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Adding SSD

Post Date: 2011-01-22
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Iceman8994 View Drop Down
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Posts: 15 		  Quote Iceman8994 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Adding SSD
    Posted: 22 Jan 2011 at 11:33pm
Hello.  I have been toying with the idea of adding an SSD to my computer.  I had originally planned to have an SSD as the boot drive when I purchased the computer a year and a half ago, but they were too expensive at that time (they are still a bit expensive).  My current set up is listed below, with the exceptions that I now have Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit, I have added a blu-ray drive (three drives now altogether), and the CPU overdrive has been removed due to instability problems.  My main question relates to the current RAID 0 set up of the two VelociRaptor drives (which acts as the current C: drive).  Can I maintain the RAID set up with these two drives if the C: drive is going to be shifted to the SSD?  I would no longer need to boot to Windows off of these drives, but I would like to keep the current data files (backed up, though they are), which would be lost if the RAID was broken.  If the RAID set up could be maintained after the SSD were added, could I still run the programs currently loaded on the Velociraptor drives (ie, games, video software, etc), or would there be a problem since the drive designation would have changed?  Also, would adding an SSD on my own void the Digital Storm warranty?  Finally, with 4  hard drives already and three DVD drives, would there be an available SATA connection on the motherboard and another power connector from the PSU available for a fifth drive? Thanks for your help.
 
 System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 Classified 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 2000MHz Digital Storm Certified by mushkin enhanced (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Card Reader: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 2x (300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: Configure HDD Set 1 to a Raid 0 Config - Stripe Performance (Requires Two HDDs)
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: 1x (1TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-Express Slot Based)
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: High-Performance Liquid Chilled FrostBite System For CPU
Liquid Color: Red: Non-conductive High-Performance Fluid (Requires H20: Stage 3 Cooling Package)
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Red)
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: LCD Temperature Display & Fan Controller (Requires Chassis Airflow Upgrade)
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock the processor between 4.0GHz to 4.2GHz (Requires H20 Cooling Upgrade)
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Memory Boost: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service)
Windows Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Pre-Install Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: 5 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)
 
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Dragoonseal View Drop Down
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Posts: 2247 		  Quote Dragoonseal Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Jan 2011 at 11:44pm
Nothing will change in regard to the VelociRaptors, they'll just change into the D: or E: drive instead of C:. All the apps and data will still be on them and can still be run.

All you're going to be doing in the end is plugging in the SSD, changing the boot order for the SSD to be first, put in the Windows install CD, and install on the SSD.
Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz
HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s
3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0
R.I.P. Sinbad the cat (November 16, 1996 - April 18, 2011)
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DST4ME View Drop Down
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jan 2011 at 12:08am
If the windows install is going on the ssd, then your apps will not work that were on raid, apps and some games have registry keys that are on the OS, once you change the OS to a different drive, the apps in the old drives that have regkeys in widows will not work, cause their keys are no longer valid and the new keys dont' exist for them in the new OS, all apps are not like this, some are, for example if you use opera browser, that will run fine from the raid with the OS on the ssd, but something like your anti malware or anti spyware will not work.

Otherwise all media/personal files should remain there and working fine.

Your warranty with DS will not change.

Your mobo supports 10 sata drives.

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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Iceman8994 View Drop Down
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Posts: 15 		  Quote Iceman8994 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jan 2011 at 12:52am
Thanks for the information.  I am not unhappy about how the computer is working currently, but I have had this bug for awhile about adding SSD, and the prices, although still high, have become reasonable now.  I know this depends on the specific SSD (I have been looking at the Mushkin Enhanced Callisto Deluxe 240 GB Solid State Drive MKNSSDCL240 GB-DX), but do you feel that there would be a clearly noticeable improvement in speed and performance between an SSD and my current VelociRaptor RAID 0 set up?  I don't have a huge number of programs currently installed, so re-installation won't be a huge pain, although I would be worried about losing my current position in some of the installed games (I suppose that I could track down the save files and copy them over to a new install on the SSD).
Thanks again.
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Dragoonseal View Drop Down
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Posts: 2247 		  Quote Dragoonseal Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jan 2011 at 1:09am
Originally posted by Iceman8994

Thanks for the information.  I am not unhappy about how the computer is working currently, but I have had this bug for awhile about adding SSD, and the prices, although still high, have become reasonable now.  I know this depends on the specific SSD (I have been looking at the Mushkin Enhanced Callisto Deluxe 240 GB Solid State Drive MKNSSDCL240 GB-DX), but do you feel that there would be a clearly noticeable improvement in speed and performance between an SSD and my current VelociRaptor RAID 0 set up?

Uh, if you have issues with SSD prices, then why are you getting such a ridiculously large SSD?

Get a smaller SSD and just put Windows, your applications, and some games on it, then keep all the rest of the games/music/movies/media on the HDDs.

And SSDs are in a completely different league than even a RAID 0 setup of VRs. As in, yes, there will be a clearly noticeable improvement in speed and performance.
Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz
HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s
3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0
R.I.P. Sinbad the cat (November 16, 1996 - April 18, 2011)
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DST4ME View Drop Down
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jan 2011 at 2:13am
I also like to add that you should go with an Intel SSD, a 160GB one should give you all the room you want IMO, you can always add a second ssd down the road as HDD2 or HDD3 or whatever and put rest of games on there, that way everything is still on ssd and enjoying ssd speeds.

As for your games, double check them first after install before you do anything else, if they don't use regkeys, they should work with no problems, lot of games don't use regkeys.

Edited by DST4ME - 23 Jan 2011 at 2:14am

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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Iceman8994 View Drop Down
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Posts: 15 		  Quote Iceman8994 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jan 2011 at 2:22am

Thanks.  Sorry, I didn't want to seem that I was hung up on price.  I was looking at that as more comparative to mechanical drives, but the cost of this drive is very manageable for me (I have been doing pretty well at work recently) and I like the idea of having a larger primary drive so that I can, if I need and chose to, have a pretty decent number of programs on it.  This is probably a hold over from the older days when my computer had a small hard drive and I kept having to delete games and other programs to make room for new programs.  I didn't like that very much since it was hard sometimes to make the choice of what to get rid of.  With the bigger drive, I would not have to make that kind of decision, at least not for awhile.  I know that I will need to move the media files over the HDDs which would be no problem.  I do appreciate your input about the speed and performance expectations, which is what really interested me in SSD in the first place.

Do you have recommendations for an SSD in the size range of the Mushkin that I mentioned?  I have seen nothing but good reviews about this drive, and I have had great experience with Mushkin RAM, but if there is a better drive I would certainly be interested.
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Iceman8994 View Drop Down
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Posts: 15 		  Quote Iceman8994 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jan 2011 at 2:24am
Woops, sorry, I posted this before I saw Mr DST4MEs reply.  I am still happy to take recommendations.
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