Advice: Installing an SSD on a brand new Edge E530 before initial boot

Hey all,

I am about to order a new Edge E530 with the lowest capacity HDD so I can replace it with a 256 GB SSD. I have a few questions that I feel are pretty standard and hopefully can get answered fairly quickly!

1. What brand SSD do you recommend?
2. If I purchase a SATA III, will this be alright with the laptop? I'm not sure if it supports SATA III, or just SATA II.
3. Most importantly: what are the steps I must take as soon as I install the SSD? I plan on doing this before ever turning the laptop on (I know already to remove the battery and disconnect any power source). Will Windows 7 still install itself fresh as soon as I boot it? Do I have to go into BIOS and change any settings so that the computer will read the SSD? Is it smart to backup something or another (not sure what or how). Are there any other crucial steps I must take?

Any help will be greatly appreciated for this noober. I actually want to order the laptop and the SSD today so I can get it ASAP because my Dell is on the brink of death. Thanks so much guys!

 

1) I always say Intel or Samsung. Samsung 830/840 are a pretty darn good value right now.

2) Doesn't matter if you get SATA II or III, they are both backward and forward compatible.

3) You don't need to change anything in BIOS, but you will need to load the OS onto the new drive (either by cloning the old one or doing a clean install).

 

Thank you for the response, Commander Wolf.

I've read from a few different sources that I should turn AHCI mode on from BIOS after installing the SSD. Is this incorrect?

Also, if I choose not to clone (I think most SSDs come with a cloning kit, right?), does Lenovo ship the Windows 7 disks with the new laptop? I'm not quite sure what to do when the new SSD is installed and I turn my laptop on...what will I be met with? Will it ask me to insert the Windows 7 CD/DVDs? Or is there something specific I must do? Or is it just simpler to clone it?