[Jaman42]

Hi,
SSD is the fastest of the ones I know about, but how does the others stand in comparison? I will be experimenting a bit with my NUC once I get it and will be updating this thread with my experiences and was hoping that someone will chip in with theirs. I am planning on using XBMCBuntu on it, I like OpenELEC but I need some more functions not available there.

Anyone did tests themselves or know of a good comparison of running XBMCBuntu or any other OS on different types of media?

I already run XBMC on a ssd in my current setup and I suspect I have gotten use to the extremely fluid navigation. However I am planning to test some alternatives and see if I feel that the XBMC experience is still there even if it's perhaps a tad slower. Not sure yet what the size of the library will be but I will include that information, it will be on a decent sized library at least. And I will use the default skin Confluence, I always used Aeon Nox in the past but when I experimented with other devices I had to use something that wasn't to heavy, I have grown to like it quite a bit actually.

I am gonna test with a couple of internal 2.5" disks both 5400rpm and 7200rpm of different sizes, I will be adding the specs of them once I tried it. I am also gonna try with different combinations of USB sticks both 2.0 and 3.0. Some people claim that USB 3.0 stick is faster in a USB 2.0 port then a USB 2.0 stick is, myself I have no clue. I could suspect that the USB 3.0 stick is built for higher speed and that the USB 2.0 port is limiting the speed instead of the stick itself which might be the case on some USB 2.0 sticks?

[Jaman42]

Done some reading, doesn't look like a good idea running of a USB stick. I found a test with a USB 3.0 stick doing at first 90MB/sec reads and 10MB/sec writes. But when it heated up the read dropped to 40MB/sec. Didn't know USB 3.0 sticks had such lousy write speeds but then again it's meant to be a small portable storage unit and not a system disk so maybe not that surprising. Reading this and other comments on running Ubuntu from USB stick I come to the conclusion that I am wasting my time here, would be better of just running it from the internal disk I am planning on getting.

If I where to run only XBMC on it I would have gotten a SSD but since I plan on also using it as a personal cloud I want some more room without adding external USB disks. Anyone tried a hybrid disk and liked the experience?

[xbs08]

Not all USB 3.0 are created equal

[Jaman42]

No that's true off course. But by the looks of it, most likely no gain in performance using one and I prefer to not have something sticking out the front of the NUC. I'm good at writing pointless threads it seems like, anyhow thank you for reading

[xbs08]

I have one of the fastest USB 3.0 flash drive, the SanDisk Extreme, with xubuntu installed and booting from USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 port is very similar performance wise. It's faster but I isn't a major boost in performance.

I used that same flash drive for OE but in the meanwhile I upgraded to a SSD, because of the hability to suspend, and the speed improvemnt is very noticeble mostly in write operations like library updates and system updates.

Maybe Internal SSD + External HDD is a good option for your needs.

[teeedubb]

I tried using a usb3 drive for ubuntu a while ago (not sure how fast the drive was though), and as above reads were snappy but writes were painfully slow (apt-get upgrade took ages). That install didnt last long. I have OE installed on same usb3 in a usb3 port drive and while its generally snappy, starting it up after a while of not using causes huge slowdowns and freezing because of library/addon updates.

Just get a ssd

[Jaman42]

Thanks for the comments, I am gonna try with a rotational disk first and if I feel it's to slow I will get a SSD and use a USB disk for cloud/storage

[cones]

You could use NFS also, then no disk or USB.