Thinking of getting an SSD. A little advice needed.

[dtytfyiutiufg]

Hey,

I am thinking of upgrading the system hard drive in my laptop (a 2009 Dell Studio 17 (specifically a model 1737) with a 2.53Ghz Core 2 Duo T9400) from a 7200 RPM HDD to a 120-160 GB SSD and just wondered if doing so would be worthwhile in this system or not?

I don't really keep up with computer hardware these days so don't know if I will see a big improvement on this system or not. The SATA controller is SATA2 so which would be the best SSD to get if it will make a big improvement?

Just FYI this laptop has two HDD bays internally so I would replace disk 0 with the SSD and keep disk 1 as it is now (a 7200RPM HDD).

Thanks in advance for you input!

[stevember]

Worthwhile? Yes, yes and hell yes.

[AimLXJ]

You'll definitely see a huge improvement even on SATA2, but I don't recommend on getting OCZ's older model of SSDs (I believe the current generation is fine) or any SSD that uses the old SandForce Controllers < SF-2xxx: http://www.neowin.ne...rtex-2-is-dead/

[Crisp]

I was running a slow POS Dell E6400, then I put an SSD in it.

Now I'm running a fast POS Dell E6400!

[Astra.Xtreme]

Yep, it will make a huge difference as your boot drive.

I'd recommend the OCZ Vertex 4, Samsung 830 or 840, or the Corsair M4. Those are all rock-solid and I'd say go with whichever one you can find the cheapest.

[dtytfyiutiufg]

Thanks all. Sounds like I will upgrade then :D

Which models should I look at getting? I am in the UK if that makes any difference.

[ramzorz]

Don't waste your money on buying say a 500MBps or 600MBps SSD compared to a 300MBps one, because SATA II can't go faster than 300MBps, just a shopping tip. ;) (one of my recent mistakes)

And if you're planning on using the SSD as a boot drive (because you mentioned it has two drive bays), I recommend you get a 60GB SSD or more. I used a 30GB for my desktop, and it was not fun at all.

[AimLXJ]

Thanks all. Sounds like I will upgrade then :D

Which models should I look at getting? I am in the UK if that makes any difference.

Any is fine as long as they are not using SandForce controllers prior to SF-2xxx because they're littered with issues that will render the SSD useless

Wikipedia page with a list of SandForce controllers: http://en.wikipedia..../SandForce#SSDs

**EDIT**

In case someone replies with, "mine is still working", it will die with a given time because some issues takes a while to kick in

**EDIT2**

Once you get your SSD MAKE SURE, I REPEAT, MAKE SURE you update the firmware to the latest version to eliminate any SSD issues. Many issues on SF-2xxx have been correct via firmware update but not those prior to it. As for non-SandForce controllers, I have no experince with them :rofl:

[WAQT]

I will say got for it! But keep in mind how much space you actually need on the SSD, don't know for sure, but its definitely a good idea to keep a certain percentage of the SSD free. I made the mistake of buying a 120GB one and now I am always looking at the space I've used.

Me any my brother bought new laptops a few months ago, the only different between his and mine is that his has a 2GB nVidia GPU and mine has a 120GB SSD (with Intel HD) along with the i7 and 16GB RAM for both. His computer boots slower than me, programs open faster on mine, I had to use his laptop for a few hours and I gave up after 15 minutes, it was too slow. Its after you get the SSD you see what you've been missing. Go for it! And post your review here.

EDIT: Seems you will be keeping your older HDD as you have two slots for HDD, so you may not have to worry about space, like I do.

[devHead]

I have an Intel 80 GB drive from a couple years ago, and it runs great. I would get a bigger one though; but 120 GB should be more than big enough for your OS and Program Files, etc. Enjoy! You'll love booting into Windows in about 15 seconds or less!

[Shadrack]

It will be a very noticeable upgrade from a 7200 RPM drive.

I upgraded my mid-2009 MBP to an 80GB Intel SSD a little over a year ago and it felt like a whole new modern laptop. Boot up time is negligible and everything is so much snappier than before. I think that upgrading from a traditional hard drive to an SSD will probably yield the best performance increase and bang-for-your-buck than any other upgrade (if we are talking relatively modern computer system, and in your case we are).

[dtytfyiutiufg]

Thanks everyone :)

CPU wise this machine is still fine for what I use it for (it is running Windows 8, Visual Studio 2012 and Office 2013 really smooth) so I don't really want to buy a whole new laptop just yet however I have been thinking of getting an SSD for a while as I keep reading how it is "like a whole new computer" etc. so I figure if it is gonna give me a performance boost on drive i/o then why not :D

[Wakers]

Get an SSD but don't spend too long comparing performance. Anything you get will be a massive step up, just try to focus on reliability.

SSD speeds are a minefield at the moment. Most of the performance specs given by manufacturers relate only to a single specific benchmark test and don't reflect real world performance. That and they can slow down to half of their advertised speeds once they're over half full.

That being said, the difference between an SSD at advertised speeds and real world speeds is very negligable in terms of what you'll notice. We're talking half a second on loading screens and maybe a second or two at boot. General use of the computer will still feel incredibly snappy.