Hard disk upgrade for Asus N75SF

Hi all, I'm a multimedia designer looking to buy a new desktop replacement notebook for use as my primary computer.

The programs which I will need to run are:

Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, After Effects, InDesign, Contribute, Flash and 3DS Max.

I have found an Asus N75SF which is within my budget and has the following specs:

Intel i7 2630QM
8 GB RAM
Geforce GT 555M
2 x 750GB 5400rpm HDD
Windows 7 (64 bit)

I want to replace the HDDs with a Crucial M4 128GB SSD for use as a primary drive to run the OS and my applications from; the other HDD I want to replace with a WD Scorpio Black WD7500BPKT, 750GB, 7200rpm HDD which I will use for data storage.

Here come the questions!

1. Would this configuration work and if so, is it even a good idea?!?!
2. Would this configuration involve RAID 0, something I know nothing about, but which I have read can cause complications in relation to running Adobe applications?
3. Will I have to change the Link Power Management setting when I install the SSD as I have read that the Crucial M4 can cause the system to freeze?
4. Would I be able to use one of the 750GB, 5400rpm HDDs which shipped with the Asus to replace the 80GB HDD in a different laptop, a 4-5 year old Toshiba with an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T5550 1.83Ghz, 3GB RAM, running Windows Vista (32 bit)? I have no other info on the HDDs from Asus, the website says: "2 x 750 GB SATA 5400rpm" (I will phone for more details if needed, it's just that the company are in a different country and the phone call is expensive, I've emailled them today but nothing back yet).

Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. I have been driving myself insane for the past six weeks trying to work out what to buy and I need to find peace soon!! Thank you in advance.

 

1) Not only will it work; it is a great idea. Especially if you want to have a 'balanced' machine, performance-wise. Balanced=each component is at the same relative level as the other components. With the 5400 RPM drives, the machine will feel very 'unbalanced' (to me, at least) compared to the cpu, the RAM, the gpu and the O/S.

2) No RAID0 not needed nor required or recommended for your usage. That's PERIOD, btw.

3) Afaik, when you get the M4 - make sure to flash it to the latest Firmware 009 and you won't need to worry about anything else.

4) Yes, you can use the 5400 RPM drives on any system that also runs a SATA controller (as opposed to an IDE HDD controller).


The best (condensed) advice I can offer from this point:

First, ensure that the M4 is at the latest Firmware level.

Second, do a custom, clean install of Windows 7 and use less than 50-100GB of the M4 (simply make a partition the size you need for C: drive in Windows Setup).

Third, move the Users folder to your mechanical HDD (Scorpio Black...) using the method in this thread (look for my posts starting with post #3):

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...rades/608752-hdd-partitioning-help-500gb.html


Fourth, instead of just installing the Users folder to the full capacity of the mechanical D: drive, consider Partitioning that drive too. I would recommend to partition it to 100GB. What this achieves is giving the most responsive system possible for your O/S and data (Users folder contents).

While doing the above may seem limiting at first, it is great at also keeping you organized while giving you the best sustained performance over time: simply use the remainder of the mechanical HDD's capacity as an 'Archive' location (Drive E where you move projects too as they're finished from the 100GB D: drive partition they'll default to (default to, if you move the Users folders there).

Finally, with all that setup - I would recommend to get PerfectDisk Professional 12 to maintain the high performance of your system.

Not only does PD give a noticeable performance boost to the HDD - with OptiWrite technology, it also keeps the SSD at the highest performance too.

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/7992664-post7.html


Keep in mind that doing a clean install is the best method of getting an SSD running optimally (and having it stay that way).

Simply download your version of Windows 7 (legally, from these forums), burn to a DVD or make a bootable USB key (highly recommended) and make sure you have your manufacturer's latest drivers to install handy once Windows 7 Setup is finished (around 5-6 minutes off of USB key).

Hope some of this helps.

 

tilleroftheearth has it all covered.

The download link for Windows 7 sp1 is in my sig, along with a walkthrough on how to make a bootable flashdrive.

 

Are you kidding? ALL of this helps! Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a comprehensive response, I'm really grateful for your advice.

Take good care!