Question 1

Does this come with the parts needed to install in a desktop?

Accepted Answer

No.

It comes with nothing but CD, Info paper, Install paper.. oh, and two stickers. lol

NO screws included, NO hadware 2.5'' to 3.5'' adapter, NO software migration cable.

This is a BARE drive.

I do not regret my purchase because I already have all the hardware I need.

You might want to get yourself an adapter, though, and screws if you can't find some laying around or scavenged from some old computer's optical drive or a floppy drive. (I think that is the right size of the screws required and this is for the side mount.)  Bottom mounting uses bigger screws.  You might want to check with Samsung and/or Newegg for exact screw dimensions or just google it--the easiest option.

Question 2

Does this store the same as a normal HHD?? I dont understand whu yits only 250 and a hhd is like 1tb?

Accepted Answer

No, it only stores 256GB, which is more like 245GB after formatting. SSD drives are not about space as much as they are about speed. With no moving parts (flash memory), read/writes speeds are orders of magnitude faster than a normal mechanical hard disk.

If you are looking for lots of storage space, you are probably better off with a normal 1-3TB mechanical HD, although they do make 1TB SSD drives, but they are VERY expensive.

SSDs make for great boot disks where you have you operating system installed. This makes you overall computing experience much faster with boot times in the 10-15s range and instant loading off most normal applications. Do this and also have a cheaper large (1-3TB) mechanical HD for storage and you get the best of both worlds.

For a good reference explaining the difference between SSD (solid state drive) and HDD (hard disk drive) Google "storagereview ssd vs hdd "

Question 3

win XP compatibility?

Accepted Answer

Win XP does not perform a TRIM operation, which is the main method SSDs use to deal with deleted files in the drive, and still maintain good operation over time. And not having TRIM is bad. But the Samsung Magician software, for I believe only for Samsung drives, performs a manual TRIM operation, initiated by the user, for older OSs like XP. It may be that other companies have similar software for their drives. Not really sure.

Question 4

I am using a HP dv2945se and wanted to know if this ssd was compatible with my laptop. And would I be able to get the most out of it being that i've had it since 2008???

Accepted Answer

I would NOT recommend it for your laptop at all unless you plan on using it and then pulling it out for another computer in the future.  It will perform at about 1/3rd of it's top rated speed.  It is true that at small file sizes it will still fly but ultimately, looking overall, it will be a way overkill.  I suggest cheaper alternative because your laptop is limited at Sata 1 speed (and this SSD is Sata 3 speed) and your laptop, let's face it, is not a high end performance monster to begin with.  I highly recommend you go with the some refurbished Sata 2 or cheap Sata 3 SSD for half the price unless you want alot of memory in GB then you would have to pay some money for it.  Another option is to see if you can install a mSata SSD board in your laptop--this way you can boot off of it and use regular hard drive that you have for storage! =)

Question 5

How well does this one work for gaming?

Accepted Answer

I can not specifically speak for gaming as I've only attempted Star Craft II as late and Unreal Tournament 3.  However, after installing this hard drive one of the 'tests' I did was to simultaneously open almost the entire Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier, After Effects etc... ).  All of which opened in less than 5 seconds AT THE SAME TIME.  Those are not small programs.  Loading very large files is equally impressive.

My take away from this is loading into games and between levels you are almost entirely taking away the HD bottleneck and limiting yourself to CPU/GPU performance

Question 6

What kind of Windows experience index rating can one expect from this ssd?

Accepted Answer

My RAM performance is now 7.6.   Don't remember what it was before, but it was definitely less.

A more telling item is the time to resume from sleep.   It used to be 30 seconds or more, so I left my PC on all the time.   Now it is about 4 seconds and I have it go to sleep overnight.

Question 7

Does this come with software to migrate your OS from your current drive that you want to replace or do you have to start with a clean install of Windows 7 Pro?

Accepted Answer

Sorry mate, it's just a bare drive.  There is nothing on it out of the box.  There are however alot of features in windows itself that allows you to migrate your drive, with the alternative option of just putting both drives in at the same time and copying the files yourself.  Third party software shouldn't be necessary, If you google copying one drive to another you should find plenty of easy and well explained solutions.

Question 8

What is top of the line on Samsung? 840, 840 Pro, 840 evo? What exactly is TLC? (vs. regular old MLC) I've tried researching, but cannot find a clear answer. Thanks!

Accepted Answer

3bit TLC is the new breed of the cheaper but potentially not so long lasting alternative to a more expensive 2bit MLC.  If you upgrade your computer often then don't worry about it and choose the best money/per GB deal.  If you don't upgrade often and value your investments then go with the 840 Pro series--their memory is faster and projected to outlast the TLC memory.  When compared to TLC products by Samsung the Pro series outperform the TLC--the only advantage that puts the TLC ahead of the Pro line is it's price to GB ratio and the new 'trick' they used to speed up the access of files.  TLC's turbo memory mode only boosts files for a limited duration which limits throughput dramatically after a short burst whereas the Pro will contune to put out it's best throughout the wait of the file(s) transfer.  Bottome line?  If you transfer large quantities of data and you value your time go with the Pro.  If you are skittish about new uproven technologies go with the Pro.  If you can afford to pay extray $30 for the peace of mind go with the pro.  If you are a professional go with the Pro.  What more is there to say?  You can check out Anandtech site for more info if you are interested in detail comparisons and explanations as to the differences between memory types.  anandtech web site  I've reserched the issue and came away with a brand spanking Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD because I could see that it dominates every opposition.  That is the sweetest price to size to performance ratio that most people can afford.

Question 9

Hi, i have the Latitude 3330 with a 2.5 bay (right now i have a 64gb SSD. I will i get the most out of this Pro SSD or should i save some money and go with a cheaper one?

Also, what else do i need to transfer my back from the 64gb SSD to this new one?

Thanks a lot!

Accepted Answer

From what I understand from a quick google glance your Laptop is rated at Sata 3 so you can go without much jittery about getting this SSD.  You can google for your laptop's specifications if you'd like to learn more.   To transfer it.. hmm, there are couple of ways.  You can get a transfer cable and transfer your computer's contents via USB and then swap the hard drive for the SSD.  This cable is sometimes sold as a set with SSDs so you would have to look for a slightly more expensive versions of SSDs that include them if you want to go that way or buy it separately.  Research at newegg for those.  The other way--how I would do it is either get yourself an investment of external USB adapter/stand/port/device where you can plug your SSD into.  Use Acronis software to make a full complete backup of your original hard drive and overwrite the SSD with it (then swap the hard drive for the SSD).  You can also make the Acronis backup to any medium including blu-rays (if your laptop has it or you have an external USB ray drive) or to an external hard drive, then, pull out your old hard drive and install the SSD. Check your BIOS for settings if everything is ok.  Then boot your laptop with the Acronis disk (make sure your laptop first checks for boot from the CD/DVD drive--see that setting in BIOS) and when the screen appears choose your file on your external hard drive which is attached and then start the computer reinstallation from the file--it will write your old computer image to the SSD.  After that shut off and reboot and viola--you have an in under 7 seconds boot 'monster' instead of a sluggish laptop.

Question 10

Can this be installed in my Laptop? Toshiba Satellite?

Accepted Answer

Yes. But your models sata connector will affect the speed. Sata 1.5 Gbits/s, Sata 3Gbt/s, Sata 6Gbit/s. To find the speed of your sata look up you model numbers specs. Any configuration is going to be a lot faster than a conventional hard drive. I have sata 6Gbit/s and it's amazingling fast. Hope this helps, Bruce

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