Best Format / Partition for Win 7 Pro / Linux Mint on SSD

[Tyerker]

So my main system has 3 drives:
128GB Sandisk Ultra Plus SSD
160GB Western Digital Velociraptor
640GB Western Digital Caviar Black

I have dual-booted Win 7 Pro with Linux Mint for a while. However, I would like it set up so that all of the OS files / registry / maybe a couple programs are on the SSD for both OSes.

I was planning on ~35GB partition for Linux Mint, and then the remainder (~80GB+) for Windows 7. However, this is my first time "reformatting" an SSD. Is there anything in particular I should know? I know for the dual boot to function properly I will need to install Windows first. But for the format / partition should I use the one built in to the Windows installer? User Partition Magic?

I just want to make sure my SSD gets reallocated for maximum performance, minimizing the potential negative effects of formatting or partitioning incorrectly, as I'm not sure what the current consensus is for modern SSDs.

I'm sort of considering splitting all 3 drives, like this:
128GB SSD: ~35GB Linux, 80GB Windows
160GB 10k HDD: ~50GB Linux, 100GB Windows
640GB 7.2k HDD: ~120GB Linux, 500GB Windows

And I want to do this is the way which will give the best boot times and general performance.

Thanks,
Tyerker

 

[Lvcoyote]

Not sure why you need to reformat the SSD in the first place. Just shrink the existing partition so you have 35 GB to install Mint on. I've used Linux Mint for some time now too, but I usually don't mix windows and mint on the same HDD. I give them each there own drive and select what to boot from when grub loads at system start. I seem to get the best performance from each OS when keeping them on separate drives.

 

[Tyerker]

I am currently dual-booting with Windows off the SSD and Linux off the 10k. But with MBR on the (theoretically) slower-booting drive makes me think I may be missing out on one of the best benefits of the SSD.

Also, I am the type that likes a fresh Windows install every 3-6 months. I've just grown accustomed to that and have never gotten to that point where the system is slowed down by long-term temp files and garbage. I just reformat to start new. Fresh drivers, new installs of up-to-date software, all that.

But thank you for the insight for booting 2 OSes from the same drive. I haven't tried it before (maybe on an old single-drive system in the past) but didn't think it would cause any issues.