Which SSD for me?

[JohnE]

That's what it's all about, learning. I learned a ton about SSD's and SRT/IRST in the last few weeks myself. And I'm finding this is one of the more pleasant forums to visit. No one seems to try to be above the other (know it all's). Heck, I may have been building and messing around with computers for 30+ years, but I still learn something everyday.

The combo of a SSD & HHD is good technology. A bit of a screwy setup, but if followed correctly, it works great. I've been running it like that for a few weeks and I'm amazed at the cached speed of the HHD. It takes a while to build the cache up, but it's so worth it. It's the best of both worlds, I think.

 

[chop_wood]

Im not sure how different it is, but instead of changing libraries I just highlight all the user folders > hold "ctrl+shift" and drag them all with the right click onto the data drive in the folder pane> release the right click and then click "move here". this links up all the folders to the data drive including libraries/start menu shortcuts/favs/ etc. i like to leave desktop on the OS drive for myself since i leave very little on it and i dont have to hear the hdd spin up.

 

[Neuromancer]

I am still leary of the RST function. I tried it with a X32 and a 150GB vrap. Performance on small file sizes was worse than even the raptor alone. Once I got up into 128K+ was when it actually improved something.

(512 writes actually dropped to 3 digits!! 4K IIRC about 8,000)

I have yet to try it with a decent SSD yet, need to get another Z68 board first. Most articles I have read show it making a nice difference though.

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

Dang this thread should be a sticky. The amount of info you guys have given me is awesome.

 

[wagex]

You do this prior to the install or after the install?

prior, you put your install disk in a workign computer and load the disk in to the program and take out stuff you dont want (speech recognization and language packs saved like 3gb i believe alone.

 

[JohnE]

I am still leary of the RST function. I tried it with a X32 and a 150GB vrap. Performance on small file sizes was worse than even the raptor alone. Once I got up into 128K+ was when it actually improved something.

(512 writes actually dropped to 3 digits!! 4K IIRC about 8,000)

I have yet to try it with a decent SSD yet, need to get another Z68 board first. Most articles I have read show it making a nice difference though.

Don't be afraid of it. I think it's has come a long way since it first came out. Mostly (I'm guessing here) that it's the Intel software versions that are finally perfected. The latest version (10.8.0.1003) is the best along with the Intel instructions and you can't miss. It's all in the setup and doing it word for word from the Intel help/install sheets. Not to mention a lot of board manufactures needed to get the BIOs firmware revisions correct. I haven't done any read/write speed tests (haven't really had the time) but will get to that soon. I know it's working well as the systems boot time is incredibly fast and programs that I used to sit and wait to load are on the screen, running as soon as I click the icon. A good technology now that the bugs have been worked out of it.

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

Well being on a budget and only using it for my OS I opted for the Patriot Pyro 60Gb SATA III. I got it for $69.99 from Micro Center. Has 80,000 IOPS. It has great reviews and a lot of guys there run it and like it so I couldn't pass it up. I need to save money for my new WC setup. I gave my old set up and radiator to my buddy. Atleast I have my water block already. Lol

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

I do have another question that maybe you gentlemen can help me and my buddy figure out. I installed the same SSD in to his puter the other day and boy it's blazing fast. Anyways I have the OS on there and I remapped all of the libraries to his actual HDD like you guys explained above. Now my question is, and I am not even sure if it's possible, but how do you remap the program files and when you download stuff on the web to get it to go straight to the HDD. Right now anytime we download a program it wants to put it on the SSD and it will get annoying having to manually change the target drive every time.

Thanks guys for everything.

Colton

 

[AJZ]

I do have another question that maybe you gentlemen can help me and my buddy figure out. I installed the same SSD in to his puter the other day and boy it's blazing fast. Anyways I have the OS on there and I remapped all of the libraries to his actual HDD like you guys explained above. Now my question is, and I am not even sure if it's possible, but how do you remap the program files and when you download stuff on the web to get it to go straight to the HDD. Right now anytime we download a program it wants to put it on the SSD and it will get annoying having to manually change the target drive every time.

Thanks guys for everything.

Colton

Mr furry's post in this thread ---> http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...n/73450b25-d794-4f18-9add-75253b893343?page=3

Worked for me.

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

Thank you sir

 

[Neuromancer]

Default download place should never change once you set it. I agree with DL going off-SSD. Only waste one set of writes not two.

 

[JohnE]

Well being on a budget and only using it for my OS I opted for the Patriot Pyro 60Gb SATA III. I got it for $69.99 from Micro Center. Has 80,000 IOPS. It has great reviews and a lot of guys there run it and like it so I couldn't pass it up. I need to save money for my new WC setup. I gave my old set up and radiator to my buddy. Atleast I have my water block already. Lol

Same SSD drive I have. Got it at the same price too! The bad thing about it was it came with the original firmware. Had to update it first thing. Patriot has a nice web site with all their products and for the Pyro 60gig, there's only two files to download. The latest firmware & the program to instal it on the drive. Very easy to do and it fixes a lot that was wrong with the drive. Other than that, the Pyro is a great SSD. I'm very happy (and impressed) with mine. Even in the SRT configuration I have mine in, it works flawlessly.

Forgot to mention, if you do a lot of downloading it maybe worth while to use a Download Manager. Most of these types of programs will open up to 8 ports and download simultaneously, accelerating the transfer. And you can direct your downloads to go anywhere, any folder, etc; that you want. I use IDM (Internet Download manager) ((http://www.internetdownloadmanager.com/)) and it puts your d/l's into folders (Programs, Music, Compressed, Video, etc, etc.) on any drive. Very handy as it has a drop box for the web and if you see something you like, you click the button and it downloads automatically into the proper folder. And it can do multiple d/l files at once.

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

Dang I have been looking for a download manager forever. Lmao glad I got one now. Man, I am getting so anxious to finish my computer and once again have a fast computer. I am thinking another 2 weeks 3 at the latest(hopefully)

Even though I just bought mine you think it will still have the old firmware?? Also when you update does it wipe it out or no?

I can not thank you guys enough. Thanks so much!!!

~M4H

 

[JohnE]

Dang I have been looking for a download manager forever. Lmao glad I got one now. Man, I am getting so anxious to finish my computer and once again have a fast computer. I am thinking another 2 weeks 3 at the latest(hopefully)

Even though I just bought mine you think it will still have the old firmware?? Also when you update does it wipe it out or no?

I can not thank you guys enough. Thanks so much!!!

~M4H

IDM has to be the best download manager I've ever used. They have thought of everything in it and they improved it about once a month (not that it needs it....)

Yes, it quite possibly has the original firmware. I'd have to say, yes definitely. Unfortunatly the drives sit around in warehouses for a long time (most outlets order hundreds of them) and there's no telling how fast they sell them and get a fresh batch in. I got my Pyro just a month ago and it had the original firmware on it. There's a program on the Patriot website that'll tell you what firmware is on it (HDware) and then you can update from there. It's easy to do and very much worth updating. (Especially the Pyro.) The latest firmware is this:

3.3.2 Release Notes

-Added Nand Support
-Addresses Drive Timeout Issue
-Fixed SMART attributes log calculation -Optimizes Drive Read to improve ECC errors
-Improves Secure Erase operation to ensure Drive is Idle for improved stability
-Addresses S3/S4 power cycling issue on boot drives which resulted in BSoDs
-Addresses issues with READ/WRITE commands during power up
- Addresses issues during Firmware Updates
-Changed firmware Identify Parameters during commands
- Addresses Trim support issue which resulted in the drive freezing
- Addresses issue on primary boot drives waking from sleep mode and hanging.

So you see 3.3.2 fixed a lot of things in the Pyro's OS.

I have the SATA III 60gig pyro and the URL is: http://patriotmemory.com/products/detailp.jsp?prodline=8&catid=85&prodgroupid=217&id=1113&type=17

If you have a different one, just go to the home page and pick which SSD product you have. It'll come up like the above link and you can get all the programs to update or find out what you have. And their FAQ section is good also. As for your question on wiping it out, no it will not. All you're doing is 'Flashing' the OS of the SSD, much like your BIO's. Once the new operating system is on the SSD it will just work better and won't interfere with what ever is already on it (your data). You have nothing to lose except making your SSD work better. And there's a chance you may already have the latest firmware, but in my experience, I doubt it. Unless where you bought it from just got a fresh batch of them from the manufacture, which is possible, but usually never happens that way (or I have lousy luck...)

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

Sweet man!! I'll take a look at his when I get a minute and see what firmware he is running. I will for sure upgrade mine. Thanks for all your help buddy! I'll for sure be getting that IDM program

 

[JohnE]

Sweet man!! I'll take a look at his when I get a minute and see what firmware he is running. I will for sure upgrade mine. Thanks for all your help buddy! I'll for sure be getting that IDM program

No problem, glad to help....

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

Since we are already off topic and this is MY thread, I will ask another question and I apologize if you already answered it, but exactly how does IDM work? How does it help?

 

[JohnE]

Since we are already off topic and this is MY thread, I will ask another question and I apologize if you already answered it, but exactly how does IDM work? How does it help?

Not to worry, I think a lot of threads have gone off topic before and will continue to do so. As long as the info is good, who cares?

Anyway, let's see if I can answer this correctly. IDM is like other download managers in what it does, only with its own twist. A download manager opens as many connections to the file as it possibly can. So you're not getting one download stream for one file, you're getting many connections to that one file. This tends to accelerate the download process. IDM can accelerate the download by 5x faster due to it's "intelligent dynamic file segmentation technology." This means it downloads files dynamically during the download process by reusing available connections without additional connect & login stages to get the best acceleration performance.

As said all download managers open many connections to the same file and start downloading, hence speeding up the transfer. IDM does this without opening connections that can be wasteful, or slow the download process down. And it does all the standard things like, resume, built in scheduler, browser integration, download categories (which I think is great as it automatically puts your downloaded files in the proper folder, IE: Music, Video, Compressed, etc.), drop & drag, automatic antivirus checker, You Tube Grabber...and a ton more features to make life easier. One of the things I like most is on any web page you happen to be on, if there's a video or a picture you may want, IDM automatically puts a little button next to that video or picture and if you want it, you simply click the button and it's downloaded to your computer (in the proper folder). And finally it has a 'wizard' for setup that's easy to use. In fact once you use it for a bit you can set it up without the wizard or add to it to do different things for you without much hassle. I guess what I'm saying is it's easy to setup without the wizard too. Oh, and it has automatic updates also.

Hope that helped a bit.

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

That sounds exactly what I not only want, but NEED

I am super stoked to run IDM.

 

[JohnE]

That sounds exactly what I not only want, but NEED

I am super stoked to run IDM.

Glad to help. I do a lot of file transfers and downloading and with the scheduler it makes things a breeze. Not to mention the drop box on web pages makes things fast & easy too....The best download manager I've ever used.