Looking for a guide to replace an HDD with a SSD in the R3

Basically I'm considering replacing the 750 GB HDD I ordered my R3 with a SSD around 250 GBs.

I dont have much experience with upgrading parts, so I figured this was the best place to ask.

What brand would you suggest for a lone SSD drive? Would Intel be the best for the reliability? Also, Once I decide on the drive, order it and get it in, how exactly do I go about installing it and optimizing it?
Do I need the Windows 7 disc to install the OS on the SSD? I know certain features have to be disabled for it to work properly as well, what features are those? and what are the other methods to optimizing a SSD.

Those are just some of the questions I'm looking at answering. I'm basically looking for a comprehensive guide for the noob interested in learning.

 

I'll take a stab at it.
For a lone ssd, it really depends on your needs. If you move large (1gb+ generally) files a lot, then an ssd with high sequential read/write is important.

Else, high 4k random read/write would benefit you more with small tasks like surfing the web, general snappiness, etc.

Intel's old gen drives are reliable, their new ones are of debatable reliability. You do need the windows 7 disc I believe to install OS on SSD. No clue on optimizing ssd, one of the more experienced guys will have to chime in on that.

Anyways, sandforce based drives are a little "less reliable" but generally perform better. Especially considering the questionable reliability of intel's new gen ssds, a sandforce drive might not be so bad.

Also I would just move the hdd to the other hard drive bay. Don't raid the ssd and hdd, put them in ahci(i think?) and install os and stuff you want snappy like games on the ssd, and mass media storage on the hdd

 

Ok, Lets say I want to keep my HDD in and add the SSD. I'll run my OS and frequent programs off the SSD. Do I need to format my HDD to erase the OS off of it? Or can I just leave it on both?

 

I'm not sure how you would transfer to OS

I would definitely just have it on the SSD. That way it will load from shutdown in 20-30sec max. You would probably have to move the HDD to the other hard drive bay. Hopefully some tech guru will relieve me, because I'm a noob also.