[OPLINTECH] Question about public computers at your libraries

[Chad Neeper via OPLINTECH]

Definitely. No looking back. I've been putting SSDs in the computers for
quite a few years now. That's the single biggest longevity-increasing
change I've ever made to the computers. You can mitigate the price increase
by using appropriately sized storage for your needs. Patron computers, for
instance, don't need insanely large storage. 120GB is more than sufficient
for most patron computers, especially if they're frozen with Deep Freeze or
similar.

When you consider that you can easily increase the *useful* lifespans of
the computers by a few years by paying careful attention to the details of
the hardware you're using, and you consider the time it takes to define,
purchase, configure, roll-out new computers, and on-going support
time...then spending just a little more money for something like an SSD
reaps huge returns on your investment. This is *especially* true if you're
outsourcing any part of that to a paid 3rd party like me. (Time is cost and
when you're sitting there waiting for a computer to install a program, do
updates, reboot, etc, all those minutes add up to less getting done and
more money being spent. SSDs alone greatly reduce that waiting time in a
computer.)

FWIW, the only place I still use traditional spinning drives is in the
servers (for now), or in a few special cases where I might need huge
storage. In a case where I might need huge storage, I'd still put the
system on an SSD and add the spinning drive as a secondary for data only.
Best of both worlds.

So two thumbs-up for SSDs. I'd give three if I had another thumb.  :-)

2 cents,
Chad

Ps. Now what's REALLY intriguing is the new technology that'll be hitting
the market in the near future that has a long-term storage device that's
fast enough and reliable enough to be used as RAM. I sense a redesign of
how the hardware uses RAM/storage in our future! I'd eventually expect
hardware to no longer make a distinction between the two and we'll just
have one storage device serving both purposes. "Unlimited" RAM? It would
affect how software is written too. That'll be a paradigm shift!



______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

*Level 9 Networks*
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

*Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and
schools*

On Tue, Mar 21, 2017 at 11:24 AM, Fred Miller Jr via OPLINTECH <
oplintech at lists.oplin.org> wrote:

> Was wondering if any of the libraries IT staff in charge of ordering
> computers for their libraries have made the switch from mechanical hard
> drives to SSD drives. I have been researching this quite a bit and the
> price per GB is still higher than the mechanical drives. Was curious on
> what everyone’s thoughts were and what they have been going to in regards
> to their public computers. Replies are welcome and appreciated.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> [image: Logo Resized]
>
> *203 Perry Street Wapakoneta, OH 45895*
>
>
>
> *Fred Miller Jr*
>
> IT Service Manager
>
> *T*: *419-738-1215 <(419)%20738-1215>* |* E*: *fmiller at auglaizelibraries.org
> <fmiller at auglaizelibraries.org>*
>
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