SSD Installation Questions

[kevzz010]

Good day guys! I'm planning to buy an SSD at least 128GB because I think my hard drive is about to die, it takes like 7 hrs for the Check Disk and it has a lot of bad sectors. I believe it also affects my gaming performance, like in the game Diablo 3. So, how do you install an internal SSD? Same like SATA Hard Drives? Is it fine to install windows files on an SSD?

How about this one? I'm not sure if its compatible with my Desktop, how do i know if i can install this one on my desktop? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Kingston+Ssd+-+SSDNow+V200+128+GB+Internal+Solid+State+Drive+-+1+Pack/4664566.p?
id=1218500895171&skuId=4664566


Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Dereck47]

If your motherboard has SATA 3 (6Gb/s) ports connect the SSD to one of them.

SATA ports have 3 settings (modes), IDE, AHCI, & RAID.
Make sure the port your drive is connected to is in AHCI mode for maximum performance.

When you install Windows make sure only your SSD is connected. If any other drives are connected it’s possible that Windows will create a System Reserved partition (100MB) on one of the hard drives instead of on the SSD. After installation is complete you can then connect your remaining drives.

Run WEI (Windows Experience Index) after installation is complete. Windows will then automatically disable defrag on any SSDs it detects.

There’s more tweaks you can do, they’re not really necessary with current generation SSDs.

 

[kevzz010]

If your motherboard has SATA 3 (6Gb/s) ports connect the SSD to one of them.

SATA ports have 3 settings (modes), IDE, AHCI, & RAID.
Make sure the port your drive is connected to is in AHCI mode for maximum performance.

When you install Windows make sure only your SSD is connected. If any other drives are connected it’s possible that Windows will create a System Reserved partition (100MB) on one of the hard drives instead of on the SSD. After installation is complete you can then connect your remaining drives.

Run WEI (Windows Experience Index) after installation is complete. Windows will then automatically disable defrag on any SSDs it detects.

There’s more tweaks you can do, they’re not really necessary with current generation SSDs.

Thanks for your response. I'm gonna check my motherboard if it has SATA 3 when the chkdsk is done. I've been running it for 3 hours and I'm still at step 5 20% and it still have 100mill that needs to be processed. Oh god..

 

[coper210]

use this to transfer over the files from the hard drive to the SSD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812161004

Here is a great SSD that is only 80 dollars right now on newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233206

 

[kevzz010]

use this to transfer over the files from the hard drive to the SSD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812161004

Here is a great SSD that is only 80 dollars right now on newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233206

Cool! Thanks for the help. I've seen that corsair SSD a couple of times and I think this one is the best and cheap. But I'm not sure if i can install it on my desktop yet. Imma check it out later. Thanks again

 

[kevzz010]

Btw, how do i know if my motherboard has Sata III ports without opening my desktop? This is my PC spec that i found in gateway site.

http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/1015003r/1015003Rsp3.shtml

 

[Dereck47]

No, your motherboard does not have SATA III ports; only SATA II.

There will still be a big real-world difference going from a HDD to a SATA II SSD.

 

[RetiredChief]

You have SATA II, You can still use Sata III SSds. NOTE some Sata III SSDs like the agility III and Muchkins enhanced perform JUST as Good on SATA II as on SATA III.
For the better SSDs, You will lose some performance, But it is mostly a decrease on SEQUENCIAL performance, which is NO BIG deal as Sequencial performance is the LEAST important parameter (BUT most advertized) for a OS + Program drive.

My prefernce for SSDs is Curcial M4 and Samsung 830 - which one, Well o fcoarse which ever is cheaper. Often on sale lately for around 100 bucks.

Don't get me wrong an Agility III will work great, and beat the pants off the HDD, Just not as good as m4 and 830.

DO NOT CLONE your HDD over to the SSD as coper210 suggested- DO a clean INSTALL!!! YOU do NOT want to "clone" any file that may be on a bad sector - That is asking for trouble.

 

[Shinseina]

You have SATA II, You can still use Sata III SSds. NOTE some Sata III SSDs like the agility III and Muchkins enhanced perform JUST as Good on My prefernce for SSDs is Curcial M4 and Samsung 830 - which one, Well o fcoarse which ever is cheaper. Often on sale lately for around 100 bucks.

Don't get me wrong an Agility III will work great, and beat the pants off the HDD, Just not as good as m4 and 830.

DO NOT CLONE your HDD over to the SSD as coper210 suggested- DO a clean INSTALL!!! YOU do NOT want to "clone" any file that may be on a bad sector - That is asking for trouble.

Hi Kevzz010,

I agree completely with RetiredChief.

For your reference I have linked the Samsung 830 and Crucial M4 below at sizes you are interested in.

SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128B/WW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $129.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147163

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $124.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

As RetiredChief stated, either one of these is a great value. But you can also sometimes find them on sale for ~$100


Regards,

Shinseina

 

[kevzz010]

Hi Kevzz010,

I agree completely with RetiredChief.

For your reference I have linked the Samsung 830 and Crucial M4 below at sizes you are interested in.

SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128B/WW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $129.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147163

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $124.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

As RetiredChief stated, either one of these is a great value. But you can also sometimes find them on sale for ~$100


Regards,

Shinseina

So these two will surely fit? I'm a gamer and I have a problem in Diablo 3 Loading speed and maps. I believe SSD would greatly improve performance for loading files right? Thanks guys! Greatly appreciated

 

[kevzz010]

You have SATA II, You can still use Sata III SSds. NOTE some Sata III SSDs like the agility III and Muchkins enhanced perform JUST as Good on SATA II as on SATA III.
For the better SSDs, You will lose some performance, But it is mostly a decrease on SEQUENCIAL performance, which is NO BIG deal as Sequencial performance is the LEAST important parameter (BUT most advertized) for a OS + Program drive.

My prefernce for SSDs is Curcial M4 and Samsung 830 - which one, Well o fcoarse which ever is cheaper. Often on sale lately for around 100 bucks.

Don't get me wrong an Agility III will work great, and beat the pants off the HDD, Just not as good as m4 and 830.

DO NOT CLONE your HDD over to the SSD as coper210 suggested- DO a clean INSTALL!!! YOU do NOT want to "clone" any file that may be on a bad sector - That is asking for trouble.

By clean install, do you mean FULL REFORMAT and NEW Windows install? But can I still use BOTH drives?