SSD in older PC

[toolhog10]

Are there any issues with installing a SSD in an older 2006 model Dell dimension? The main old HD has failed. A new 120GB SSD can now be had for near the same price as a 1-2TB mechanical drive. Not much space is needed, so would it be worth it to go with a SSD rather than a new Mechanical drive?

 

Motherboard: OJ8885 (Dell)

Chipset : i945p/PL/G/GZ  Rev.A2

Sata Controller: Intel 82801 GB/GR/GH (ICH7 Family)

 

The board has Sata II 3Gbps connections.

[GzeroD]

It can make a huge difference in usability; it will just be more responsive.

[TopplesS]

Don't see why not - just make sure you set SATA to IDE in the BIOS if you're installing Windows XP onto the drive (otherwise there's a whole lotta butthurt trying to load AHCI drivers). If it's Vista or higher, you shouldn't have troubles.

[Dimwitted]

I would see if you could squeeze the budget and go with a 256gb drive if you can. You won't have the ability to do all those optimizing tricks to maximize the performance and minimize the space requirements for the O/S so having lots of space is a good thing. A MX100 would be ideal in this case.

[Rubenis]

Yeah, go to slover, but bigger SSD, because SATA 2 is limiting factor a bit for the SSD.

 

In BIOS put SATA mode in IDE - for Windows XP. For all other OS it should be on AHCI.

[SkilledRebuilds]

World of difference...SSD's can bring junker PC's into be used for a number of years further.

 

Even on Sata 1 (150Mb/s) it's still 'instant access time' that blows HDD's out of the water.

 

Think again to how slow a HDD from that age was also... not as fast as todays mechanicals..

I've pulled out lots of drives from 2000-2008 all with some really bad 30-60MB/s Read and Write C:'s

The SSD is a great choice when you REALLY don't need a new PC when the current one from years ago only has a 'from the factory' HDD limitation. (Regarding most peoples use case of emails, browsing)

[toolhog10]

Thank you all for the input. 

 

I am running Win 7 SP1. Regarding the AHCI mode that was mentioned...

 

 

The BIOS in this computer is: Pheonix A03 (7/7/06)

AIDA64 Gives this information:

 

BIOS Properties    
Vendor    Dell Inc.
Version    A03
Release Date    07/07/2006
Size    512 KB
Boot Devices    Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM, LS-120
Capabilities    Flash BIOS, Shadow BIOS, Selectable Boot, Network Service Boot, EDD, BBS
Supported Standards    DMI, APM, ACPI, PnP
Expansion Capabilities    PCI, USB
Virtual Machine    No

-----------------------------------------

 

From my understanding the ICH7 controller does not support the AHCI option that was mentioned.

The BIOS only has one option to change for SATA operation:  Normal  or Combination. The normal mode says the controller is configured for 'naitive  mode'. This is what it has always been set as. The other is combination which says it is a mode for old OS's that do not support SATA drives.

 

With this in mind, will an SSD still function properly?

 

Thanks