Compatability Questions

Hey guys.

I am currently on holidays, and the SSDs are super cheap here which enticed me to think about a small upgrade for my PC. The problem is, I do not have my manual or concrete specs for my MOBO and I cannot find out which SSDs are compatible with it.

I'm pretty new to the SSD concept although it's been around for a while, so I have no idea what works and what doesnt.

I own a gigabyte ga-990fxa-ud3 with a 2TB SATA3 connected to it as my main drive + 2 external drives connected via USB (2TB + 4TB).

I was thinking about buying either a 240GB or 480GB SSD for my PC but I have no clue what to look for as compatability. Does it matter? Will 240GB be enough just to run Win7?

Thanks for reading.

 

As long as the interface is SATA/SATA III and the drive is 3.5" (desktop computer) you should be able to use ANY of the SSDs. An mSATA is different but, if you have an mSATA connection on your mobo, you could use an mSATA SSD. 240 GB is plenty to run Windows 7. I run Windows 7 on a 250 GB partition of my 1 TB SSD.

 

Thanks. I'm unsure cos my existing Windows drive keeps growing in size for reasons unknown to me. But that's enough info to feel confident to buy. Cheers

 

I don't know of any 3.5" SSD. They are all 2.5" as seen here (or PCIe or M.2).

3.5" drives are the standard size of hard drives.

That said, most SSDs come with a little adapter in the box. If not, they are pretty cheap.

 

As Digerati states, you'll need a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter to use the SSD in your desktop computer. This was the only 3.5" SSD I could find:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OCZ-Talos-C...998826?hash=item41b9052eaa:g:BjQAAOSwA3dYQQvq

and I'm not sure it would work in your computer.

 

I posted my MOBO on the initial comment. I don't know if it's compatible

 

It will not.

You can use any SATA SSD, though I recommend SATAIII for best speeds. It will have the same SATA connector as a 3.5 inch HDD. Some cases have 2.5 inch drive mounts, but if yours does not, you can buy an adapter if your SSD doesn't ship with one. Here's an example:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9083BK9033
https://s9.postimg.org/6mepq7w1r/A908_131055451612123545_IU6_Rq_U2b_Ok.png

 

I was not looking for SAS drives - but yeah, that one is 3.5". However, SAS drives are not directly supported by the OP's motherboard, so the point is moot.