Purchasing first SSD

[Spev]

So I've never had an SSD before, & haven't chose the one I will get yet, but I have a couple questions.

 

What should I store on my SSD? My OS for boot, my games for quicker load times, etc? Then like everything else onto my HDD? I have a simple single HDD setup, so I'm pretty new when it comes to complex storage options. Is it easy to switch my start up to my SSD? How do I switch my programs over if they're already on C drive? I'm guessing this isn't going to be as easy as moving something to a USB...

[Deletive]

On my SSD is Maya/3ds max, adobe collection and Unreal engine 4 basic daily programs I use every day and OS.

YOu can switch some things and you 'll have to reinstall others.

[Sheldon_King]

So I've never had an SSD before, & haven't chose the one I will get yet, but I have a couple questions.

 

What should I store on my SSD? My OS for boot, my games for quicker load times, etc? Then like everything else onto my HDD? I have a simple single HDD setup, so I'm pretty new when it comes to complex storage options. Is it easy to switch my start up to my SSD? How do I switch my programs over if they're already on C drive? I'm guessing this isn't going to be as easy as moving something to a USB...

Anything that will fit on teh SSD, will be fine on there. The best option is to only store things on the SSD that you care about loading times, such as Adobe, Sony Vegas, Windows, Some Games, etc.  (note these are examples only).

 

Also, keep things such as media (movies, documents, musik) on your Hard Drive, as well as programs you hardly ever use.

 

(also, set your expectations low, or you will be disappointed. The forum communities have set SSDs on such a high pedestal that it is nearly impossible to not be disappointed by the performance)

[Spev]

On my SSD is Maya/3ds max, adobe collection and Unreal engine 4 basic daily programs I use every day and OS.

YOu can switch some things and you 'll have to reinstall others.

Right, so I probably don't need a very large one, seems like I can find a 240GB for a decent price. Since it's only program installs that should be plenty. Like I said I'm new to multi HD setups, what do I have to do to make it so it saves everything else on my main HD?

 

Edit: Don't worry about it, I'm gonna do some research first before I start asking stuff.

[Spev]

Anything that will fit on teh SSD, will be fine on there. The best option is to only store things on the SSD that you care about loading times, such as Adobe, Sony Vegas, Windows, Some Games, etc.  (note these are examples only).

 

Also, keep things such as media (movies, documents, musik) on your Hard Drive, as well as programs you hardly ever use.

 

(also, set your expectations low, or you will be disappointed. The forum communities have set SSDs on such a high pedestal that it is nearly impossible to not be disappointed by the performance)

I know what you mean about people praising them, but I just watched this video:

 

 

My HDD is probably like 4 years old, I feel like it's really starting to run slow. That video seemed like the performance was really great compared. 

[TheRunningOtaku]

Right, so I probably don't need a very large one, seems like I can find a 240GB for a decent price. Since it's only program installs that should be plenty. Like I said I'm new to multi HD setups, what do I have to do to make it so it saves everything else on my main HD?

I'm using an MX100, and it's great. 240GB for cheap

Just set the my documents, downloads, etc etc to your HDD, and use your HDD if you're downloading videos. 

[Sheldon_King]

I know what you mean about people praising them, but I just watched this video:

 

My HDD is probably like 4 years old, I feel like it's really starting to run slow. That video seemed like the performance was really great compared. 

Yeah, great. It is a fixed bench to be honest.   Not a single thing they tested was anything more than a Read/Write test, and the SSD is going to always win that. You could also make the SSD look like a piece of shite by running the same tests against a RAMdisk.

 

A 4 year old HDD is still plenty fast enough for 100% of OSes and uses out there, assuming that you have cared for it properly. If your windows install is greater than 6 months old, that is what is slowing down the computer. You would see a world of difference with JUST a reinstall.  

That aside, if you want a SSD, then only store programs and the OS on it. Anything that is not a program or OS, i.e. DATA, goes on the hard drive.

 

And as said before, don't set your sights too high, or you will be disappointed. With windows 8 and modern (any SATA based drive) HDDs, you will only really notice a large difference if you restart often (several (>10) seconds saved max) or are making money from your use of Adobe or the like, where seconds are USD in your pocket.

[Spev]

Yeah, great. It is a fixed bench to be honest.   Not a single thing they tested was anything more than a Read/Write test, and the SSD is going to always win that. You could also make the SSD look like a piece of shite by running the same tests against a RAMdisk.

 

A 4 year old HDD is still plenty fast enough for 100% of OSes and uses out there, assuming that you have cared for it properly. If your windows install is greater than 6 months old, that is what is slowing down the computer. You would see a world of difference with JUST a reinstall.  

That aside, if you want a SSD, then only store programs and the OS on it. Anything that is not a program or OS, i.e. DATA, goes on the hard drive.

 

And as said before, don't set your sights too high, or you will be disappointed. With windows 8 and modern (any SATA based drive) HDDs, you will only really notice a large difference if you restart often (several (>10) seconds saved max) or are making money from your use of Adobe or the like, where seconds are USD in your pocket.

Could you elaborate? Why would re installing windows make it faster? I'm also not sure what you mean by caring for it properly. It's been the same install for 3+ years as old as my HD lol. Coming up next month I'm finishing my new PC build. Might just do a clean wipe, get a HDD and an SSD, and do a brand new install. 

[SkilledRebuilds]

Could you elaborate? Why would re installing windows make it faster? I'm also not sure what you mean by caring for it properly. It's been the same install for 3+ years as old as my HD lol. Coming up next month I'm finishing my new PC build. Might just do a clean wipe, get a HDD and an SSD, and do a brand new install. 

With time comes junk

Tiny traces of files leftover in the system, from updates, installed apps, uninstalled apps, all of these...over time = a lot of random junk you don't need, yet gets seen & read by windows at random.

[Sheldon_King]

Could you elaborate? Why would re installing windows make it faster? I'm also not sure what you mean by caring for it properly. It's been the same install for 3+ years as old as my HD lol. Coming up next month I'm finishing my new PC build. Might just do a clean wipe, get a HDD and an SSD, and do a brand new install. 

As said above, with time comes junk.  Everything you do on your computer involves a read and write to some memory. Over time the piece left behind by these reads and writes slow down the ability of the disk to perform, sort of the same way that you can not run as fast through a landfill as you can through a paved street. 

Caring for teh system properly means that every once and a while you take out the garbage, the junk left behind. This includes using a program like Ccleaner, clearing internet caches, and checking that you don't have a  metric asston of unused programs or old versions. 

 

The easiest way to care for a system is to do all teh above, but also regular reinstalls of the OS. No matter how vigilant you are, you can never catch everything, and those little bits stack (think of it like building a wall out of legos instead of bricks). Also note that even with an SSD, you will still get slow downs over time. There is no magic fix for lazy (bad care of the OS).

[Spev]

With time comes junk

Tiny traces of files leftover in the system, from updates, installed apps, uninstalled apps, all of these...over time = a lot of random junk you don't need, yet gets seen & read by windows at random.

So you mean to do a clean install right? Like I would when I first built my PC?

[Spev]

As said above, with time comes junk.  Everything you do on your computer involves a read and write to some memory. Over time the piece left behind by these reads and writes slow down the ability of the disk to perform, sort of the same way that you can not run as fast through a landfill as you can through a paved street. 

Caring for teh system properly means that every once and a while you take out the garbage, the junk left behind. This includes using a program like Ccleaner, clearing internet caches, and checking that you don't have a  metric asston of unused programs or old versions. 

 

The easiest way to care for a system is to do all teh above, but also regular reinstalls of the OS. No matter how vigilant you are, you can never catch everything, and those little bits stack (think of it like building a wall out of legos instead of bricks). Also note that even with an SSD, you will still get slow downs over time. There is no magic fix for lazy (bad care of the OS).

So if I buy a Windows 7 OS disk version, I can keep installing it over and over? I kinda thought you had a code and it was a 1 use install. I guess I don't understand..

[TD FluX]

With everything said above, if your looking to get a SSD you will still experience an increase in performance. It's just that a % of that will be because of the fresh Windows install and a % will be bcause of the SSD. How much that % is will depend on the state of your current OS. Regardless a fresh install of Windows will be on your list of things to do.

[Sheldon_King]

So you mean to do a clean install right? Like I would when I first built my PC?

Run Ccleaner first and see what it gets rid of, but yes a clean install is the best way to get rid of all the junk.  You can also (if you have a spare drive around not in use) make a backup image of the drive after you reinstall and install all of your most used programs, making the reinstalls quicker and easier. (this can be done in windows control panel, under Recovery (windows 8 at least, may be different in windows 7).

[TD FluX]

 may be different in windows 7

Windows 7

Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore

[Sheldon_King]

So if I buy a Windows 7 OS disk version, I can keep installing it over and over? I kinda thought you had a code and it was a 1 use install. I guess I don't understand..

It is not one install, it is one motherboard. The OS key is locked to teh motherboard it is FIRST installed on legally. You can reinstall it as much as you want, as long as your board stays teh same.

 

Now outside of the License, you can reinstall it on different machines, but you will need to phone microsoft to activate it, it is very easy.

 

With everything said above, if your looking to get a SSD you will still experience an increase in performance.

It is an increase in performance, I don't think anyone here has argued against that. What has been pointed out is that even with an SSD, the system will slow down over time, and that SSDs are not teh magic most make them out to be. If you are not constantly restatring the machine and most used programs, you will not notice the difference in performance nearly as much as someone whom does.

[Sheldon_King]

Windows 7

Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore

Thanks for the info. (I assume it would still let you select where and how often to make system images backed up?)

[Spev]

It is not one install, it is one motherboard. The OS key is locked to teh motherboard it is FIRST installed on legally. You can reinstall it as much as you want, as long as your board stays teh same.

 

Now outside of the License, you can reinstall it on different machines, but you will need to phone microsoft to activate it, it is very easy.

 

It is an increase in performance, I don't think anyone here has argued against that. What has been pointed out is that even with an SSD, the system will slow down over time, and that SSDs are not teh magic most make them out to be. If you are not constantly restatring the machine and most used programs, you will not notice the difference in performance nearly as much as someone whom does.

Wow I had no idea about the motherboard stuff!

 

Let me ask you a question, my windows professional install is about 3 years old. However I still do have the sticker on my PC with the serial number or activation code. I do not have a CD. Am I able to re install with that info? Or will I have to purchase new windows?

[TD FluX]

It is an increase in performance, I don't think anyone here has argued against that. What has been pointed out is that even with an SSD, the system will slow down over time, and that SSDs are not teh magic most make them out to be. If you are not constantly restatring the machine and most used programs, you will not notice the difference in performance nearly as much as someone whom does.

 

Then why is the Samsung SSD software called magician...jks. But yes you are very correct, as you said there is no magic fix for lazy. (unless your Samsung apparently)

 

Thanks for the info. (I assume it would still let you select where and how often to make system images backed up?)

 

Yeah it works exactly the same as Win 8

[TD FluX]

Correct me if I'm wrong Sheldon_King but the locking to the motherboard is only with the OEM versions of Windows, if buying the retail version it doesn't lock to anything...

[Sheldon_King]

Wow I had no idea about the motherboard stuff!

 

Let me ask you a question, my windows professional install is about 3 years old. However I still do have the sticker on my PC with the serial number or activation code. I do not have a CD. Am I able to re install with that info? Or will I have to purchase new windows?

Yes, you will need the activation key (the long series of letters and numbers), and a iso of windows 7 professional which you can get from http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-24281.iso (assuming you need 64 bit and English). This is the Official microsoft download btw. 

 

Then why is the Samsung SSD software called magician...jks. But yes you are very correct, as you said there is no magic fix for lazy. (unless your Samsung apparently)

 

 

Yeah it works exactly the same as Win 8

Samsung only calls teh software magician, and to be honest, they are only preying on those willing to waste money on a name brand. Much teh same as buying a Lincoln Towncar over a Ford LTD, even though they are the same thing with a different name. (where other SSDs are more or less the same dang thing).

 

Correct me if I'm wrong Sheldon_King but the locking to the motherboard is only with the OEM versions of Windows, if buying the retail version it doesn't lock to anything...

That is somewhat true. With retail versions, you are limited to only one concurrent install, and you must deactivate the key before using it on another machine. OEM and Upgrade versions do not work this way legally speaking.  However, the vast majority of people do not buy Retail versions, so it is safer to instruct the OP on OEM than to take a gamble that he has Retail (which by the key being on his case, he does not.).

[Dimwitted]

Be careful if your copy of Windows came from a prebuilt. There will be a partition on your hdd that has the O/S on it and you will be able to do a recovery or restore but that will wipe out all your data and return the drive to the state that you got it when new. Back up *everything* first if that's the case.

 

If you d/l the iso, burn it to a disc first so that you have a physical copy. Much easier and you'll need for your new machine in the future.