The SSD and you.

[The Desert Fox]

So I have decided that my next upgrade to my rig is going to be a Solid State Drive, I want some opinions/advice from people who already have em. I am a fairly tech savy guy( I work at best buy, gota be right? ) but I am a littler nervous about jacking it up so a tutorial/tips would be nice. Also what brands/sizes to look at and such. I'l post the specs of my machine when I get home I just figured I would post this now. I am TRYING to stay under $160, but there is a legitimate size/performance increase for another 30-40 bucks it would be worth it. Thanks for yals help!

[Goku]

I for the crucial m4 128gb. If you want to spend more go with the Samsung 830 or intel 520. I doubt you will notice the difference between any of them. I tend to avoid OCZ but on sickdeals there was a vertex 3 for $110 after Mir that maybe worthWhile if it's available still.

[The Desert Fox]

Ya right now OCZ has an agility 3 120G for $99 after MIR and thats a pretty solid deal. Just want to know if I would see a substantial increase in performance with a different brand.

[Goku]

I wouldn't recommend an Agility, Vertex possibly given that price. I would still go for the Crucial M4 unless you want to save some money.

[The Desert Fox]

On newegg there is a crucial m4 for 159 and one for 147, they look the same, whats the difference?

[CyclesMcHurtz]

There are a few new SSD drives that are being advertised as accelerators - which is a great idea, since it give you a big boost (over time, they're adaptive) without suffering storage size problems. I found them on the website below, and I'm not endorsing any of them - I'm looking at them all myself for my next upgrade.

http://www.storagereview.com/crucial...ing_ssd_review
http://www.storagereview.com/ocz_syn...che_ssd_review
http://www.storagereview.com/corsair...ing_ssd_review

This looks better than the older hybrid drive system because you can actually add this to an existing system!

[Goku]

Originally Posted by The Desert Fox

On newegg there is a crucial m4 for 159 e and one for 147, they look the same, whats the difference?

The regular version is fine for $147, other one has a transfer kit I think.

Originally Posted by CyclesMcHurtz

There are a few new SSD drives that are being advertised as accelerators - which is a great idea, since it give you a big boost (over time, they're adaptive) without suffering storage size problems. I found them on the website below, and I'm not endorsing any of them - I'm looking at them all myself for my next upgrade.

http://www.storagereview.com/crucial...ing_ssd_review
http://www.storagereview.com/ocz_syn...che_ssd_review
http://www.storagereview.com/corsair...ing_ssd_review

This looks better than the older hybrid drive system because you can actually add this to an existing system!

This is similar to Intel's SRT system. Interesting technology, but most people I have seen aren't hugely impressed by it. I haven't used it myself, but I think a regular SSD with a OS installed on it with a 1TB HDD for storage is the way to go.

[kaffis]

Originally Posted by Goku

This is similar to Intel's SRT system. Interesting technology, but most people I have seen aren't hugely impressed by it. I haven't used it myself, but I think a regular SSD with a OS installed on it with a 1TB HDD for storage is the way to go.

I'm pretty pleased with my SRT rig. It's a compromise between performance and maintenance.

I'll take a modest hit to the performance increase if it means I don't have to micromanage what I install to where.

And given that I typically play multiple games in cycles, trying to keep the system drive's used space under control would be a lot of micromanagement. With SRT (or a similar system), it'll dynamically adjust what it's relocated to the cached drive to keep up with my play cycles.

[SurgeonX]

I bought my RevoDrive a couple of years ago now and it is without doubt the best purchase I've made for years.
Win 7 loads fast, but for games it is an absolute Godsend.

I've got the SSD as a primary boot for Windows and all my games.
Then a couple of SATA drives and external USB drives for everything else.
This ensure that you aren't constantly clogging the drive with stuff that you save and delete all the time.

I was a bit nervous too, but it is really no different from doing a fresh install of Windows on any other drive.
There's just a few extra settings to go through pre-install, and once it is setup, to make sure the SSD is sorted, and protected as much as possible.

This isn't the exact one I used, but it contains everything you need:

The SSD Optimisation Guide

http://thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/o...ation-guide-2/

[Goku]

Well there you go. Thanks for the feedback. Just depends on what you are looking for.

[kaffis]

Originally Posted by Goku

Well there you go. Thanks for the feedback. Just depends on what you are looking for.

Yup, that definitely should be the takeaway message.

[TerminatorUK]

I bought a Crucial M4 512GB recently and it was an awesome purchase - my whole system feels far more responsive and a pleasure to use.

I've only got a LGA1156 motherboard that supports SATA2 only but it already has made a big difference even limited to approximately half speed.

I'll look forward to seeing another leap in performance when I switch to an Ivy Bridge platform that supports SATA3.

[Dudster]

I don't know why people are so afraid of these things. Here's mine i have windows XP home 32 bit on it and use it exclusively for Planetside. No anti-virus no extra programs (okay a few other games) but i never hop onto IE or Mozilla with it and Planetside blazes, atleast compared to Windows 7.

[The Desert Fox]

okay so if I go with the M4, what else do I need to buy, and how do I install it lol

[duomaxwl]

I bought 2 M4's last time they were on sale. I honestly think it's the best thing I could have done for my computer. Just makes the day to day use much more pleasant, and games load up pretty damn fast. Couldn't recommend them more.