# SSD Questions **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872 "2013-07-07T15:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pauly1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@pauly1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pauly1)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/1 "2013-07-07T15:29:29Z")
Looking to get an SSD for my laptop because i read its one of the best things you can do for your computer to make it faster. I have a laptop thats i3 processor and 4gb ram. Laptop is few years old. I dont keep much stuff in it. It has 275gb hard drive and i think the most i ever used up was 50gb. I don’t play games or keep a lot of stuff in my laptop. Basically my laptop doesn’t have much files. 1. Which ssd drive should i buy? Someone recommended me to get a samsung ssd drive. I checked amazon and see these 3 options and its samsung, crucial or samsung pro. Which of these 3 are the best? I assume samsung pro since its most expensive out of all? What about samsung vs crucial? Reviews seem to have more good things about samsung vs the crucial. Also the writing time they say is faster for samsung than crucial. Is it really that big of a difference? Im not computer savy at all. > **[Amazon.com: Samsung 840 Series 2.5 inch 120GB SATA III internal Solid State...](https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-120GB-internal-Solid-MZ-7TD120BW/dp/B009NHAF06)** > > Buy Samsung 840 Series 2.5 inch 120GB SATA III internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7TD120BW: Internal Solid State Drives - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases > **[Amazon.com: \[OLD MODEL\] Crucial m4 128GB 2.5-Inch (9.5mm) SATA 6Gb/s Solid State...](https://www.amazon.com/MODEL-Crucial-128GB-2-5-Inch-CT128M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JKZI)** > > Amazon.com: \[OLD MODEL\] Crucial m4 128GB 2.5-Inch (9.5mm) SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive CT128M4SSD2 : Electronics [http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-SATA\_6\_0\_gb-MZ-7PD128BW/dp/B009NB8WR0/ref=sr\_1\_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1373210707&sr=1-11&keywords=ssd+128gb](http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-SATA_6_0_gb-MZ-7PD128BW/dp/B009NB8WR0/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1373210707&sr=1-11&keywords=ssd+128gb) 1. Is 128gb enough for me? I am not going to have a ton of stuff on it. 2. If i decide to upgrade to 250gb later on, does that mean i will have to get rid of the 120gb and buy the 250gb or can i buy another 120gb and have 2 in it? 3. Is it easy to install it? Im not computer savy. And how long does it take to install it? 4. Does it make your computer go really fast? I read the boot times is really fast but what about fast in general? My laptop always lags a ton. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/2 "2013-07-07T16:41:27Z")
> [@pauly1](#): > > 1. Which ssd drive should i buy? Whatever is cheapest - there is no real difference in general usage with a brand new SSD (staying away from old stock/refurbs). Any of those you linked are quality drives. The Samsung Pro is fastest, but you won’t notice the difference. > [@pauly1](#): > > 1. Is 128gb enough for me? I am not going to have a ton of stuff on it. If you only use 50-60GB now, 128GB is perfect. Generally you need lots of space for PC Gaming, or for Videos/Digital Camera pictures. If you don’t do any of that, should be fine. > [@pauly1](#): > > 1. If i decide to upgrade to 250gb later on, does that mean i will have to get rid of the 120gb and buy the 250gb or can i buy another 120gb and have 2 in it? Very few laptops have room for two drives -you almost certainly will have to replace your current hard drive with this one, and would need to replace the 120GB with a 256GB > [@pauly1](#): > > 1. Is it easy to install it? Im not computer savy. And how long does it take to install it? Depends on the laptop. Ranges from pretty easy to “I have to do what ?”. It isn’t really a matter of being computer savvy as much as being careful, removing and replacing things in the right order, and not losing very tiny screws. > [@pauly1](#): > > 1. Does it make your computer go really fast? I read the boot times is really fast but what about fast in general? My laptop always lags a ton. For a laptop it helps a lot, during startup, resuming from hibernation, and starting programs. And normal laptop hard drives tend to be really slow. It won’t make anything not hitting the disk any faster, but a 4gb i3, while not top of the line, is probably already reasonably fast for web browsing/office work that most people use it for. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/3 "2013-07-07T17:00:36Z")
I’ll endorse everything **jacobsta811** said, and add that I wouldn’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about getting the very very fastest SSD drive. Any of the well rated recent ones will be 10-20x faster than the hard drive in your laptop, and very likely faster than the SATA interface in your laptop that it would connect to. ---
**Author:** ![kevinb70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7cd45c/32.png) [@kevinb70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevinb70)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/4 "2013-07-08T05:42:37Z")
not going into specifics but size the SSD so it will not be more than 1/2 full. Or half empty if you are that type of person. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/5 "2013-07-08T13:16:00Z")
i’m the type of guy to just get once twice as big as i might need. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/6 "2013-07-08T13:59:58Z")
> [@pauly1](#): > > 1. Which ssd drive should i buy? Someone recommended me to get a samsung ssd drive. I checked amazon and see these 3 options and its samsung, crucial or samsung pro. Which of these 3 are the best? I assume samsung pro since its most expensive out of all? What about samsung vs crucial? I own two Samsung 830’s (one 128 GB for a netbook and one 256 GB for a laptop, no experience with the 840) and haven’t had any problems. Bought those for the same reason; the reviews were consistently higher compared to other brands. > [@pauly1](#): > > 1. Is it easy to install it? Im not computer savy. And how long does it take to install it? Easy. Unscrew the access panel of the old hard drive, pull the old one out, insert the new one, and screw the old access panel back on. Just make sure you use the correct size screwdriver on those tiny little screws. I used too big of one on my first laptop and stripped a screw that was right in the middle of the bottom. Since it was recessed, I couldn’t get to it with even the smallest wrench or tweezers I could find, and installing anything after that required unscrewing the other screws and bending the plastic panel back as far as I could without breaking it. > [@pauly1](#): > > 1. Does it make your computer go really fast? I read the boot times is really fast but what about fast in general? My laptop always lags a ton. It does, and you’ll get spolied. I can’t imagine owning a computer without one. And in general, the slower of a computer you have the more dramatic of a difference you’ll notice. Just curious, have you run a virus scan on your laptop recently? A SSD will certainly make it faster but I’m not sure it lags a ton just because you have a HDD and not a SSD in it. Also, what Operating System do you have? Windows 7 and 8 are excellent for SSD, but XP and Vista can be problematic. [QUOTE=kevinb70] not going into specifics but size the SSD so it will not be more than 1/2 full. Or half empty if you are that type of person. [/QUOTE] I’m curious about specifics. My desktop computer has an 80 GB SSD and a 750 GB HDD. The SSD just has the operating system and programs on it, and the HDD is used for file storage. I’ve been keeping the SSD with about 7-10 GB of free space for the last 3 years and haven’t run into any problems. My wife saves photos to the default location (My Photos on the SSD), so I’m constantly going in there and moving them to the HDD and placing a shortcut in its place. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/7 "2013-07-08T16:51:17Z")
> [@pauly1](#): > > My laptop always lags a ton. SDDs aren’t magic devices that generically make a computer faster. This may sound kinda silly, but a faster drive only makes things faster that access the drive. Boot times will be faster. Heavy number crunching will be faster. Programs that use a lot of memory and end up swapping things out to disk a lot will definitely be faster. You said you don’t play games, but just as an example, games WILL NOT play faster. However, the time spent loading levels and changing areas will be faster (that’s the part of games that typically hits the disk). Stuff on the internet generally won’t be faster. A typical computer these days spends a lot of its time waiting for data to arrive from the remove server. Downloading stuff won’t be faster. Web pages won’t be faster. Youtube videos won’t load faster. If your laptop “lags a ton” because of bloatware and other crap installed on it, then wiping the disk and doing a clean install may be just as beneficial as installing a new SDD and would be a heck of a lot cheaper. What specifically are you doing when you say it “lags a ton”? What specific programs are you doing and what exactly are you doing with them? I’m asking because I’m picturing you possibly going through a lot of effort to end up with a laptop that isn’t noticeably different in performance. We need to know what you are doing to tell if an SDD would actually be of any benefit to you. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/8 "2013-07-08T17:34:41Z")
^^^^^^ this ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/9 "2013-07-08T17:51:55Z")
How do these affect battery life? I assume positively since there are no moving parts. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/10 "2013-07-08T18:13:22Z")
I have three Crucial M4 SSDs and all are serving me well. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/11 "2013-07-08T18:44:45Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > How do these affect battery life? I assume positively since there are no moving parts. That’s correct (don’t think it has anything to do with parts or lack of moving parts, they just draw less power). ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/12 "2013-07-08T19:15:52Z")
Before installing the operating system on a new ssd, it would be better to read up on formatting ( especially alignment ) and preparation for ssds. As in this **[sample](http://www.maketecheasier.com/12-things-you-must-do-when-running-a-solid-state-drive-in-windows-7/2012/05/11)** — ssds are a subject where for every suggestion someone will argue the opposite. These aren’t essential, but do extend the life of the drive. I upgraded to a Samsung 830 on my desktop, and it boots very quickly: however, the operating system was OpenSuse 12.3, just out; which boasted greatly improved booting times and general speed, so I dunno which caused what. Anyway, it’s fast. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/13 "2013-07-08T19:21:39Z")
An 840 Pro is expensive but IMHO is one of the best drives out there in terms of speed and reliability. The regular 840 uses a slower and less durable type of NAND but this isn’t an issue unless you’re a real power user or plan to keep your drive a long time. If you have an optical drive you can sometimes get a caddy to install a HHD or SSD instead, but then you have to deal with an external optical drive whenever you install software from a CD. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/14 "2013-07-08T19:53:11Z")
> [@Engineer\_Dude](#): > > That’s correct (don’t think it has anything to do with parts or lack of moving parts, they just draw less power). sure it does; not having to spin platters at 5400/7200 rpm saves a bunch of power. IIRC an average SSD consumes about half a watt while operating, while a spinny hard drive can take 2-10 watts depending on (physical) size and speed. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/15 "2013-07-08T21:40:43Z")
> [@pauly1](#): > > Looking to get an SSD for my laptop because i read its one of the best things you can do for your computer to make it faster. This depends upon how you’re using the laptop and where it’s going slow. You should bring up Task Manager and System Monitor to see what’s going on. Key things to check: CPU usage: if you’re using 100% CPU or 100% of one core, then you need to look at what’s using the CPU. Memory usage: if you’re using more than 4 GB RAM then you need to add more memory (and ensure you’re using a 64 bit OS). Microsoft used to say that this was the #1 means of making your PC go faster. Disk usage: if you’re hitting the disk a lot, then check memory usage above, and failing that, get a faster HDD or SSD. Since you say your laptop is lagging a lot, I’m guessing you’re playing games: laptops aren’t really gaming devices so lower the quality. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/16 "2013-07-08T22:09:01Z")
I use several notebooks with SSDs. Boot ups and overall file access will be faster, but for general operations it’s pretty much what Engineer Comp\_Geek said. It’ll kick it up a tick but don’t expect miracles. Lots of speed lags have little to do with raw disk access speeds, but are more clunky OS, slow server, and net speed access issues. ---
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/17 "2013-07-08T22:28:13Z")
> [@pauly1](#): > > 1. Is it easy to install it? Im not computer savy. And how long does it take to install it? For this question I don’t see anyone who’s mentioned that you have to copy over all of your stuff including Windows. Which isn’t terribly hard to do but for the non-tech-savvy I would call it non-trivial. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/18 "2013-07-08T22:38:19Z")
> [@arseNal](#): > > For this question I don’t see anyone who’s mentioned that you have to copy over all of your stuff including Windows. Which isn’t terribly hard to do but for the non-tech-savvy I would call it non-trivial. Kingston’s SSD Now kit includes all the hardware to do this quite easily I including cloning software and an external drive bay. ---
**Author:** ![eltro102](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@eltro102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eltro102)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/19 "2013-07-08T22:59:18Z")
Not sure if anyone has posted yet but you should always keep a reasonable amount of space on your SSD free for wear leveling ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872/20 "2013-07-08T23:08:59Z")
> [@jacobsta811](#): > > Whatever is cheapest - there is no real difference in general usage with a brand new SSD I’m not sure that is at all correct. SSD’s have a high failure rate and when they fail they fail badly. There have been widely published statistics derived from [hardware.fr](http://hardware.fr) based on [return rates of SSD’s](http://www.hardware-revolution.com/best-ssd-best-hdd-for-your-money-may-2013/): > [@](#): > > From Marc Prieur, of [hardware.fr](http://hardware.fr), here are the SSDs failures rates according to a French e-tailer as of May 2013: > > - Samsung 0,05% > - Plextor 0,16% > - Intel 0,37% > - Crucial 1,12% > - Corsair 1,61% > - OCZ 6,64% (!) > > The failure rates are based on parts sold between April 1st 2012 and October 1st 2012, for returns before April 2013, which represents 6 months to one year of usage. The statistics per brand are based on a sample of at least 500 sales. - See more at: [HOAX.COM: unravelling the truth from fiction, past to present...](http://www.hardware-revolution.com/best-ssd-best-hdd-for-your-money-may-2013/#sthash.x0oeG7bY.dpuf) I understand based on other reading that (despite my own cite) these are return rates not failure rates (the latter being a mistranslation). I’ve seen an article on Tomshardware deriding these figures as having nothing to do with reliability (only returns) but that sounds like handwaving to me: it may be true that these rates are not completely uninfluenced by returns for reasons other than failure, but I’d be extremely surprised if failure wasn’t a key reason for return. And the differences between manufacturers appear to be massive. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssd-questions/662872.md?page=2)