Need some help/advice choosing a SSD drive

i know nothing · 14 Jan 2019 at 11:56

I'm woefully out of touch with current hardware options and what can and can't be done, I'm hoping someone can help.

I'm running Win 10 on an older machine (Intel i3-4160 CPU @3.6GHz, 8Gb RAM, ASUS H81M-E Motherboard with a NVidia Geforce GE-710) and I'm looking to get a performance boost. I primarily use my PC for editing photo's as well as the usual browsing etc. I'm not a gamer.

I have a 2TB SATA HDD and it's getting pretty full, not to mention it's a little slow starting up.

I see there are 2 different types of SSD, M2 :confused:

and SATA. As far as I can determine I could go and buy a SATA SSD, configure it as the C drive and load Win 10 on it as a fresh installation. I could delete my current drive and use it for storage as well as adding another standard SATA HDD. Is that assumption correct?

Secondly, what sort of size SSD would people recommend? 256/512Gb or 1TB? I should imagine that it would be wise to put Windows, all programs etc on the SSD as well as current photo's/videos. Once processed/edited move them to the standard HDD for storage?

Any points or tips would be helpful!

rhysduck · 14 Jan 2019 at 12:04

i know nothing said:
I see there are 2 different types of SSD, M2 and SATA. As far as I can determine I could go and buy a SATA SSD, configure it as the C drive and load Win 10 on it as a fresh installation. I could delete my current drive and use it for storage as well as adding another standard SATA HDD. Is that assumption correct?

Yes, you are correct. Simple to do, just make sure the BIOS is set to AHCII before installing windows. Making sure the SSD is plugged into one of the two Sata 6gb connectors on the board.

i know nothing said:
Secondly, what sort of size SSD would people recommend? 256/512Gb or 1TB? I should imagine that it would be wise to put Windows, all programs etc on the SSD as well as current photo's/videos. Once processed/edited move them to the standard HDD for storage?

That all depends on your budget and what you plan on putting onto the main drive... OS (obviously), games? Apps? 512gb Should be fine for a few apps and a few games. 1tb is ideal if you stretch to the price of one.

500gb will be around the £75 mark whilst the 1TB will be around the £160-£180.

i know nothing · 14 Jan 2019 at 12:28

rhysduck said:
Yes, you are correct. Simple to do, just make sure the BIOS is set to AHCII before installing windows. Making sure the SSD is plugged into one of the two Sata 6gb connectors on the board.

Good to know! Thanks :-)

rhysduck said:
That all depends on your budget and what you plan on putting onto the main drive... OS (obviously), games? Apps? 512gb Should be fine for a few apps and a few games. 1tb is ideal if you stretch to the price of one.

500gb will be around the £75 mark whilst the 1TB will be around the £160-£180.

I could stretch to the 1TB, is this the sort of SSD you were thinking of?

Appreciate your input. :cool:

rhysduck · 14 Jan 2019 at 12:50

Thats the exact one I was thinking of yes. Your other option would be the Crucial MX500 1tb

i know nothing · 14 Jan 2019 at 13:13

Got it! Cheers! :cool:

seagate_surfer · 14 Jan 2019 at 17:17

Hey OP. Another option you could look into as well would be the BarraCuda SSD. Good luck, regardless of which route you determine is best for your needs!