Can you create a bunch of partitions on an SSD, say like when you're freshly formatting a drive the way you can a regular HD? Because I like the idea of having a quieter drive, and faster too for my OS partition, but think it'd be purpose defeating if I had to put a regular HD in there anyway for other things and then have it running and making noise anyway... and having 2 instead of 1. I don't keep much data on my box anyway, so a small sized SSD (like 250 GB) would be plenty sufficient for everything I need. That's the size my HD is right now in fact, and half of it is free space. But I like to make a lot of different partitions for every different thing I do. Isolation is a big part of my security approach. Mine goes all the way up to the letter "W" right now. Also would an SSD present any problems when it comes to virtualization, and/or a program like Shadow Defender? And does it work using a regular SATA port/cable, or something else? Thanks a bunch in advance. I've been thinking about making the switch for awhile now but haven't really looked into the details.
There will be no change in functionality, you can pretty much do anything you'd do on a HDD, because everything you mentioned happens on the file system driver level.
@luciddream If you will be using Windows XP on SSD, you should be careful to align partitions correctly, never defrag that drive... AFAIK Windows Xp also doesn't support TRIM. You should probably check out what needs to be done to run Windows XP + SSD with no problems.
Do you have any links/documentation you can point me to to reinforce this notion to me? Because I don't see anything anywhere saying this is the case other than your word. And thanks to everyone for the info.
Thanks Brian K (and everyone). My box is very responsive & quiet as is, with everything trimmed down the way it is, but I'm always looking to improve. And I think adding an SSD could help me in that regard. Think I'll just go for like a 240-256 GB one. Any advice on what brands are the most durable/quiet? Preferably both, but I'd sacrifice some noise for more durability. I've always used Western Digital for HD's but realize it may be different for SSD's.
I recommend either Crucial M500 or Samsung 850 Pro. The Samsung is faster, but much more expensive. Both are good brands. SSDs have no moving parts, and make no noise.
I have good experience with Samsung's brand name. And you've given me such good advice in the past that every fiber of my being tells me to listen to your input. I think I'll go with the 850 Pro too. I'm only going to be using 1 of them. Do you think that this dock/converter here would be ideal for me? My drive bays are horizontal: http://www.amazon.com/Icy-Dock-EZCo...DNE/ref=cm_cr_dp_asin_lnk/181-1348207-6045935 Another one I saw looked like it was more ideal for using 2 SSD's. And reviews sounded like it was therefore harder to get the SATA cables & power cords to connect. And this is the cable I was looking into getting?: http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-18-...XU52/ref=pd_bxgy_pc_img_y/181-1348207-6045935 And this is the drive you were talking about, right? I'm going with the 256 GB one: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-256GB...418037223&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung 850 pro ssd Any feedback is welcome...
I recommend something like this: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Drive-Trayless-Mobile-Backplane/dp/B001CYZC38/ref=pd_cp_e_1 That way, you can easily switch SSDs. It's multiple booting without the bootloader craziness I'd say get a few. You never know when you'll want to add drives Yes, that's it.
luciddream, A 256 GB SSD is quite large enough. I have 10 OS on mine and I've only used a third of the data space.
BTW, I've asked this before but I still don't understand it. Lets say that the SSD with Windows installed dies, then how would you still be able to boot the PC to retrieve data from the HDD? Is the only way to install a new SSD? Of course you still need to install Windows via DVD. I'm asking because I backup all important data from SSD to HDD. I'm just realizing how silly this question sounds.
Rasheed187, Typically you would install another SSD and restore your OS image or install an OS. But that's not what you are asking. If you didn't have a new replacement SSD you could boot a WinPE disk and copy files from the data HD to a USB flash drive or USB HD. You don't need a functioning OS for a WinPE disk to work.
Yes, thanks for clarifying my own question LOL, but I totally forgot about WinPE or Linux LiveCD solutions. So you don't need an OS for this stuff, pretty cool. Another question: let's say that you replace the HDD with another SSD, will Windows automatically see the disk and make the partition?
OK I see, I'm planning to remove the 1TB HDD for a 256GB SSD. Storage size is not important to me, it took me 7 years to fill a 250GB HDD. So why not live my fantasy by going "SSD only" (128GB+256GB), I don't ever want to hear a spinning HDD again.
SSD's are the way to go. Like others have said, they are faster, quieter, use less energy no mechanics rotating, good for laptops, extends battery life. More durable. When I was in college, i had all of my Photoshop projects on a external hd, it fell off a computer tower, only 18" to a carpeted floor, ruined the hd, lost everything...:/. That's when I made the switch to ssd.
hey guys, out of these five SSD's, which one do you recommend? will be used as os partition only. tia http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-120GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE120BW/dp/B00E3W15P0/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1419529462&sr=1-2&keywords=samsung 840 evo 120 gb http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Force-2-5-Inch-Internal-CSSD-F120GBLS/dp/B00EENTYFQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1419529521&sr=1-1&keywords=corsair force ls120 gb http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-HyperX-2-5-Inch-SH103S3-120G/dp/B007R67FNA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1419529575&sr=1-1&keywords=kingston hyperx 3k 120 gb http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Digital-Adapter-SHFS37A-120G/dp/B00KW3MTBS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1419529607&sr=1-1&keywords=kingston hyperx fury 120 gb http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Force-Solid-2-5-Inch-CSSD-F128GBLX/dp/B00KGZNGHS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1419529652&sr=1-1&keywords=corsair force lx 128 gb
I went ahead and bought 2 Samsung Pro 850's per Mirimir's recommendation. These things are so quiet you don't know they're there. And got the drive bay he pointed me too as well. So ideal... thanks a lot for the feedback in here. Though I still wish they would add the feature to them to format the drives after a certain number of unsuccessful password attempts, like is the case on my DataTraveler 4000. I'll continue to use that with my MacBook for certain, more sensitive applications. But it's a bit slow. If they could just add that feature to those SSD's they'd be awesome.
I will soon also buy a second SSD, I'm still reading, and I'm not sure if I should go for a 256GB or 500GB drive. I also love the fact that they're so quite and all apps start-up almost instantly. http://www.ssdcenter.nl/category/208062/ssd.html BTW, do you guys agree with the tips in these articles? http://www.auslogics.com/en/articles/ssd-tweaks-to-increase-ssd-performance/ http://www.techradar.com/news/compu...optimise-your-drive-s-performance-943984#null
At this point, I don't bother with any tweaking with a SSD. I'll do things like removing the hibernate file and setting the page file to a smaller consistent size - to free up disk space, not to reduce write cycles or affect performance. With the abundant sizes of today's SSDs, you can just use less of the drive if you're really concerned about write cycles.
