Installing an SSD hard drive into my machine has to be the most transformative computing experience I’ve had since the introduction of Intel’s Core line of processors.<\/p>\n
But there are important things to know about SSD and upgrading.\u00a0 Sure, it’ll install just like any other hard drive, but they are not created the same way and need different tweaks on them.\u00a0 Our operating systems are still geared and tuned for platter systems.\u00a0 There has been many, many people tweaking and experimenting with a great number of setups.\u00a0 Now, however, they are all starting to converge and say similar things.\u00a0 Here’s a great link with most of the common details and techniques outlined: So, those are some high-level tips.\u00a0 Go to the link for detailed instructions and discussions for these steps.<\/p>\n I have an SSD in my laptop, and now one in my desktop.\u00a0 The battery life improvements on my laptop were awesome.\u00a0 The bootup, shudown, and app start time are nearly instantaneous on both – simply stunning. \u00a0 It’s like using a brand new kind of machine. Installing an SSD hard drive into my machine has to be the most transformative computing experience I’ve had since the introduction of Intel’s Core line of processors. But there are important things to know about SSD and upgrading.\u00a0 Sure, it’ll install just like any other hard drive, but they are not created the same way and need different tweaks on them.\u00a0 Our operating systems are still geared and tuned for platter systems.\u00a0 There has been many, many people tweaking and…<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.sevenforums.com\/tutorials\/70822-ssd-tweaks-optimizations-windows-7-a.html<\/a>
\nHowever, there are some important things I think are worth calling out:<\/p>\n\n
\nDon’t freak out though – Intel drives have 3 year warranties, use modern wear leveling algorithms, compression to avoid extra writes, have built-in block correction\/replacement, and use modern processes so that you are now much more likely you’ll upgrade before a failure.\u00a0 Still, using the drive as a constant write cache would be a bad idea. Most of the optimization strategies you read about are geared for the right balance of longevity and speed.<\/li>\n
\nIn addition, if you’re like me and have an original Win7 install CD, you can freely download a Win7+SP1 image instead which saves you at least 20-30 minutes of downloading and installing SP1 after the install.\u00a0 You can find links to the unified packages below.\u00a0 Simply pick the one that MATCHES the version you bought (or the serial number won’t work).\u00a0 Yes, these are 100% legal because they are the 30-day trial versions that you unlock with your purchased serial number.
\nhttp:\/\/www.w7forums.com\/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-image-downloads-t12325.html<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/msft.digitalrivercontent.net\/win\/X17-24395.iso<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 <-\u00a0 Win7 Ultimate x64 (for me!)<\/li>\n
\nThe bigger question is data.\u00a0 People that do video editing\/photoshop\/etc generate tons of big files that results in lots of writes to the drive.\u00a0 That can be huge slowdowns in their workflows, and prime candidates for using on the SSD.\u00a0 But it also means lots of writing to big sections of the drive.\u00a0 I would almost recommend a second SSD for that work so if it fails, you don’t end up with an unbootable machine.\u00a0 Most people should be fine with keeping their data on the platters, but do as you need and keep good backups if you do use the primary drive for data too.<\/li>\n\n
\nI would recommend a SSD to anyone that wants to really improve their home PC\/laptop experience.\u00a0 It really is the wave of the future that is settling in the market now.\u00a0 Once they get the capacities up to 1TB, keep up the great improvements in drive longevity, and get the prices down (all things that are happening with each new release) – there will be no reason to own platter drives beyond wanting huge, slow bit buckets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"