Need Help with SSD

Alright I have a 2011 HP DV6T QE and for Christmas Im thinking of asking for an SSD for my laptop. Now I know absolutely nothing about them other than they dramatically improve performance.

So my questions are:

1. Is it easy for someone like me to install?
2. Do i have to re install the OS?
3. Which one should I get? I want at least 200gb but i hear there's different types as in speed and reliable? Im lost here and need help....
4. I dont want to spend a fortune on it.

Alright thanks..

 

1. As easy as installing a regular hard drive. Just plug it up.

2. Its usually recommended. There is cloning software out there that will make a copy of your hhd, but some brands like OCZ recommend against this. I personally would never do it.

3. The top 3...

-1. OCZ- Generally considered fast, but has a bit of a reputation for unreliability.

-2. Intel - Considered the most stable controller, but doesn't have the fastest read/write times out there.

-3. crucial - A mix of the two qualities. Some people have great luck with them, while others don't.

4. The best bang for your buck out there are the SATA II versions. SATA III is out, and driving down the cost of old SSD's. For 90% of the population you will not notice a difference. The speed really comes through with video editing and things of that nature. If you just want a fast boot/application drive, a SATA II will be all the speed you need.


I personally have a OCZ vertex 2 (SATA II) 120gb in my dv7tqe and couldn't be happier. Snatched it for 140ish. Boot times went from the 2 minute mark to a completely usable desktop at 34 seconds.

Whatever you go with.....

1. UPDATE FIRMWARE!
2. Remember to do all the tweaks. There are plenty of guides out there.

 

I assume it has DVD/BD drive so actually you can buy proper 2nd HDD caddy and put it inside instead of optical bay.
In this case you don't have to buy expensive SSD but you can buy 60-64GB Crucial M4 one.
If you want to use your optical drive you can also buy a special USB caddy for optical drives around 7-8$ I guess and 2nd HDD caddy costs about 13$. All is on eBay

 

this is probably the easiest computer hardware swapage ever, serious.

look at crucial m4, intel 520 and samsung 830.

/thread

 

Have you looked at the prices SSD's are going for? 200gb+ is really expensive. I got a deal on an OCZ Solid 3 120gb for about $1/gb and couldn't pass it up. Just make sure you've updated your bios for your laptop and firmware for the SSD.

 

Yeah I know but Im really worried 120gb might not be enough space with all apps and the whole OS on this single ssd.

 

So If I decide to buy an SSD for my laptop. Can you guys link me to a guide that shows me how to install it, back up everything my old computer, reinstall windows on the ssd and everything else i would need to do?

Thanks

 

physically swapping in the SSD is straight forward. they designed the bottom plate to pop off- no screws, shown in this vid NEW HP Pavillion dv6t Quad Edition In Depth Review August 2011 - YouTube

then unscrew the old hdd, unplug, unscrew adapter plate, reverse order to put ssd in. if you've ever picked up a screw driver before, you can do this.

hopefully you have a copy of windows 7 because i suggest you do a clean install. you can put your old hdd in an external enclosure and just use it to store your data or grab whatever you need off of it.

 

If you do a fresh install, consider using ABR to save the OEM windows activation otherwise you'll have to call Microsoft to get your laptop activated.

 

I used this: SATA Wire - usb 3.0 to 2.5 sata hard drive adapter

It comes bundled with cloning software. Super easy if you'd rather not reinstall everything and don't mind deleting useless programs.

 

Instead of starting a new thread I guess I can just ask here. I don't have a second longer cable for the second bay yet so I took the stock 750 out and mounted up a 60GB SSD in Drive bay 1. Here's the problem, I have the USB recovery drive and the computer boots fine with it. I select Clean install from the menu, then next screen it starts and says "The destination drive is not connected". Is the only way to do this just by booting with a windows 7 DVD?