Hello,

I wonder a bit about SSD drives. Are they really that magical? I never really got the point. I once started a MacBook Air and it was started in about one or two seconds, a whole startup, is that possible? Is that because of the drive?

I think there is a real difference when there is something noticeable, like quicker startup, or quicker application startup, or applications are faster. For normal users, is the difference so great? I know I should know them a bit from iPads and iPhones, and I do and I know they are really fast.

So, why isn't everybody wondering more about these? Why aren't they standard in the iMacs yet? iMacs are actually pretty expensive, and the MacBook Air, MacBook now, isn't really, it's normal.

So...
PeterParker

[Spheric Harlot]

They are still far more expensive at high capacities.

All your other questions can be answered with "of course" and "given the above, that should be obvious."

[P]

Originally Posted by PeterParker 

Hello,

I wonder a bit about SSD drives. Are they really that magical?

Yes. They reduce the seek time by a factor 100 or so. It is the single biggest upgrade you can make to your computer. It is hard to even compare them to any other big step forward in computing in the last 20 years. Dualcore CPUs were great, real discrete GPUs was fantastic but in a very limited setting. Wifi, maybe? It is that big. That they're also more reliable (these days) doesn't exactly hurt.

Originally Posted by PeterParker 

I never really got the point. I once started a MacBook Air and it was started in about one or two seconds, a whole startup, is that possible? Is that because of the drive?

Yes, and yes.

Originally Posted by PeterParker 

I think there is a real difference when there is something noticeable, like quicker startup, or quicker application startup, or applications are faster. For normal users, is the difference so great?

Yes, a thousand times yes - and even more so for laptops. I upgraded my fathers laptop with a drive with a tiny 4GB flash cache, and even that tiny boost was massive to him. He commented on it several times in conversations with others, about how much faster it was.

Originally Posted by PeterParker 

I know I should know them a bit from iPads and iPhones, and I do and I know they are really fast.

So, why isn't everybody wondering more about these?

We did, a lot - in 2010 or so, which is when I upgraded my old iMac. They're old hat now.

Originally Posted by PeterParker 

Why aren't they standard in the iMacs yet? iMacs are actually pretty expensive, and the MacBook Air, MacBook now, isn't really, it's normal

Big flash drives are still very expensive, and desktop spinning disks are much faster than laptop spinning disks. Apple also uses "Fusion drives", which is an SSD and an HDD working together to get you the best of both worlds - usually. That is Apple's solution, but why they still sell base models without that feature is beyond me. It really needs to be standard.