SSD as Boot Drive

[Otesper]

Hey guys, I have a question regarding SSD's mainly.

  I was thinking about getting an SSD as a boot drive for my OS(Windows 8.1) and for some key programs.

  I would like to know if it is worth it, and if so, what capacity would be optimal for this type of usage.

  Also, two other questions are, mainly, besides the OS, what should I install in the SSD, and if there is a better alternative for an SSD(such as SSD cacheing, although I don't think my mobo supports Intel SRT)

  

  Thank you in advance.

[soaringchicken]

Well, 256gb is pree good, and store things like games and programs you commonly use on it (ie. chrome). 

[failblox]

It's definitely worth it to get an SSD, and I'd say the sweet spot right now is between 240-256GB depending on how many games you wanna install on it.

You wanna install your OS, programs, and favourite games on your SSD, and other games whose loading times aren't as important on a separate hard drive. Also, things like music, videos, photos, and other things like that which take up a ton of space and don't benefit from the fast speeds of an SSD should also be kept on your hard drive.

A possible alternative if you don't wanna get an SSD is to get an SSHD (I think that's what they're called). Basically what they are is a hard drive and solid state drive combined into one. There's some algorithm on the drive that figures out which stuff is important and puts that on the faster solid state stuff, and all the other stuff goes onto the regular hard drive.

[Member]

Getting an SSD is worth it! 250 GB is great for the boot drive, you can throw some common programs and some media on the drive.

 

If you're getting an SSD i personally recommend the Samsung 850 EVO (I have one myself)  or the Intel 730.

[connorpiper]

SSD (128GB or 256GB) and then a HDD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339&cm_re=WD10EZEX-_-22-236-339-_-Product) is great.

You can put the games on the HDD and the OS on the SSD. 

[_SNOWMAN_]

I had my doubts at first but happy I got it. Wouldnt mind bigger than 120 GB but working out well so far. 

[Captain_WD]

Hey guys, I have a question regarding SSD's mainly.

  I was thinking about getting an SSD as a boot drive for my OS(Windows 8.1) and for some key programs.

  I would like to know if it is worth it, and if so, what capacity would be optimal for this type of usage.

  Also, two other questions are, mainly, besides the OS, what should I install in the SSD, and if there is a better alternative for an SSD(such as SSD cacheing, although I don't think my mobo supports Intel SRT)

  

  Thank you in advance.

 

Hey Otesper,

 

I'll support pretty much everything the guys mentioned. A SSD would make your build much more responsive, increase transfer speeds and would decrease all loading times, noise, heat and vibrations cause by a regular HDD. The only downsides would be that SSDs are still pretty pricey in terms of $/GB and if the drive happens to fail, it is nearly impossible even for data recovery companies to recover any data from it. 

 

The capacity purely depends on how much storage space you would need and what things you would like to put there. Have in mind that Windows usually needs about 30GB of the space and SSDs require 12%-15% of free space in order to function properly (caching purposes). 

 

SSDs are great for storage-demanding applications (editing, rendering, working with huge files, multitasking), decrease loading times of games (although FPS and graphics stay unaffected) and any larger files that you work with. Using a pure SSD would be what I would recommend. Caching with it is good if you really need large amount of space and work often with very few programs.

 

Captain_WD.

[Dabombinable]

I myself have used an SSD as a boot drive and I can say right now that as soon as you first boot up and run Windows on one, you will never want to go back to a HDD again. For me a 60GB SSD was all that I needed, with all of my internet browsers and office installed on it, and all of my other programs and files on my 1TB HDD. As for what to install, install the programs that are normally slower than others to start, and there is no real alternative to an SSD in regards to speed.

[Otesper]

I myself have used an SSD as a boot drive and I can say right now that as soon as you first boot up and run Windows on one, you will never want to go back to a HDD again. For me a 60GB SSD was all that I needed, with all of my internet browsers and office installed on it, and all of my other programs and files on my 1TB HDD. As for what to install, install the programs that are normally slower than others to start, and there is no real alternative to an SSD in regards to speed.

 

 

 

Hey Otesper,

 

I'll support pretty much everything the guys mentioned. A SSD would make your build much more responsive, increase transfer speeds and would decrease all loading times, noise, heat and vibrations cause by a regular HDD. The only downsides would be that SSDs are still pretty pricey in terms of $/GB and if the drive happens to fail, it is nearly impossible even for data recovery companies to recover any data from it. 

 

The capacity purely depends on how much storage space you would need and what things you would like to put there. Have in mind that Windows usually needs about 30GB of the space and SSDs require 12%-15% of free space in order to function properly (caching purposes). 

 

SSDs are great for storage-demanding applications (editing, rendering, working with huge files, multitasking), decrease loading times of games (although FPS and graphics stay unaffected) and any larger files that you work with. Using a pure SSD would be what I would recommend. Caching with it is good if you really need large amount of space and work often with very few programs.

 

Captain_WD.

 

 

 

I had my doubts at first but happy I got it. Wouldnt mind bigger than 120 GB but working out well so far. 

 

 

Getting an SSD is worth it! 250 GB is great for the boot drive, you can throw some common programs and some media on the drive.

 

If you're getting an SSD i personally recommend the Samsung 850 EVO (I have one myself)  or the Intel 730.

 

 

It's definitely worth it to get an SSD, and I'd say the sweet spot right now is between 240-256GB depending on how many games you wanna install on it.

You wanna install your OS, programs, and favourite games on your SSD, and other games whose loading times aren't as important on a separate hard drive. Also, things like music, videos, photos, and other things like that which take up a ton of space and don't benefit from the fast speeds of an SSD should also be kept on your hard drive.

A possible alternative if you don't wanna get an SSD is to get an SSHD (I think that's what they're called). Basically what they are is a hard drive and solid state drive combined into one. There's some algorithm on the drive that figures out which stuff is important and puts that on the faster solid state stuff, and all the other stuff goes onto the regular hard drive.

 

 

Well, 256gb is pree good, and store things like games and programs you commonly use on it (ie. chrome). 

Ok guys, thank you so much for the responses! You guys confirmed what already seemed true.

As soon as the opportunity comes up, I will be getting a SSD(prob. a 120Gb).

Any sugestions as to what brand I should get? I was thinking maybe Intel or Samsung or Hyper X

[failblox]

Ok guys, thank you so much for the responses! You guys confirmed what already seemed true.

As soon as the opportunity comes up, I will be getting a SSD(prob. a 120Gb).

Any sugestions as to what brand I should get? I was thinking maybe Intel or Samsung or Hyper X

All of those brands have an excellent reputation for their drives, so any one of them would be fine.

[Dabombinable]

Ok guys, thank you so much for the responses! You guys confirmed what already seemed true.

As soon as the opportunity comes up, I will be getting a SSD(prob. a 120Gb).

Any sugestions as to what brand I should get? I was thinking maybe Intel or Samsung or Hyper X

If your on a budget, the Corsair LS Force seem to be good, I've had mine running for a few months now with no problems. And I know it isn't quite as fast as other more expensive drives-but any SSD will seem like a breath of fresh air after using a HDD for years (if I remember correctly, there is a model made by Kingston though that was gimped after reviewers got it, and the SSD was actually a lot slower than it should have been, almost as slow as a HDD).

[Member]

Ok guys, thank you so much for the responses! You guys confirmed what already seemed true.

As soon as the opportunity comes up, I will be getting a SSD(prob. a 120Gb).

Any sugestions as to what brand I should get? I was thinking maybe Intel or Samsung or Hyper X

Samsung

[Captain_WD]

Ok guys, thank you so much for the responses! You guys confirmed what already seemed true.

As soon as the opportunity comes up, I will be getting a SSD(prob. a 120Gb).

Any sugestions as to what brand I should get? I was thinking maybe Intel or Samsung or Hyper X

 

 

For regular consumer usage, pretty much any SSD would do the job and you are not likely to feel any difference in speed between the different brands unless you do bench-marking. I would say get the one with the best reputation or the one with the longest warranty just to be on the safe side.

 

Captain_WD.