Asus u41 SSD

Hey folks!

So Im getting a SSD hopefully this weekend when i buy my asus u41.. i figured instead of loading everything onto it, and then buying a ssd l would just put the ssd in right off the bat.. ive found this one, would it work?
Intel X25-M 120GB 2.5" SATA2 Solid State Drive (SSDSA2MH120G2K5) | Canada Computers

my main need is battery life but performance as well if that makes a difference

ahh and i know this is the wrong section but i know to upgrade my ram, i need 1333 mhz ram, if i remember correctly(ill double check later of course). does anyone know what the setup is for mine?(2x2, 1x4) id just like to go up to 6 gb at the moment, ill never use anyting more than that(i do autocad-photoshop-illustrator-sketchup all at once)

Thanks all!

 

Hm. Looks like the U41 takes a standard 2.5" HDD, so yes, that SSD should work just fine. And although the U41 appears to come with 1333 MHz RAM, the fact that the standard processor appears to be an i3-380M means that it will actually downlock the 1333 MHz RAM to 1066 MHz, so you might as well just go for 1066 MHz RAM if it happens to be cheaper (although prices are often near equivalent, so there may not be a point). The configuration is likely to be 2x 2 GB SODIMMs, so you probably would need to buy a single 4 GB stick if you want to go to 6 GB. Remember that you need a 64-bit OS to use all of that RAM.

 

Ive read that there are different speeds for SSD's.. sorry if this question is ridiculous but I`m quite new to the hardware end of computers. would the ssd below be the same or what?thanks!

Newegg.ca - OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

That's one of the older Vertex 1 drives, with an Indilinx Barefoot controller. It's not a terrible drive, but it won't do as well as the Intel, although depending on your usages you may not notice the difference. It's also somewhat expensive for a Vertex 1... at those prices you can often get a Vertex 2 which is nominally better (although maybe not for your purposes, depending on exactly how much photoshop/illustrator you actually do).

 

hmm so the idea im getting is that there are different speeds and purposes for different ssd's? i run a lot of photoshop-sketchup and autocad, is there something thats geared for that or is the 120gb intel fine?

 

The 120 GB Intel will be fine for that, although you may want to look into a SSD with better sequential write times (like the Samsung 470). The problem with the Intel G2 (which is the first drive you linked) is that while it has excellent read times, it's a little bit "crippled" when it comes to sequential writes. Photoshop, if used heavily, is largely about large sequential writes to the hard drive, and so you can see how that low writing speed would limit the Intel.

The Indilinx Vertex 1, even though it's an older drive, would actually do better than the G2 in that respect, as it has higher sustained write capacity, but it wouldn't be as good for "general" use, where the G2 would perform better. As well, Tunjay who has a pair of Vertex 1s, and seems to have a usage pattern similar to yours, has been having the life of his Vertex 1 being reported as low (the thread is here), which makes me a little hesitant to recommend the drive if you think you'll be performing writes on the same level that he is (5 TB over 6 months... which is admittedly on the high end... although not quite as bad as Tilleroftheearth with his 3 TB in 2 weeks )

The Vertex 2 uses a Sandforce controller, which, because it uses on the fly compression works quite well with "normal" files (which are usually reasonably compressible), but falls down horribly when it comes to compressed files (like video and graphics). This is why I wouldn't recommend a Sandforce drive for your purposes.

I think a Samsung 470 might be best for you, if you could find one. A C300, even though it'll be limited by the SATA II interface, is not a bad option either. As well, the Intel G3s have just arrived, and they solve the limited write speeds of the G2, although as they're still quite new, they'll probably be overpriced for a few months.