Standard Def Steve wrote:

Not disagreeing with the fact that SSDs are great for older systems, but newer HDDs are also a good and quiet option.

I've tried Win98 on big modern HDDs and the OS just flies Win98 "snappiness" on a new HDD is similar to that of a modern OS like Win7 running on a laptop with a mid-grade SSD. Newer hard drives are obviously much faster than the older ones, and the sequential read/write speed is often better than a really cheap and/or old SSD.

With the HDD you also don't compromise on storage capacity.

This is absolutely true.

I don't mind older harddrives too much, even used an old IBM drive I think for my 486 and it wasn't terrible.

I actually prefer a slow but silent data storage solution more than I like a larger and faster data storage solution, but often (though not always!) these 2 come in pairs.

I really like old laptop drives though.

How you use your system also makes a difference. If your system is always on and you have a decent amount of RAM, the SSD is not as noticeable because your programs are living in RAM (which is faster than the SSD). So minimal disk accesses=less noticeable advantage for SSD.

Standard Def Steve wrote:

Not disagreeing with the fact that SSDs are great for older systems, but newer HDDs are also a good and quiet option.

I've tried Win98 on big modern HDDs and the OS just flies Win98 "snappiness" on a new HDD is similar to that of a modern OS like Win7 running on a laptop with a mid-grade SSD. Newer hard drives are obviously much faster than the older ones, and the sequential read/write speed is often better than a really cheap and/or old SSD.

With the HDD you also don't compromise on storage capacity.

Well storage capacity isn't a problem have, I have an FTP setup to talk to my main rig that has currently 8tb of storage, with 6 of it accessible via the FTP. And I can move ISO's very easily with a 128gb USB 3.0 Flash Drive, load them onto it form main and mount via the USB 2.0 PCI card under ME it just works 🤣.

I wished there was something like a RAM disk with an IDE connector.
Even storage space as little as 512MiB would have been awesome! 😁

With Windows 98 I find that loading times mostly depend on the CPU. A fast SSD in a socket 7 machine will still feel a bit slot, but put it into a Pentium 4 and now we are talking 😀

I prefer using the Seagate SSHD over all other solutions. But SSDs will become more and more popular as long as they make small enough capacities. I also agree that a modern platter drive is actually surprisingly snappy on retro machines. Much, much better than anything period correct.

I do have a semi modern Seagate 7200.9 120gb SATA with 8mb cache

Jo22 wrote:

I wished there was something like a RAM disk with an IDE connector.
Even storage space as little as 512MiB would have been awesome! 😁

if its SATA connector, its actually exist!
http://www.acard.com/english/fb01-product.jsp … 1_idno=5&ino=28

would IDE/SATA converter will work with it?

40gb ata133 Seagate Barracuda 5400rpm drives are nice in 95-2k machines. Quick, silent, and almost no power consumption. I have found them in lots of retired business P4 machines. They usually have a white label covering the entire drive.

Can anyone using SSDs in their retro rigs comment on the "SSD retention issue"? Many of us will have their PCs powered off most of the time and I'd rather don't want my data evaporate.

Isn't this retention issue rather related to ssd NAND wear due to to many write cycles?

BTW - I use CF card for DOS installation and data, but I keep an old Seagate in my system just for the way it sounds. I think HDD noise is a big part of the whole experience.

GL1zdA wrote:

Can anyone using SSDs in their retro rigs comment on the "SSD retention issue"? Many of us will have their PCs powered off most of the time and I'd rather don't want my data evaporate.

can't see that being a common issue, I still have an old 256mb flash drive with original US Army data on it I got from a recruiter in 2006

candle_86 wrote:

GL1zdA wrote:

Can anyone using SSDs in their retro rigs comment on the "SSD retention issue"? Many of us will have their PCs powered off most of the time and I'd rather don't want my data evaporate.

can't see that being a common issue, I still have an old 256mb flash drive with original US Army data on it I got from a recruiter in 2006

The old flash drives are actually better, because these issues are amplified due to the smaller processes in which modern NAND chips are manufactured.

tikoellner wrote:

Isn't this retention issue rather related to ssd NAND wear due to to many write cycles?

Yes, worn cells loose their charge faster. But most people would probably buy used SSDs (or take SSDs they used before upgrading their main PC) for their retro rigs.

Jo22 wrote:

I wished there was something like a RAM disk with an IDE connector.
Even storage space as little as 512MiB would have been awesome! 😁

Opps the power went out, now I lost all my data. 🤣

Take you pick.

Generally, they have the capability of battery backup. A battery might have to be installed.

Looks like one uses a SSD as backup? It also looks like that one is PATA and SATA? Curious thing.