Is an external SSD worth the extra dosh over a traditional external hard drive?

Is an external SSD worth the extra dosh over a traditional external hard drive?

If you have to ask, no.

Only benefits if you have an USB3 enclosure.
And even then it may not be totally worth it.

I run my OS on my iMac off an external SSD, since opening up the computer was too much of a hassle. Performance is miles better than the internal HDD, and I don't have to listen to clicking every 5 seconds.

I'd definitely say its worth it, at least in my scenario. Just make sure your using thunderbolt or usb 3.1 with a decent enclosure otherwise you'll gimp the performance.

If you want to use it for plain storage and backups, it's not really worth it. On the other hand, if you have a laptop and you want to install Linux to the external and occasionally boot directly from that, then it's good. Provided you're using USB 3.0 or better.

No
Consider replacing your optical drive bay with a SSD instead

i use one to run my home server. i use all the drive bays inside for server and put the os on the usb ssd. if something happens, i unplug and re-image. i just find it really convenient, since i don't need to open the pc case at all. i can rebuild and have shit running again in less than half an hour.

usb3 isn't necessary, however it does help a lot.

I know, but it reeally improves the boot/access time.

sucks to be you, not being able to install a way faster internal ssd

Speaking of SSDs, which internal one should I get? A WD Blue or a SanDisk x400?

They're decently priced at this point, I have two SSDs in my laptop after replacing the optical drive. I also use two older ones in external enclosures.

It's nice to have the high transfer speeds and they are considerably lighter than slim HDDs. I also expect them to last a lot longer while traveling than my previous slim HDDs.

I am able to run programs and use heavy datasets stored on them so the convenience is there.

I would go for a USB-C compatible enclosure if I were buying now. They're about the same price.

who said anything about not being able to install an internal ssd? reading comprehension much?

neither. go with samsung or intel.

holy shit i had no idea that this was possible and that is fucking amazing
what the fuck

Honestly this

Usb flash drives are SSDs

Depends on why do you need an external drive.
But generally no, unless you carry it around a lot.
Then again you just use usb sticks to carry data around, unless it is a virtual machine image or some shit like that.

I don't think so. It's purely storage, not working media.

USB drives use Flash memory, yes

it definitely won't grant you too much speed. durability might be a plus

it's external drive, it's not meant to be fast

Just don't stuck your SSD there, it is at best SATA 2