SSD Upgrade and Installation

I want to install SSD on a Thinkpad X200 Tablet. I will probably decide on either
OCZ Vertex 2 50GB or Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB and I will be running windows xp tablet.

So what are the checklists before proceeding with installation?

 

I'm pretty sure you don't want the Vertex 2 (SandForce based, right?) on Windows XP.

SandForce based SSD's need TRIM to continue to work at an acceptable level (over time).

The checklist would go something like this:

1) Unplug the notebook.

2) Take out the battery.

3) Make sure you have a DVD/CD or a USB drive of the Drivers your notebook requires.

4) Make sure you have a DVD or a bootable USB drive of your O/S.

5) Switch your old HD for the new SSD.

6) Do a clean install of Windows XP.

7) Install all Drivers and verify they all work properly.

8) Do all Windows Updates, including SP's to SP3. Then, make sure you do all Windows Updates again.

9) Install your programs.

10) Enjoy!

Hope this helps.

 

I purchased crucial. So for crucial AHCI needs to be disabled? And what about pagefile and defrag. Can someone please comment that.

 

Yes AHCI enabled. Defrag should be disabled.

For the pagefile you can choose what you like.

PS. It's Sandforce drives that work well without TRIM. C300 has more problems as far as I know. It might be worthwhile investigating manual ways of maintaining performance.

 

What do you mean c300 has more problems, what problems....I might cancel m order then?

 

C300 without TRIM is not a good idea. You'd be better off with a Sandforce or Indilinx drive. Anandtech talks about it in detail.

The SSD Diaries: Crucial's RealSSD C300 - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

 

Does windows xp has TRIM?

 

No, you have to use manual maintenance tools.

 

From what I gather from Mac users the Sandforce drives do well without TRIM.

Like: OCZ Vertex 2, Vertex LE, Agility 2, Corsair Force and OWC Mercury Extreme.

 

Like the Intel's SSD Toolbox utility. Is there any performance degradation using utilities?

What If I use TRIM utility for C300 on XP?

 

I'm not sure how well manual tools maintain performance on a C300.

But the Sandforce drives are faster on a SATA II controller anyway. There's no reason to favor the C300.

 

So vertex 2 will perform better on XP then c300? Is there any TRIM utility for Vertex 2?

 

The C300 rules when it's on a SATA III controller, but on a SATA II controller it looses againt Sandforce drives in most areas. See here. That's so for Windows 7 and XP.

For the Vertex 2 you don't need to do manual TRIM as far as I know.

 

Yes, I see the specs at OCZ they have native TRIM support. Is there nay difference in vertex 2 and vertex 2 EX

 

Performance is about the same.

 

Thanks! Phil

 

i'd agree with phill... C300 is a very bad idea without TRIM... the performance degrades very fast and not to mention , ur drive will be very slow.. anything other than C300 should work.. for ur case , u might consider the intel G1... it works quite well for an SSD without TRIM and manual TRIM works well on it.

 

I am in a dilemma and can't decide between these three: Corsair Force 60GB (165$), OCW Mecury Extreme Pro 60GB (179.99$) or OCZ Vertex 2 EX 60GB (169$).