Are we there yet SSD?

Several years ago I researched upgrading to an SSD, but what I found was that the difference between the technology and ease of use was too wide a gap. But now I am looking at prices of Sata II 2.5in SSD's and for the most part I can purchase a SSD with over 150GB for under 200$...................... I have a Toshiba Satellite and will likely soon get an HP EliteBook 8730w with a SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 156GB.

My question is, is it easier now? Is it simple enough to change over to? my hopes is that all I will need to do is put the SSD in my laptop then load up W7 and that is all it will take. Am I wrong here?

 

I'm not sure I understand the question. What did you find hard to use?

It was(and is) a matter of plug it in and install the OS. SSDs have become more affordable, larger, and more reliable. However easier? I guess I'll have to hear what you found annoying/difficult to be able to answer that.

 

I found many reports of people complaining that there OS just would not load, and that they had to go into there bios a play with things. I'm only manage to fumble my way through stuff, but if the reports were largely false, I would probably buy one in the next month or so.

 

If the reports were true, it would have been because their OS or hardware had trouble supporting them (which still seems somewhat unlikely).


The only thing you need to watch out for with Windows 7 is that you keep the drive somewhat empty (I think ~20% is the rule of thumb) to keep performance up, and don't defrag them. There are also "tweaks" that say disable indexing, but I don't recommend you do that, because it is a one time process and you WILL hinder your searching ability. Some also disable super prefetch, but I've heard rumors that Windows 7 disables it on SSDs anyway.

 

There have been problems caused by by users not following the correct sequence when changing SATA mode to AHCI (slightly faster disk controller) on computers that were installed with normal SATA mode enabled. Some older OCZ SSDs were reported not to be fully compatible with AHCI also. Sometimes, esp. with older computers, a BIOS update is needed to give a better chance of a good SSD experience.

For a clean W7 install, check in the BIOS that AHCI is enabled, install the SSD, boot from the W7 DVD and W7 should take care of the rest. What to check for post-install: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2727880

The most reliable SSDs are Intel, Samsung, Crucial/Micron and (probably, too soon to tell) Plextor.

Once you have W7 installed and done the MS checks above, read through a good SSD guide carefully, consider those tweaks that minimise disk writes and maximise drive space first. Example: http://www.speedguide.net/articles/ssd-speed-tweaks-3319

I wouldn't use less than a 120/128GB SSD in a single drive laptop; generally, the larger the drive in a given range, the better they perform.

 

I've been using 2 X Corsair 240Gb drives for about three years and 1 A-Ram 240Gb drive for almost 4 years and have had zero issues. They are still very fast running Windows 7 even though some are SATA II and now one Corsair is running Windows 8 in my Toshiba Satellite laptop.

I had a lot of trouble with an OCZ "Petrol" 240Gb SSD drive which the Computer store eventually swapped for a Corsair 240Gb. The issue with the OCZ was the BIOS wouldn't recognise it as a hard drive even though both BIOS firmware and OCZ firmware were upgraded to the latest current versions and in the end OCZ Tech support couldn't give me a solution that actually worked. We swapped several OCZ drives in and out of the Toshiba and none worked but when the Corsair was installed it worked first shot and is still working. Previously I have used OCZ "Vertex" in other PCs without issue so it was just the OCZ "Petrol" series of SSD that had this issue as we also tried the OCZ "Petrol" in my i7 test PC with the same problem occurring.

I also use the Intel SSDs at work and although they used to be very expensive I notice they are now priced around AU$180 for 180Gb which is close to the cheap SSD prices. The Intel SSDs have also been very reliable without any issues and they are now 2 years on and still running in a server 24/7. Soon I will be updating my 4 year old i7 workstation (probably at tax time in June lol) and will be installing a 480Gb Intel 520 series SSD. I don't foresee any issues as my experience with the Intel SSDs at work has been problem free.

+1 to satrow's advice :cool

 

I don't see many Sata II. But my LapTop takes Sata II 2.5in, is it true that I can use a Sata III 2.5inch, that all that will happen is that it will run at Sata II speeds?

 

Yes that is correct:wave

 

These are the ones I can find within my $200 range, which one would you choose, or if you have a suggestion.........

1. OCZ Vertex Plus R2 VTXPLR2-25SAT2-240GB 2.5" 240GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

2. Intel 520 Series Cherryville SSDSC2CW180A3K5 2.5" 180GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

3. Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

4. SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)(This one is actually the least inexpensive one)

 

Run away from #1. The rest are all good.

 

+1
If it was me picking from your list I would pick Intel first and then which ever is the better deal between Samsung and Crucial although not on your list I have had a very good run with my 3 Corsair SSDs but maybe I am just lucky LOL

The replacement for my own workstation is going to be a 480Gb Intel 520 series

 

I'm currently on a desktop with a SATA II connection running a SATA III SSD. It's still faster than a disk spinner drive even though it's SATA II speeds.

 

"Spinning rust" hard drives cannot saturate a SATAII connection, and could only saturate SATAI under very good conditions (small data bursts located next to each other on the disk surface). SSDs are able to saturate SATAII links and come close to saturating SATAIII. Manufacturers put SATAII and SATAIII on mechanical hard drives for two reasons:

1. 3 is faster than 2. faster = more sales due to people perceiving it as better
2. Suppliers sell SATAII and SATAIII chips for less per chip than SATAI due to #1, leaving no choice for the manufacturer.

In short, SSDs can saturate SATAII links, spinning rust can't.