Gaming Thinking about getting an SSD as a boot drive

[DiscostewSM]

My desktop computer is taking quite a bit of time loading things up nowadays, and doing things like defragmenting and removing programs doesn't seem to be helping much. My original plan was to back up my current boot drive, wipe it, and do a clean install of Win7, but now, I'm thinking that if I want speed, perhaps I should go and invest in an SSD. The question I have is what should I get? Based on tests by Tom's Hardware, they mentioned that a Samsung 830 is rather good, both in speed and price. I've been eye'ing this little beauty right here (even though it is the laptop kit version, the SSD is the same as in the desktop kit, but that is more expensive at Amazon, plus I like to have that USB interface and I can buy my own bay converter), but what does everyone else think?

Is there a different brand that people prefer over Samsung?
Is 128GB too much for a boot drive?
Would it be a problem that my system supports only up to SATA II when this drive is SATA III? I may upgrade my CPU/MB/RAM at a later date, but not now.
Should I even worry about getting an SSD?


For those asking my specs....

MB: Gigabyte GA-G14M0ES2L
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad, Q6600 2.4Ghz (OC to 3.0Ghz)
RAM: 4GB DDR2 PC6400
GFX: EVGA Nvidia GTX 560 Ti SC
PSU: Cosair TX750 v2

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

I just recently did this to one of my Windows 7 boxes, it might help you.

If you have and old drive around doing nothing (well not tooo old but maybe 80GB's 7200 RPM) use that drive as the page/swap file.

I was amazed at how much of an improvement this made to loading and loading times of software in general.

http://mintywhite.com/vista/vmaintenance/performance-boost-move-page-file-to-another-physical-drive/

Note: I have a ton of old hard drives laying around so this was sort of a free upgrade for me, if you don't have old hard drives then ignore this post?

 

[Majorami]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_p_36_5?bbn=1292116011&sort=reviewrank_authority&qid=1327030739&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A!493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A193870011%2Cn%3A1292116011%2Cp_n_availability%3A1248800011%2Cp_72%3A1248879011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011&rnid=386442011&low-price=50&high-price=250&x=9&y=1#/ref=sr_st?bbn=1292116011&qid=1327030771&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A!493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A193870011%2Cn%3A1292116011%2Cp_n_availability%3A1248800011%2Cp_72%3A1248879011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_36%3A5000-25000&sort=reviewrank_authority

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008120%204802&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Order=RATING&PageSize=20

I reccommend taking eye on Amazon and/or Newegg customer review ratings as a decision making factor.

My personal opinion is you don't need a SSD for an acceptable boot time just as long as you keep all non-system files on a separate harddrive. My computer is 6 years old, and until just today, had 1GB of RAM. Its WOEFULLY inferior to yours, but still manage to boot Win7 Ultimate in 30 seoconds on a clean install.

Unless you're a gamer and need your games to load fast, SSD's are a waste of money. Using a traditional 7200 RPM HD, you can get anywhere from 9 to 20 cents a Gigabyte. However an SSD can be $1-$3 per Gigabyte, and all it can do is boot Windows 20 seconds faster than what my antique can already do. Why pay $2 a gigabyte just to save 20 seconds?

Of course it is your money. So if you're set on an SSD... theres a list in those links.

However, if all you care about is boot time, and not harddrive space, then I would go for: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

Its fast, its $99, its free 2-day shipping, and its got hundreds of reviews between Amazon and Newegg alike due to it's performance. 64GB for $100 is a steal in the SDD world. Course for the same money you can get a 1TB harddrive.

 

[DiscostewSM]

Thanks for the comments. Talking with a few of my online buddies as well, and they also agree that there really isn't a need for an SSD in my situation atm. May I'll just go with my original plan of a clean install, but might also go with the pagefile recommendation. Speaking of which...

PsionicRoshambo,

I currently have 2 HDDs in my system right now (both 512GB, originally were external drives that I took out of their enclosures because their controllers stopped working). One being used by the OS, programs, games and other junk. The other is mainly for holding just junk like videos, music, etc. I also have a small 100GB drive just sitting around. While I could add that 3rd drive to the system to be my pagefile drive (if it still works), would moving the pagefile to my current 2nd drive that has data on it already be a problem?

It would be nice to get some improvement without buying anything.

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

Thanks for the comments. Talking with a few of my online buddies as well, and they also agree that there really isn't a need for an SSD in my situation atm. May I'll just go with my original plan of a clean install, but might also go with the pagefile recommendation. Speaking of which...

PsionicRoshambo,

I currently have 2 HDDs in my system right now (both 512GB, originally were external drives that I took out of their enclosures because their controllers stopped working). One being used by the OS, programs, games and other junk. The other is mainly for holding just junk like videos, music, etc. I also have a small 100GB drive just sitting around. While I could add that 3rd drive to the system to be my pagefile drive (if it still works), would moving the pagefile to my current 2nd drive that has data on it already be a problem?

It would be nice to get some improvement without buying anything.

I use the drive I added to one of my machines as a network store for some stuff that I hardly ever access,

I believe the page file is controlled by the OS (at least I let 7 manage mine.) but I think as long as you leave it like 20GB's you should be fine.

I am not sure if there is data already on the drive about moving the page file to the outside of the hard drive? Would a defrag do that? To be safe I would set it up with the page file first then add any files after 7 has reserved its space.

 

[Originality]

Note on SSDs, they are not for everybody. The simple fact is that even though SSD prices are coming down and HDD prices have risen 300%, HDDs still have far higher capacities at far lower prices. The ones who want SSDs are those in need of greater performance, those who can afford to spend a fair bit on optional components, and enthusiast/extreme type gamers.

With that, I'll move onto the big 3 in SSDs, Samsung 830 (currently the best in terms of performance/value), OCZ Vertex 3 (they did the SandForce 2200 thing first, and according to most, best... Until Samsung came along), and Crucial M4 (much cheaper, and a recent firmware update increased performance by 70%). Don't consider the others unless there's a special offer.

If you only intend it as a boot drive, you only need 60GB. If you indend to use the SmartResponse (I think it was called) technology introduced in Z68 motherboards, you only need 40GB. If you intend to install games in it too, you need 90GB or more. Don't install Steam on the SSD - it will eat all your available space.

I could go on, but I think that's all the info you need on SSDs. For HDDs all I will say is if you buy a new one, don't get a SeaGate drive.