bmwsvsu wrote on 2020-01-16, 19:47:
I really don't understand why anybody, other than those obsessed with being "period correct," would want to use anything other than an SSD in a retro build. They're superior in just about every way imaginable. And all the issues raised here are moot IMO as it is pretty easy to just back up your drive once in a while and clone over to a new SSD if your currently installed one ever fails or slows down to molasses. They boot faster, they're silent (compared to the super noisy mechanical drives of the era), programs launch faster, they draw less electricity, they generate less heat; I could go on and on.
Not that I particularly care one way or the other, some people don't consider the experience complete without using a mechanical drive. They may see solid state as being too fast, unnaturally so, or they miss the noise that comes with those clunky boys. There's no one right or wrong way to enjoy your retro systems. What works great for me, for example, may be abhorrent and insane to you. Personally I use SD cards in an IDE adapter in both my 486 laptop and my Pentium Pro system, they're even cheaper and more than fast enough (and still have much quicker access times) and I'm eventually going to figure out how big of an SSD my PIII needs and clone it over to one as well (I haven't got my full software load on there figured out yet). Mechanical drives make me feel trapped for some reason.
Nanto: H61H2-AM3, 4GB, GTS250 1GB, SB0730, 512GB SSD, XP USP4
Rithwic: EP-61BXM-A, Celeron 300A@450, 768MB, GF2MX400/V2, YMF744, 128GB SD2IDE, 98SE (Kex)
Cragstone: Alaris Cougar, 486BL2-66, 16MB, GD5428 VLB, CT2800, 16GB SD2IDE, 95CNOIE