G73SW-XT1 - Which SSD for boot drive?

I just got my G73SW -it has one 500GB standard drive. think I want to upgrade to either an SSD or Hybrid. Any recommendations on which drive - I assume any 2.5 SATA II will do it, right?

Thanks

 

Yes you are correct. I advise you that it does not come with a second hard drive cage so you will need to add some cardboard cut outs to support the ssd. I personally chose the CORSAIR FORCE F60 and am VERY happy with my decision. I have the same laptop as you. Here is a video to give you an idea of the boot speed -> YouTube - Corsair Force F60 windows boot ASUS G73SW-XT1

 

I went for an intel X25-m myself, as I'd read that some performance issues had been noticed between the 5 series chipsets and sandforce drives [I read it somewhere around here, I THINK-- it was awhile ago]

I can't complain, machine starts in less than 30 seconds (From screen on) and I have a fairly heavy startup cycle [avast, rainmeter, audiogalaxy]

Also, the included intel SSD toolbox is a nice bonus.

 

1st since you have a sandy bridge motherboard with Sata III/6gbps you should get a 3rd gen drive that will take advantage of those features. There are good Sata II drives but why limit yourself!

I'd get an Intel or OCZ Vertex 3. The vertex is faster but the Intels are more reliable. Either one will make you very happy. The vertex 3s come out next week. The 3rd gen Intels are already for sale I think. Try and get 90gb or more if you can afford it. 60gb is ok, but you'll only have room for a few (2-3) games. Keep your documents, videos, music, etc on the 500gb drive, only use the SSD for programs and games.

Don't forget to disable hibernate and Pagefile (or it to another drive).

Here is an example of the 510 intel drive. Check back next week for the vertex 3s.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...42&cm_re=intel_ssd_510-_-20-167-042-_-Product

 

I'm using an Intel X25M G2 80 GB with a clean windows 7 ultimate x64 the first time It started took 18 secs from 0 to full loaded desktop, now that i have all my software installed including some games on it, it takes 23 seconds with everything loaded.

Photoshop loads 80% faster on the SSD and software with many small files will load like 60~90% faster.

however don't expect huge differences for Big files (over 2 Gb), the transfer rate from my SSD to my 500 GB (7200 RPM) is around 136 ~ 90 Mbps.

So yeah I believe is a considerable improvement, but haven't tried any other SSD brands, because I hear the Intel-X25M G2 is one of the top makers.

BTW... I did not wanted to wait for the expansion bracket for a second HD (23 USD) so I made one myself =p~ and it works perfectly for over 5 months now.

Have fun!

 

Thanks for the info - I had a $50 off coupon and went with the X25M 80GB for around $150. I may upgrade at some point to SATA III, but I may let the price come down first. Till then, I am thinking about replacing my 500GB 7200 with a Momentus XT hybrid - that should help me a bit more.

Mubay - any tips on how you made your bracket?

 

I put a piece of cardboard under the drive (a piece of cardboard that came with the laptop) and then a piece of cardboard bent in half on the left of the drive to prevent it from moving left and right.

 

Intel G3 or Crucial C400 for me.

 

SATA III is nice and its a good thing SSD's are coming down. I chose 160GB INtel X25-m.... So what its only Sata 2, my NAS can only run at 1 GBit anyways and the included 500GB seagate drives will never reach 100MB sustained write, so having a SATA 3 SSD is a mute poiint IMO...

I'm curious how much faster a SATA3 SSD will run over my SATA 2 Intel.

My Machine boots in 25 sec and usually averages 30sec restarts... I'm happy.

My Old lenovo with the same SSD intel Drive starts in 45 secs and can do restarts in 55 sec.. not bad considering its the BIOS in the old machine holding things up.

I went with tried and true reliability, speed is great but would you take a BArely noticable speed bump for the risk of having a SSD issue?

PLus BUy.com had 160GB Intel X25-M's for 265.00 (MIR).
SO i bought 2

 

You can use SATA 3 SSD, but in real life you'll not notice any difference (Unless you have huge write )

I'd say go for SF1200 based or C300 to save maony. There are great deals available for last gen SSD.

 

you video is pretty much useless if you have nothing installed, a normal HDD would be maybe 2-3 seconds slower...i have about 27 different programs that start with windows and its there you can see the true speed of an ssd, check the specs in my sig and my video here to find out the real power of an ssd
YouTube - Asus G73JH boot up and shutdown time with OCZ Vertex 2 240gb