[gundam83]

All of my movies and music are on my Unraid Server. My current HTPC has a 60gb OCZ agility SSD, and like all OCZ's it recently just crapped out. The only reason I ran the SSD in the first place because I had an extra one laying around. So in an attempt to save money, I'm wondering if I can just hook up one of my extra regular hdd's from my parts bin. I've never tried running this setup with a regular platter drive, so I don't know how much slower it'd be. The HTPC is used solely for XBMC and the occasional web browsing. There are no other applications installed. Does having an SSD produce enough improvement in how fast I can scroll through movie covers in XBMC to justify the cost of getting another one?

[TapRackPull]

I use XBMC Live stable release.
I run mine from a surplus 250GB 2.5" WD Caviar Black.
Will it set land speed records for boot... No. Do I give a rat's ass... Also no.
I would suspect that movie cover flow navigation and menu navigation... would be more a function of processor speed than HDD read speed. The majority of the advantage that you notice usin an SSD is in the initial boot.

Of course, you could always install a surplus HDD and test the system's responsiveness. That would give you your best answer.

[TapRackPull]

You might want to keep an eye on a concurrently running thread.

They are talking about speeding up fanart loading. The benefit of SSD vs CPU speed vs using DDS to compress fanart images... At least it's along the same vein as your question.

[eskro]

So in an attempt to save money, I'm wondering if I can just hook up one of my extra regular hdd's?

Yes!
I mean, yeah its not an SSD but hey,
testing how things go wont cost you a penny,,
just time,,,

If its not to your liking, then, get an SSD....

At least you'll know,,

peace