New SSD Tomorrow

Twist86

Twist86

Active Member
So I finally got my price tag on a 90GB Vertex 2. Thank goodness TigerDirect at least had a great deal. Could get this drive as little as $95 yesterday. I sadly payed $110 but close enough :P

Anyways I want other SSD users to give me any aid or guidance possible to avoid any mistakes.

Programs I use daily.
AVG Anti-Virus (Free)
Comodo Firewall (Free)
NetMeter (Free)
Xpadder 1.6
Daemon Tools (free)
PeerBlock v1.1 (free)
Logitech G11 Software (free)
Logitech MX518 Software (free)
RiverTuner 2.24c (free)
RocketDocket (free)

My goal is minimal writes obviously and here are a few things I have done.
Gutted Windows 7 x64 install...total size = 2GB installed + 4GB pagefile + 2GB Hibernation. Will lower pagefile to 1GB...and delete Hibernation file. Not sure if I should just remove pagefile or move to my HDD.
Program Tweaks
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?49779-SSD-Tweak-Utility

Firefox
* Type about:config into the address bar and press enter.
* Set the value of browser.cache.disk.enable to false.
* Create a new integer value named disk.cache.memory.capacity and set its value to 32768 (for 32MB), 65536 (for 64MB), or 131072 (for 128MB).
* Restart Firefox.

I am thinking of setting it up to 128mb or maybe up to 512mb..what do you think?

This will apply to Firefox on any operating system. You will notice increased RAM usage from the program, so if you're low on RAM, I recommend waiting on this one.


Drivers...not sure on this one. People say "install Intel's" but not sure where to get that. My newest drivers from Gigabyte are located here -http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2921#dl
I was told Intel's was newer...but again I can't seem to locate on the site.

Set BIOS to AHCI before install of windows...I will most likely need to update firmware for TRIM.

All downloads/etc will be defaulted to my 500GB HDD and all music/movies/etc will be there as well. SSD primary use is gaming and emulators. Bootup software will be on SSD and other programs left on HDD that don't require speed.

One thing that I did wonder about is why do they say "only use 80% of your drive" and why does it say on the OCZ forums "put your computer to stock speeds"? Seems more like a PC downgrade than a upgrade if I can't overclock.

Now is there anything I am forgetting here or something I should do to improve the life on my SSD?
I saw a "watch" program here - http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...-utility-new-utility-to-estimate-SSD-lifetime is it any good? Is there better programs? I just want to keep a eye on my usage to give me a idea if I need a better SSD later down the road or if I am hitting the limits.

Thank you kindly :)
 
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I'm thinking the AV isnt going to write that much but you may be able to relocate the logs and reports.

As for the other prog's, I don't know. Outlook isn't on your list, but an axample of something to look for is that that one makes a file on whatever drive you install it to and then mirrors it to a dup. file. And altho you can move the email and storage/etc,, the prog wont work unless it's on the same partition as the user folder. So for me, putting outlook on my c: ssd won't work because I don't want my user folder there too.(so I'll just put it on my D: ssd :D) Gonna take some investigation of the one's you install to see how you can manage them.

There's an easy way to move users/userdefault/public/prog/progx86 folders to another drive when installing 7 instead of hacking the registry after.

Pagefile can't be removed. Some manage pagefile to 1gb. Most guides/concensous i've read recommed putting it at zero. With 4gb memory you should be ok @ 0 unless you run something that requires a large amount of ram. At that point that prog may not respond or work correctly. I'm going to move pf from c and manage it to zero. If i have trouble i can always manage it even if temporarily.

You probly meant 'turn off' hibernation. May also have bios setting for S1 or S3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Configuration_and_Power_Interface

That program is well recieved. Here's another link to the same Ashly Maple authored tweaker. There's a free version where you can see and pick what tweaks or 'auto tweak', and a $10 upgrade to "Pro". Not sure what more the Pro version does so I can't say if it does everything needed, but Pro implies that the non pay version does not. Here's another link with a brief video tutorial. http://www.softoxi.com/ssd-tweaker.html

Browser cashe: Try 128 first. You may consider a faster ramdisc for dumpables like temp/tmp/bc.

As for the intel driver, I think you'll find - to use the newest Intel RST driver. Download and install after windows installation. Intel chipset drivers should be installed first, then RST driver -.

Since your os is only 2 gigs and your drive 90gb, you may consider short stroking the ssd for sustaining performance. Stock speeds? I've read set to high performance. Each manuf. may have a little something diff, but right now i'm not understanding how the stock/hp will matter.

For consideration:
Turn off system protection
Turn Off Reliability Monitor
Disable SuperFetch
Disable SuperFetch in services
Enable Large System Cache
Optional: Turn off Recycle Bin or reduce in size

There are other considerations as well. And a guide I put together from research. If you want to review it pm me your email addy. I can include the scources.
 
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Yeah "consideration" is all removed/disabled from my install. Basically everything but the basics for Windows 7 to run and myself to game have been removed :P
Also on Hibernation I can delete the files it created then disable it so its as good as removed for the most part. I will set pagefile to 500mb then to avoid any problems and off-load on HDD. I also planned to short stroke as the OCZ site says to never fill past 80%. With my setup I should only use 40-50GB max.


My problem with the Intel RST driver is what driver exactly I need. So many choices to choose from that I am unsure what exactly I need. I have a P45 board and x64 install. Would this be the proper?
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...ct=Intel®+945+Express+Chipset+Family&lang=eng
 
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