I took the plunge and replaced my hdd on my Asus S400C laptop with a Crucial MX100 and it went flawlessly. I then decided to go for broke and replaced the 1 Tb hdd on my Acer TC-605 with the Sandisk Extreme Pro 960 Gb. I love how my computers are no longer clicking away all the time with the poor hard disks seeming to work their little hearts out.
I am sure there is a good reason why after a few months, Windows computers just seem to keep working harder and harder and get slower and slower. I know it is because of all the stuff we put into them, but I have always kept my computers cleaned up and it still seems to happen. I am hoping that changing to ssd drives in both my computers will remove some of that issue; right now it seems to be working.
I just replaced the hdd on my desktop last night and used Farstone's DriveClone 11 Free Version (http://www.farstone.com/software/drive-clone.php). This software is easier for the non-geek because it does one thing exceeding well--clone your disk. It also has a "fast" mode which I used to back up my ~700 Gb of files in only about an hour. The only thing I had trouble with was getting the computer to recognize the ssd simply because I am not really into this stuff. I did a bit of googling and found how-to sites on how to use disk manager to assign a new drive letter and then I was fine.
Another issue I had was in physically installing the ssd in the computer. I went to a computer store and a guy simply gave me a plastic 2.5" to 3.5" chassis. This was helpful but Acer bolts the hdd up against the side of the case and doesn't use the traditional horizontal stacked configuration any more. I ended up installing the ssd on the plastic chassis and then simply using wire ties to hold the whole configuration in the slot where the old "massive" 3.5" hdd had been. As this computer just sits and never moves, I think that will be just fine. If the idea of doing that bothers you, then you may wish to open up your computer and see if you can find the correct 2.5" to 3.5" adapter. I scoured Amazon and could find nothing that had the correct configuration of drilled and tapped holes to mount in my Acer. (I needed to be able to mount to the bottom of the ssd adapter.)
If you are contemplating replacing your hdd in either a laptop or desktop, the time has come. Prices have gotten reasonable and the technology is mature. I can sit in my home office in complete silence, no longer listening to that annoying hard drive always working away--it is amazing how nice silence can be.
In summary here is what you need:
1. Find a ssd you like. I recommend a name brand with a large installed base so that you can capitalize on others experiences. I have a Crucial in my laptop and a Sandisk in the desktop and am pleased with both. I went a little more budget on the laptop but stepped up on the desktop and got the best: the Sandisk Extreme Pro. You can't beat a 10 year warranty. Computer years are like dog years so a 10 year warranty is like a "lifetime". Also, get the largest capacity you can afford.
2. Get the ssd enclosure. You will need this enclosure because you have to have a way to connect the computer to the new ssd in order to transfer the system from one hard drive to another. In other words, you put the new ssd in the enclosure, transfer all your stuff to the ssd via the usb port on your computer, and then remove your old hdd and replace it with the new ssd. I got a Sabrent and it was fine. I didn't even bother to put the cover on as all you really need is the usb adapter. Search Amazon for "hdd enclosure 2.5 inch".
3. Get the migration software. Again, I used the free Farstone DriveClone 11 and was really pleased. I downloaded others but the Farstone is easiest for non-geeks if all you are doing is cloning.
4. Set aside some time and take the plunge. While pricey, making the change removes a huge annoyance (noise) for those of us who live on our computers and it also speeds up booting and working with large files. My computers are fairly new so if you have older computers, you may want to do more research.
I so love the silence. The speed is nice too!
| Hard Drive | 960 GB Solid State Drive |
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