Off Topic New Solid State hard drive

[Shodrewken]

I've been waiting forever to find a reasonable deal on a SSD and I finally got one from a Newegg promotional e-mail and I jumped on it. Man what a difference compared to my traditional hard drive! Where as my my old disk platter hd took a couple minutes to load Windows, my anti-virus software, and a few other start up programs, the new Samsung ssd starts Windows, loads everything, and is ready to go under 10 seconds now. And transferring my data from my old drive was a breeze. The software supplied with the ssd made it super simple get what I needed off my old hd.

If you have the funds to allow, I highly recommend getting a ssd. If you do a lot video editing, file transferring, or even gaming, aside from adding a new graphics card or processor, its one of the largest leaps in performance I think you'll see in your computer.

Edited April 24, 2014 by cviper

[Daddy Dee]

very cool. would love to have one of those fast rascals!

[tigerwoodKhorns]

With the end of XP, I just bought 2 computers for my office and I also bought 2 of the Samsung SSD's on Newegg. The Samsung 840 evos (I did soem research and the Samsung seem to be the ones to go with). Have not installed yet.

I bought 2 Dell Precisions workstations. A T5400 and a T7400. These are older Vista machines designed for CAD and videoediting, etc. They have 1000 watt power supplies, metal cases, pretty heavy duty machines. Each has 2 (count 'em, TWO) quad core Intel Xenon processors at (one at 3.0 GHz and the other machine at 3.16 GHz - 8 cores total in each machine) and I had them loaded with 16 GB ram for my wife and 32 GB ram for me, total overkill for office work.

I am going to use the Samsung HD's in these machines and use Linux Mint (a pretty light install) for my business. With the combo of 8 cores, huge RAM, fast SSD and a really light OS, they should be very fast. Your post about the Samsung HD is encouraging. I will probably install this weekend and get the OS installed.

These Dell Precisions are quite a bargain right now if anyone is looking to upgrade.

[Mallette]

I have been all SSD boot drives at home and in my department at work now for 4 years, as that was about point at which the cost of an SSD became the cheapest thing one could do to speed up a PC. Most PCs performance will double just by doing a clean install of OS onto an SSD.

At work, I've retired my workstation usually at 3 years. I am pushing 6 on my present one as it boots in about 15 seconds and still handles everything I throw at it.

Personally, I think it nuts to have a mechanical HD as a system drive and major false economy.

Dave

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Dave,

Are there any cheap (like $50 or less) SSD's that will be good candidates for older laptops that have SATA I and SATA II interfaces? The Samsung's seem like overkill for these.

We just use them to get on the internet. The cheaper SSD's that I have seen seem to have pretty slow IOPS speeds.

A 64GB HD is plenty (even 32 GB is the price is right). Linux Mint only takes up about 7 GB.

[Shodrewken]

Yeah its pretty amazing. I've very pleased with this particular Samsung ssd which is the 840 evo. The software to transfer stuff from my old drive was very helpful. I won't be getting the same capacity, but the same line of Samsung ssd for my laptop in the near future.

[mustang guy]

I'm gutting my old office Alienware. Here is the parts list I have chosen so far, but I may change some stuff before I click buy. Note the 500 gig SSD.

• ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $199.99
• PowerColor PCS+ AXR9 290X 4GBD5-PPDHE Radeon R9 290X 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video ... $569.99
• SILVERSTONE Strider Gold S Series ST75F-GS 750W ATX 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply $129.99
• Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K $309.99
• SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE500BW 2.5" 500GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $264.99
• Team Xtreem 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2666 (PC3 21300) Desktop Memory Model TXD316G2666HC11CDC01 $162.99
• Tt eSPORTS POSEIDON Z Illuminated KB-PIZ-KLBLUS-01 Black USB Wired Gaming Mechanical Keyboard – Blue Switch Edition $79.99
• Pioneer Black Blu-ray Burner SATA BDR-2209 $85.99
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM $99.99

[Schu]

Samsung ATIV 9 plus...

256 SSD and 13" 3200 x 1800 resolution wrapped up in a transportable aluminum case.

[wvu80]

I recently upgrade to SSD for the Win 7 OS and use my Samsung 1terabyle as a data drive.

Get the Samsung EVO 840, as opposed to the 840 Pro. It is optimized for home use, it flies, it's reliable, and it is only a few dollars more than the cheap ones.

I was waiting for the 250 GB's to drop under $150. My EVO 250 drive was $139, through the Amazonian website. I use mine in with a SATA II and it still is a HUGE increase in speed over the old HDD's. My old Win 7 booted in 2 minutes plus , the new one in less than a minute from hitting the ON button and starting to work with Firefox fired up.

You can now get the 128 SSD's for about $80, but know that Win 7 + Firefox uses about 30 GB, fresh install. My Samsung EVO 250 GB has a "turbo mode" which uses 10% of the capacity as a RAM disk (sorta). After formatting and giving up the disk space the EVO wants, I had 209 GB available, so BIGGER is BETTER, get as much capacity as your wallet will allow you. If you get the 128 GB models, don't expect to put a lot of apps on it.

DO check the Youtube videos on how to optimize and set up the drive. Samsung's own Magician software will also optimize the drive for you. Highly recommended.

[wvu80]

I'm gutting my old office Alienware. Here is the parts list I have chosen so far, but I may change some stuff before I click buy. Note the 500 gig SSD.

• ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $199.99
• PowerColor PCS+ AXR9 290X 4GBD5-PPDHE Radeon R9 290X 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video ... $569.99
• SILVERSTONE Strider Gold S Series ST75F-GS 750W ATX 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply $129.99
• Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K $309.99
• SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE500BW 2.5" 500GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $264.99
• Team Xtreem 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2666 (PC3 21300) Desktop Memory Model TXD316G2666HC11CDC01 $162.99
• Tt eSPORTS POSEIDON Z Illuminated KB-PIZ-KLBLUS-01 Black USB Wired Gaming Mechanical Keyboard – Blue Switch Edition $79.99
• Pioneer Black Blu-ray Burner SATA BDR-2209 $85.99
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM $99.99

Nice choice of components. That thing oughta scream!

I take it you are going with just the single 500 GB SSD? A lot of people are running two SSD's in a RAID 1 configuration. The Samsung EVO's are NOT recommended for RAID. Use the 840 Pro if you think you might add a second drive for RAID. Personally, I think the single 500 is enough.

Also, you are buying a KB with lighted keys? I don't know about your model in particular, but the criticism of those lit keys is sometimes a key or two will burn out, and it drives the owner crazy.

I've used both wired and wireless mice and KB's. I've gravitated back to the wired versions (which are usually preferred by the serious gamers) because I get tired of replacing batteries. I use a wired gaming mouse leftover from my son's old gaming computer, Cooler Master CM Storm. I like it. but I think you get used to whatever you have.

You didn't mention your case, but there are a lot of brand name and generic cases which look pretty nice. I presume you'll get a mid-tower with lots of large fans. I've got a big tower Cooler Master, not sure what model, and it's quiet, but overkill for my casual use. I am still air cooled, but I presume you will go water cooled? I don't have any recommendations, but there are a lot of them out there.

Edited April 25, 2014 by wvu80

[toolz]

Good information here. I have been considering a new system. Now to do the homework.

[wvu80]

Mr. Toolz, what is your budget? Will you buy or build a system?

The gamers by far are the most demanding for system performance, often requiring multiple screens, using expensive video cards hooked together, and overclocking everything from CPU to video card(s) to system RAM.

The i5 systems are the "sweet spot" for average computer users, with 8 MB RAM, decent separate video card (although the integrated video in some setups actually run pretty well and can save you some $$$). I am sold on SSD due to the high performance, but they really are very expensive compared to standard HDD's. Seagate now has a hybrid SSD/HDD, and many are doing what I am, which is SSD for the operating system and programs, and a larger HDD for data.

And if you haven't been using multiple monitors, you don't know what you're missing. My wife likes our dual 23 inchers because she can peruse Facebook full screen on one, and our other monitor uses the Win 7 Slideshow background option to change pictures of the kids every hour. If you get something with a tuner, you can use the computer for one screen and watch TV on the other, and still change to dual monitors when needed.

[mustang guy]

I'm gutting my old office Alienware. Here is the parts list I have chosen so far, but I may change some stuff before I click buy. Note the 500 gig SSD.

• ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $199.99
• PowerColor PCS+ AXR9 290X 4GBD5-PPDHE Radeon R9 290X 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video ... $569.99
• SILVERSTONE Strider Gold S Series ST75F-GS 750W ATX 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply $129.99
• Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K $309.99
• SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE500BW 2.5" 500GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $264.99
• Team Xtreem 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2666 (PC3 21300) Desktop Memory Model TXD316G2666HC11CDC01 $162.99
• Tt eSPORTS POSEIDON Z Illuminated KB-PIZ-KLBLUS-01 Black USB Wired Gaming Mechanical Keyboard – Blue Switch Edition $79.99
• Pioneer Black Blu-ray Burner SATA BDR-2209 $85.99
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM $99.99

Nice choice of components. That thing oughta scream!

I take it you are going with just the single 500 GB SSD? A lot of people are running two SSD's in a RAID 1 configuration. The Samsung EVO's are NOT recommended for RAID. Use the 840 Pro if you think you might add a second drive for RAID. Personally, I think the single 500 is enough.

Also, you are buying a KB with lighted keys? I don't know about your model in particular, but the criticism of those lit keys is sometimes a key or two will burn out, and it drives the owner crazy.

I've used both wired and wireless mice and KB's. I've gravitated back to the wired versions (which are usually preferred by the serious gamers) because I get tired of replacing batteries. I use a wired gaming mouse leftover from my son's old gaming computer, Cooler Master CM Storm. I like it. but I think you get used to whatever you have.

You didn't mention your case, but there are a lot of brand name and generic cases which look pretty nice. I presume you'll get a mid-tower with lots of large fans. I've got a big tower Cooler Master, not sure what model, and it's quiet, but overkill for my casual use. I am still air cooled, but I presume you will go water cooled? I don't have any recommendations, but there are a lot of them out there.

I already have a RAID 0 from the existing Alienware, so I got that covered. I also have a nice little external 1TB.

Good to know about the LED's going out. I think there is an option for lights off on most of these units, and the keyboard has a 5 year warranty. Mostly I want a mechanical keyboard. Call me old fashioned. I hate touch screens and notbook keyboards. With my desktop, I want a tactile feel. I have bought dozens of the old school techtronics, but those just don't cut the mustard any more. I always use wireless mice. The pull of the cord drives me nutz. My gaming kids can use the wired mice.

The case I am using is a beautiful custom color Alienware tower ATX. I have had many cases including top of the line Lien Lee all aluminum, and this case is the coolest one ever. You could hide a body in it.

I have some older cases stored that I could put the guts from the existing Alienware in, but frankly I don't feel like doing all that.

Dual monitors is the bomb, but have you tried a TV as one of the monitors?

Edited April 25, 2014 by mustang guy

[wuzzzer]

I've heard about the SSDs but never looked into them. What is different about them and a standard HDD?

[Rich_Guy]

What is different about them and a standard HDD?

No moving parts, No spin up time to reach an RPM, No moving arm to locate information and Much faster, especially startup time.

I am using Samsung 830 Series ssd's on both my desk and my HTPC as system drives and love them.

The ssd drives use to be very expensive but prices have been coming down a lot.

You can use a smaller (128 or 256 GB) ssd drive to install your operating system on then use a standard drive(s) for storage

[willland]

I've been waiting forever to find a reasonable deal on a SSD and I finally got one from a Newegg promotional e-mail and I jumped on it.

Cviper,

Was that for a desktop PC or a laptop? I think my buddy might have jumped on that same deal jumped on the same deal.

I even considered it for my new Dell XPS 8700(i7-4770,8GB RAM,1TB storage,NVIDIA GeForce GT 635 1GB graphics card) but will wait for another deal. This thing is already fast with 8GB RAM and 1TB hard drive but will expand the memory to 16GB and then at the same time get the SSD. I did not think I would like Windows 8.1 but the more I get used to it, the more I like. I really was not in the market for a new computer and was just going to uninstall XP and replace it with 7 and add some memory and a larger hard drive. That would have cost me in the area of $200 + to do all that with no guarantees that my computers processor would handle Windows 7. My buddy pointed me to a screaming deal from Dell with a couple of promo coupons and his corporate discount it came to $448.00 shipped. For a PC that msrp's for $899.00 and consistently sells for $725.00 to $800.00, I just could not pass it up.

Did I mention that I got my new ASUS VH23H 23" HDMI monitor($199.00 msrp) for $159.00 - $64.00 - $20.00 = $75.00 shipped?

+

=

$523.00 shipped

Bill

Edited April 28, 2014 by willland

[Rich_Guy]

BTW for an ssd drive to really reach it's full potential it needs to be set to AHCI mode in bios and this is something that needs to be done before the operating system is installed or you will have nothing but crash problems (the blue screen of death).

So if you want to use an ssd you should plan on reinstalling your operating system if it's not a new build.

[Gilbert]

If you have the funds to allow, I highly recommend getting a ssd. If you do a lot video editing, file transferring, or even gaming, aside from adding a new graphics card or processor, its one of the largest leaps in performance I think you'll see in your computer.

Absolutely agree. purchased 3 intel 520 SSD's last year for a new pc build, what a difference. AutoCAD boots in 3 seconds, MS office applications in the blink of an eye. An absolute must upgrade or item to include on everybody's next PC.

After seeing the improvement, I had to upgrade my laptop too, so I ditched the old toshiba tecra S3 for a Lenovo W3 with dual SSD's. Never looking back again, the SSD's are smaller, lighter, use less energy and the speed is out of this world. Major thumbs up to the SSD's, their prices are finally within a reasonable for Joe anybody.

[McMiRA]

Second biggest performance improvement I ever did for windows was put it on an ssd. The first was putting that ssd in a Mac and running it as a virtual machine. Regardless of the hosting os I bought a crucial m4 when it was the fastest ssd drive on the market( been a few years) and the boot time went from good the great. Then I feed it 16g of ram and now it's (osx) up and running before I can hit the power button and get my rear end in the chair.

[JL Sargent]

Just a note about Samsung SSD drives. The Samsung Pro SSD is made with MLC NAND. The EVO SSD version of the drive uses TLC NAND. There is just no getting around that difference. Why does this matter you might ask? Because MLC rated life is double that of TLC, also faster. It does cost more to make and it why PRO drives are more expensive.