SSD for new laptop

Hi all, hope I have this in the right place!

I have recently ordered a new laptop and it will be arriving soon. I wanted to replace / add a SSD to the laptop for the OS and all my games etc. I have been trying to read as much as I can lately about them. I wanted to know what would be the best SSD for my situation without overspending on something I do not really need. The laptop is going to be used mainly for gaming and web surfing for when I travel. I was looking for an SSD around the 256GB area and depending on cost I may get a larger one. I believe for my situation the Samsung 840 would be the right fit for me. From what I have read they perform well and have been very reliable. Where my doubt lies is do I really need to get a SSD with better write times like the 840 pro if I am just gaming and web surfing etc. From what I have read it seems for gaming I mainly just need good read times. Is this correct? or should I go with the 840 pro for better performance? Would there be any real benefits using the pro vs non pro for my situation? The computer is a Alienware M17X, I7 3630QM, 8GB Ram, 680, Win 7 64, 1920x1080. The games I play are SC II, Metro, BF3, D3, Witchers, Crysis, and then a whole bunch of other games like them as well. Any input would be greatly appreciated!


TLDR / Gaming and web surfing only / 840 or 840 pro for the OS and games


Thanks,

Andy

 

You'll do fine with 840, if you want to save some money. For gaming and standard multimedia usage there is no need to purchase fastest ssd available.

 

I have a Crucial M4 256 GB although I also considered and researched the Intel and Samsung counterparts. I'd suggest either the 830 or the 840 Pro and bypass the 840 because it uses inferior nand (TLC memory cell) technology. You probably wouldn't notice the difference between the two different types of cells, but the MLC (830 and 840 Pro) will last longer and give you overall better performance. Check out this article about the difference between the various memory cells in SSDs.

I have mine configured as my primary HD with only OS and programs installed. I actually install all of my games (steam library) on my secondary conventional WD Black 750 GB storage drive. It works great and really speeds up startup, file transfers, load times, and general computing activities, but will honeslty give you limited performance boost in games over a 7200 rpm drive. Also consider storage space, and plan ahead. I've already used 50 GB of the 256 GB on my C: drive and a little over 250GB (4 games, a system backup, and some MPEG 4 video) on my storage drive so space can be used up quickly depending on what you are storing. Be aware of that when you select the size of the drive and decide how to configure your system. If you are buying the SSD mainly for gaming you may want to reconsider. You'll mainly see a difference in the OS, file transfers, and startup times. Hope this helps...

 

Thanks for the input guys. The article was a good read and of course something I was not aware of. The frequency and size of my writes etc will be like a turtle so it will not make much of a difference for me, but may be something for people to consider for longevity purposes. I definitely want one for the OS if nothing else for the start up times and generally fast responsiveness. I know it wont make a huge difference for the games but for some of the more annoying ones with longer / more frequent load times it will help some. I will probably end up just putting my most played ones on the SSD and the rest on the hard drive. Thanks again guys!

 

Glad I could help. Always go with the model that has the best track record, especially when buying HDs. A bricked HD can equate to a hefty loss and possible down time/hassle that you don't need. Because SSD are relatively new there is limited data related to failures and reliability. Remember that SSDs don't work quite like HDDs in that they loose storage capacity over time depending on the usage, so it's best not to use it for temp storage (especially large files). They also slow down a bit as they increase full capacity, so don't fill it all the way to capacity. Just have a plan for your storage and you should be fine. One thing I did was set up my User Folders and Libraries (My Documents, Videos, Photos, etc) to be located on the secondary drive. Windows 7 allows you to change the actual physical location (in the location tab of each folder's properties) of these folders without disrupting other programs or Windows.

I have read that SSDs can help load times but the largest impact it will have (and that you will notice) is with your OS response and performance. The SSD will also make no noise or vibration, and should run more power efficient and cooler than a conventional HD. I actually enjoy not having to listen to or feel my secondary HD spinning most of the time, and I have set it to shut down fairly quickly if not being used.

 

I do not think my last post worked lol. Thanks for the input so far all. One last question if you do not mind. Do I need to buy one of the "kits" or just the SSD itself. As far as I am aware the SSD should fit perfectly in the M17 R4. This is the SSD I am considering Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics Samsung 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 500 GB SATAIII 2.5-Inch MZ-7TD500BW: Electronics. Sorry about the link I am horrible with them so I just copy paste I have the extra money so I decided may as well just get a larger one so I do not have to worry about space down the road.


Thanks again all!

 

One does not worry about space if they can decide which game they will definitely not be playing any more, thus deleting them, though I always make the wrong decision and having to re download them, look at the size of your steam/origin library and get the average gb per year you purchased times by 3-5 years provisioning your future usage for games, to get it to a more realistic state where games get uninstalled due to either full completion or new chapter under its title I gave it a factor of 0.7, so it is your current usage space plus the 3-5 year provision usage and times the sum by 0.7, I personally got the figure of 350 gb of games, plus os and programs get to around 400 ish which is right under the nose of a 512 ssd + over provisioning

 

Make sure you know if your hdd slot supports 7mm or thicker ssds. For example, I can't use my sandisk Extreme 120GB in my Lenovo X230T.

 

Ya the Alienware 17 R4 will hold the Samsung 840s. I got real lucky today as well, I was going to order the new SSD last night and then I decided last minute to wait till today. I then got a email from Newegg this morning and they had some of the 840s on sale for 20% off! Worked out nicely, so I ordered the 512GB pro version since it was such a good price today. I have a ton of games so I think overall this will work out the best for me. Good thing I waited until today to order one, I was not able to find one on sale recently lol.