Upgrade to SSD?

Hi, I currently have a HP dv5t notebook with a 5400rpm HDD.
I was just thinking if it would be a good investment to swap the HDD with a SSD and connect an external hard drive for storage etc.
I wouldn't really need a large SSD, maybe a bit under 100gb.

Would there be a significant increase in speed? And also could anyone suggest some SSD's for me?
It is not really urgent, so I could also wait until the prices fall down.

Thanks

 

An SSD will feel noticeably quicker. The Intel X25M G2 is a safe bet, but the OCZ Vertex and Agility SSD's are also good.

 

I'd second that. If you'll willing to shell out for a new Marvell/SandForce-based drive, they're going to be faster than the X25-M now, but without a proven track record. And then the X25-M is already fast enough such that you might not even notice a significant difference between the two.

 

crucial realssd c300 is the king of ssd's right now

 

and price wise too... i recommend intel G2 which should be a great upgrade already... also 160GB one is about $350-400... so its quite a rip off if u get a $200 buck 80GB...

 

That's debatable. It's the only SATA/600 MLC SSD currently, but apart from that, I wouldn't classify it as being king - let alone of all SSDs (were you neglecting enterprise SLC drives).

 

Agreed on the Intel. Its the best choice all around at present but if you are looking to the future keep an eye out for the new releases with Marvell and SandForce controllers.

With respect to the C300 a few have been bricked as have one or two vertex drives which is why advise is given to understand the risk that comes with unproven technology as with the newly released drives.

As for your user experience, you will most likely NOT observe a difference between the Intel and any of the newer drives because they all fall into the same circle of results for the small 4-8kb random reads and writes which are the main disk access for things such as starting the OS and programs as well as general program speed and operation.

I just tested a OWC 100GB RE drive alongside a Intel X25-m and, on paper, the OWC blows away the Intel on paper. In real life average user activity however, I don't think anyone could tell the difference. The newer drives will be a great advantage to those who need high sequential reads and writes for things such as video compilation and editting but for normal use...the premium doesnt really come back in performance.

 

Alright thanks.
I might actually wait till the prices fall, because I don't really have that much money to splash.

 

intel G2 actually still has one of the fastest access times, even against newer sandforce etc drives, and it's the access time that make you feel the snappiness of the system. Intel SSDs might be low on sequential read/write, but it's hardly something important for a SSD drive unless you are rich enough to actually use SSDs to backup stuff.

 

Generally yes but it depends on your usage how significant the increase is.

For the light user who mainly browses the internet and listens to some music the improvement is smallest. The heavier the user the bigger the difference becomes.

You could also consider upgrading to a 7200rpm 250GB Hitachi 7K500. For only $49 you get a nice upgrade. Currently the fastest HDD on the market.
http://www.google.com/product_url?q...S9bnPI2H-AaY4ZneDQ&sa=title&ved=0CCUQgwgwADgA

Do you have a link showing the Intel has faster acces times than the Sandforce drives? I can't find it.

PS. I doubt the difference is big enough for any human being to notice it.

 

The Intel is the ideal SSD all around for typical consumer use but its access times are not faster than the newer SandForce drives. I just finished testing an OWC 100Gb with the SF-1200 directly against the Intel X25-m and it absolutely smoked the intel in all areas.

I was also able to run tests on the OWC while it was completely full (minus 50Mb for the test itself) and there was absolutely no performance slowing whatsoever which is a feat not accomplished by many other SSDs at all (if any).

Now, price premium comes into play and that drive, as tested, is going for $399 for the $100Gb version but it is one of the top SSDs out there. The downfalls of it are simply the price point and the 'new technology' risk that has been seen with SSDs.

The Intel is the best typical consumer SSD for visible improvement dollar for dollar right now. This is because Intel has recently dropped prices in order to maintain the strangle hold they have on new user purchases...

 

Another question:
If I do happen to get an SSD, would I be able to just stick it in and run it?
I'm asking this because I'm unsure whether the BIOS supports SSDs or not, and there also aren't really many options to change in the BIOS anyhow.

 

SSDs work just like any HDD does, at least as far as the computer is concerned. There should be zero problems with your laptop and an SSD.

 

Greg Ross...wow been a long time my friend. I remember when u helped me out when I first got started here.

And yes....simply plug and play. Technology has caught up to itself.