Need to know what size SSD to get.

I honestly do not know a lot about SSD's so I really want to become more informed before i purchase my laptop (Sager NP9150)

From what i understand SSD's are used to increase latency/start up times but thats really all i know about them. I am getting a 500gb hard drive in my laptop but i am considering getting a SSD as well to replace the Optical Drive. Basically I want to know how big of an SSD i would need. I will be using the laptop to play games, watch movies, listen to music, surf the web, write papers....cant really think of what else i actually do haha

Any other explanation of SSD's is also appreciated

 

If adding the SSD as a second drive, put it in the actual HDD bay as that is going to be your Sata 3 (6Gbps) port, the optical is likely only SATA 2 (3 Gbps). In short, use the higher-speed HDD bay for the SSD and put the HDD in the optical bay.

SSDs improve overall system responsiveness. They won't give you more FPS in games, but they will get you dramatically faster load times of Windows boot, programs, map loading in games, and so on. Since getting my first SSD I can't stand using systems running off standard spinners anymore

On the SSD you put Windows and your most frequently used programs. Put your data (pictures, movies, music, etc) on the mechanical HDD. Get an SSD that is roughly 2x the size you use for Windows and programs right now, as that will allow you plenty of room to grow, plus when absolutely full they will slow down significantly in response times.

128GB is the most common size right now. Windows 7 is about 25GB with service packs installed. You can buy yourself space equal to the amount of RAM in your system by turning off hibernate and deleting the hibernate.sys file. Make sure to remap at least your Documents/Music/Pictures/Movies libraries to the mechanical HDD

Samsung 830, Crucial M4 are really the top choices these days for reliable and high-performing SSDs. Steer clear of anything using a Sandforce controller. Too many issues still floating with those controllers...

 

You'll want to configure it so the SSD is a boot drive, and the 500GB is for data storage. Anywhere from 128GB to 256GB should be fine, and if you have a super fat wallet, 512GB SSDs are extremely nice. As madmattd just said, a Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 should do nicely. Others may suggest the Intel 510 (not to be confused with the Intel 520).

In regards to more details about SSDs see AnandTech - The SSD Anthology: Understanding SSDs and New Drives from OCZ

HTH

 

Thank you both very much! That is exactly what i needed to know!

Probably going to go with a Crucial m4 128gb but going to continue to do a little more research

 

I suggest getting the intel 320 since they're one of the most power efficient SSD up to date, if not the most power efficient as of now and identical performance with most SSD's

if you plan to use the main HDD as a storage device, make sure to make it turn off after 1 min in the power option to save you big loads of minutes of battery life..

 

The Intel 320 is a good drive (the 8MB bug notwithstanding, still unclear just how prevalent that one is - I've not had it on my 320), but if the laptop supports SATA 3, which it does, it makes more sense to get a SATA 3 drive, which the Crucial M4, Intel 510 (NOT the 520 - Sandforce), and Samsung 830 are. The M4 is actually pretty good on battery life in my experience, I get longer battery life with the M4 than I did with the HDD in my laptop. Is the 320 better? Maybe, but Sagers are gaming machines anyway, battery life is somewhat out the window there anyway

Some insane deals lately on the M4 btw (well under $1/GB for the whole line). Newegg had the 128GB on Shell Shocker for $100 the other day (sold out pretty darn fast ) But if you catch a sale on the Samsung, I'd be all over it.

 

I've owned the 160GB version of the 320 for a little over a year now and while I haven't updated the fireware since installing the drive (I'm still at risk for the 8MB bug), I haven't experienced it yet.

I second the M4 and 830 as well. Right now I was looking at getting the 180GB 330, but it seems to have the SandForce SF-2281 controller, so I might have to look elsewhere

 

i have 64gb mSATA ssd as main drive, and 750gb hdd as 2nd for storage (movies, music, pictures, setups etc).
SSD is for programs, which i dont have much, and 2-3 games, and i still usually have around ~10gb left. Programs load instantly, windows boot in ~30 sec.
I rarely game, so at a moment i have 0 games installed lol, 31GB free. For me 64gb is enough (60gb real size). I think most people should be definitely fine with 80-128gb.

p.s. msata ssd is not available for most laptops, but for lenovo and dell newer versions does have msata slot. msata ssd is like a small coin, its not as fast as real ssds, but definitely much faster than hdds. Also you get to keep dvd-drive. Unless you working with really big files, you wont see/feel a lot of difference between msata ssd and real ssds.