• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

SSD newbie needs some guidance

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.
guppie

guppie

Member
​
Joined
Feb 12, 2001
Location
Miami, FL
Ok, I just bit on a 240GB SSD (Newegg had an awesome deal that was hard to pass up). So can someone please help me out? Does the SSD come with software so that I can transfer the entire HDD over? My "C" drive is just under 240GB and I'll move the Steam gamesoverto the HDD along with some other non essential programs. For the most part it will be just OS, Office, BF3. I've read that I should not load the drive near its capacity? Is there a way to automatically prevent this? I've also read there are a bunch of settings that need to be changed in the BIOS.

Just curious, does an SSD use less power? In case I choose to go the SLI route in the near future... Thanks

(admins, please move to proper forum if necessary)

I can't believe I'm doing this all for BF3... I swear game makers and hardware makers are in cohoots with each other!
 
Yes, a SSD uses less power.

Some come with a software, some others not.

Acronis True Image is a good software for cloning a HDD to a SSD.

You need to keep at least 20% of free space on your SSD if you want a maximum reliability. Otherwise, NANDs could degrade quite quickly.
 
Just curious, does an SSD use less power? In case I choose to go the SLI route in the near future... Thanks.
Click to expand...
Yes it does, but not enough that you'd notice on a desktop. Going from your HDD to an SSD might save you 5W on a desktop, while switching to SLI might be a difference of ~100-150W.
 
Good call man. I'm not a gamer myself (cause I'm pathetic at it) but notice a huge difference in the computing experience after getting a SSD. I'd never go back to HDD for OS and program load.

In BIOS set your SATA mode to AHCI. Even though you can clone your C:\ drive I'd recommend a clean fresh install. Windows 7 will set a bunch of things automatically (defrag SSD off, no hibernation, etc) for SSD with a clean install. Make sure you update to the latest firmware on the SSD and make sure to install the latest chipset and SATA drivers.
 
guppie said:
I can't believe I'm doing this all for BF3... I swear game makers and hardware makers are in cohoots with each other!
Click to expand...

Ha, ha, they know grown men are sukkers for performance too! :rofl::rofl:

You're not alone...........:)
 
I don't have Acronis, but I do have Macrium Reflect. I've been using that to make backups and images of my system every month. Can I restore an image onto the SSD with this? Man, that would be too easy, right?
 
guppie said:
I don't have Acronis, but I do have Macrium Reflect. I've been using that to make backups and images of my system every month. Can I restore an image onto the SSD with this? Man, that would be too easy, right?
Click to expand...
I just did an image with Macrium Reflect - worked great.
 
johan851 said:
I just did an image with Macrium Reflect - worked great.
Click to expand...

I just got it today. Damn, these things are tiny! Any suggestions on how to mount because I don't have any 3.5" bays or adapter brackets.

I'll post my experiences after this weekend
 
These things are very light weight. I screw one side only on the usual 3.5 bay.
 
johan851 said:
I just did an image with Macrium Reflect - worked great.
Click to expand...

I just did it myself and it worked like a charm, however, I ran into 1 problem (not with the software or cloning process/result)... When I change to AHCI mode my computer won't boot up and goes to the repair screen. When I switch back to IDE mode everything is fine. This happens regardless if I use the HDD or SSD as the main "C" drive. So right now, I'm in IDE mode.

What do I need to do to get the best performance from this SSD? Also, what program should I download to verify performance? I've looked for AS SSD but everything seems to be in a foreign language.
 
manu2b said:
Yes, a SSD uses less power.

Some come with a software, some others not.

Acronis True Image is a good software for cloning a HDD to a SSD.

You need to keep at least 20% of free space on your SSD if you want a maximum reliability. Otherwise, NANDs could degrade quite quickly.
Click to expand...

Almost all of this.. Except the less power thing. it has been disproven but never proven that SSDs actually use less power. in fact on laptop tests battery life changed not one iota. (which if they used less power should theoretically increase battery life)

I know I don't measure wattage on my SSD reviews. But paper specs put them in the 50% range of what HDDs are.

EDIT: I am not saying they don't because they theoretically should use less power, im just saying research shows that power claims are untrue.
 
ATTO is what most manufacturer use.

That's why with SSD, it's not always recommended to copy a mirror image from a HDD. There's a performance hit from AHCI to IDE. In your case, it makes sense that switiching from IDE to AHCI causes a crash. You mirrored a drive that had the OS install in IDE mode so when you mirrored it it's expecting to be in IDE mode. IMO, your best option is to switch to AHCI and do a fresh OS and program install on the SSD. By doing this you'll also allow Win 7 to set up for a SSD such as turning schedule defrag off, turning on TRIM, GC, which is not done on conventional HDD.
 
Cigarsmoker said:
ATTO is what most manufacturer use.

That's why with SSD, it's not always recommended to copy a mirror image from a HDD. There's a performance hit from AHCI to IDE. In your case, it makes sense that switiching from IDE to AHCI causes a crash. You mirrored a drive that had the OS install in IDE mode so when you mirrored it it's expecting to be in IDE mode. IMO, your best option is to switch to AHCI and do a fresh OS and program install on the SSD. By doing this you'll also allow Win 7 to set up for a SSD such as turning schedule defrag off, turning on TRIM, GC, which is not done on conventional HDD.
Click to expand...

+1 for this ^. You need to switch IDE to ACHI mode and then install A FRESH OS. Like what will I do, because I also have mine (HDD only) in IDE, before I'll re-format my OS.
 
Sorry missed the point where you weren not in AHCI mode. that is a prerequisute for any storage device made in the last decade.

Google "how to change to AHCI" (with quotes and it is 3rd link down. )

I wont link directly cuz I know how Internet works :)
 
You need to switch IDE to ACHI mode and then install A FRESH OS. Like what will I do, because I also have mine (HDD only) in IDE, before I'll re-format my OS.
Click to expand...
It's not generally necessary to do a fresh install to get AHCI working. But if you're doing a fresh install anyway, definitely set to AHCI mode first. :)
 
johan851 said:
It's not generally necessary to do a fresh install to get AHCI working. But if you're doing a fresh install anyway, definitely set to AHCI mode first. :)
Click to expand...

But I how can set IDE to ACHI when I already have a OS install?
I wish I could do that, because I want to change it but got ERROR after changing it from the BIOS. Switch it back to IDE then I can boot again. :confused:
Do you have an idea how to? it will save a lot of time not reformatting again,
thnks :)
 
^ Big thanks johan!
really a big HELP! :clap:
one more thing, when in ACHI mode will you ever notice the gain performance?
Is my 1 tb hdd ready for achi?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

NiHaoMike
NVMe SSD vs SATA SSDs in RAID
Replies
4
Views
279
NiHaoMike
NiHaoMike
Overclockers.com
FRONTPAGE Corsair MP600 Core Mini 2TB NVMe M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD Review
Replies
10
Views
695
Woomack
W
H
SSD Choice
Replies
9
Views
1K
EarthDog
EarthDog
Overclockers.com
FRONTPAGE Corsair MP700 2 TB PCIe Gen5 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD Review
Replies
5
Views
946
EarthDog
EarthDog
S
Looking for a good 2TB SSD that won't fail
Replies
16
Views
801
Woomack
W
Back