Planning an SSD

JAYCEE93

JAYCEE93

JAYCEE93

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I have been running my OS & all programs from a HDD for years now and I think the time has come to upgrade.

I have a couple of curious question on installation after reading the thread describing SSDs. Im not quite coming to terms with how I would transfer files such as the OS onto the SSD from my existing hard drive.
Will I basically have to start a-fresh? re-install all files again or is there a fast track?
Is it solely for loading up an OS or Can I also easily load up games using it?

Also a rough guide on some reliable SSDs in the market right now, my budget us around (£150 - £250).

Thanks,
JC
 
Depends how large your current hdd/windows is? If its small enough to fit onto an ssd then you can clone it to your new ssd,if not then yes you'll need to do a clean install

You can put whatever you want on the ssd games/programs ect
 
that budget buys you 500GB Samsung 840 Evo, where you really don't have to worry about space and can load everything from it, but tbh 250GB version for around £130 should be just fine.

you can clone the old drive, but I always prefer doing a clean install.
 
Currently 439GB Free of 931GB. That 250GB version sounds good to me, with a clean install.
Are Samsung the best bet for SSDs in terms of reliability and speed?
 
Be sure to set SATA ports to ahci in the BIOS before you install windows and disconnect all other hdd's,then once windows is installed connect your old hdd and set the ssd as first boot device in BIOS,then decide what to keep/backup ect off your old hdd and format it/use it for storage

And yes Samsung seem to be top dog atm
 
i upgraded to an ssd last night, my god its so fast.

i went the start a fresh route.

6 minutes it took to install windows 8 from start to being in windows.

deffo a great upgrade
 
I was unsure about an SSD at first, but after having one over a year I would definitely recommend them to anyone. Best of all I like the cold boot times of <10 secs.
 
Thanks for the advice guys I need all the help I can get as never used a SSD yet. Will it install Windows 7 64 bit as quick ?
 
The basic installation of Windows could take twice as long than on a mechanical hard drive for all I care. It's the day to day performance that really counts !

Having said that 10 - 15 minutes seems to be the norm if you are installing to an SSD. From what I remember, it's about twice as long for a mechanical drive.

Updates still take ages if you want to get them all out of the way. I`ve cut down the time by making my own installation discs with many of the updates integrated.
 
wazza300 said:
Be sure to set SATA ports to ahci in the BIOS before you install windows and disconnect all other hdd's,then once windows is installed connect your old hdd and set the ssd as first boot device in BIOS,then decide what to keep/backup ect off your old hdd and format it/use it for storage

And yes Samsung seem to be top dog atm
Click to expand...

Hi Wazza [or anyone else who knows!],

Question:

I've finally taken the SSD plung and have ordered an Samsung 840 evo 120gb.

I currently have two HDD's in my system: no.1 has my Vista install on it / no.2 is a large drive for storage only.

My plan is to fresh install Win 7 on to the SSD and then use it only for a couple of game installs and main progs etc (couple with the storage only drive for big files etc). This will become my new day to day system.

Question is whether or not I can keep my Vista OS install drive and dual boot when required?

Do I simply follow your AHCI mode install process for this to work ok?

Sorry for being a bit slow with this stuff!
 
I think vista needs pre install ahci drivers for it to work

but yes dual booting would work if you remember to switch sata ports back to ide mode when using vista,and back to ahci for win7/8

unplug your other hdd's when installing to your new ssd then plug them back in when done and set the ssd as first boot device
 
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