New to SSDs, advice on upgrading existing one

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Scriptky

Junior Member
Mar 16, 2011
2
0
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I recently bought a new packaged setup from Newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Content-_-text-_-

I have no complaints, it's great and I LOVE the SSD speed, but I want to upgrade it cause it only comes with a 30g. I managed to do all the obvious stuff like page file modifications, default paths for programs, hibernation disable, and moving storage... But I still ran out of room really fast. I can manage with the 30g but I want to upgrade to something like a 120g or larger.

1. How complicated will the switch be? I don't have any critical files on the current drive that I'm worried about, obviously since it's only 30g and win7 takes up most of that. So is it just a matter of putting it in and installing the OS on the new drive? I don't have any real experience with formatting a new HD at all let alone an SSD.

2. I also could use some suggestions as far as brands and models go(again very new to SSD). I'd prefer to buy from Newegg, but if they don't have what I need I'm open to anything else. 120g or larger and I'm not too worried about price, I want to get something good.

Thanks in advance to anyone that can provide some insight
 
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Burner27

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2001
4,452
50
101
Buy larger SSD, use Acronis True Image 2011 to clone the 30GB to the 120GB. Shut down machine, remove 30GB, boot machine with 120GB. If all works as it should you can reinstall the 30GB (ensure the 120GB is the boot drive) and when you get into Windows you can format it and use it for something else. Or you can secure erase the 30GB and put in in another machine.
 
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Bauss

Member
Mar 14, 2011
57
0
0
Burner pretty much nailed the process. Do that.

As for suggestions on SSDs, does your motherboard have SATA III? If so, either get an Intel 510, or wait a bit and get the OCZ Vertex 3. The Vertex 3 looks to be a bit faster overall, but the Intel has a great reputation for stability and reliability. Depends on what's more important, I guess.

If you have SATA II, Get either the OCZ Vertex 2, or the Intel X25-M G2 120GB.
 
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RhoXS

Senior member
Aug 14, 2010
207
16
81
There are a number of good software products that can be used to clone the 30 Gb drive to your new drive. I like EASEUS Disk Copy. It is a free download (as an iso file). The iso makes a bootable CD so there is nothing to install under windows. It is slow but, in my opinion, it is effective and elegantly simple.
 
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RhoXS

Senior member
Aug 14, 2010
207
16
81
Fedaykin311 said:
I'd recommend against cloning, especially with an SSD. You're much better off doing a clean install.
Click to expand...

A clean install is always good for a fresh start even if your not replacing a drive. But, if everything is working well, stable, and very fast, what is wrong with cloning? And, why especially with an SSD?

I am watching my closed circuit security camera right now for the FedX truck to deliver a new 120 GB G2. I am very pleased with the performance of my machine now and I do not want to spend the time to do a clean install. Therefore, I am going to use EASEUS Disk Copy to clone my existing 80 GB G2 to the new 120 GB G2. I am not really expecting to see any adverse effects from this.
 
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Fedaykin311

Member
Apr 14, 2009
48
0
0
RhoXS said:
A clean install is always good for a fresh start even if your not replacing a drive. But, if everything is working well, stable, and very fast, what is wrong with cloning? And, why especially with an SSD?

I am watching my closed circuit security camera right now for the FedX truck to deliver a new 120 GB G2. I am very pleased with the performance of my machine now and I do not want to spend the time to do a clean install. Therefore, I am going to use EASEUS Disk Copy to clone my existing 80 GB G2 to the new 120 GB G2. I am not really expecting to see any adverse effects from this.
Click to expand...

It's not "bad" to clone, but I've always preferred a clean install for several reasons:

* Cleaning general cruft
* Getting rid of malware (espeically potential rootkits) that is not being detected (malware scans are only about 80% effective as it relies on 100% knowledge of all malware in existance)
* Windows is notoriously bad about accumulating defects, especially with daily patches via windows update that may or may not be making proper cumulative changes.
* It's less important with Windows 7, but earlier version of Windows were very bad about having hardware changed out from under them.


I do a clean install about every 6 months making sure all executable files are installed from a known good source (e.g. the Windows CD), primarily for issues of malware. But then again, I use my machine for online trading, banking and other security sensitive things without also being particularly careful about what code I download and run (e.g. WOW addins.. >.>)

With an SSD, you also have to worry about alignment issues, etc. Most cloning apps probably deal with this by now, but I'm still wary.

Just my $0.02
 
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cmanser7

Member
Oct 23, 2010
44
0
61
Fedaykin311 said:
It's not "bad" to clone, but I've always preferred a clean install for several reasons:

* Cleaning general cruft
* Getting rid of malware (espeically potential rootkits) that is not being detected (malware scans are only about 80% effective as it relies on 100% knowledge of all malware in existance)
* Windows is notoriously bad about accumulating defects, especially with daily patches via windows update that may or may not be making proper cumulative changes.
* It's less important with Windows 7, but earlier version of Windows were very bad about having hardware changed out from under them.


I do a clean install about every 6 months making sure all executable files are installed from a known good source (e.g. the Windows CD), primarily for issues of malware. But then again, I use my machine for online trading, banking and other security sensitive things without also being particularly careful about what code I download and run (e.g. WOW addins.. >.>)

With an SSD, you also have to worry about alignment issues, etc. Most cloning apps probably deal with this by now, but I'm still wary.

Just my $0.02
Click to expand...


+1 to everything he just said.

And a clean install always "feels" faster and more responsive to me.
 
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