Windows 10: Looking for a new SSD

Hello all,

Im looking for a new SSD to replace a failing HDD in my desktop. Desktop interface is SATA III 6GB/s. I would like one around 500GB of storage. It will be used as the OS and Program/Games drive. I already have a 1TB HDD set up as a data drive.

Ive been looking at Intels, Kingstons, and some Samsungs. I dont know much yet about SSDs.

Does anyone have any suggestions for brand and/or model? I dont need anything with really extreme R/W speeds. A mid-line SSD would do me great.

:)

 

looking to instal a new ssd drive

The simplest way is to buy a Samsung SSD and then download and use the Samsung tool for transferring Windows 10 from your existing hard drive onto the SSD. The utility is free. It only works with Samsung SSD's.

In May, I built my new system by buying a bare bones computer, WD Hard Drive, and RAM along with OEM Windows 10 DVD. After two weeks, I decided to buy an SSD. I chose Samsung. The guy in the computer store recommended that I download the Samsung utility
for transferring Windows from the existing HD.... nah...

I thought I knew best and did a clean Windows 10 install from the OEM DVD. It installed OK, but then Windows 10 would not Activate. It told me that my copy of Windows had been installed on another computer... ummm... same computer, but different system drive.
I gave up on that install and then used the Samsung utility to transfer Windows 10 from drive to drive. That worked OK.... so: clone the main drive and all is OK.

Alas: When I had built the system I had used the Default BIOS settings. They were for Legacy Boot; not for UEFI boot. To get full Windows 10 functionality, UEFI boot is desirable. Windows 10 OEM will create a Recovery Partition on the system drive if the
system boots UEFI. It will not create that partition if the system is Legacy BIOS boot. There is no way to convert from one BIOS boot system to the other except by doing a complete, fresh install. I set the BIOS to UEFI boot and reinstalled Windows 10.

Alas: Windows 10 once again refused to Activate and forced me to phone Microsoft Support for them to check and release the first Activation record so that I could do a new Activation. That works, but is a bit embarrassing. I explained to the Support guy
that all I had done was change the BIOS boot option... OK... type this code number and then Activate. OK; cheers.

There is some sort of mix of hardware component ID's that the Microsoft Activation servers use to identify your "device".... change one of those components and Activation will flag something is going on. I suspect that this checking mechanism was added in
April / May this year.

So... if you have already installed and Activated Windows 10 on your computer, expect to phone Microsoft Support to get them to free the old record and allow activation if you do a complete, fresh install on an SSD. Cloning the existing hard drive to a new
SSD should retain the Activation records.

 

looking to instal a new ssd drive

If you're using a USB flash drive (aka pen drive) it needs to be completely empty before you start.

 

I'm happy with my 500GB Samsung 850 EVO. I have three of them and never had any problems.

 

Agree totally. Samsung 850s are incredible.

 

I have a Samsung 840 - 66.2 TB written and still going strong ..

 

SanDisk for me. Still at 100% life remaining:

 

I have several systems here with a mixture of Sandisk (Extreme Pro, Plus & Z400s models), Hynix, Plextor, Micron, Crucial, ADATA (M.2 2280) & Drevo. All perform well but the Sandisk Extreme Pro's test performance is slightly above all others with the exception of one. That is a Drevo X1 Pro 256GB.