Is it worth upgrading to an SSD?

Now I know the obvious answer to this question is yes, but i currently have a budget of $140. Is it worth buying an small SSD for that amount? If so which one? Any advice is appreciated

 

Save up an extra $50 and get a good brand 120GB. $140 will get you a crappy brand or a crappy size. Crucial and Intel seem to be the winning brands.

According to some around here and slickdeals.net, SSDs are going down to $1/GB in the Fall, so maybe wait a bit longer if budget is the worst of your concerns.

I will say, putting a SSD in my system has been worth it 10x over... Best upgrade money can buy.

 

thanks for the advice. I'm still kinda confused on the sata 2 vs sata 3. how much faster is sata 3?

 

So far, not many tests (to my knowledge) have shown huge jumps in performance. That's the thing with new tech - it's not always taken advantage of to its fullest in early states. Thing is, do you want to have the cheaper, older tech when new drivers or firmware come out that makes that SATA3 drive sizzle?

 

so would an SSD like this be worth upgrading to?

Amazon.com: OCZ Technology 120 GB Agility 3 SSD- 3G SATA 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Sold State Drive AGT3-25SAT3-120G: Computers & Accessories

 

I would strongly suggest the 128 GB Crucial M4 SSD. It runs about $210 at Newegg.

Yes it is worth it. By far the biggest real-world performance increase you will get for the money.

 

Seconded on the Crucial. I have the last-gen Crucial and love it. The OCZ seem to have a spotty reputation...

 

I think I'm gonna go and with the Crucial M4 you advised as soon as i get $218. Thanks for all the help guys

 

It often shows up on Slickdeals.net for around $195. Just check the site...10 times a day

 

Alright ill do that . How hard is it to install? I'm pretty good with computers and such but i want to be prepared and not screw anything up to badly

 

thats about all im waiting to upgrade.. was wondering 128 ssd or 256 ssd...the price on the 256 is still ungodly!!

 

You'd be hard pressed to really use all 256GB. You just learn to deal with not having every single game installed on it.

And the SSD is easy to install - you will want to reinstall Windows, do all the typical SSD optimizations (easy to Google or just forum search here for tutorials on that).

 

yeah with dual slots im thinking of upgrading my 500 gb second drive to something a bit big to hold everything.... god i hate reinstalling windows!!

 

Lots of people seem to love the Crucial, but what about the Kingston? I'm still considering which to buy, money isn't an issue, I'll pay whatever needs to be payed to get true performance.

 

Best upgrade I have done to a computer (SSD). Boot times under 20 seconds is nice. Applications are much quicker. I see little difference in loading games so I just put them on the HDD.

Installing windows on the SSD is easy and quick. Make sure to read up on it though. Raid Vs. Ahci and installing drivers.

It appears Intel 510 and Crucial M4 are recommended often here.

 

wow after looking at the 128 crucial thats right up my ally but i read somewhere there are issues with the ssd being supported by my older alien ware r-1?? is this true? im looking every where before i commit to it ..ive got 1 x 500 gb ssd/hybrid running windows and 1 X 500 7200rpm for storage.. and the system runs great so if i jump to the 128 ssd i should see a hella improvement?

 

No....well not as much as on a Sata 3 R3.

Whats the R1? Sata 1 or 2? Def. not 3.

 

r-1 as in M17X-R1......

 

Yes.

10char

 

If you value your money then stay away from OCZ at all costs!

They have the worst products, worst reviews, worst reputation, and worst customer support.

If you doubt this, then go to Newegg, view any OCZ product and read the reviews.

Newegg.com - OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Go with Crucial.

 

Worth getting ssd? One word. Hell yes. So awesome that it's one word.

 

As long as you use HDD bay 1 for your SSD,you should be fine,windows 7 will automatically do the alignment & other stuff for you.To help you prepare & optimize your SSD,here's something you can read through before installing;
The SSD Optimization Guide - The SSD Review

 

nice article +1 rep

i"ll add this article:

Support and Q&A for Solid-State Drives - Engineering Windows 7 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

A bit outdated but still relevant.

 

I think it's too much of a hassle although you younger users might like it. Just make sure you go through the proper steps to optimize your particular SSD. Too me a year to install, just this weekend, my 64GB SSD

 

Best upgrade you can make to a notebook.

 

Following the recommendations of people on this forum I too upgraded to an SSD and am very pleased with the results

 

Thanks for all the advice and guides guys, I really apreciate it

 

So true, the increase in performance is incredible.

 

You will be amazed at the difference in all around quickness. Great Purchase!

 

Almost a waste of money to spend over $2k on a laptop and put a slow drive in it

 

After I get the SSD, it will be time to start Graphics Card hunting

 

I just returned Vertex 3 due to freezing problem. Tried everything to fix it, nothing helped. Although it was really fast (WEI 7,9) I am not sure if I will give a try to another SSD (but thinking about Intel 510)

 

Did you update the firmware? That should fix the freezing problem.

 

updated to 2.11, slightly changed behavior of freezing but still useless.

 

One I get my crutial m4 ordered and installed I'll let u know how it goes and if I have any problems or issues. Not expecting any but we shall see what happens.

 

Have my crucial m4 for almost a week now. Best upgrade I've had so far

 

Nice choice getting the Crucial M4,very stable & zero issues.Regarding the SSD tweaking tips,I would suggest leaving system restore "on" instead of following the majority who recommended disabling it.System restore has saved my bacon for god knows how many occasions after botched installations.You can manually alter the size allocated to system restore if you need more memory.From what i have experienced,no difference in real world performance having it turned on vs turned off.

Oh,& not forgetting the all important Crucial forum should you have any specific enquiries;
http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-Drives-SSD/bd-p/ssd

ps: remember to update the SSD firmware to 0002 if you haven't done so.

 

THIS...When I had my first R3 I was like this thing has very good specs but startup is taking so long. Bought the M4....Speedy Gonzales.

Mushkin Chronos seems to be very fast to but no idea on realibility.

There is a sticker on the M4 saying what firmware it is, if its 0001 update it to 0002 or else it will freeze from time to time.

 

Just an advice.. once you get your m4, update the firmware 002 and put it on achi in bios, otherwise you'll be having a lot of freezing

 

yeh, i did exactly the same. Ive done about 5 restores since!

 

thanks for the link, how hard is it to install the new firmware?

 

Easy. Just download the firmware, use roxio to burn it to a blank disc and them boot from the disc (f12 when the alien head appears on start up)

Theres a pdf guide on the same page as the update on the crucial website. Let me get the link for you.

 

Crucial.com Product Downloads - Firmware Updates

there you go. have a quick read through.

 

Joe85 is right,his link directly leads you to the firmware update page.Be sure to read the pdf instructions carefully first & choose the correct file that corresponds to your SSD size.