Thinking about buying this SSD...

[DeltrusDisc]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227550

I want to make sure this would be compatible with my computer, I think it is. Would I just hook it into an E-sata port on my motherboard? I have one that is sitting on the back side of my computer untouched. I have a Gateway that is mostly stock from January 2009, DX4710-09.

[ispano]

No, that's not eSata, it goes inside the computer. Assuming your computer has free SATA ports it would work, but for best results you're looking at a full reinstall.

[DeltrusDisc]

No, that's not eSata, it goes inside the computer. Assuming your computer has free SATA ports it would work, but for best results you're looking at a full reinstall.

oh I do plan to put both Vista 64 (shudder) and WoW on this thing since that's what I mainly use the computer for.

[Jurwi]

There is absolutely no need to reinstall anything unless your current Vista installation is full of useless garbage and spyware and whatnot. Just clone your current OS on the new SSD.

[DeltrusDisc]

There is absolutely no need to reinstall anything unless your current Vista installation is full of useless garbage and spyware and whatnot. Just clone your current OS on the new SSD.

That does sound simpler. :P

[jmmathe1988]

Why in the world would you want to drop an ssd in a computer from 2009? Seems like a big waste of money to me, all an ssd will do is speed up load times. It wont increase fps in games, and remember wow alone is around 30gigs atm + your OS ... Your choice, but just seems like a waste to drop a ssd in a crappy gateway from years ago and from searching for that system it looks like its from a local store and not a custom computer built for gaming, rederring, or editing videos like most people would get to go along with the speed'y drive. Thats system is label'd as intergrated graphics for one which is a big no-no for gaming, so unless you managed to wrangle in a new gpu "which would be hard to do without up'ing the 300watt stock psu" you must get terrible fps.

Gateway® DX4710-09

Processor Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor1 E5200 (2.5GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache)1
Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit) with SP12
Memory 6144MB DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 x 2048MB and 2 x 1024MB Modules)
Hard Drive 640GB 7200RPM SATA II hard drive3
Chassis Modern System Design with Silver Chrome Branding Strip
Application Software Microsoft® Works 9.0, Microsoft® Money Essentials & Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial period)4
Audio 8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio
Available Expansion Slots Available: 1 - PCI-E x16, 1 - PCI-E x1, 1 - PCI
Digital Media Software Cyberlink® Power2 Go™ & Cyberlink® LabelPrint
Dimensions (Box) 11.2" (H) x 17.7" (W) x 22.1" (D) or 285mm (H) x 450mm (W) x 561mm (D)
Dimensions (System) 16.3" (H) x 7.1" (W) x 17.3" (D) or 414mm (H) x 180mm (W) x 439mm (D)
External Ports (6) USB 2.0 ports (2 Front, 4 Rear), eSATA, VGA, (2) PS/2 Ports
Integrated Video Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 with up to 256MB of Shared Video Memory
Keyboard Premium Multimedia Keyboard
Media Card Reader 15-in-1 High Speed Digital Media Card Reader with Smart Copy Button5
Memory Capacity Expandable to 8GB
Modem 56K ITU V.92 ready Fax/Modem (RJ-11 port)
Motherboard Systemboard with Intel® G33 Viiv™ Express Chipset
Mouse USB optical 2-Button Wheel Mouse
Network 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
Optical Drive 18X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelfash™ Technology6
Power Supply 300W Power Supply
Security Software Symantec Norton 360™ 2008 (60-day trial)7
Speakers Amplified Stereo Speakers (USB Powered)
Warranty 1 Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty with Toll-Free Tech Support8
Weight 24.25 lbs. (11 kg) system unit only / Approximately 35.25 lbs. (16.0 kg.) box

[Exp]

Why in the world would you want to drop an ssd in a computer from 2009? Seems like a big waste of money to me, all an ssd will do is speed up load times. It wont increase fps in games, and remember wow alone is around 30gigs atm + your OS ... Your choice, but just seems like a waste to drop a ssd in a crappy gateway from years ago and from searching for that system it looks like its from a local store and not a custom computer like most people would get to go along with the speed'y drive. Thats system is label'd as intergrated graphics for one which is a big no-no for gaming, so unless you managed to wrangle in a new gpu "which would be hard to do without up'ing the 300watt stack psu" you must get terrible fps.

Gateway® DX4710-09
Web Address: http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668235.php


Processor Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor1 E5200 (2.5GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache)1
Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit) with SP12
Memory 6144MB DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 x 2048MB and 2 x 1024MB Modules)
Hard Drive 640GB 7200RPM SATA II hard drive3
Chassis Modern System Design with Silver Chrome Branding Strip
Application Software Microsoft® Works 9.0, Microsoft® Money Essentials & Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial period)4
Audio 8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio
Available Expansion Slots Available: 1 - PCI-E x16, 1 - PCI-E x1, 1 - PCI
Digital Media Software Cyberlink® Power2 Go™ & Cyberlink® LabelPrint
Dimensions (Box) 11.2" (H) x 17.7" (W) x 22.1" (D) or 285mm (H) x 450mm (W) x 561mm (D)
Dimensions (System) 16.3" (H) x 7.1" (W) x 17.3" (D) or 414mm (H) x 180mm (W) x 439mm (D)
External Ports (6) USB 2.0 ports (2 Front, 4 Rear), eSATA, VGA, (2) PS/2 Ports
Integrated Video Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 with up to 256MB of Shared Video Memory
Keyboard Premium Multimedia Keyboard
Media Card Reader 15-in-1 High Speed Digital Media Card Reader with Smart Copy Button5
Memory Capacity Expandable to 8GB
Modem 56K ITU V.92 ready Fax/Modem (RJ-11 port)
Motherboard Systemboard with Intel® G33 Viiv™ Express Chipset
Mouse USB optical 2-Button Wheel Mouse
Network 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
Optical Drive 18X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelfash™ Technology6
Power Supply 300W Power Supply
Security Software Symantec Norton 360™ 2008 (60-day trial)7
Speakers Amplified Stereo Speakers (USB Powered)
Warranty 1 Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty with Toll-Free Tech Support8
Weight 24.25 lbs. (11 kg) system unit only / Approximately 35.25 lbs. (16.0 kg.) box

When people say that a SSD is the biggest upgrade for your computer that you can make, they mean if you have a less than 5 year old pc. A solid state drive will do the following: make load times much much lower, speed up installs of any software, and make windows load alot faster. Imo I would use the cash you'd spend on a SSD and purchase a new computer with a dedicated graphics card. Not saying they'd be the same price, but it would be at least something to put forward for it. And btw, wow isnt quite 30gigs unless you havent done a full reinstall for a while. It would be more than worth it to simply download from the cataclysm install disc (which btw has ALL the files from vanilla => cata so you DO NOT need to load them separately) and just download the patches. Right now my wow folder is under 24gigs, but vista should be about 10ish added to that.

[jmmathe1988]

Imo I would use the cash you'd spend on a SSD and purchase a new computer with a dedicated graphics card. Not saying they'd be the same price, but it would be at least something to put forward for it.

Well the drive is just alittle over 100$ , he could get a decent amd compter with a dedicated gpu for 1000 - 1200 ... which I got mine from digital storm and would recommend them in a heart-beat. My system has a 160 intell ssd, but its also an expensive build with components that support getting an ssd. In his situation in my opinion it would be silly to get one, sure he would load windows faster, make wow load screens go quicker, and speed up installs but the cost vs age of his pc doesnt add up...if you really want to go for it, but what we both listed is all that will be achieved by doing so. Its tax time, I know I got 1000$ and all I do is unload trucks for a retail store. So if your like me put that money to use and get a new system!

If you decide to try an get a new system, and are on a very tight budget I would suggest this, not the best but is worlds better than what you have http://www.digitalstormonline.com/co...p?id=485596%20

[Deleted]

I can flag for OCZ Vertex2 myself - it's a great drive as long as you remember to upgrade it to the latest firmware!

And yes, I agree with people who say that SSD makes a massive, massive difference especially if you're dealing with a single non-RAID setup. I slapped the Vertex into my Macbook Pro and it literally flies compared to the normal 7200 SATA I had in it before.

[ccckkk]

If you are only getting a 60g ssd then its not worth (and probably not possible) squeezing vista & wow on.

If it were me I would just plug in the ssd and put just wow on it. I had this setup for a while and it worked great until i moved my os to another ssd. It also has the big advantage of taking a bout 5 mins to install and move your wow folder and be up & running again (and you don't need to mess with the os).

[Asera]

Speaking from personal experience, a 60 gig SSD is way too freaking small. This thing is an absolute pain in the ass to manage, and I'm considering removing it to replace with something with a decent size to it. The load times are hardly "amazing", and certainly doesn't make up for having to pay attention to how much space you are using. I'd never get an SSD under 200GB if I got another. And I'm not getting another until they actually make a difference to offset their ridiculous cost.

Going from a Phenom II X4 955 BE C2 to a Phenom II X6 1090T BE E0 was a more justifiable upgrade than this 60gb VertexII.

But that's just my opinion.

[DeltrusDisc]

Why in the world would you want to drop an ssd in a computer from 2009? Seems like a big waste of money to me, all an ssd will do is speed up load times. It wont increase fps in games, and remember wow alone is around 30gigs atm + your OS ... Your choice, but just seems like a waste to drop a ssd in a crappy gateway from years ago and from searching for that system it looks like its from a local store and not a custom computer built for gaming, rederring, or editing videos like most people would get to go along with the speed'y drive. Thats system is label'd as intergrated graphics for one which is a big no-no for gaming, so unless you managed to wrangle in a new gpu "which would be hard to do without up'ing the 300watt stock psu" you must get terrible fps.

Gateway® DX4710-09

Processor Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor1 E5200 (2.5GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache)1
Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit) with SP12
Memory 6144MB DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 x 2048MB and 2 x 1024MB Modules)
Hard Drive 640GB 7200RPM SATA II hard drive3
Chassis Modern System Design with Silver Chrome Branding Strip
Application Software Microsoft® Works 9.0, Microsoft® Money Essentials & Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial period)4
Audio 8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio
Available Expansion Slots Available: 1 - PCI-E x16, 1 - PCI-E x1, 1 - PCI
Digital Media Software Cyberlink® Power2 Go™ & Cyberlink® LabelPrint
Dimensions (Box) 11.2" (H) x 17.7" (W) x 22.1" (D) or 285mm (H) x 450mm (W) x 561mm (D)
Dimensions (System) 16.3" (H) x 7.1" (W) x 17.3" (D) or 414mm (H) x 180mm (W) x 439mm (D)
External Ports (6) USB 2.0 ports (2 Front, 4 Rear), eSATA, VGA, (2) PS/2 Ports
Integrated Video Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 with up to 256MB of Shared Video Memory
Keyboard Premium Multimedia Keyboard
Media Card Reader 15-in-1 High Speed Digital Media Card Reader with Smart Copy Button5
Memory Capacity Expandable to 8GB
Modem 56K ITU V.92 ready Fax/Modem (RJ-11 port)
Motherboard Systemboard with Intel® G33 Viiv™ Express Chipset
Mouse USB optical 2-Button Wheel Mouse
Network 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
Optical Drive 18X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelfash™ Technology6
Power Supply 300W Power Supply
Security Software Symantec Norton 360™ 2008 (60-day trial)7
Speakers Amplified Stereo Speakers (USB Powered)
Warranty 1 Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty with Toll-Free Tech Support8
Weight 24.25 lbs. (11 kg) system unit only / Approximately 35.25 lbs. (16.0 kg.) box

Okay there, let me add in some stuff that I didn't realize I needed to mention in the first post....
I have a PNY XLR8 NVidia GeForce 9800 GT 1 gig GDDR3 dedicated video card.
650 Watt Corsair TX power supply.

[Deleted]

Speaking from personal experience, a 60 gig SSD is way too freaking small.

In addition sub 80gb drives very often suffer significantly to severely on reads and writes (small always, large usually) - as they are often created by literally just removing half the storage chips from a larger drive, not by swapping to lower capacity storage chips.

SSDs gain much of their speed through their internal "RAID" array. The SSD is normally capable of reading from most of these chips simultaneously. With half the chips - its virtually reduced to half the amount of operations per second.

This is also why its absolutely critical that the operating system and AHCI drivers properly handle NCQ, as this system greatly allows the machine to make proper use of that design to actually load two or more files at the same time.

The Windows 7 default ones I've noticed are manageable (Windows XP has no support at all on its own - do watch out for that), but I still got a dramatic improvement in some tasks (such as booting) when switching to the Intel AHCI drivers for the ICH10R chipset; so something isn't working optimally with (likely) command queuing on default drivers.

Naturally, proper alignment is also essential (or you'll thrash the drive) - though W7 usually does get this right.

[Cows For Life]

There is absolutely no need to reinstall anything unless your current Vista installation is full of useless garbage and spyware and whatnot. Just clone your current OS on the new SSD.

You wouldn't clone your OS due to possible alignment issues with the SSD. If it's just going to be used for WoW you can just copy the game folder over to it after properly aligning, partitioning, and formatting the SSD.

[Cantii]

Personally, I went with the same drive (OCZ Vertex 2 60GB) just for my OS with my new build and stick all of my games on a WD VelociRaptor drive. It's a personal choice, really. However, I do agree that you'll be very hard-pressed to fit OS + WoW onto it... I just have Windows 7 on mine, and I really couldn't be any happier with its performance. I have one additional, small game on it (Civ5) and I still have ~20GB to spare, and that's great.

Performance-wise, from POST to being able to enter my password is a little over 15 seconds, which is just stupid fast. Civ 5 loads up in about 15 seconds as well, sometimes quicker, depending on what I have going on in the background (or lack of it). Games on my VelociRaptor load a little slower, however it's still very, very fast.

My ATTO benchmarks are as follows:
OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD: Up to 20GB file transfer: 285MB/sec read - 279MB/sec write, and this is *consistent*, not burst.
150GB WD VelociRaptor 10k RPM: Up to 20GB file transfer: 150MB/sec read - 150MB/sec write, consistent, with bursts up to 200MB/sec.

I can personally attest that the OCZ is a very, very good drive and it usually goes on sale at least once a month. I will also vouch for the WD VelociRaptors, excellent drives for the money. Some complain about how loud they are, however it's encased in a sound-dampening heatsink, and it's no louder than a quiet 7200RPM drive, if that.

[Deleted]

Note that my "thumbs up" for the Vertex are from the 120GB model which isn't that expensive.

[ispano]

You wouldn't clone your OS due to possible alignment issues with the SSD. If it's just going to be used for WoW you can just copy the game folder over to it after properly aligning, partitioning, and formatting the SSD.

This is why I said what I said.

And Asera, I use a 50-64GB SSD in all 3 of my systems as the boot drive. I could toss WoW on said drives(except the laptop I use for everyday stuff of course) and still end up with ~10-20 gigs free. But I usually have it installed elsewhere since the load times for it are hardly worth it.

---------- Post added 2011-02-10 at 08:30 PM ----------

In addition sub 80gb drives very often suffer significantly to severely on reads and writes (small always, large usually) - as they are often created by literally just removing half the storage chips from a larger drive, not by swapping to lower capacity storage chips.

SSDs gain much of their speed through their internal "RAID" array. The SSD is normally capable of reading from most of these chips simultaneously. With half the chips - its virtually reduced to half the amount of operations per second.

That's normally correct, except in the case of the Vertex 2 Series. The large majority of the drives clock in at 285/275 Read/Write, from the 50GB to 240GB. Only the 40Gb is a bit slower at 280/270 and the 400+ drives are even slower at 250/240.

So the 60GB is plenty fast. The Crucial drives are nice if you have SATA3 AND if all you want is read speed, since they lack somewhat in the write department. I personally like the higher write speed for my boot drive, hence why I use them.

[Cilraaz]

And Asera, I use a 50-64GB SSD in all 3 of my systems as the boot drive. I could toss WoW on said drives(except the laptop I use for everyday stuff of course) and still end up with ~10-20 gigs free. But I usually have it installed elsewhere since the load times for it are hardly worth it.

If you were to leave 10-20GB free on an SSD with WoW on it, you'd have some fun patch days. WoW doesn't patch by adding information into the MPQ files. It patches by merging the current MPQ and the patch data into a new MPQ, and then replacing the original. So, essentially, the patch process will require additional space equal to the MPQ being patched and the patch data. 10GB free might push those limits very soon and almost certainly will within a year or so.

[Asera]

I have 14gb free.

Also, not sure how you're getting 270mb/s read/write, I only get 240. I doubt 30mb/s would make much difference since most of my wait times in WoW are network choked, or waiting for crap to initialize... even on my WDC Blacks.

[ispano]

Yeah I get 285/275 within 5MB/s during tests on my Vertex 2s

And Cilraaz, that's partially why I don't put WoW on my SSD. I don't really need the huge loading difference. But if I wanted to, i'd just link the patch folder to a normal physical drive.