I know this one has been talked to death, but I still don't have a clear idea about SSD performance. I currently use two HDD, a 500gig for os and programs and a 1 TB drive for audio. My question is, if I replace the 500 GB with an SSD (probably a 1TB) can I expect ANY kind of performance boost OTHER than boot up times? I've read a zillion posts where everyone starts going off on tangents, and tech specs, data management, etc. but what I need to get my head around is once programs start up, do they run any more efficiently with an ssd?

You'll be smiling so much your parents will think you're high and your girl will think you're having an affair.

Anything that loads off of disk or caches to disk will be faster.
So that's what, everything?  But how noticeable will depend on app.  My Outlook has numerous huge PST files & would take 10x longer (or more) to startup up if not for running on my SSD. 
I don't know anyone who ever went SSD and switched back willingly. 
It's not going to make your dual core run like an overclocked i7 but you should be pleased by the difference.

Most programs once they start up run primarily from memory and only access the disk to read or store data, an operation that is typically buffered through solid state components in the system or drive. If you are short on ram, there may be considerable use of the pagefile (or the swapfile for universal/metro apps) and if that is the case you may find putting those files on an SSD (you get to choose which physical disk they occupy) may help. But if you are using the pagefile very much on live audio, you are probably going to be having big problems already. If you are running your applications now without noticing long waits or dropouts, you will likely not get your investment back in usable performance. Whether your smile will fool your parents is another matter. 

SSD rocks when you access many files in parallel and you want that happens as fast as possible. So at Windows startup, big program startup, big sample libraries loading, etc.
So its presents is hard to notice when:
1) everything is in RAM and it does not access the disk at all (f.e. you type some document in Word)
2) required disk operations are sequential and much slower then HDD speed (f.e. recording/playing audio tracks)
In most other cases, the difference is noticeable.
Also SSD is completely noiseless. 

orangesporanges
I know this one has been talked to death, but I still don't have a clear idea about SSD performance. I currently use two HDD, a 500gig for os and programs and a 1 TB drive for audio. My question is, if I replace the 500 GB with an SSD (probably a 1TB) can I expect ANY kind of performance boost OTHER than boot up times? I've read a zillion posts where everyone starts going off on tangents, and tech specs, data management, etc. but what I need to get my head around is once programs start up, do they run any more efficiently with an ssd?

 
My WD 7200 rpm HDD (Cakewalk content, samples, etc.)

 
My Samsung EVO 850 SSD (Boot, Windows, all programs, and plugins)

 
Just. Get. One. Now!!! 
 
This 500GB SSD is $175 now: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OBRE5UE?th=1

abacab
 
My Samsung EVO 850 SSD (Boot, Windows, all programs, and plugins)

 
Just. Get. One. Now!!! 
 
This 500GB SSD is $175 now: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OBRE5UE?th=1

if there is no decimal point missing in the seq read times, this is insanely fast
 
me wants that too
 
oh boy, tomorrow i'll have that amazon email telling me to buy this drive.

Thanks all! This is what I needed to hear!
So, here's the plan:
1) I show these specs to my parents to prove I'm not high!
2) I reassure my wife that I am not having an affair, however, she will not be seeing much of me because I am going to live in my studio.
3) when she says"whatever" to that, I explain that this will breathe some new life into my current rig, and I will not have to plunk down $1500+ for a new one. (that will make her eyes light up)

orangesporanges
Thanks all! This is what I needed to hear!
So, here's the plan:
1) I show these specs to my parents to prove I'm not high!
2) I reassure my wife that I am not having an affair, however, she will not be seeing much of me because I am going to live in my studio.
3) when she says"whatever" to that, I explain that this will breathe some new life into my current rig, and I will not have to plunk down $1500+ for a new one. (that will make her eyes light up)

+1
 
I helped a buddy configure and build a new computer for his Photoshop studio a year ago, and I suggested getting a SSD drive for system boot and programs.  They were getting cheap and we found a 250GB Samsung EVO 850 for about $80.
 
Well, after we got that thing built and Windows installed, I couldn't believe how fast it rebooted and launched programs.  We were both grinning like idiots!
 
I went straight home and ordered the same SSD for my PC 

Rob[atSound-Rehab]

abacab
 
My Samsung EVO 850 SSD (Boot, Windows, all programs, and plugins)

 
Just. Get. One. Now!!! 
 
This 500GB SSD is $175 now: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OBRE5UE?th=1

if there is no decimal point missing in the seq read times, this is insanely fast
 
me wants that too
 
oh boy, tomorrow i'll have that amazon email telling me to buy this drive.

 
I think those numbers must be slightly high
 
But if you move the decimal point to after the first digit, that converts the number to GB/s.
 
The reported numbers (ex: 3.8GB/s & 5.5GB/s) exceed the theoretical upper limit for my SATA 3GB/s ports (the drive itself is rated for 6GB/s SATA interface).  But I am running the Samsung Rapid Mode service, so maybe that blurs the benchmark some? 
 
"RAPID mode from Samsung increases the overall performance of your computer by pairing the industry’s most
advanced SSD with cutting-edge storage management techniques to deliver the fastest and most reliable user
experience.
RAPID mode is installed as a filter driver in the Windows storage stack. The RAPID mode technology analyzes
system traffic to the Samsung SSD and leverages excess system resources (unused DRAM, CPU cycles) to deliver
optimized write I/Os to the SSD and caching hot data for improved responsiveness based on frequency, recency,
file type, etc.
RAPID mode is available as a part of the Samsung SSD Magician Software Toolset.
 
Read/Write Cache.
RAPID mode uses system DRAM as a cache of “hot data” based on frequency, recency, file
type, etc, such that subsequent requests can be served directly from DRAM, rather than going to the SSD.
Write Optimization.
System write requests are processed for optimized performance with Samsung EVO SSD.
File Awareness.
RAPID mode may exclude certain files from caching based on a variety of factors, including file
type, file size, etc. This prevents unnecessary data from polluting the cache.
Persistent Cache.
RAPID mode maintains cache map across system reboot to maintain consistent high-
performance operation.
Cache Compression.
RAPID mode dynamically compresses and de-compresses cache contents to dramatically
improve cache efficiency. Optimized for Samsung EVO. RAPID Mode was co-developed and optimized for the
Samsung MEX controller."


Still, this crazy drive is just stupid fast, anyhow!!!
 
There seems to be some FUD (mostly gamers) on the net about Rapid Mode using a large hunk of RAM, and possibly some stability issues (most likely due to overclocked CPU's and beta graphics drivers), but no problems here.  Samsung is only using about 10MB RAM on my system at the current time.  http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/downloads/document/Samsung_SSD_Rapid_Mode_Whitepaper_EN.pdf