Help / Advices on SSD.

[1337]

Hello again, sorry for all the questions. So, recently, I am planning on getting a new PC but has a limited budget. I want to be able to at least game on D3 and other modern games with at least the decent settings so, here are the parts;

Mainboard & Processor: MSI Z77A-G43 (i5-3570K)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 1600.9 (4GB x 2)
Graphics Card: MSI N560GTX TI Twin Frozr II OC (1GB)
HDD: Western Digital Black (1TB) [Just the cheap end one, not the 10,000 RPM.]
SSD: Intel 2.5” 330 (60GB)
PSU: Seasonic S12ii (620W)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 370 (USB 3.0)
MISC.: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

I would like to ask, is there any tips and tricks when installing the OS and since I am only getting a small volume SSD, I will have to install stuffs on the WD HDD, is there any 'problems' I will face when installing to a not default location?

Rather new to these, please help, thanks .

 

[pcunite]

I have an 80GB SSD ... I install everything to it ... the trick is to turn off the page file and the hibernation file. That will free up about 16GB. I've only used 25GB of space ...

 

[1337]

I have an 80GB SSD ... I install everything to it ... the trick is to turn off the page file and the hibernation file. That will free up about 16GB. I've only used 25GB of space ...

I think I will be installing quite a handful of applications that would be quite big so I think I would rather play save to install applications and fetch data from other HDD. But still, thank you for the tips on the disabling of page file and hibernation file.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I would like to ask, is there any tips and tricks when installing the OS and since I am only getting a small volume SSD, I will have to install stuffs on the WD HDD, is there any 'problems' I will face when installing to a not default location?

Reduce the space allotted to System Restore.

Eliminate hibernation if you don't use it. That saves space equal to the amount of RAM--8 gb in your case.

Put the page file on the HDD.

Use proper maintenance to keep the SSD free of unnecessary clutter.

Unless you have an unusual situation, you should be able to get all applications on the SSD.

 

[whs]

I run several desktops with 60GB SSDs and never had a space problem (although I have a LOT of programs installed - no games though).

I put all my user files on the HDD, reduce the pagefile to 2GB and get rid of the hiberfile. Other than that there is nothing else required.

If you have large games, you might want to direct them to the HDD also. Only games that make a frequent acces to the disk may be better on the SSD.

 

[1337]

Thank you everyone for the helpful feedback.

I will take note of the hibernation file and the page file allocation. But by proper maintenance, does it means that I have to do frequent CCleaner and Disk Fragment that kind of thing? The last I did it to this current computer of mine, it resulted in a BSOD and keep doing that chkdisk kind of thing. Is there any special software to do this or is the Windows default Disk Fragment good enough for the proper job? Sorry and thank you.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Thank you everyone for the helpful feedback.

I will take note of the hibernation file and the page file allocation. But by proper maintenance, does it means that I have to do frequent CCleaner and Disk Fragment that kind of thing? The last I did it to this current computer of mine, it resulted in a BSOD and keep doing that chkdisk kind of thing. Is there any special software to do this or is the Windows default Disk Fragment good enough for the proper job? Sorry and thank you.

Windows Disk Defrag is fine. Don't defrag the SSD. Use the default schedule of once per week on your other drives.

You can use Windows Disk Cleanup or CCleaner to remove unnecessary files from your system. Once a month or once a quarter is fine. Many people don't use either. Nearly everyone here would tell you to NOT clean the registry.

Proper maintenance also means not installing unneeded programs and proper uninstallation when you decide to get rid of a program.

You don't need any special software. CCleaner is optional. Some people use Revo Uninstaller to remove applications, but that is optional also.

 

[A Guy]

Intel also has a Toolbox program you might find useful

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18455

A Guy

 

[whs]

The one file that has a tendency to grow all the time is winsxs. That comes from installing and uninstalling programs all the time. winsxs (or the underlying files) keep the .dlls that each program brings with it and when you uninstall that program those .dlls remain. No uninstaller - even not Revo - can remove those. The only way to get rid of them is to make a fresh installation of the OS.

So the lesson is to refrain from installing programs that are not really needed. A 'normal' winsxs file is around 5GB. That covers the basic .dlls and those needed for an average installed set of programs. But winsxs can easily grow to 15GB if programs are often installed (even if they are being uninstalled later). That is no problem on a 500GB or 1TB HDD, but on a small 60GB SSD it can get tight.

 

[pparks1]

Going from what WHS said, install ONLY what you absolutely must have on the host machine. Test and play with all other software in a virtual machine.

 

[1337]

Thank you everyone for all the help I need.

I'll do some reading up again for the installations of SSD but otherwise I think I am ready to go get those parts. Once again, thank you.

 

[djfourmoney]

I run several desktops with 60GB SSDs and never had a space problem (although I have a LOT of programs installed - no games though).

I put all my user files on the HDD, reduce the pagefile to 2GB and get rid of the hiberfile. Other than that there is nothing else required.

If you have large games, you might want to direct them to the HDD also. Only games that make a frequent acces to the disk may be better on the SSD.

I have a 60GB, the only problem I see with programs and such installed is dual booting. After format my drive (OCZ) comes out to 55GB. After imaging the OS via Windows Home Server 2011, I had 12GB left (now 15GB). I had shrunk down my original HD image down to 45GB so it would install on the SSD.

On a new install, it would be roughly 40GB free since this is W7 32-bit (16GB before updates/SP1). Anyway if I wanted to dual boot with say Windows 8, I don't have enough free space and no idea where to pare it down anymore.

I am trying to save for other things but I am seriously considering adding a second OCZ Agility 3 in RAID 0 to double the capacity. Data lost concerns are zero = WHS 2011

 

[djfourmoney]

Thank you everyone for all the help I need.

I'll do some reading up again for the installations of SSD but otherwise I think I am ready to go get those parts. Once again, thank you.

Its easy if its W7-64 bit, you can install from the Windows DVD inside the UEFI, there's a tutorial on the web site. Doing it with a flash drive (windows installs faster from a flash drive), read that tutorial if you're considering that.

It can get a bunch more complicated from that point with custom iso's that will allow for unattended installs and the like but installing into an ssd is no different than on a regular drive, Windows will detect its an ssd and turn off page file and other features that may shorten the life of an ssd.

 

[1337]

Thank you everyone for the help, I have purchased the parts and everything is working. SSD is running fine and followed all of the instructions given by members. Thanks.

 

[DeaconFrost]

the trick is to turn off the page file

I've asked before, so I'll try again. Please stop telling people to turn off their pagefile. Horrible idea. I'm imploring you to stop spreading such bad advice.

 

[whs]

If you want to save space on the SSD, do 3 things:

1. set the pagefile to 2GB
2. get rid of the hiberfile. The command is powercfg -h off
3. get rid of the SP1 backups in winsxs. The command is DISM /online /Cleanup-Image /SpSuperseded

On a system with 8GB of RAM, this will save you nearly 20GBs.

 

[DeaconFrost]

3. get rid of the SP1 backups in winsxs. The command is DISM /online /Cleanup-Image /SpSuperseded

Does that include systems that were installed using an SP1-incorporated disc, or only systems that were eventually upgraded to SP1?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

3. get rid of the SP1 backups in winsxs. The command is DISM /online /Cleanup-Image /SpSuperseded

Does that include systems that were installed using an SP1-incorporated disc, or only systems that were eventually upgraded to SP1?

I upgraded to SP1 manually.

I ran that command yesterday out of curiosity and the response was that no such files were found.

But---I may have manually deleted those files previously by some other means----I can't recall.

 

[pparks1]

You can also delete those SP1 backup files via right clicking on your Drive in explorer, Disk Cleanup, and checking "Service Pack Backup Files".

While I don't disable my pagefile on my system, I do move it over to my spinner drive. I'd rather have 8GB+ of space available on my SSD for running games or applications, rather than my pagefile which is rarely hit.

 

[whs]

3. get rid of the SP1 backups in winsxs. The command is DISM /online /Cleanup-Image /SpSuperseded

Does that include systems that were installed using an SP1-incorporated disc, or only systems that were eventually upgraded to SP1?

Deacon, I really don't know. I used the command only on a system where SP1 was installed via the update process. And that yielded an extra appr. 4GB of free space.