HDD vs. SSD
- landoneilers
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18 Feb 2026 21:11 #343164
by landoneilers
HDD vs. SSD was created by landoneilers
I am planning to install LinuxCNC 2.9.8 for a parallel port setup (I know Wheezy is probably better, but I need it to be as user-friendly and modern as possible).
I have a bunch of disks I can install it to:
500GB WD Blue HDD (16MB cache) (The ideal choice, I have like 6 extra ones)
256 SanDisk SSD (I only have 4).
500GB WD Blue HDD (32MB cache) (Less plentiful than the 16MB caache drives, but I don't really need this drive for anything).
Which drive would be the best choice for latency.
Bootup time is irrelevant to me, latency is really my only concern.
I will use this PC almost exclusively for machine control, except to download nc files perhaps.
I have a bunch of disks I can install it to:
500GB WD Blue HDD (16MB cache) (The ideal choice, I have like 6 extra ones)
256 SanDisk SSD (I only have 4).
500GB WD Blue HDD (32MB cache) (Less plentiful than the 16MB caache drives, but I don't really need this drive for anything).
Which drive would be the best choice for latency.
Bootup time is irrelevant to me, latency is really my only concern.
I will use this PC almost exclusively for machine control, except to download nc files perhaps.
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- tommylight
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18 Feb 2026 21:19 #343166
by tommylight
Replied by tommylight on topic HDD vs. SSD
Get an old mainboard/CPU/MEM and plug all 6 to it, see bellow500GB WD Blue HDD (16MB cache) (The ideal choice, I have like 6 extra ones)
Use for LinuxCNC machines, much better latency/access times compared to mechanical drives, and much faster.256 SanDisk SSD (I only have 4).
Use this one to install TrueNAS and plug it into the same old PC mentioned above with the other 6 drives, you get a nice 2.5TB NAS with fault tolerance for one failed drive.500GB WD Blue HDD (32MB cache) (Less plentiful than the 16MB caache drives, but I don't really need this drive for anything).
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- landoneilers
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18 Feb 2026 21:21 #343169
by landoneilers
Replied by landoneilers on topic HDD vs. SSD
I have never seen a motherboard with more than 4 SATA ports.
I don't really need NAS, though that is a cool idea, I suppose.
I don't really need NAS, though that is a cool idea, I suppose.
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18 Feb 2026 21:24 #343170
by landoneilers
Replied by landoneilers on topic HDD vs. SSD
Why TrueNAS over FreeBSD?
(I know TrueNAS is based on FreeBSD, but still)
(I know TrueNAS is based on FreeBSD, but still)
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18 Feb 2026 21:26 #343171
by rodw
Replied by rodw on topic HDD vs. SSD
HDD read/write has no impact on latency.which measures hardware performance, network latency is important for mesa/ethercat systems.
The buffering of gcode will be sufficient to cover HDD speed.
Using a SSD is a great boost in performance and I usually install one when refurbing a machine. Recently I didn't on a 8 core i7 & I really noticed how much longer Debian took to install.
Use the one you say is ideal
The buffering of gcode will be sufficient to cover HDD speed.
Using a SSD is a great boost in performance and I usually install one when refurbing a machine. Recently I didn't on a 8 core i7 & I really noticed how much longer Debian took to install.
Use the one you say is ideal
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18 Feb 2026 21:35 #343174
by landoneilers
Replied by landoneilers on topic HDD vs. SSD
Does HDD cache size have any impact?
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18 Feb 2026 21:57 #343176
by tommylight
Replied by tommylight on topic HDD vs. SSD
I've always had with more than 4 as they also had a separate SATA controller with RAID, still have 2 with 6 SATA ports, and all Enterpise towers also have 6 or 8 ports (HP Z420 and Z600)I have never seen a motherboard with more than 4 SATA ports.
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18 Feb 2026 21:58 #343177
by tommylight
Replied by tommylight on topic HDD vs. SSD
It's not, new version is Debian as far as i can gather from the boot time info.Why TrueNAS over FreeBSD?
(I know TrueNAS is based on FreeBSD, but still)
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18 Feb 2026 22:11 #343178
by landoneilers
Replied by landoneilers on topic HDD vs. SSD
Weird.
FreeBSD seems faster.
Why would they switch to Debian?
FreeBSD seems faster.
Why would they switch to Debian?
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18 Feb 2026 22:12 #343179
by landoneilers
Replied by landoneilers on topic HDD vs. SSD
I will install LinuxCNC onto a random (not-super-ancient) HDD.
I hope it goes well.
I hope it goes well.
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