Things to do when installing your first new SSD

[LOUISSSSS]

Where can I get a cheap bracket to install it in my 3.5 bay?
Do ssds need to be cooled?

 

[manutdc]

I got this Silverstone bracket for the SSD I just ordered:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

Seems like a lot of people buy IcyDocks though. Don't know about the cooling, but mine will be sitting right behind a fan once it's installed.

 

[rivethead]

Where can I get a cheap bracket to install it in my 3.5 bay?
Do ssds need to be cooled?

I'm not sure you need one. My Kingston SSDNow 40gb was about the size of a deck of cards and probably lighter. I mounted my SSD by simply aligning ONE of the screw holes with my 3.5 bay sides and screwing it in really tight. Yes, the thing is that light. It doesn't move and it's held in place by one single screw.

But if you're concerned, I've heard people use double-sided tape, zip ties, or just put the ssd in the bottom of the case. SSDs have no moving parts so they don't vibrate.

Personally, I looked at getting a bracket and decided it just wasn't worth the money.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Now help me decide, 40 gb or 80 gb? Htpc use

 

[techs]

I just did a clean install of Win7 and Office 2010 (tech review version) and installled DeepBurner, and about 500 mb ofother programs. I am using 13 gb of the hard drive.

 

[coolVariable]

This is from my other post:

Updated to latest firmware (took just a minute or two, is that normal?), then installed Windows 7.

Then:

Verified Trim using: fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify
Turned off Disk Defragmenter.
Turned off System Restore.
Turned off Indexing.
Installed Intel SSD toolbox
Ran Intel Optimizer. Took about 3 seconds (is that usual?)

Disk Defrag is disabled for SSDs anyhow.
Sys Restore will save you space (but use with caution!!!)
Turning off Indexing will disable instant search results.

 

[Athadeus]

Yeah, turning off indexing will just disable and possible remove the hashed index of files, but I'm sure searching would be super fast on an SSD anyways. I turn it off as well as pretty much every other feature on mechanical drives too because it bothers me when I hear my HDD seeking when it should be idle.

Also, SSDs don't require any cooling, as they only use like 2-3 watts. Just don't let it be exposed to direct sunlight for long. Do you cool your USB thumb drives?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

First: install drive in case
2: boot up with intel fw update disc
3: go into bios and turn on ahci
4: install windows (7)
5: do those disc configuration items like turn off index, lower page file, move library, etc
6: done

 

[BChico]

First: install drive in case
2: boot up with intel fw update disc
3: go into bios and turn on ahci
4: install windows (7)
5: do those disc configuration items like turn off index, lower page file, move library, etc
6: done

Could you elaborate on step 5?

Also, if you have both an SSD installed and a HDD installed, should you install the Intel storage software? Meaning both Matrix Storage and SSD Toolkit?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

I don't know haha somebody else help both of us

 

[BChico]

I don't know haha somebody else help both of us

Still wondering this...

 

[Gildor57]

If you have the latest generation SSD, you do not need the toolkit. It won't hurt anything if you have it, and you may find some of the utility useful. But its not necessary to have it.

As far as "#5" on the list, just check out the earlier posts in this thread and other posts in this forum concerning "tweaks". You will find a variance of opinion on whether they are useful. I tweak for space saving reasons only, not performance reasons.

 

[Infrnl]

I just did a clean install of Win7 and Office 2010 (tech review version) and installled DeepBurner, and about 500 mb ofother programs. I am using 13 gb of the hard drive.

Are you running a lite version? I install win7 ultimate and takes up at least 20gb by itself

 

[Zargon]

ultimate is huge isnt it?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

just ordered the Intel 80gb X25-M. How should i be mounting it inside of my Mini P180.
rubber bands?
zip ties?
get 2.5/3.5 adapter and install that inside of a 3.5/5.25 drive bay?

can someone just confirm with me what should be my first thing to do once i power it up?
-flash the FW using intel's .iso boot disc
-then what?

 

[Infrnl]

ultimate is huge isnt it?

Heck yea its huge. I found a little vid clip showing to use vlite 1.2 to customize to personal lite ver.

just ordered the Intel 80gb X25-M. How should i be mounting it inside of my Mini P180.
rubber bands?
zip ties?
get 2.5/3.5 adapter and install that inside of a 3.5/5.25 drive bay?

can someone just confirm with me what should be my first thing to do once i power it up?
-flash the FW using intel's .iso boot disc
-then what?

Congrats on the choice. I am still pondering myself as more drives are coming out, maybe by the time I make my decision it will be the end of the year and I can get a 160gb drive for half current pricing
i will be in the same boat as you are now; one day soon

I personally would go with an adapter or possibly velcro, custom mount

 

[LOUISSSSS]

yes, u can always wait till the end of the year, but then you're missing out on 9 months of SPEED. Waiting for technology to come is stupid; you might as well wait forever!

anyway, i'll be installing W7 HP 64 on it, What are those AHCI drivers i need? Do i enable it in bios before the W7 install?

 

[Gildor57]

just ordered the Intel 80gb X25-M. How should i be mounting it inside of my Mini P180.
rubber bands?
zip ties?
get 2.5/3.5 adapter and install that inside of a 3.5/5.25 drive bay?

Mount it however you like. Any one of those methods should do.

can someone just confirm with me what should be my first thing to do once i power it up?
-flash the FW using intel's .iso boot disc
-then what?

You already said it yourself in an earlier post:

First: install drive in case
2: boot up with intel fw update disc
3: go into bios and turn on ahci
4: install windows (7)
5: do those disc configuration items like turn off index, lower page file, move library, etc
6: done

 

[LOUISSSSS]

^^ are those steps exactly correct?

what about the AHCI drivers, i understand there are "intel" and "windows" versions of the drivers? wtheck is that about?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

AHCI
AHCI is not official supported on OCZ SSDs and may under some circumstances affect performance,
specifically during windows installation. Enabling AHCI can result in higher performance in synthetic
benchmarks for SSDs and HDDs alike, but can cause hang-ups and intermittent freezes in SSDs since it
allows multiple access requests to compete for a drive that is not made to address re-ordering of
commands in the queue. We recommend AHCI is set to disabled in both Windows and in the BIOS.
Native Command Queuing greatly increases the performance of standard rotational drives but it has no
bearing on SSDs.

http://www.ocztechnology.com/res_old/images/Configuring-and-Setting-Up-SSDs.pdf

Should AHCI in bios be enabled or disabled?

 

[Infrnl]

From what I have read AHCI needs to be enabled in bios for TRIM to work and I believe it is supposed to give you better overall performance.

What made you decide to go Intel over other drives? Also i cannot recall did you need the size and that why you chose 80GB? What about 2 of the 40GB v series in raid? just have to wipe drive and reload image every so often, but overall performance right? Would end up with same capacity, same price, better performance?

 

[Gildor57]

EDIT: Sorry, double post.

 

[Gildor57]

^^ are those steps exactly correct?

Yes.

what about the AHCI drivers, i understand there are "intel" and "windows" versions of the drivers? wtheck is that about?

Go with the Microsoft drivers, but it's not something you need to worry about explicitly. Whenever you install Win 7 with the BIOS set to AHCI, Windows is smart enough to install the correct drivers. Just follow the steps and you'll be fine.

I am assuming you ordered the G2 model.

 

[Gildor57]

http://www.ocztechnology.com/res_old/images/Configuring-and-Setting-Up-SSDs.pdf

Should AHCI in bios be enabled or disabled?

I don't have an OCZ drive, so I don't know if that applies to their most recent generation drive or not.

Here is what Intel has to say on the subject:

From the Intel SSD faq:

Do Intel SSDs need special driver support?
No. The standard drivers for any HDD will support Intel SSDs as drop-in components, such as those bundled with Windows*. However, for best performance, a driver that supports SATA Native Command Queuing (NCQ) is recommended [NCQ is a feature of AHCI]

and

Is the Intel SSD a drop-in replacement for SATA Hard Disk drives?
Yes. The Intel SSD a drop-in replacement provides rugged, reliable performance at lower power. Intel SSDs support the ATA-7 command sets and the SATA II command extensions. AHCI must be supported and enabled by both the system BIOS and OS

So yes, for Intel SSD's at least, you need AHCI enabled.

 

[Emulex]

rave about it on AT