SSD -noob question

[dd1313]

HI Guys

I am new to Pfsense.
I would like to know if a SSD over a SATA HDD is preferred for a PC install.

Thanks
DD

[rjcrowder]

There are multiple threads on the forums about SSD vs. HD… search is your friend.

That said, I think the summary...

1.) If you are doing an install with anything that does extensive writes (Dans, squid, snort) then you want either an SSD or HD - don't try to do it on a memory card or stick (they will quickly die).
2.) SSD's should theoretically be more reliable as long as you get a quality SSD with a modern (non Jmicron) controller. I've gotten cheap SSD's and had them die... just don't do it!
3.) An SSD will draw slightly less power, not make any noise, and run cooler.
4.) You definitely want (and a quality modern SSD will have) TRIM support. There are manual steps to turn on TRIM support in 2.1 (again - search is your friend).

I'll let someone else comment on whether they think there's a performance advantage to an SSD - I've never been able detect any performance benefit of an SSD (other than boot time) for Dans/Squid in my home environment.