SSD upgrade for a laptop

whs · 13 Apr 2013

Musicandgta said:

Alright thanks for all the info, I might just get a 256gb SSD and use one of my current 750gb spinners. Since I'm only 13 and I don't have all that money at the moment :)

You must have a lot of big games in the program library to need a 256GB SSD. On my desktops I have only 60GB SSDs and they work very well since 2008 - but I have no games, only 'normal' programs. And all my user data is on the HDDs.

Musicandgta · 13 Apr 2013

whs said:

Musicandgta said:

Alright thanks for all the info, I might just get a 256gb SSD and use one of my current 750gb spinners. Since I'm only 13 and I don't have all that money at the moment :)

You must have a lot of big games in the program library to need a 256GB SSD. On my desktops I have only 60GB SSDs and they work very well since 2008 - but I have no games, only 'normal' programs. And all my user data is on the HDDs.

Ok I will just get a 60gb SSD then, save some dosh to go towards a new graphics card for my desktop :)

whs · 13 Apr 2013

Musicandgta said:

whs said:

Musicandgta said:

Alright thanks for all the info, I might just get a 256gb SSD and use one of my current 750gb spinners. Since I'm only 13 and I don't have all that money at the moment :)

You must have a lot of big games in the program library to need a 256GB SSD. On my desktops I have only 60GB SSDs and they work very well since 2008 - but I have no games, only 'normal' programs. And all my user data is on the HDDs.

Ok I will just get a 60gb SSD then, save some dosh to go towards a new graphics card for my desktop :)

What you should then do is to eliminate the hiberfile (the command is powercfg -h off) and reduce the pagefile to 1GB. That will save you a bundle of space on the SSD - e.g. 31GB if you have 16GB of RAM and 15GB with 8GB of RAM. I always do that and never had a problem.

Lady Fitzgerald · 13 Apr 2013

Musicandgta said:

whs said:

Musicandgta said:

Alright thanks for all the info, I might just get a 256gb SSD and use one of my current 750gb spinners. Since I'm only 13 and I don't have all that money at the moment :)

You must have a lot of big games in the program library to need a 256GB SSD. On my desktops I have only 60GB SSDs and they work very well since 2008 - but I have no games, only 'normal' programs. And all my user data is on the HDDs.

Ok I will just get a 60gb SSD then, save some dosh to go towards a new graphics card for my desktop :)

You may find a 60-64GB SSD a bit of a tight fit for a boot drive. Even after shrinking the paging file to 800MB, my C:/ drive has 54GB occupied (I did have to leave the hyberfil.sys intact for my UPS). It's not that much more for a 128GB SSD.

kbrady1979 · 13 Apr 2013

The sweet spot for an SSD now is 128/256GB. Bang for the buck........128GB.

whs · 13 Apr 2013

I agree, the 128GB size is now ideal and they got so cheap that this size can be recommended.

When I bought my first Vertex in 2008, the 60GB model was $260. Since then I have the habit of using the 60GB size and I get very well along with that. But for someone who wants a bit more space, 128GB is good.

Lady Fitzgerald · 13 Apr 2013

Lady Fitzgerald said:

I thought about getting a 512GB SSD to replace the 500GB spinner in my notebook but it just galled me to spend 50% more for it than I spent on a notebook I don't use all that often.

Shortly after I posted this, something started tickling my brain. It finally hit me a while ago: hybrid drives such as this one. Anyone have any experience with one?

whs · 13 Apr 2013

Lady Fitzgerald said:

I thought about getting a 512GB SSD to replace the 500GB spinner in my notebook but it just galled me to spend 50% more for it than I spent on a notebook I don't use all that often.

Shortly after I posted this, something started tickling my brain. It finally hit me a while ago: hybrid drives such as this one. Anyone have any experience with one?

I have no personal experience, but they do not have a very good reputation. Yes they are a bit faster than normall HDDs, but they are also relatively expensive. The SSD is only used as a cache.

Lady Fitzgerald · 13 Apr 2013

whs said:

Lady Fitzgerald said:

I thought about getting a 512GB SSD to replace the 500GB spinner in my notebook but it just galled me to spend 50% more for it than I spent on a notebook I don't use all that often.

Shortly after I posted this, something started tickling my brain. It finally hit me a while ago: hybrid drives such as this one. Anyone have any experience with one?

I have no personal experience, but they do not have a very good reputation. Yes they are a bit faster than normall HDDs, but they are also relatively expensive. The SSD is only used as a cache.

I'm aware they only use the SSD for a cache which will only help a bit with boot, program loading, and file opening times. Since I mostly use the notebook for internet surfing, temporarily storing photos taken on a trip, storing e-books in case my reader runs out of unread books while on a trip (which is rare), and listening to music in a motel room, the cache wouldn't have to store much but any speed increase during boot would be welcome. Also, $100 beats $500 plus.

You said hybrids don't have a very good reputation. Can you elaborate any? Do they tend to die prematurely? Do they not work well?

whs · 13 Apr 2013

You said hybrids don't have a very good reputation. Can you elaborate any? Do they tend to die prematurely? Do they not work well?

No, that was not the problem. The complaint was mainly about the little increase of performance relative to the price increase over a comparable HDD. I don't have those links any more, but if memory serves me well, it was mainly thumbs down.