Replacing HDD with SSD; which SSD would be compatible?

Mr Happy

Weaksauce
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Jul 19, 2013
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Hello all

On my computer, the OS is having a few problems (Windows 8.1).

I am considering using a recovery flash drive I made about a year ago to reinstall a factory version of the OS, if you know what I mean.

I currently have a 1TB 7200rpm HDD, for a long time I had considered replacing it with an SSD in the future.

I am considering buying an SSD, then removing the HDD and using my recovery flash drive to install the OS on the SSD.

As far as I know, the recovery drive will install Windows 8 (not 8.1) as the PC came with Win 8 on it; I upgraded to Win 8.1 about 18 months ago. When Windows 10 upgrade is available later this year, I will probably upgrade to Windows 10 (depending on how the reviews of Windows 10 are), so it would be Windows 10 on an SSD that I would be working with.


I have a few questions:

1) Would I notice a speed increase?- My PC already does run/boot up very quickly in my opinion

2) How would I know which SSDs are compatible with my computer?

3) My PSU is 460W- am I right in assuming that this will be enough for any SSD as they all use less wattage than HDDs?

4) Any SSD recommendations/what should I look for when choosing an SSD?-

I dont need too much capacity (eg 120gb should be fine), I live in the UK and was considering this:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-181-SA&groupid=701&catid=2104




Thanks if anyone can answer
 
Last edited:
1> Yes
2> Look at your motherboard/manual make sure you have SATA ports (hint you do) make sure they're SATAIII (AKA SATA3 or SATA 6GB) If it is SATAII then make sure you buy an SSD that is SATA2 compatible. I heard some newer ones are not could be BS though.
3> SSDs use much less power in general You could run both SSD and HHD unless there is a problem.
4> Price, warranty/return policy. From what i hear you cannot go wrong with a samsung 850 pro but consider some of the cheaper consumer versions too. (Samsung EVO's still having an issue with firm ware?) ADATA 900's seem fairly decent at about half the cost of the 850 Pros

I'm not sure how the recovery disk will work. the few times i thought i would use one.. they failed /shrug.
 
Thanks redrage

One other thing just popped into my head

Do Microsoft have some safeguard that stops people installing their OS on more than one hard drive/computer? I thought they had stopped using 'product keys' with the introduction of Windows 8
 
Thanks redrage

One other thing just popped into my head

Do Microsoft have some safeguard that stops people installing their OS on more than one hard drive/computer? I thought they had stopped using 'product keys' with the introduction of Windows 8

It depends on if your PC is from an OEM or if you purchased the Windows 8/8.1 OS separately. OEM PCs have the Windows 8/8.1 key in the BIOS. If you built it yourself, you still need to enter the key that came with your install media. This guide is also helpful, it details how to install 8.1 directly, then activate with your 8 key, so you can skip the in-place upgrade/update entirely: http://www.howtogeek.com/187525/how-to-perform-a-clean-install-of-windows-8.1-with-a-windows-8-key/
 
1> Yes
2> Look at your motherboard/manual make sure you have SATA ports (hint you do) make sure they're SATAIII (AKA SATA3 or SATA 6GB) If it is SATAII then make sure you buy an SSD that is SATA2 compatible. I heard some newer ones are not could be BS though.
3> SSDs use much less power in general You could run both SSD and HHD unless there is a problem.
4> Price, warranty/return policy. From what i hear you cannot go wrong with a samsung 850 pro but consider some of the cheaper consumer versions too. (Samsung EVO's still having an issue with firm ware?) ADATA 900's seem fairly decent at about half the cost of the 850 Pros

I'm not sure how the recovery disk will work. the few times i thought i would use one.. they failed /shrug.

Almost completely right.

SATAII and SATAIII are backwards compatible in both directions. It is BS that there are SATAIII SSDs that don't work on SATAII. Heck, you can run SATAIII SSDs on SATAI if you want to.
 
Ive just found this SSD for just £40.00 GBP.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/components-and-upgrades/internal-data-storage/sandisk-sdssdp-sata-iii-ssd-128-gb-19765808-pdt.html

What do you people think?

Would I be taking a risk if I got this one instead of the Samsung one in the previous link I posted above?

Sandisk makes good SSD drives - I don't think you could wrong with that particular drive. It might be a little slower than the 850 EVO in benchmarks, but I doubt you'd see much difference with actual daily usage.
 
Sandisks drives are the most consistent over time. The 850 Evo might show better bench numbers but a destroyer test will show that the equal tier Sandisk drives do better over time. You'll get 550/520 from the Sandisk even after serious abuse. Their firmware is rock solid as well. Not something anyone can say about samsungs drives.
 
There is the Ultra II for a few bucks more.

I have placed an order for the following:

240GB SanDisk Ultra II, 7mm Slim 2.5" SSD (I think this is the one you are referring to, Aesma)

I should receive it next week.


Im relatively new to hardware upgrading, can anyone tell me do I require any extra cables/accessories?? (I have just ordered the actual SSD on its own)

Many thanks people
 
Sandisks drives are the most consistent over time. The 850 Evo might show better bench numbers but a destroyer test will show that the equal tier Sandisk drives do better over time. You'll get 550/520 from the Sandisk even after serious abuse. Their firmware is rock solid as well. Not something anyone can say about samsungs drives.

I have just ordered a Sandisk one, see the above post.
 
Im relatively new to hardware upgrading, can anyone tell me do I require any extra cables/accessories?? (I have just ordered the actual SSD on its own)

All you'll need is a SATA cable. If you are replacing the hard drive with the SSD, then you can use the existing cable. However, if you plan on using both the HDD and SSD, then you'll need the extra cable.

Not sure if the Sandisk SSD comes with a cable. Most of the retail packages don't include one.
 
It comes in a very small box, from what I remember (I have 2, and the boxes are somewhere in my stuff) it might have screws. You can't put it directly in a 3,5" HDD bay, but my SSDs usually lay at the bottom of cases, some people prefer to velcro them or other similar solutions. I think you could probably screw them in a bay on one side alone, those have very small PCBs and are ultra light.
 
Almost completely right.

SATAII and SATAIII are backwards compatible in both directions. It is BS that there are SATAIII SSDs that don't work on SATAII. Heck, you can run SATAIII SSDs on SATAI if you want to.

That's what i thought too but read a review where the reviewer couldn't get it to work at all on SATAII with just a specific drive

Granted the site could be full of it too.. which wouldn't be too surprizing :D
 
That's what i thought too but read a review where the reviewer couldn't get it to work at all on SATAII with just a specific drive

Granted the site could be full of it too.. which wouldn't be too surprizing :D

As a general rule of thumb: Individual reviews are meaningless (and the individual may be an idiot), UNTIL you see a trend.
 
my recommendations are two options.

SATA or M.2/PCIe?

SATA (this option will tithe you over til NVMe is common place)
850 Pro
Sandisk Extreme Pro
no other SATA SSD is worth while in my eyes. They are only slightly more expensive as long as you get them on sale (at least US..UK *shrugs*)

M.2 (This option will make NVMe upgrade pointless until it becauses very mature)
Kingston predator
Samsung SM951 if you can find it.

Also don't go less than 240/256GB. There is a large performance hit and always provision for future growth.
 
my recommendations are two options.

SATA or M.2/PCIe?

SATA (this option will tithe you over til NVMe is common place)
850 Pro
Sandisk Extreme Pro
no other SATA SSD is worth while in my eyes. They are only slightly more expensive as long as you get them on sale (at least US..UK *shrugs*)

M.2 (This option will make NVMe upgrade pointless until it becauses very mature)
Kingston predator
Samsung SM951 if you can find it.

Also don't go less than 240/256GB. There is a large performance hit and always provision for future growth.

I have already ordered ''240GB SanDisk Ultra II 7mm Slim 2.5" SSD''
 
I have already ordered ''240GB SanDisk Ultra II 7mm Slim 2.5" SSD''

it'll work. Not my personal choice. Though they are super cheap or at least the larger ones. I dont know if you can still find them on sale but the old mx500 are on or were on like a fire sale. The 960GB were like 300 bucks lol
 
it'll work. Not my personal choice. Though they are super cheap or at least the larger ones. I dont know if you can still find them on sale but the old mx500 are on or were on like a fire sale. The 960GB were like 300 bucks lol

I would have got a better one if I had more money.
 
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