SSD vs. HDD

Matte Grey

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Hi,

I'm running an OPPO BDP-105, I have a HDD connected via USB. Would there be any advantage using a SSD? I notice some lag when browsing audio files on my current HDD. Not sure if the "lag" is due to the HDD or the Oppo's software. Thanks for your time.

Joe
 
Used specifically for an Oppo player's external drive, those have "pre-fetch" built in and should load plenty of media ahead of time, so I wouldn't expect any issues one way or the other.

Biggest advantage IMHO with SSD is the dead silence. Then again, the WD video rated HDDs I use are ultra quiet too ... I can just barely hear them ticking over when the system's on idle, and that's holding my ear right up to the box. Biggest disadvantage with SSD is the cost of a drive large enough to handle a typical media collection ... I'm running around 4tb here on my dedicated HTPC ... no idea what Oppo's max drive size is.

What you might consider is upgrading the USB cable if you're using a cheapie off the shelf one. That can make a substantial difference in noise and reliability. Any stuttering or delays could be because the player needs to read the drive several times due to errors.

Oh. A common problem with a lot of media players is they tend to be stingy with power on the USB buss, which could brown things out some. An easy solution there is to insert a powered USB hub between the player and drives. Most hubs will provide at least a couple amps of dedicated power that can drive most anything you throw at them.
 
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How do you define 'lag time'?

I have a 105D that reads audio files through an ethernet cable from a NAS. It does take a couple seconds to load, but I don't find myself waiting. On another note, Oppo's software could use some improvements.
 
I looked around but could not find specs on Oppo USB. USB 3.0 is faster than 2.0 so depends which one. If you have 3.0 on Oppo side then I would make sure the USB drive is 3.0.
 
Lag time browsing files is not related to HDD vs SSD. I'm wondering if the HDD is near capacity or heavily fragmented? Either can cause performance issues.
 
I looked around but could not find specs on Oppo USB. USB 3.0 is faster than 2.0 so depends which one. If you have 3.0 on Oppo side then I would make sure the USB drive is 3.0.

My 203 has two USB 3.0 connectors in back and one USB 2.0 connector in front. The manual also states that the USB ports are rated to provide a max of 5V at 1000mA to the device. It goes on to say that should be enough for most thumb drives and flash card readers, but may not be sufficient for USB hard drives, and that you should check with the device's manufacturer, or, as someone else said, put a powered USB hub in the middle.

It also says that the 203 is compatible with FAT, FAT32, or NTFS file systems.
 
The manual also states that the USB ports are rated to provide a max of 5V at 1000mA to the device. It goes on to say that should be enough for most thumb drives and flash card readers, but may not be sufficient for USB hard drives, and that you should check with the device's manufacturer, or, as someone else said, put a powered USB hub in the middle.

Insert "RTFM" here ... <G>

I just picked up another powered USB hub for my laptop. This 3.0 hub cost me $16 and is good for 2.5a ...

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You can probably figure out where I got it ... insert "ROTFL" here ... <G>

I've got an 8 port dLink on this system that's good for 5a, and even has a couple power only jacks for charging phones and such. Handy lil devils they are.

And ya ... even if you don't need the extra ports, the additional power reserve can make a world of difference.

Oh. If the external drive is self powered, pretty much a non issue.
 
My WiiU would not read an external drive unless it was self-powered. I went with an SSD there.

Having said that, I once ran an unused laptop hard drive at the rear of my Oppo and it worked fine off of the USB port on its own. The drive was a bit slow (as laptop HDDs traditionally are, for battery savings), but a desktop drive would probably need the extra juice. I use Ethernet to a NAS in the basement, so, no drive needed anymore.

I've got an 8 port dLink on this system that's good for 5a, and even has a couple power only jacks for charging phones and such. Handy lil devils they are.
Got one of these for charging. And I have every port filled...do I need another? :D Unlike many things sold today, these little Anker chargers are very, very solid. Mine has worked perfectly for the few years I've owned it.

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HDDs are slower, more capacious and cheaper than SSDs. That said, the Oppo firmware isn't exactly lightning, especially if you're outputting 4K. Defrag may or may not be any use depending upon if the drive is a newer SMR type.
 
I have a similar issue in my car. Just because I can put 10k files on a usb flash drive, does not mean the puny cpu in the car audio system can read them all in and present a sorted list in a reasonable time frame. My guess is the Oppo is choking on the sheer number of files and would do the same regardless of ssd or hd.

Start with a much smaller number of files and see how it does. Then double the number and see if your wait time doubles too. I bet it will...

jblnut
 
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