Quote Originally Posted by Timman_24 View Post
I just got windows going again on my new HDD I picked up today. I got a Seagate 1TB Barracuda Black label. Nothing fancy just 7200RPM. Surprisingly, I notice very little difference in the boot time. It actually boots faster than when I had the SSD through the bios (not into windows though.) I don't have all my programs reinstalled yet, but I'm not feeling too much difference.

I'll probably hold off on getting a new SSD anytime soon. I'll RMA the one I have and most likely sell it to recoup some of the cost of my downtime and replacement, or I may throw it in my Netbook or PS3 for kicks.

I'll revisit SSDs when they are big enough (for the price) for me to put my games on there

EDIT: Also, I am beginning to sync my important files to Amazon S3 on a weekly basis, so this doesn't happen again.

If you don't see any difference in boot times between a 7200rpm HD and an SSD then something is not set up\configured properly. I have upgraded my Asus G73 laptop from a 7200rpm Seagate HD to an OCZ Vertex 2 a year ago. My boot times on the standard HD were about 45 seconds. After switching to the SSD the boot time was reduced to 18 seconds.
One word of advice I can give you is don't mirror\ghost your HD onto an SSD. You will end up with exactly the same boot times as your old mechanical drive (I tried that myself just to prove a point).