Worth upgrading hard drive?

Hey folks,

New here and was just wondering about people's hard drive experiences with the m11x.

Have an r1 with a momentus xt in it at the moment, boot time is about 45 seconds. Use it heaps for uni work and it's doing alright, but I'd like it a bit quicker. Was thinking about the OCZ Vertex 2 120gb SSD but would really like to know how much faster it will be in regards to opening applications and booting up, can anyone advise me on that?

Will then transfer the Momentus XT to the PC, so I don't have any qualms in replacing it, just wanted to know if it will be worth spending the 250 AUD on the SSD or should I just stick with the Momentus XT?

Many thanks!!

 

i have a corsair F120 SSD on my R2 and it boots in 17-18 seconds (not including the BIOS posting but from when it displays "windows starting" to desktop).

 

My vertex 2 boots to windows in about 15 or so seconds after POST. Its really great for large programs like photoshop, which i can load of the ssd in 1 or 2 seconds.

I think if your using just one or 2 applications all the time then they will get written in your XT's 4gb ssd part and they will load faster.You might be limited depending on how big the programs are.

 

15 seconds? Nice!

In all honesty, I haven't noticed a huge difference with the XT, and I'm really not sure why. Bit noisy too.

Currently waiting on some money for some damages done in a recent move, but think I'll grab one then!

 

that's the good thing about SSD: no moving parts = silent.

the only noise is from the fan

 

plus you can throw your laptop around like a toy and no harm done =)

 

Getting down to 18 second boot time is very unlikely without some heavy configuring, and even then I have seen people with it down to 30 seconds as the min boot time even after upgrading to a quality SSD, so like many computer setups, part of it is luck. Is it worth it to spend 250 AUD for the possibility of saving yourself between 15-30 seconds of boot time, or (in my case) up to 3 minutes a day? Only you can decide if it is worth it or not.

 

I don't think boot times is the main reason people upgrade to an ssd.

 

Very valid point. In general I'd prefer to take the risk, given the fact boot time isn't the only factor involved. Plus, in addition to the money I'm receiving for damages, a mate of mine is interested in my old (like... two months old) Momentus, so I'll be getting most of the original cost back, so all up I'm not paying that much extra for the solid state. Just don't have the time to mess around with it right now is all.

Thanks for the comment though, I'll consider it a bit more!

 

Whaaaaaat?! I thought this was the only reason to get an SSD

 

Here's to list but a few others:

- random access times and read/write speeds benefits more than just boot times
- they weigh less than mechanical HDs
- power consumption is lower, leading to better battery life and a cooler system
- resistance to shock, altitutide, vibration and magnetism
- no moving parts therefore silent

They all add up to make a compelling case to switch. If it wasn't for the cost and lack of capacity of course.

 

heck yeah!

 

You won't notice much difference with the XT unless you repeatedly do the same thing - that's how it works. It caches the most recently loaded data onto the solid state part of the drive. So, if you were to repeatedly load the same save game for example you'd notice it faster each time after the first. Similarly, you'll notice Windows boot faster if you repeatedly reboot (and do nothing in between the reboots).

SSD's will undoubtedly give you much much more speed, to the point that it can even feel like a totally new machine. The one reason I've held off doing it so far though has been the price - they should be cheaper, and in time (maybe a year?) will be.

 

You've convinced me!!

 

finally! LOL

120gb should suffice.

 

Sorry, you only made it sound like you were interested in boot times, so my argument only took that into account. I've yet to cave to one, but I may eventually.

 

How much would one charge for installing a SSD drive? is there much configuration? what tools would i need etc.... Also how long would it take one hour or 2???

 

installing the drive takes about 15min, but you will need to reinstall windows, that takes about an hour to 1:30 to get all of your programs/games back

 

To those who have a 120gb SSD or thereabouts, how much stuff do you find you can fit on there? As an experiment I've been cutting down everything I can on my current setup and I haven't quite gone below the 120gb mark, and that's with four games installed (Crysis Warhead, Mass Effect 2, Just Cause 2, Patrician IV), a 25gb iTunes library, Microsoft Office (full suite, not student) and no either massive programs that I know of... Oh yeah, and a 8.5 picture/video library... and a 2.7gb My Documents...

Do you think I'll have any issues? In regards to my games, most of them are steam copies, so I just have the backups on an external hard drive and install them whenever I need them. I would at least like to know I can have three different games on there though...

 

thanks, i will definately convert to SSD i'll give it a try even tho i dont have a cluewhat im doing!because the SSD are so expensive can anyone suggest a reasonable dealer? or is anyone selling one? i am willing to part exchange with my 250GB SATA2 7,200 RPM....

 

i got crysis 2, homefront, mass effect 2, dead space 2, monday night combat and a few other games on it and i still have about 36gb to spare....and it's good to have a 20gb spare for SSDs.

 

Why is that?

 

that should say 20gb for a 120gb SSD (or 80% of the SSD) it's just some rule that's going around and I just do it to be safe. most likely it has to do with TRIM (if a section of the SSD dies from being written and erased so many times that it can be "relocated" to the unused sections of the SSD).

http://forum.notebookreview.com/solid-state-drives-ssds-flash-storage/507803-ssd-80-rule.html

OCZ recommend that you do so.

 

Mmm... interesting.

I personally know I'll accidentally fill the thing up before I know it, so will it work if I partition off 20% and just don't use it?

 

i don't think it works like that but i do know that windows has a quota system that you can set to 80% and it will notify you that you have gone over that limit.

 

Okay, well that's definitely an option.

Only thing stopping me right now is the thought of stepping down to only 96gb of space (after the 20% rule) and the process of re-installing everything... Is there any good guides on how to do this? Or is it as simple as a format of the drive, install of windows from the provided disc (speaking of which, how do i find the license code for it? Couldn't see it on my disc sleeve or anything...), downloading of appropriate drivers from the Dell site (any install order?) and installation of them?

Right now, it's that process which is holding me back, otherwise I might order the drive right now...

 

once you disable hibernation, system restore, etc the windows install will decrease: i managed to get it down to 11gb on a 120gb drive and that leaves plenty of space to do whatever.

the real question is: what else to put on it? so you'll need to prioritize what goes on there.

 

I just don't get it! Continuing to experiment with my current drive and trying to get everything down as low as I can, I've unistalled ALL of my games, and I still have 106gb!! Only programs of any importance that are then installed is the full Office suite, iTunes, Skype, Steam, Firefox and the Alienware stuff. Obvious question is how much media I have, which is only 25gb. Assuming 15gb for Windows install, as well as my pictures, videos and documents, I should have only used 60gb, tops! This is really starting to frustrate me, so if any one has any idea what else could be contributing to this use of space, I will happily have a look.

In answer to your question about what I'll have on it: Microsoft Office, my iTunes library, my picture library, a game or two (not doing as much PC gaming these days, at least not on the go) and my documents (plenty of word files as a writer). I don't see myself having an issue, but the fact that there's all this space taken up on my current set up and I have no idea what it is worries me with continuing. I don't want to get the drive and find that I cannot work within its limitations.

 

how big is MS office because Openoffice.org 3.2 is about 400Mb and that's a full office suite and it's free

 

Have used OpenOffice in the past, brilliant free source suite, but I personally do prefer MS Office and have the legitimate installs for it and everything. As a writer, being comfortable in my word processor is a big thing, so at least Word has to stay (pretty sure you can install that by itself...?).

Also did some quick check ups on what is on the C drive, and this is how it all adds up:

21.6gb - Windows (huge, I know, surprising to me)
45.2gb - Users (at this point it was in a bit more perspective)
567mb - Program Data
6.15gb - Program Files (x86)
908mb - Program Files (never got this duplication thing...)
169mb - Nvidia
529mb - MSO something...
51.8mb - dell

So that brings me out to a total of... just under 70gb...

So where the hell is that other 36gb?!

 

Delete the Nvidia and Dell folders for a little extra space. They are just extracted files from driver installations that you do not need after the drivers are installed.

 

remember the advertised capacity is not the same as the actual capacity: a 500gb drive will be only 465gb because of the way storage is calculated.

advertised capacity x 0.93 = actual capacity.

your key is on your COA sticker at the bottom of your M11x.

 

I realise that and these calculations were actually made with that in mind (446 capacity, with some recovery partitions I should really have gotten rid of...). Ah well... seeing as no one else has had any issues with going to a 120gb and I'm doing a fresh install, don't see why I'd have any issues. Thanks heaps for your help! +1 rep to you

 

Anyway of checking this on the system itself? Mine is a little faded and I think I've got it all right, but would like to be able to double check

 

no probs. so long as you disable:

defrag
hibernation
system restore
write caching
indexing

and finally lower your page file to at least 2gb max then your windows install should be below the 15gb mark.

no idea about that!

 

If you use the disc that came with your M11x, you do not need to enter a Windows key. The key used for the disc isn't the key on the bottom of your laptop, it's a generic OEM key.

 

it's tied to the motherboard i believe so the key that's on the m11x can't be used on another system.

 

Awesome guys, thanks for that!

After all that, I'm considering holding off until the r3 is released so I can get an idea of price and whether I'll consider a Vertex 3...

 

fair enough. since you're a fellow aussie Dell AU has a discount coupon for 10% off all alienware PCs if you're with the NRMA or any of the few motoring clubs in Australia....though you don't have to be a member to use them of course.

that code i can provide if you like.

 

Really? Awesome! Yeah, that would be greatly appreciated if you've got it handy How long does it last for...? Unless there's a decent price, I probably won't be getting an r3 for a least a few months...

 

I just checked and it's still valid....because it's a motoring club member discount (like a perk for being a member). all you do is C&P it into the coupon section when you're viewing your cart and it will be deducted.

i'll PM that link to you.