SSD or not?

[tractor]

So I bit the bullet and procured a nice spanking new i7 but there was no SSD option.

Do I

• Not bother with SSD?
• Install an SSD and reload Win onto it before clogging the HD up with progs and apps then making any later transition a pain?
• Leave it until I really need one?

[SimonMac]

Buy a SSD and have the OS running on that, depending on what other apps you use consider that for those apps that will benefit from speed, keep the HDD for storage etc

[Bunk]

So I bit the bullet and procured a nice spanking new i7 but there was no SSD option.

Do I

• Install an SSD and reload Win onto it before clogging the HD up with progs and apps then making any later transition a pain?

This one. It makes as a big a difference to general use as any upgrade I can remember doing. Faster bootup, faster application loading, faster file copying. Use the hard drive for content stuff, movies, mp3s, photos etc and keep the OS and apps on the SSD.

[Scruff]

I put an SSD into a 6 year old laptop and its "like new". Boots to Windows in 12 seconds.

I removed the DVD and put my "old" HDD into that bay as a second drive.

SSD is a no brainer...

[tractor]

...

Thanks, I thought that would be the way to go but the only ssd option was like 32gb which would be way too small for OS and apps so looks like I will go for a 250 or 500gb and reinstall W8 before going too far into it.

So you all know what's coming next

Recommendations? Samsung, Crucial etc?

[d000hg]

If you have a 500Gb or higher SSD you might not feel you even need to keep the spinny drive although there's probably no real reason to take it out, depending on your usage... my 4-5yo desktop PC has only a 500Gb spinny disk and it's still got over half free!

I might in your position be tempted to get a 500/750/1Tb SSD as the sole drive, unless you have a bunch of video or FLAC music.

[yasockie]

Install an SSD and reload Win onto it before clogging the HD up with progs and apps then making any later transition a pain?

This

[tractor]

...

If you have a 500Gb or higher SSD you might not feel you even need to keep the spinny drive although there's probably no real reason to take it out, depending on your usage... my 4-5yo desktop PC has only a 500Gb spinny disk and it's still got over half free!

I might in your position be tempted to get a 500/750/1Tb SSD as the sole drive, unless you have a bunch of video or FLAC music.

It came standard with a 1TB spinny and I do a lot of photography using RAW and the odd wedding/sports videos so I will keep that. If I ever wanted to extend storage I would go for wifi san so I guess looking at the reviews a Samsung 850 EVO (£110) with 10 yr warranty is looking good. That gives me 256GB for OS/Apps and 1TB spinny for data and that should be sufficient.

[administrator]

Only thing to look at is the data transfer rate of the drives. Can't remember what they are but have a look at ebuyer or wherever and look at the speeds. Ah feck, sucked in now...

I went for this one a few weeks ago for a new machine at admin towers:
Kingston 240GB SSDNow V300 SSD Upgrade Kit - Ebuyer

Sequential Reads: SATA Rev. 3.0 up to: 450MB/s
Sequential Writes: SATA Rev. 3.0 up to: 450MB/s

This one is faster read but slower write:
Crucial 240GB M500 SSD - Ebuyer

Sequential Read: 500 MB/s
Sequential Write: 250 MB/s
Has three year warranty too!

Here's a 500GB one if you are feeling a bit flash:
Samsung 500GB SSD 840 EVO - SSD Only - Ebuyer

Sequential Read: Max. 540 MB/s
Sequential Write: Max. 520 MB/s

The first one is fast enough for me and such a massive difference over SATA Disk drives - you won't regret the extra cash on it. If your machine is coming with Windows on then can recommend this version of the top one:
Kingston 240GB SSDNow V300 SSD Upgrade Kit - Ebuyer

Comes with drive copying software to mirror the install drive to the SSD to save having to reinstall Windows and mess with Keys etc. Works a treat! Comes with SSD USB drive enclosure too - I am sure I'll find a use for it some day Have used the Crucial one before in the past and can't tell any difference in speed between that and this one...

[sal]

I put an SSD into a 6 year old laptop and its "like new". Boots to Windows in 12 seconds.

I removed the DVD and put my "old" HDD into that bay as a second drive.

SSD is a no brainer...

^This,

As for recommendations i'm using Samsung 840 Pro for my desktop and 840 EVO for my laptop, only a slight advantage for the Pro that doesn't warrant the price premium so i would go for Samsung Evo probably the best performance/price offering on the market