First SSD, for the OS, need some advice on choices and setup

Jamieleets

Jamieleets

Jamieleets

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9 Oct 2011
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Hi all,

I'm going to be purchasing my first SSD for my most recent build. I'm hoping to have a HDD in there as well with most of my files on, and I will be putting the OS on to an SSD.

1. What sort of size SSD is required for this? Something around 128GB or would you recommend doubling that? Can you also recommend some good quality SSDs of that size?

2. Before installing the OS, do I need to do anything to set up the SSD. I've heard something about TRIM but I don't know anything about it. If it helps I have an asus p8z77-I deluxe. Do i need to make any changes in the bios?

Thanks in advance! :D
 
Sounds like a 128gb SSD would be fine, although if you afford the extra, a 256gb model might be a good idea, but it depends.

Your OS (assuming Windows 7), Antivirus, basic apps and updates will use up around 25-30gb. A 128gb SSD will start with about 120gb of space, so you have roughly 90gb "to play with". Now that's quite a lot of space, as long as you are not going to be storing lots of music, photos etc. You should be able to install 3 or 4 full games into that space, if you wish.

Obviously, doubling the capcity will enable you to keep more on the SSD, and although a lot of people will install games onto a HDD to save space on their SSD, I like to have my games on my SSD as you benefit from faster loading of the game and it's levels.

The choice of capacity is not always easy, as you have a spare HDD, either size will do. It just depends on if you really want the extra capacity, and if you can afford or want to spend the extra money to buy it.

As far as SSD choice is concerned, many people favour Crucial or Samsung drives. Intel are also popular and reliable. Don't be obsessed with finding the SSD with the "fastest" specification, they will all perform well.

As far as installing is concerend, it almost the same as using a HDD, the main thing to look out for is enabling "AHCI" in your BIOS. Also, if your motherboard supports SATA III, make sure you use a SATA III port. Also, some motherboard have Intel ports and "non-Intel" ports (Marvell etc). Make sure you are using an Intel port if available.

Looks like you have a Z77 board, that will have Intell Sata III ports.
 
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As above really, if you can stretch the budget to a 256GB then do it. Otherwise 128GB will be okay for now.

The only real pre check is to ensure you plug it into a SATA 3 socket and have the SATA mode set to AHCI in the BIOS.
There are things you will need to do after installing the ssd like disabling prefetch.

Here is a good guide to setting up an ssd LINK
 
I might be wrong, but I don't think disabling prefetch is too important, however it is recommended in some cases.

If you buy a Samsung SDD, you can use the supplied "Magician" software to carry out the "fine tuning".
 
Okay, thank you very much for the information! I will likely stick with a 128GB SSD then as I'm only used to HDD's so it won't make a difference if I leave my games on my HDD.

So, you said OS and Anti-virus will go onto the SSD, what else would you recommend to put on there to get the most out of its increased speeds? Also, do you think £35 extra is worth getting a Samsung Pro to bring the write speed from 130 MB/s to 390MB/s ?

And thanks for that link, t2i3m. I haven't heard of prefetching before, but I've done a quick google search and it seems smart to disable it due to the defrag commands it will send to it, which would be useless on an SSD. Is this correct or have I misunderstood that? :)

EDIT This is the SSD I'm looking at now. Would you say it's fine for my purposes? :) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-161-SA&groupid=1657&catid=2101&subcat=2103
 
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Prefetch, superfetch, defrag will be disabled on detecting the ssd by win 7 if thats the OS your using. TRIM will be handled by W7 also.

Id put whatever you can on the ssd (incl pagefile, just limit it if you must minimize its space use). The more software running off the hdd the more its limited iops/access is going to hurt responsivness in use. I use mine for all applications. HDD's for mostly data and backups.
 
Okay, I'll bear that in mind when I start installing things, thanks! How do I go about limiting the pagefile, and ensure that it is on the SSD? I haven't done anything to do with storage devices before other than plugging them in to the board and leaving Windows to do the rest.

Cheers!
 
The pagefile will default to the system drive unless you later change it. I prefer to keep it enabled but limited and definitely not disabled. Some software might have tantrums if it's disabled. Depending on your useage it is probably best to leave it at its default windows managed setting (essentially expandable if needed) particularily if your typical usage eats up much of however much ram you have. You can think of it a bit like an overspill, as such its better left on the ssd (despite what used to be common recomendations to move it off the ssd) with its higher random access throughput.

To summarise pretty much plug and play and let windows 7/8 manage it! ^^

But should you find yourself in need of space, reducing the pagefile, disabling hibernate if you dont use it, reducing sys restore size are a few things that you can do but are not essential must do's upon installing.
 
Lovely! The order is placed and I'll soon be enjoying my first SSD! ^^ Thank you all so much for your help. You've all been very kind here, reading through some of the threads you all seem like a very good community :) So thank you once again!
 
Jamieleets said:
Lovely! The order is placed and I'll soon be enjoying my first SSD! ^^ Thank you all so much for your help. You've all been very kind here, reading through some of the threads you all seem like a very good community :) So thank you once again!
Click to expand...

Did you go for the 840 120GB ?

If so, not a bad choice. The £35 extra for the pro is debateable. If you were going for the pro, I'd say spend a further £30 and get the 250GB non pro. Opinions do vary though ! You`ve ordered a decent SSD, so don't worry.

If you follow the advice that we've given, you should find that installing your SSD is fairly easy. As I mentioned earlier the Magician app that comes with the Samsung SSD has the facility for "one click" OS optimization.

TBH, you don't really need to do too much (as per the previous post), Windows 7 & 8 take care of the main settings (disabling defrag and TRIM), and even if you don't bother "tweaking" any other settings, you'll have a fast system. Just remember to make sure AHCI is enabled in your BIOS.

Good luck.
 
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