SSD preformance

[illway1]

I'm thinking about buying an SSD but I was wondering, Will my whole computer increase in speed or will only the items stored on the SSD?

 

[mickey megabyte]

you should find that your computer will boot up faster and your programs will start-up quicker.

in simple terms, this is because during boot and application startup, windows needs to load lots of small files from the drive into memory. with an ssd, these files are accessed and loaded much much quicker than with an old-fashioned spinning hard-drive.

it won't 'speed up your whole computer' in the sense that games (for example) won't run any faster, but they will load laster - so rather than waiting say ten seconds for a game or program to become usable, it'll be only a couple of seconds instead.

i don't think i've heard of anyone regretting buying an ssd. speaking for myself, i won't go back to a hard-drive for windows, although i have kept my old hdd for mass storage of things like music and movies, where speed isn't essential - i don't need to watch my films at high speed.

 

[pparks1]

I'm very happy with my SSD in my primary box, I've got the Intel 80GB X25-M G2. With that said, all of the rest of my computers at home, as well as my desktops at work have standard mechanical hard drives and I don't loathe using any of them. The SSD is nice, and I don't regret it one bit, but I have not yet gotten to the point where I list it as a requirement. The differences really appeal to the enthusiast, but I think the extra storage space of the mechanical drive is a bigger bang for the buck for the average consumer.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I'm not sure what you mean by your whole computer, in terms of performance speeding up. Obviously, things not related to the SSD wouldn't speed up. For example, a game that's GPU dependent isn't going to give you more FPS. You're DVD drive isn't going to suddenly burn faster. You won't be downloading from the internet any faster. Loading multimedia files from another drive won't be any faster. Apps running on the SSD will open faster. If the OS resides on the SSD it will boot faster, and should seem snappier.

Consider it like a car. Upgrading the engine won't somehow make the stereo sound better or the seats more comfortable. It only deals with what the engine controls. Using an SSD for your primary drive will have an effect on anything related to the primary drive.

 

[WiFi Ed]

Like the others have said, you'll see the difference in bootup times and application loading. It's amazing to see bloated Office apps heaved up onto the screen almost instantly (as fast as opening Notepad usually is).

 

[illway1]

What I'm getting from most of you is that you SSD is on your primary slot (the one with your operating system on it). Right now, mine is on my really bad HDD, is there anyway, if I buy an SSD that I can move my operating system from my HDD to the SSD?

 

[essenbe]

I think if you re read the previous posts, that is what they are saying. Most people install the OS to the SSD and install only their most used programs to it. Everything else is on the spinner. It works great that way for most of us.

 

[WiFi Ed]

Right now, mine is on my really bad HDD, is there anyway, if I buy an SSD that I can move my operating system from my HDD to the SSD?

You can clone or image your HDD and restore the image to your new SSD but you have to worry about getting the partition offset right. You can google about partition offset (partition offset and ssd) to see what I'm talking about. This thread is a good guide:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/70822-ssd-tweaks-optimizations-windows-7-a.html

However, if you do a clean install of Windows 7 onto your new SSD it will automatically give a correct partition offset. A clean installation is always best, in my opinion.

 

[DeaconFrost]

Yep, you can definitely clone the drive, but you'd be better off doing a fresh install on an SSD. Don't worry...people make it out to be a huge deal to do a clean install, but if you have your drivers and apps ready ahead of time, you can do it in under 2 hours.

 

[BugMeister]

don't know if WEI is a good guide, but my SSD performance has gone from 7.3 down to 6.8 over the last year..
:shock:

 

[DeaconFrost]

WEI is good for.....nothing. On my previous build, I could get differing scores by simply refreshing the score. It was a nice concept in theory, but never reached anything above uselessness.

 

[BugMeister]

- it's not all bad news, though..

 

[DeaconFrost]

It isn't news one way or the other. WEI isn't worth the effort to even consider. I honestly couldn't tell you any of the scores on any of my three systems. I run the tool once after the install to ensure Aero is happy and running, and that's it. Too many people get hung up on WEI and their scores, rather than realize the numbers are 100% meaningless. I'm assuming the same is true under Windows 7 as it was on Vista, but if you want better scores, you can change them to be whatever you want. The phrase WEI shouldn't be mentioned or used at all. I truly hope it is removed all together in Windows 8.

 

[BugMeister]

one assumes it relates solely to Windows performance, goes without saying..
- within that context it IS meaningful, at least to the likes of the average user

I could probably run all manner of tests to get better results, but it's Windows performance that most of us are seeking..

why the 5-point drop, though..??

 

[DeaconFrost]

It isn't a measure of any performance at all....WEI is not and never has been a benchmark tool. Your point drop could be due to new controller drivers, background processes, are a failing SSD. I thought their performance decreased over time when they were failing. On previous systems, I was able to refresh the score and see my processor change .3 points or so. Get a diag tool for your drive, and if that passes you are fine. You're wasting far too much time and energy worry about a worthless tool...not to average users or experts.

Besides, how good is a tool if you can set your own scores?

 

[lior]

I'm waiting for prices to come down and storage to increase. I feel that paying $150 for an 80 gigs drive is too expensive. My current installation of Windows 7 and Microsoft Office takes about 45 gigs. That's more than half of the drive's capacity. If I add any additional programs and my work/client files, it will be a tight squeeze.

 

[jaypels]

It isn't a measure of any performance at all....WEI is not and never has been a benchmark tool. Your point drop could be due to new controller drivers, background processes, are a failing SSD. I thought their performance decreased over time when they were failing. On previous systems, I was able to refresh the score and see my processor change .3 points or so. Get a diag tool for your drive, and if that passes you are fine. You're wasting far too much time and energy worry about a worthless tool...not to average users or experts.

Besides, how good is a tool if you can set your own scores?

The question is, HOW do you set the scores? I would gladly use that as a prank to my friend. He always compared his WEI with mine and now that his WEI is bigger than mine, he always boasts of it and even posted in on facebook! Imagine that!

 

[DeaconFrost]

I'll do some digging today, as that screenshot has to be 2 years old, if not more...but there was a file you could edit...an .xml file I think. 9.9 was the max you could give. For the record, the screenshot wasn't photoshopped.

I came across this link quickly...I think the XML file is what was edited.

http://unlockforus.blogspot.com/2007/10/fun-stuff-hack-your-windows-experience.html

 

[jaypels]

Thanks for the link! And for those who are curious what my new yet hacked WEI is

Have fun editing yours!

 

[sygnus21]

don't know if WEI is a good guide, but my SSD performance has gone from 7.3 down to 6.8 over the last year..
:shock:

You may want to check the drive and do whatever maintenance required for it. You might also check for firmware updates.

Also when's the last time you did a WEI refresh?

And lastly - have you posted your issue here - http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/18229-show-us-your-ssd-performance.html

Good luck