What SSD should i buy?

[chri]

I'm wondering on the best SSD to buy which i would be able to install my OS on and maybe a game or two, but i have 1.5 TB of normal had drives to store all the rest of my data. I have a limit of about £100. Thankyou

 

[Y0GI]

Get the 120 GB Samsung 840 Evo. Great performance at <100 GBP.

Review here which clearly demonstrates the capability of the Evo compared to other competing SSDs: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-840-evo-review-1tb-ssd,3567.html

Yogi

 

[chri]

Thankyou for the reply i was also thinking of getting this one . But on Amazon the top 2 results i cant seem to find a difference, yet there is a £15 difference? http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=120+GB+Samsung+840+Evo

 

[Y0GI]

From the second, higher priced link:
Quote:
Box Contains
1 x MZ-7TE120KW
3.5” bracket with screws
1 x SATA data cable
1 x SATA to USB 2.0 connector
1 x SSD Installation Guide(Printed)
1 x SSD Warranty Summary(Printed)
1 x Samsung software & manual CD
Samsung Activation Sticker
End Quote

For the cheaper one:
Quote:
Box Contains
1 x MZ-7TE120BW
1 x SSD Installation Guide(Printed)
1 x SSD Warranty Summary(Printed)
1 x Samsung software & manual CD
Samsung Activation Sticker
End Quote.

Yogi

 

[chri]

1 x SATA data cable
1 x SATA to USB 2.0 connector
I've looked and i thought that the same cables were used with a HDD as with a SSD, am i wrong?

 

[Y0GI]

1 x SATA data cable
1 x SATA to USB 2.0 connector
I've looked and i thought that the same cables were used with a HDD as with a SSD, am i wrong?

No, you are correct. The SATA to USB cable is for use with notebooks which only have one SATA connection. You would hook up the new SSD to the USB port, clone the notebook HDD to the new SSD, then disconnect the SSD, remove the HDD and install the SSD in the only available SATA slot.

Yogi

 

[chri]

This is the cable i have available, and so i would only need the cheaper one therefore as i do not need the 2 cables? http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=a6BMdyuA%2FVzyC5WSYVjstIh4l5k2TGxc#.UpY7EuIl_cd
Sorry if i come across stupid but i appreciate the help.

 

[Y0GI]

This is the cable i have available, and so i would only need the cheaper one therefore as i do not need the 2 cables? http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=a6BMdyuA%2FVzyC5WSYVjstIh4l5k2TGxc#.UpY7EuIl_cd
Sorry if i come across stupid but i appreciate the help.

No problem.

The label on that black cable says "SATA 2", so the cable "may" not work at full SATA 3 speeds, but I doubt it. I would give the black cable a try and if you have any problems with slow transfer speeds, get a new cable then. I cannot hurt and it just might work satisfactorily.

Yogi

 

[chri]

I have 4 pairs of cables as the one i just showed, that one does say SATA 2 but the other 3 say SATA 1/SATA 3/SATA 4 and so i am now confused, as why would my computer have 1 of each and also i don't think a SATA 4 cable exists? Perhaps they are all SATA 2 and the 1-2-3-4 just labels the wires?

 

[Y0GI]

Perhaps so. I've never heard of "SATA 4".

The new SSD is 2.5" wide. Most HDD bays are 3.5" wide. The kit also included a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket. Do you have a bracket or a 2.5" bay to mount the SSD?

Yogi

 

[chri]

I could not find the size on the harddrive but it does seem to have a bracket on it - http://i43.tinypic.com/28uu4pt.jpg - http://i40.tinypic.com/xfx0l1.jpg

 

[Y0GI]

I could not find the size on the harddrive but it does seem to have a bracket on it - http://i43.tinypic.com/28uu4pt.jpg - http://i40.tinypic.com/xfx0l1.jpg

It is difficult to estimate the size from a pic. Is the drive 3.5" wide?

Yogi

 

[chri]

The drive (without the case) is 10cm across and 14.5cm long, so just a little bit bigger than 3.5 inches.

 

[Y0GI]

OK - You're going to need a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket or to buy the more expensive kit. A bracket will cost <4GBP.

Yogi

 

[chri]

Awesome thanks, i will buy the cheaper one and buy the 2.5-3.5 adapter and if i notice it running slowly i will then also buy a new SATA 3 cable. Thank you very much for your help really appreciate it.

 

[Y0GI]

You're quite welcome!

Good luck!

Yogi

 

[Y0GI]

Look what I found: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1901393/ssd-mounting-bracket.html

Yogi

 

[chri]

I've been looking and i think the right choice is definitely to buy the adapter separate I've seen a few reviews on amazon that say SATA3 will make a fairly big difference, and i'm not sure how i would go about finding out if the wires i have are SATA2 or SATA3, any ideas?

 

[Y0GI]

Other than the cable markings, which appear to be suspect, the only way that I know is to benchmark the SSD after installation and see how it compares to specifications. Samsung SSDs come with a utility called "Samsung Magician" which will do it for you. ASSSD, ATTO and Crystal Disk Mark are also popular free utilities for benchmarking HDDs and SSDs.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it until after installation, if at all.

Yogi

 

[JohnnyLucky]

About those cables that are advertised as SATA 2 or SATA 3 - There is no difference. There is only one international standard for a SATA cable that is used with standard desktop ssd's. Labeling a cable as SATA 2 or SATA 3 is just an advertising gimmick.

I've had very good luck with Orico ssd brackets. There is one particular model that allows me to install two desktop ssd's in one standard 5.25 inch drive bay. I install them in pc's I build for clients. I see you are not in the USA. Luckily the Orico brackets and drive bay adapters are available in quite a few countries.

I normally recommend Samsung solid state drives. Samsung has an excellent track record. Intel and Plextor are also worth considering. Just about all of the modern 3rd generation, SATA 3, 6Gb/s, ssd's form a very tight performance cluster. A human being sitting in front of a pc will not normally be able to tell any performance difference. The only way to distinguish very minor performance differences is by running ssd benchmark utilities which are designed to grossly exaggerate those minor differences.

The new "sweet spot" which represents the best value for the money is a 256GB ssd. Due to price reductions and current holiday sales, a 256GB, SATA 3, 6Gb/s ssd can be purchased for $149.00 to $179.00 US Dollars. That works out to a price range of £90.89 to £109.19. However, it is my understanding that prices outside the USA tend to be higher.

I maintain the ssd database listed in a sticky at the very top of this forum section. Here is the link:

http://www.johnnylucky.org/data-storage/ssd-database.html

Scroll down to the brands and models you are interested in and follow the links to the technical reviews for detailed information about each model.