Looking for SSD to replace factory HDD when my laptop comes in. Need help from those more experienced!

So recently my hard drive failed on my Dell Inspiron 1545 and I ordered a Dell Latitude E5530. I'm going to replace the factory 7200rpm 320GB that is coming in it from the factory with a SSD, and put the hard drive that came with it in my old Inspiron to restore and sell. While I'm waiting for it to come in though, I was curious which SSD would work best for me. I don't do a whole lot on my laptop, just basically use it like an ultrabook I guess (browsing the internet, youtube videos, MS Word and Excel). I know there are lots of different options that would probably do just fine for me, but I was looking into something like this:

Intel 335 Series SSDSC2CT240A4K5 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $199

Intel 520 Series SSDSC2CW240A3K5 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $259

I'm not sure what the $60 difference is for, and if the cheaper one would be adequate for my use. It will be my main hard drive. I don't store any games or music, and if I ever did I would just use an external hard drive with 3.0 USB since it's pretty quick. I'm not sure what all the details are though with the SATA II and III and whatnot. Also, Intel advertises a toolbox that can be used with the SSD's, but it specifically states that it's for Windows 8. Will the toolbox still work for Windows 7?

Here are the specs on the Latitude E5530 if it helps. I know it's probably overkill for what I need it for, but I wanted it to last and stay up to date for several years to come:

Dell Latitude E5530
3rd Gen Intel i5-3210M 2.5 GHz (3.1GHZ Turbo) processor
4 GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM
320GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium
Internal Backlit Keyboard
15.6" FHD 1920x1080 screen

Thanks for any help anyone can offer. I really appreciate it.

 

The short answer is any good SSD will work fine for you. I say save the money. Get the cheaper.

 

Haha I was kind of already on that trail but I was hoping to get a little bit of a more informative answer if anyone didn't mind. Wouldn't mind learning a little bit as I go. I'm not trying to waste anyone's time, just trying to get some informative, educated feedback. Thanks though!

 

the price difference will most prob show in the read/write speeds. the dearer the faster.
if you are not doing any real demanding things like heavy gaming or rendering then take a look at the crucial M4 ssd which as far as i know will be a lot cheaper for more space. for example my crucial 512gb boots and is ready to use in 12 seconds compared to my western digital 320gb scorpio black which takes about 40 seconds.

 

Another vote for the Crucial M4. Best price/performance/reliability out there.

And if you can wait they are launching the M500 which should have 1TB SSD at 600 dollars

 

First off, how many years are you planning on keeping the new system?

With an eye on "I wanted it to last and stay up to date for several years to come", I would recommend the upgrade to at least 8GB RAM.

Not to mention Windows 8 x64 PRO (for ~$22).

Now, I don't know your budget - but the above was configured at the USA Dell website for around $700 - and if the system is easily upgradeable; simply throw in 2x 8GB DDR3 1600MHz SoDIMM's or higher for around $80 (vs. $60 to get 4GB additional with Dell) and you'll be much better prepared for the future - even as your needs change.


As for the SSD - I too would be waiting for the new Crucial M500 Series to appear (soon) - Double the capacity of any current SSD for significantly less $$$ and still better performance than the venerable Crucial M4.

Don't misunderstand: the 240GB Intel 520 Series is my top choice if you have to buy now (as is the 256GB Crucial M4) - but it doesn't sound like you need to jump to SSD 'now'.

You may want to read this thread here:

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/solid-state-drives-ssds-flash-storage/701660-what-ssd-best.html


The following thread shows what can happen to a filled SSD's performance (it tanks):

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/703584-freezing-laptop.html


The following thread on why Windows 8 x64 PRO is the best bet going forward:

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...64-smartplacement-defragging-perfectdisk.html


And this thread for why the 'best' RAM you can get for your system will make a noticeable difference in responsiveness:

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...m-full-speed-help-screenshots-appreciate.html



This may help too:

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...-form-planned-obsolescence-5.html#post9034904



What all the above is saying is that a properly balanced system will be much more enjoyable and useable for a longer time as the O/S and programs become more demanding (via updates) and your needs change over the course of ownership.

The Win8x64 PRO O/S is a huge step above Win7x64 when it comes to optimally using the current hardware we enjoy. 4GB RAM is for kid's watches going forward in 2013. A small capacity SSD (without ~30% extra spare area) is a cruel joke and without proper setup can be slower and more frustrating than a HDD (see the thread with the 'one minute pauses') not to mention higher WA, constant GC and TRIM 'activity' and the resulting (and expected) sudden death of such a poorly used SSD.

I hope you have some info to chew on for a while.

Good luck.

 

Another vote for the Crucial M4 (or the M500, depending on when you're buying the SSD).

Just my personal experience, but both my 180GB Intel 330 and 160GB Intel 320 have 40GB or less free space left on them (after formatting) and my partitions on each take up all the formatted space on each drive. For my uses (Office, internet, some gaming with older games, programming classes, that sort of thing), drive performance on either is still within range of the advertised speeds from Intel, even though my drives are 60-70% full. Now, tiller's right in that SSD performance tanks when you get near full capacity, though I feel that leaving 20-30% of the formatted space free is good enough for most. Though he also uses his hardware for stuff that's a lot more intensive than most peoples' needs.

 

Just get the cheaper one, the Intel 520 is a bit faster and snappier but you are paying an arm and a leg extra and I would argue it is not worth it unless that performance benefit directly translates to more income or you are absolutely brutal with your drive, that $60 is paying for your extra 5 yrs of warranty against write exhaustion. I would not vote the Crucial M4 since its quite old and rather expensive (at least here in AUS), the Plextor m5s is much cheaper, uses the same controller, same NAND and has higher Random 4k Read QD1 (i.e. snappier) but lower Random 4k Write (not so important in consumer drives). HOWEVER, if you can get the m4 at a killer price then I would say go for that since its also very mature.

Also, avoid the Samsung 840, the TLC memory is still very unproven at the moment.

 

I'm definitely not doing anything demanding. Like I said I only use my laptop to browse the internet using Chrome, watch Youtube (rarely use Netflix, but sometimes), use Microsoft Word/Excel, and save a HANDFUL of pictures (I don't have like 1000's of pictures I need to edit with Photoshop). Also, I don't really need all the room that the M500 has to offer. On my last laptop I had a 320 GB HDD and it was way more than enough for what I needed. I understand from what I've read that it is best to run your SSD with some free space, but I don't need THAT much free space

Well I spent a good while at school and at home today reading through the links you sent me. I would like to start by saying I really appreciate all the information in them. The first thread seemed to mainly be a " storm" if you will of people crying that their favorite brand X is better for X reason. I apologize if that comes off as condescending as that's not my intention, that's just what I saw it as from an outsider's point of view. Really the main thing I walked away from in that thread was to just stick with a standard HDD, as the SSDs are just a huge hassle and risk haha. I'm sure this isn't the case, and is just the result of people trying to argue their case, but the points made about having to allocate space, check your toolbox, drives failing, drives that are dead on arrival, and other similar issues are very worrying for someone that is looking for a simple hard drive to pop in there and not look back for a few years.

I know/saw several people arguing on there that while their drives failed, their company had an excellent warranty and they sent them out a new one, free shipping, next day, blah blah blah. That's nice and all, but I'm more of the kind of person that is looking to buy something that works the first time the way it's supposed to, and not have to worry about backing all my data up every day/week under fear of my HD failing. They can send me a new one, sure, but what about all my old data? My cheap little OEM Toshiba 320GB 5400rpm HDD that came with my Inspiron 1545 ran like a champ for almost 3.5 years and did just fine for what I needed, in terms of speed and storage, before it failed unexpectedly (I actually think the cleaning woman at my house dropped it unintentionally, and had she not we may not be having this discussion right now, but that's neither here nor there).

Basically, I'm not looking for the fastest, most elaborate, task intensive SSD on the market. I do not game on this laptop. I do not edit photos/videos on this laptop. I just need something very reliable as my main and only drive for my laptop. If I am better off sticking with the 7200rpm HDD that is coming with it, so be it, but my plans were to put that in the old Inspiron 1545, and put the new SSD in the Latitude E5530, format it and load the OS on it, and never have to look back.

Oh and as far as the OS goes, I purposefully asked when I was calling my build in to Dell to put Windows 7 64 bit on there, as I don't really care for what I've seen of Windows 8. I'm not incredibly well rounded on it and may be making opinions prematurely, but I just don't like the whole app section and no start button, etc. I understand what you said that the newest hardware will run best on the newest OS, but I figured for what I'm doing (extremely light, non data-intensive tasks) it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Again I really do appreciate your time and feedback. As I said, I'm not here to waste anyone's time, and I did read all of your links all the way through, but some of them came back to be rather inconclusive.

I'm all about buying the latest and greatest stuff for my needs, but I just don't really see how I'd be able to justify spending the money on a 1TB SSD when I'll probably never use over 200GB. You seem to use your laptop for very similar tasks as me, except I don't even game on mine. I asked about the 240GB Intel SSD because I didn't want to cut myself short on space. I'm really not sure how much space the basic systems will take up (Windows 7 OS, Microsoft Security Essentials, TruCrypt, some other basic security software, Microsoft Office, and then whatever comes on it from the format disk - drivers, etc). You've pretty much been here with me from the beginning, as the one that talked me into getting the Latitude E5530 in the first place, so I appreciate your persistence. I guess I should mention that the main reason I'm looking to jump on a SSD now is because I'd rather just get it, re-configure my laptop now before I load too much stuff on it, and then have to transfer it all over. The more I get setup on the factory HDD that is coming with it, the more I'll have to copy off of it and transfer over, and the longer I'll have to wait to sell my old Inspiron.

The Crucial M4 seems to be right around the same prices as the Intel's. I'm here in the US, so I don't think it will be much of an issue for me. I'm not doing a ton of writing to my SSD, as I've said before, so I don't think 'write-exhaustion' will be an issue. I'm not sure with Crucial M4 to even search for though as they have 4 different 256GB models:

SSD upgrades from Crucial.com

And I've also read in one of the threads linked by Tiller that the Samsung 840, while sworn upon by some, has really yet to be proven.

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE FOR ALL THE HELP AND FEEDBACK! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND HAVE BEEN LEARNING QUITE A BIT ALONG THE WAY, WHICH I ALSO THANK YOU ALL FOR!

 

Odd, usually when I window shop at tech websites (mainly Newegg), Crucial's M4 is typically cheaper than any of Intel's offerings, per GB. Intel still likes to imagine that they can continue charging around $1/GB in this day and age. And I'm annoyed that they never gave me my 330 rebate, even though I *called* them about it this past summer a few months after I bought the drive. So personally, I don't even think I should continue recommending them to people anymore...

My "Windows" folder shows that it's taking ~27.5GB of space, Office Professional Plus 2012 (all of the programs) takes just shy of 900MB, TrueCrypt is under 8MB in size, Malwarebyte's is around 18MB, and everything else is about the same amount of MB. For simple stuff like that, a 128GB drive should be enough for Windows, a few programs, and your data (assuming you're not a pack rat like I am). Not sure what a 128GB SSD formats to, but my 180GB formats to 167GB and my 160GB formats to 149GB, just for reference. This is using the whole drive for your NTFS partition, and not leaving any free space as tiller would recommend.

 

hard drives have just as many issues as ssds. ssds make a huge performance boost no matter the system. i dropped some in 2007 core 2 duo systems 1 budget cpu and nicer cpu and they booth boot in 31 seconds (stop watch).

I have 64gb ssds on all my mains systems i'm able to have over 10gb free space when i'm done with windows 7 and programs.

This time around i hear samsung is the hot item to have this time around with their 840 Series SSD.

Personally I buy all mine used from OCN, i get them cheaper and get heath report on/with sale so i know they work and in what condition.