen In a long time. Win 7 boots up in 15 seconds, and well using my OS is a much faster experience compared to traditional HDD's. The 1-2 games i have on my SSD atm are also a welcome improvement,

I know prices are dropping rapidly, but I'm more worried about SSD compatibility with Windows and PCs in general. Seems like it's not quite there yet.attirex

I'm considering buying a SSD and throwing Windows XP on it, but I've read user reviews online that indicate SSD technology can be finicky (especially with XP), requiring some hacks and obscure tweaking to get the drive working properly. As well, I've read that SSD performance degrades over time unless you spin around three times and say magic words or something.

Thanks.

attirex

At the business I for, I have have upgraded some smaller laptops with underpowered HDDs to SSD under XP. Its a night and day difference that I wish I could get for my own system.

On the desktop side, be aware that most SATA motherboards have two main operation modes - IDE and AHCI. As long as its in IDE mode, XP shouldn't pose a problem (otherwise you need driver floppies and all that junk.)

Interesting. Thanks for all the info everyone. How do I determine which mode my MB is using? BIOS?attirex

If you're looking for simple 'plug & play', an SSD isn't for you. The technology is there, but unfortunatly the execution isn't quite. They can take some tweaking in order to run well; especially if you're planning on running RAID etc.

[QUOTE="attirex"]

I'm considering buying a SSD and throwing Windows XP on it, but I've read user reviews online that indicate SSD technology can be finicky (especially with XP), requiring some hacks and obscure tweaking to get the drive working properly. As well, I've read that SSD performance degrades over time unless you spin around three times and say magic words or something.

Thanks.

chefkw

At the business I for, I have have upgraded some smaller laptops with underpowered HDDs to SSD under XP. Its a night and day difference that I wish I could get for my own system.

On the desktop side, be aware that most SATA motherboards have two main operation modes - IDE and AHCI. As long as its in IDE mode, XP shouldn't pose a problem (otherwise you need driver floppies and all that junk.)

Sooooo....just like I thought--there is no clear answer here, which means the technology is not fully baked.