[Bemused One]

'Lo all,

I'd like to appeal to all the SSD owners out there for some advice.

I'm currently in the planning stages of an upgrade for my computer and I'd really like to add an SSD to my setup. The thing is I've read so much about SSD's over the last few weeks that I'm about wrong in the head concerning what you should and shouldn't do with them. So I'd like to ask a few basic questions if I may so I can get the bottom line once and for all.

I've read a lot of people are currently using SSD drives as boot drives only and using a standard HDD for everything else. Why is this exactly? Can't you use an SSD drive to replace an HDD completely?

When using the above mentioned setup, after you've loaded on your OS of choice on to your SSD, do you direct everything else, for example your motherboard, graphics drivers et al, on to the HDD? What about Windows updates, where do they go?

What are the mandatory tweaks, if any, you should do to get the most out of an SSD after you've installed the OS?

I'd really appreciate some straight answers for any of the above. I'm just so confused with it all just now.

[Jitzyre]

SSD's are expensive compared to conventional hard drives so people tend to get a small one (60 - 120GB) and install Windows along with all the clutter that comes with it, as well as all the drivers, updates etc on that. SSDs have superb read and write speeds over conventional HDDs so boot times will be faster.

If you can afford it, you can put everything you need on a large enough SSD. If you're a gamer then installing games on the SSD will give you much faster loading speeds, though your processor and graphics card will still play the largest part .

I find that even 1080p video is usually fine with using a SATA hard drive, but I did see improvements when playing TF2 on my SSD (Though, only slightly, about 4-5fps average).

Check for firmware updates, make sure your drivers are up to date and check that you are getting close to the correct speeds advertised by testing file transfer rates between hard drives.

Other people should add on what I said, but I hope this could be of some use

[Bemused One]

Thank you so much for replying, Jitzyre.

Originally Posted by Jitzyre

SSD's are expensive compared to conventional hard drives so people tend to get a small one (60 - 120GB) and install Windows along with all the clutter that comes with it, as well as all the drivers, updates etc on that.

Can you uninstall software, drivers, updates etc. without issue on an SSD?

Originally Posted by Jitzyre

If you can afford it, you can put everything you need on a large enough SSD. If you're a gamer then installing games on the SSD will give you much faster loading speeds, though your processor and graphics card will still play the largest part .

That's good to know, thanks.

Can I just ask, did you make any settings tweaks after you first installed your SSD?

[Jitzyre]

Originally Posted by Bemused One

Thank you so much for replying, Jitzyre.


Can you uninstall software, drivers, updates etc. without issue on an SSD?

Yes, they function just like a HDD

Originally Posted by Bemused One

Can I just ask, did you make any settings tweaks after you first installed your SSD?

I updated the firmware, I believe it was this SSD, though I don't actually have it anymore as I use a laptop for uni now

[DJSigma]

I wrote an SSD installation and configuration guide here if you're interested: -

An SSD installation and configuration guide

A lot of guides tell you to do tweaks that simply aren't necessary, so in that guide I focussed only on the few things you need to do/check when using an SSD instead of a regular hard drive (or in combination with one).

I use a 128GB SSD for Windows/software and a regular HDD for personal data (music, videos etc.). I would like to use an SSD for personal data too, but considering the price of large SSDs it's just not worth it yet. The performance boost you get with an SSD largely only applies to Windows and software anyway, as opening MP3s or videos (unless they're large HD or uncompressed videos) is not noticeably faster as those files are small.

[LJx]

120GB, I would probably use one of that size or bigger for everything, any overflow on a normal HDD but I don't horde media or keep old games on my computers soit could be different compared on your usage

[Bemused One]

@ Jitzyre - A fine choice of SSD based on my research. It's one of the few on my shortlist.

@ DJSigma - You can bet I was interested in your guide fella. What a thoroughly helpful piece of work you have produced there. It's great for folks like me trying to get their head around SSD's. I especially liked the section under - 'A word on tweaks and settings you may have seen in other guides.' It was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. Thank you so much.

@LJx - It will be a 128GB SSD I'd be going for and it is quite possible that I could work within those limits. I'm not sure I've even used that much on my current 500GB Sammy F2 HDD, LOL.

[Delvey]

Used the guide on my new Sandisk SSD
Very helpful

[Bemused One]

Another question for y'all, if you don't mind.

Would a Sata 2 HDD connected to a Sata 2 port on a motherboard influence the speed of a Sata 3 SSD drive connected to a Sata 3 port on the same board?

[Delvey]

Originally Posted by Bemused One

Another question for y'all, if you don't mind.

Would a Sata 2 HDD connected to a Sata 2 port on a motherboard influence the speed of a Sata 3 SSD drive connected to a Sata 3 port on the same board?

I wouldn't imagine so. If the SSD has the OS installed

[Bemused One]

Sweet! I was hoping that would be the answer. Thanks Delvey.