Our systems have moved to almost entirely to solid-state drives (SSDs) for primary storage, making our old video looking at hard drive vs SSD boot times rather outdated. But are all of the SSDs we use equal, or are there benefits to one over another for typical computer usage? We compared four of the Samsung models we carry to see how they compare in boot up, file copy, and application launch times.
Stop Directly Comparing CPU Specs
Every time a new generation of CPUs is announced, I see a number of people writing about how they think it will be faster (or slower) than current technology because of the advertised specifications. CPU specs alone don’t tell the whole story, though, and comparing core count and clock speed across different brands or generations of processors is extremely misleading. Stop doing it!
CPU Cores and Clock Speed – A Car Analogy
We have published a short video looking at the basics of CPU cores and clock speed using the time honored tradition of a car analogy.
SSD vs HDD – Responsiveness Comparison
Everyone knows that solid state drives are much faster than magnetic hard drives, but just how much of a difference does it make when using typical applications in Windows? We made a video to demonstrate!
Boot Time Comparison
How quickly a computer boots up doesn’t always correspond to how much processing power the system has, or how fast the system drive is. This blog talks a little about what contributes to both faster and slower boot times, with a video comparison.
Actual CPU Speeds – What You See Is Not Always What You Get
Clock speeds on modern Intel processors are not straight-forward, a fact that is attested to by the several articles we have published on that topic in recent years. This can lead to confusion over what CPU to pick when configuring a new computer, especially for higher-end workstations and servers with high core count processors. I am hoping this blog post will shed a little light on that subject, and help readers be better able to select the right CPU for their needs.
Worth the Wait
“Our coffee is roasted each Tuesday.”
It was Wednesday and I was out of my favorite coffee from Blue Bottle. Add in shipping and I’d have to wait for another week and a half. I considered another brand, but that didn’t last long.
I decided it was worth the wait for what I consider to be the best.
Most companies I do business with take the opposite approach of Blue Bottle: their business is built around speed. Need a Diet Coke? The McDonald’s drive-thru is fast. If I need a pizza delivered ASAP I’ll call Domino’s. Lenscrafters promises eyeglasses in about an hour. And I can’t recall the last time I took my car to the dealer to have the oil changed.
Speed sells. It’s that simple. Of course, there are some services where speed isn’t a virtue. For example, I am not interested in the fastest or least expensive lasik surgeon.