SSD Choice Recommendation and Cloning to New SSD

[gmacasperic]

Hello,

Recently, I have been in the market for two new SSDs to occupy the additional space I'll need. I will start off by clarifying that I do have an OEM system, the late 2016 Alienware Area-51 R2, specs listed below:

i7 6850K @4GHz
16GB DDR4-2133 (4x4)
GTX 1080 FE

My current storage devices go as follows:

Micron 1100 256GB SATA SSD [Primary boot drive]
4TB WD Green HDD, 5400 RPM [Mass data storage]
750GB WD Scorpio HDD, 5400 RPM [Temporary for extra data storage]
1TB WD My Passport External Drive, 7200 RPM [External data storage]

The computer currently has two open 2.5" drive slots for SSDs, one of which is occupied by the Micron drive. My goal is to replace the Micron drive, and occupy both slots with two drives around the 500GB capacity. I am currently torn between two choices:

Silicon Power 3D-NAND 480GB, which can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PFPKHD/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

WD Blue 3D-NAND 500GB, which can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-NAND-500GB-SSD-WDS500G2B0A/dp/B073SBZ8YH/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1513825628&sr=8-14&keywords=480gb+ssd

As far as I'm concerned, Western Digital is a much more established drive manufacturer, but the Silicon Power drive (from the reviews) looks of pretty good quality, offers quick speeds comparable to both the Western Digital and the more expensive Samsung 850 EVO, and is a little more affordable. What would your recommendation be?

The next piece of the puzzle is the ability for me to clone the drive. I was watching a tutorial, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F2nh35jq58

I've heard that OEM systems have trouble cloning drives, so can anyone identify any problems I would have if I were to proceed with the method in the tutorial?

Thanks

 

[ArtPog]

1. Before we get to the "how-to" segment re a disk-cloning ("data migration") process and the selection of this or that new SSD, I'd be interested in understanding your basic objective(s) in terms of why you're contemplating these changes since it might impact on a specific response.

2. Since you're already utilizing a SSD presumably as your boot drive, is the current 111 GB of disk-space insufficient for your needs and that triggers your desire for a larger (500 GB) SSD to replace it? Or are you generally unhappy with the performance of the Micron SSD? Or both?

3. The other 500 GB SSD you would plan to purchase would simply be another drive addition to your system? It won't be replacing some other drive?

4. I've never worked with that Micron drive but have worked with a multitude of SSDs. Truth to be told there's precious little (if any real-life) performance difference between them. Having said that, we generally lean toward the Samsungs in our own PCs but it's probably because we're just "going along with the flow". No doubt either the Silicon Power or WD Blue SSDs would be satisfactory.

5. I guess what puzzles me is why you have a need for a multitude of drives along the lines of the disk-space capacities you already have and plan to add drives with the specific disk-space capacities you've indicated. Of course I can understand why you might want to replace your present small-capacity SSD boot drive with a larger 500 GB one.

6. As to the disk-cloning program I suppose the referenced video is accurate with respect to the Macrium program. We've found that program quite reliable although it's not the d-c program we generally work with. We nearly always use the Casper program which we prefer for its ease of use and operational speed. While we use it, of course, in situations similar to yours our chief use is using it for comprehensive backups of our systems on a frequent basis.

7. Casper is a commercial program costing $49.99, however there's a 30-day trial version you may wish to use to clone the contents of your present boot drive to one of the new 500 GB SSDs. I assume that's what you have in mind re a d-c operation, is it not?

8. I'll provide you with some instructions if you're so interested. You can download this version from https://www.fssdev.com/products/casper/trial/

1. After installing the program and before undertaking the disk-cloning operation close all open programs. (Generally you need not disable your anti-virus program). Ensure your destination drive - the proposed recipient of the clone, your SSD - is properly connected in the system.

2. The opening screen of the program will highlight "Create a Bootable Backup". Click on "Add drive" and a listing of the appropriate destination drive(s) will appear, i. e., your 500 GB SSD as well as all the other installed drives.

3. Click on your destination drive's listing, i.e., the SSD, and then the "Back up now" button.

4. Casper will run in the background and alert you when the disk-cloning operation is completed. (You can view the actual progress chart by clicking on the Casper icon in the Notification Area on the Taskbar.)

5. Following the (hopefully!) successful disk-cloning operation disconnect (when practicable) the source 120 GB SSD from the system and boot the system. While not usually critical, as a general proposition it's a good idea (whenever practicable) for the newly-cloned drive to be connected to the motherboard's first SATA data connector, usually designated SATA 0 or SATA 1. In your situation is you disconnect the source 120 GB SSD boot drive, you can connect the newly-cloned 500 GB SSD to that SATA connector (if practicable).
Also, check the system's BIOS/UEFI to ensure the cloned drive is now first in boot priority order.

7. Ordinarily Casper will utilize the entire disk-space of the 500 GB SSD destination drive to contain the data contents from the source drive. Unlike the commercial version of Casper the Trial Version does not permit manipulating the size of the partitions during the d-c operation. However, it's a simple Disk Management operation as you probably know to shrink the size of the created partition following the d-c operation to whatever size you desire as long as the partition size can accommodate the cloned contents of the source disk.

6. Work with the newly-cloned SSD for a while to determine it boots & properly functions before reinstalling the old boot drive (assuming you're planning to reinstall that 120 GB SSD to be used for some purpose or other). Don't rush it. Work with the newly-cloned SSD for a day or so to ensure it's properly booting & functioning.

Let us know how it goes, OK?

 

[ericr3305]

(I'm the original poster on a different account) That was very helpful! I have decided that the best route for me was the two 480GB Silicon Power drives due to the price, and the fact that they've been pretty hot and considered reliable on Amazon. It's definitely an odd layout but I have found that purchasing two 500GB (or thereabouts) capacity drives is cheaper than a single 1TB. (or thereabouts) The Micron drive suits my performance needs with over 500 MBP/s on both the read and write speeds and has proven itself very reliable. I do want to clarify that with the purchase of these new Silicon Power drives, I'm aiming to replace the Micron and put it in an HP laptop I have which needs a hard drive replacement from its slow as molasses, 10 year old Western Digital Scorpio Black that's been holding its copy of W7 Pro since it was new. The only reason I'm adding those drives is because I need more space that's fast. My 4TB Western Digital hard drive is down right mediocre and is being filled rapidly. The reason for the array of different hard drives is because I administrate and record for a gaming community, and such recording requires a large amount of drive space, for the simple fact that I'm recording literally everything. Any time I'm in game I record incase I catch something either because it's bad and I need proof to administrate it or because I catch something good I can put live on YouTube. Additionally, I will be replacing the random 750GB drive considering I'll need the second 2.5 inch bay -- Oh yes, I pulled it out of a seven year old Lenovo laptop (lmao) and boy is it slow. In the end, I'll be left (internally) with my two 480GB Silicon Power SSDs and the 4TB Western Digital hard drive. The new drives will be arriving, and to keep it somewhat relevant to the season, I'll be opening them Christmas Eve.