upgrading to a SSD

Hi everyone,

First post here on the forums...just bought an Envy 14

I'm looking into swapping the 500gb HD to a 256GB SSD, and was wondering how best to go about doing this? Any recommendations for software, drive brands, etc?

I've heard that it can be difficult to swap from a larger drive to a smaller one...

Thanks,
-M

 

If you have more data than the one you are moving to yea. If you keep it low then its no problem.

You can either do a direct clone or you can do a fresh install. Its as simple as unscrewing and plugging it in.

Intel or Crucial is the way to go IMO. Bad experiences with OCZ and I will never ever buy from them again.

 

I would grab the intel 510 series, or wait a bit for the C400 series.

 

Now that HP has taken away the 640GB 7200rpm drives if you configure your system, unless you buy it with the 160GB SSD, people are no doubt gonna shop around for SSDs... I'm now considering getting and SSD for my Envy...have to find the best price for a great functional SSD.... I think for my needs a 160GB or 256GB SSD will do fine, just need to compare...


KJ

 

Another option is to get a smaller SSD to replace the optical drive so can run a SSD+HDD setup. See
Envy 14 optical drive/HDD transplant. The optical drive can be put into an external US$10 USB enclosure.

 

Ok, well since I now started to look into getting and SSD....I thought Google is a good start, with the help of members in here I figure I should find something suitable for me...

Is there something wrong with this SSD, its selling for so cheap, how?

Super Talent Duradrive ET 128 GB Internal Solid State Drive Ultra ATA/100 - IDE/EIDE for $53.76 It sounds great right? But I'm thinking there has to be catch, maybe its a very poor quality...anyone knows? Link below.

Super Talent Duradrive ET 128 GB Internal Solid State Drive Ultra ATA/100 - IDE/EIDE: Compare Prices, View Price History and Read Reviews at NexTag

KJ

 

It's legacy EIDA/PATA tech so is not going to work in your SATA system.

 

Thanks. I need something to work in my Envy 17 3D Sandy Bridge laptop.

KJ

 

any sandforce controlled SSD is going to work great.
Corsair force series
OCZ (any series with a 2 at the end)
OCW
Mushkin
and so forth

Toshiba controllers are good
Kingston SSD V+ 100 (gonna get the 128g)
Sansumg

Marvell controllers are great IF you get the new ones
Crucial
Intel

Jmicron is good IF you get the new ones
Crucial

Intel controllers are reliable
Intel
Adata
Kingston E series

I would look at the 120+gb models, since those are the ones that get the good speeds, and since I wont go at the hassle of importing a caddy (not that I use the blu ray drive that I have), I choose the kingsnton V+100 (model SV100SE), since it gets good speeds and have a good garbage collection function ( I will primarily use linux, and currently AFAIK there is no trim support )

Be advised that any OS without the trim function, i.e. all except win 7, is going to make your SSD slower as the time goes by, with the notable exception of the ones equipped with a toshiba controller, the C300 with the JMicron controllers are crippled without trim.

EDIT: I forgot about indilinix, but they are not a competitor anymore, until they release a new controller

 

I am on the same boat and have been thinking about upgrading to an SSD forever now, but prices have been stopping me from doing this.

No I think a 160GB SSD would be enough and it is not too expensive.

I read a review some time ago and believed that OCZ Vertex 2 are very good drives.

My question to the ones in the know is whether it is actually worth the hassle. I know that startup times will improve, but will anything else improve?

My crapware-less Anvy 14 is very fat and I see no lag or anything like that and it is very fast.

I use it as a day-to-day machine and edit a lot of photos in general - will this not be a killer for the drive?

I was also hoping, that getting an SSD would maybe save a bit of power and give me better battery life, at least abit?

 

it will kill storage space for sure do remind to get a HDD bay.

the wear of the nand is still an unknown issue, no one reached that yet AFAIK

 

I have several external HDDs and also a spare enclosure or two that will house the spare HDD I would take out of E14.

I was wondering about the same time, but most manufacturers give 3 years warranty and I do not think I ever had an HDD/ laptop for that long, I get upgraditis every year or maximum two


Any opinions on how SSDs affect power requirements? I remember from 2 years ago an article said they did not offer much improvement over HDDs, but a lot has changed since.

I would not really bother with an SSD and get a hybrid, but they still only have them in 500GB, which is not enough for an HDD.

 

I got the upgrade to work...mirrored the 500gb's used space onto a 160gb SSD. It's amazing how much faster the boot time is! Not to mention the decrease in noise and heat

 

Any word on battery life?

 

Haven't checked the battery life yet...I'll do so today.

 

Thank you!

 

I would love to get a SSD provided it can increase battery life... I am running a Beats 14" (i7), which has a very limited battery life, approx. 2 hours.

Would SSD make a significant improvement? I am struggling to get a definitive answer!

Thanks.

 

Hi. Does upgrading to an SSD means not using HDD anymore. Considering how small the storage of SSD, where would you store your data? External HD?

Or is there any way to have both drives in. Other than replacing the optical drive with an SSD which I'm sure I'm not gonna be able to do.

 

Benchmarks SSD Charts 2010

A: An SSD CAN improve battery life, depending on which model and size you buy
B: An SSD CAN improve the performance of pretty much anything that uses a hard drive, depending on which model and size you buy.

I go for the Intel or Crucial drives. The 64Gb Crucial C300 uses less power than the 128Gb, 256Gb etc.

Power chart:
Charts, benchmarks SSD Charts 2010, Power Consumption: in Active Idle State

P.s. Consider the option of storing files on an SDXC card (If the Envy 14 supports the format). ... and always make a backup





But then you have this from the same page
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-hdd-battery,1955-15.html
Muh

 

Other than replacing the optical drive, there is no way to fit 2 drives in. If you need a great deal of room, a networked desktop (I would setup an FTPesque server (plenty of free easy to use apps for this) for away from home use).

Edit: There are some companies that make combo drives, HDD's with smaller SSD's for OS installs, so you boot from the SSD, keep all your stuff on the HDD. I think this might be a desktop only thing, keep your eyes out.

Significant? Depends on what you use your computer for, chances are not so much. The toshiba harddrives HP put inside of the envy are pretty darn good, they are rated to idle at .55 watts. MK7559GSXP Specifications

There are SSD's that idle at .2-.5 (and are expensive) more affordable SDD's will idle at .5-1 watt. So already the HDD is competitive. When looking at the draw under stress, I can't make a fair comparison. Toshiba lists the max draw at 1.8. The newest SDD's go from 2-4. But this is what its hard, they also read and write insanely fast, and subsequently go back to idle.

What does this mean? If you move around a lot of big files, an SSD is going to save you battery because of how fast it is. If you do a lot of word editing, listen to music, and browse the web, you may be better off saving your money towards your next upgrade.

3 hours is the industry standard for HDD's, some nicer brands like seagate go up to 5. The biggest factor on the SSD is how much you use it, the only have so many writes until they die and for the most part will likely outlive their use.

See what I said above about Battery/power requirements. To give more perspective on it, the HP Envy 14 Battery has approx 56 Watt hours of life. Keep that in mind when looking at my most about draw, and also if you see a good price on an SSD that has large storage I would be wary. If you want a good SSD, plan to pay a pretty penny.

For reference, I use the intel x25-m, because my last laptop (acer that died) came with it installed. I make do with 80 gb's. If you want any input about a model you are looking at, I really recommend looking over andtech and tomshardware websites, also feel free to pm me!

For the most part though my recommendation stands, get an SSD if you want fast boot times, a fast install, and fast file transfer. If you want better battery life, stick with the toshiba HDD, its a good drive. Save the money and put it towards your next gen laptop.

 

I would be careful of laying down blanket statements that all ssd's will increase battery life, this simply is not true. It depends heavily on the user and what their average workload is. Also keep in mind a lot of these website comparisons are to desktop HDD's. See my post above for a break down of draw etc.

 

"depending on which model and size you buy."

DEPENDING ON WHICH MODEL AND SIZE YOU BUY



Anyhow, I've amended my post. Thanks awdotson

 

I've been looking for a bit and can't seem to find where to buy these drives.

I just purchased an Envy 17 and I want to add a 128gig SSD (the Kingston V+ 100 if it's compatible).

I just want something between 100-200gigs that is purely speed oriented. Where on the internet can I buy?

 

What country are you in?

 

I live in the US

 

I was actually looking at the same drive, just the V series (128gig for $135 is pretty sweet, if not superduper fast).

 

@Trucha, $135 for a 128GB SSD? Where?

 

Here ya go mate: Buy.com - Kingston 128GB SSDNow V Series SATA II 2.5" Solid State Drive

Slickdeals forum where I found it: Kingston 128GB SSDNow V Series SATA II 2.5" Solid State Drive - SNV425-S2/128GB $135 AR FS - Slickdeals.net

 

Wow, nice find. Thanks!

Edit: It has a MIR... I hate those.

 

HUH? What is "MIR?"

KJ

 

Mail in Rebate

 

slaps hand on forehead! Thanks Bobmitch

KJ

 

The new (and supposedly pretty awesome) Intel 320 series order pages is now up in Amazon.com

Intel 320 series 120GB / Amazon.com: Intel 320 Series 120 GB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid-State Drive - Retail Box SSDSA2CW120G3B5: Electronics
Intel 320 series 160GB / Amazon.com: Intel 320 Series 160 GB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid-State Drive - Retail Box SSDSA2CW160G3B5: Electronics
Intel 320 series 300GB / Amazon.com: Intel 320 Series 300 GB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid-State Drive - Retail Box SSDSA2CW300G3B5: Electronics
Intel 320 series 600GB / Amazon.com: Intel 320 Series 600 GB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid-State Drive - Retail Box SSDSA2CW600G3B5: Electronics

Very good prices too..

 

Supposedly sometime this year...SSD prices are supposed to drop to $1 per gb. When they do...I want that 600 GB one. Does away with the need for any other drive in the machine

 

We can only dream....

KJ

 

Yeah considering it is currently at about $2/GB, and has been around this ball park for quite a while, unless Moore's law seriously starts to kick some major SSD a$$, it's not gonna happen.

 

Thanks excalibur / awdotson! I was hoping to get an extra hour I guess is a little zealous!

I will wait till next upgrade... I am quite disappointed my configuration lasts 2 hours, while an MBP of the same configuration offers double this!!!