Arguably, the issue is when the HDD isn't the only computer you use. If you switch to using an SSD on, say, a laptop, boot times are super fast, you get used to that, etc.
Then you go use an HDD, and suddenly everything feels slow. The thing is, it's not actually slower than it was before, it's just slower than your most recent comparison point.
If only use an HDD, though, those boot time are just the way it is. I never actually found it to be a large difference between Windows and Linux. The difference that really bit me was startup apps on Windows, but fresh installs were plenty quick.
I think in a lot of ways it's like getting off a freeway after a while. On a regular in-city drive, the road speeds feel normal and reasonably quick (assuming no traffic). When you've just gotten off the freeway, though, you're at half the speed of what you've been driving at for the last hour or two, and it feels very slow.
Then you go use an HDD, and suddenly everything feels slow. The thing is, it's not actually slower than it was before, it's just slower than your most recent comparison point.
If only use an HDD, though, those boot time are just the way it is. I never actually found it to be a large difference between Windows and Linux. The difference that really bit me was startup apps on Windows, but fresh installs were plenty quick.
I think in a lot of ways it's like getting off a freeway after a while. On a regular in-city drive, the road speeds feel normal and reasonably quick (assuming no traffic). When you've just gotten off the freeway, though, you're at half the speed of what you've been driving at for the last hour or two, and it feels very slow.