external ssd's

[tfcoulson]

I really wish I had got the 17" vortex so I could have had an ssd as well as a hard drive and bluray. But I wanted a smaller screen so no eating my cake Nvermind.
Instead Im looking at getting a smallish external ssd to stick my games on. I want a usb3.0 connection though and looking around at the external hdd enclosures all the ones that say they are for ssd's are usb2.0. I have no idea about different connections, I was thinking a laptops hdd has the same connection as an ssd? If so is it fine to get a usb3.0 external case for a hdd and put in an sdd instead or is it a different connection?

http://www.dabs.ie/products/ocz-tec...2-5--solid-state-drive-7HR1.html?q=ssd&src=16

(I know what people say about the ocz ones being unreliable, but with 3 years warranty I dont think I should have too much problem and they seem to be the only ones that meet the specs I want).

After saying all that, ive just found this, but with a data speed transfer of only 150mbps which seems a bit strange seeing as its a usb3 :wacko:

http://www.dabs.ie/products/akasa-n...---12-5mm-sata-ssd-hdd-7NHY.html?q=ssd&src=16

So question still stands
Thanks

 

[Wozza63]

would get an SSD internally and then get a caddy for your normal hard drive, because even USB3.0 will limit the SSDs capability

 

[tfcoulson]

I know but if I were to do that it would mean messing about with windows and all my installed stuff. And buying a decent sized one which isnt available in the short time I have to get it delivered to me Ive only got decent internet for another week and a bit and I dont have my windows and driver cds with me. So not really much of an option at the moment unfortunatly.

 

[tom_gr7]

your best getting a ssd installing everything on again, (a pain i know) ssd's are best as boot drives, you wont see the full potential an ssd has unless you use it as a boot drive. ssd's are not great for storing things on due to the small size, you could use it for games but i think there will be little benefit.

If you could get a external ssd. You're gonna pay top notch for that, then lose alot of its speed due to usb 3.0 not being fast enough. I dont think its worth it

Also if ya not going to use it as a boot drive what ya gonna use it for?

 

[Wozza63]

i know some of the kingston drives on amazon have a kit to install OS easily

 

[tfcoulson]

Was basically just thinking of the benefit for games. And getting them off my hard drive so I have space for the rest of my rubbish. To be honest, I understand the most benefits will come with boot up times, but if thats all its used for, what a waste. Once its on I might as well not have it and just leave the laptop turned on all the time.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/ocz-enyo-usb-3-portable-ssd-review/6
Thats a couple of years old nearly I think, with write speeds of 200-260 or so depending on model, and ssd's have improved massively since then as well so Im guessing speeds would be even higher now.
Would a usb3 really bottleneck it? I thought they are capable of a few gbps?

EDIT:Thinking about it your probs right Better off getting a larger ssd for the main drive then just using an external hdd for all my files. I think I read something about a plastic bracket or something was needed? Or was that to swap the dvd drive with a hard drive instead of taking out the hard drive and just having a straight swap with the ssd?

EDIT2: Well, just got myself a hyper x 256gb ssd, and an external case (For the current hdd ).
Nearly went with ocz, then had a look on their forums and that put me off massively, so then nearly went with crucial, then had a look at their forums. Then remembered kingston was what I was originally looking at anyway and finaly didnt seem to be plagued with problems.

 

[Music Guy123]

It may be too late but I would recommend removing the disk drive and then putting an hdd caddy in. This way you could get two drives in and you would have to buy an external disk drive which isn't used as much. However, if that isn't possible, i would try to make use of the esata port.

 

[tfcoulson]

Sorry, your too late! Esata normally requires another power source, either wall or I think they can also connected to usb. So I might as well just stick with the usb if that is the case. Being in the military and only having two available sockets make life a little difficult sometimes.
SSd will be in the laptop, the current hdd probably kept as is with windows on it for when the ssd surely fails (Gotta have faith) and I already have another external hdd with just my files backed up.
I would prefer to keep the bluray player in the laptop and plug in an external when I want to stick a film on as, the hdd will surely get passed around to the others here quite a bit (hddwhore) and most of them wont have an esata port. Unbelievable that I have to think of everyone elses needs too isnt it

 

[Music Guy123]

Fair enough! I can't stress how much better it is to put the os on the SSD though. It speeds up your computer ten fold and iis what makes the SSD most useful and most noticeable. Anyway, best of luck!

 

[tfcoulson]

Yep thats how Im gonna do it. Think I might also run a few benchmarks to see the actual difference in internal and external and Ill stick the results up here. Any programs any one could recommend or would like to see used?

 

[AndyL]

Fair enough! I can't stress how much better it is to put the os on the SSD though. It speeds up your computer ten fold and iis what makes the SSD most useful and most noticeable. Anyway, best of luck!

+1, there is almost no point in having an SSD unless the OS is installed on it as that is where you will see 90% of the improvement from!

Yep thats how Im gonna do it. Think I might also run a few benchmarks to see the actual difference in internal and external and Ill stick the results up here. Any programs any one could recommend or would like to see used?

If you are going to benchmark the SSD then I would use the following programs:
CrystalDiskMark
Atto Disk Benchmark

 

[tfcoulson]

Ok, here goes: Tested with Crystal Disk Mark and Atto Disk Benchmark. Both SSD externally then internally, and HDD internally then externally (hdd filled nearly to the max wheras SSD externally empty, internally Windows 7 and drivers). USB3.0. Was expecting a little bit more out of it.
Kingston HyperX 256GB SSD, Read: 555MB/s, Write: 540MB/s.
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SSD

Internal

External

Hard Drive

Internal

External

 

[AndyL]

From the results you can clearly see that the SSD only performs at about 1/4 speed when used externally. When connected internally it achieves the expected speeds.

 

[tfcoulson]

Yep it has made quite a difference. A bit curious as to how some of the write speeds are faster than the read speeds though, I know computers are good but I cant write faster than I read. Dont know if its because of the speed of the drive, or if the old drive was too full or something wrong with my windows7, but skyrim has shot up from around 21fps to 45-50+fps on max settings/resolution. Happy days

 

[AndyL]

but skyrim has shot up from around 21fps to 45-50+fps on max settings/resolution. Happy days

The SSD has absolutely 0% effect on gaming performance (it only effects loading times, which leads to an increase in responsiveness of the OS too).

Also are you saying that you get 45-50fps on skyrim at Ultra preset @1920x1080? Because I have almost an identical setup and only get about 25-40fps

 

[tfcoulson]

Yep, all settings and resolution at its highest, newest nvidia beta drivers.
Beforehand I was only getting about 20-21fps, so there was definatly a problem somewhere along the line. Now its a fresh windows install.