SSD qestions...

_Jimlad_

_Jimlad_

_Jimlad_

Soldato
Joined
5 Jun 2005
Posts
20,919
Location
Southampton
Hi guys, i should properly have a read of these threads, but i have a few limitations that may hold me back with upgrading.

1. current set-up in my shuttle is only 2 sata ports inside. Can these be split or added too as currently they are both in use DVD/Hard drive (failing that need a IDE dvd drive, however i prefer the less chunky cable in a toasty shuttle.

2. Drivers / Setup... in Win7 is anything needed to be done when setting up a SSD SATA drive, are drivers needed or is it a case of chuck it in, put the win7 disc in and format?

3. Size/ Cost... i will have my 1TB for all my data, but is 64gig ample for win7 installs, what else do you SSD chaps install on that drive?

4.Best option for me under £150?
 
1. you cannot Split Sata, your only other option is to add in a PCI SATA card, if you have a spare pci slot, or as your said, change your dvd to IDE.

2. You don't need to do anything different when installing an SSD, they install just the same as a traditional HDD.

3. 64gb is 'just' enough for W7 and apps, but keep pics, vids, games etc on your HDD.

4. ? not too sure at the moment.
 
UKDTweak said:
1. you cannot Split Sata, your only other option is to add in a PCI SATA card, if you have a spare pci slot, or as your said, change your dvd to IDE.

2. You don't need to do anything different when installing an SSD, they install just the same as a traditional HDD.

3. 64gb is 'just' enough for W7 and apps, but keep pics, vids, games etc on your HDD.

4. ? not too sure at the moment.
Click to expand...

thanks mate, i appreciate you taking the time to respond.

In regards to PCI slot, yes i have a spare, but can i get internal ones? in the sense of the sata port facing in the case?
 
Yes. You can get PCI cards with only internal SATA ports, only external SATA ports and with both.

Also you can find IDE to SATA converters - one of these would enable you to run your existing DVD drive off the IDE port.

Matthew
 
oooo, that's good to hear! ok i will have a look around if you know of a good place to get internal or ide to sata, feel free to drop me a mail in trust
 
4.) The 64GB Samsung drive is £145, or you could get a pair of the new Kingston/Intel drives for a speedy 80GB RAID 0 array for about the same price. OcUK aren't stocking these yet, so you'd have to shop around.
 
_Jimlad_ said:
oooo, that's good to hear! ok i will have a look around if you know of a good place to get internal or ide to sata, feel free to drop me a mail in trust
Click to expand...

OC don't really like us giving links to their competitors, however I'll give you some manufacturers. Addonics do both PCI SATA cards and IDE/SATA converters. Startech is another manufacturer of both types of device.

Matthew
 
im confused why to the prices and speeds vary so much is there not just a standard? what is the fastest i can get for £150?
 
You answered your own question in a way. There are several different controllers (Intel, Indilinx, Samsung, maybe others too) and the prices vary because the speeds of these controllers, and the memory they control, vary.
 
Jimlad,

I'd go for a PCI card - these can be had for about £10-15. I would put your DVD and old disk on these, as the bandwidth is going to be limited to about 133mb/s through the PCI bus. The IDE/SATA converters tend to be connected to the drive itself, whilst cheaper it would mean you still have the IDE ribbon cables. I've not seen any that connect directly to the mobo and allow you to use a SATA cable though they may exist.

As CBJ says the drives run on different controllers, the other main one he missed from his list is the JMicron - which I would personally avoid - but worth mentioning for that reason. The original drives sufferred from stuttering, some people have reported this has now been fixed, but others still seem to have problems.

At the moment the Kingston 40gb is hard to beat, as it features the high performing Intel controller, 2 in a RAID0 will be cheaper and generally faster than a single Intel X25M G2 at about £140. This would be my choice.

If your budget is limited then the Samsung PB22J would be my second option for that budget, but in my experience doesn't feel as fast as the Intel's or Indilinx drives (Crucial M225 amongst others). Be aware though that there is no firmware updates available at this time to allow TRIM, or a manual tool to clean the drive. So over a period performance will degrade, and you will have to reinstall/restore after cleaning with HDDerase.

If money is real tight but you can stretch a bit then the Crucial M225 64gb, and if you can stretch a bit more the Intel X25MG2 80gb.

HTH
 
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