Question about Windows 10 boot-SSD

[smmden]

I've always had 1x HDD. Games, operating system, etc.
I'm buying a new PC and I'm moving over my GFX card and dimms, but I want to try the 'operating system being booted on its own SSD' thing.

If I purchase the below config, will that do the trick?
(I'm assuming the operating system will be installed on the 250GB Seagate SSD.)

- Is there anything else I need to consider?
- Should everything I install be on the 2nd Storage Drive? (Steam games, etc.)
- Should I completely not-touch the 1st Storage Drive and leave it exclusively for the OS?

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700 (3.0GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
1st Storage Drive
250GB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 2.5" SSD, (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
2nd Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 2.5" SSD, (upto 560MB/sR | 540MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Corsair H55 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]

 

[SpyderTracks]

Everything has moved on a bit and it’s likely your DIMMS won’t fit in a new system.

I wouldn’t recommend buying a SATA SSD, they’re old and superseded now by M2 SSD’s which are 7 times the speeds for around the same price.

 

[ubuysa]

Everything has moved on a bit and it’s likely your DIMMS won’t fit in a new system.

I wouldn’t recommend buying a SATA SSD, they’re old and superseded now by M2 SSD’s which are 7 times the speeds for around the same price.

Indeed, you'd be much better off listing your intended use and budget and seeking the advice of the wise ones on here...

Sent using Tapatalk

 

[Oussebon]

I'd strongly suggest getting some advice on the overall system. The above looks very unbalanced. Expensive mobo with a locked CPU. 2 budget SSDs, Cheap PSU. Poor value cooler.

What's the full budget for the system, what's the full spec you are considering, and what are you using it for?

If gaming, what monitor do you game on?

What is your old spec, and why the upgrade?

 

[smmden]

Thanks all for the help.

I'm upgrading because mobo and CPU is 7+ years old now. PC is starting to struggle with basic things.

I currently have;
- Geforce GTX 970 graphics card.
- 2x 8GB Corsair vengeance dimms
- Intel Core i5-3470 CPU
- P8H61-MX motherboard

I wanted a good gaming PC. I'm going to pay finance, but I'd like it to be no more than £1,200.
I'm going to use my current dimms and GFX card, so that should drastically reduce the price.
Any ideas? I'm open to suggestions for a new config. I'd like to buy it this week.

 

[Oussebon]

As mentioned above, you can't use your current RAM. It's DDR3 and nothing new has used that since ~2015.

Also, what basic things? If we are genuinely talking about basic things (home office use, casual generic gaming), it's not the CPU and the mobo that are the problem. What do you use the PC for, and what specifically is it not doing well enough?

Adding an SSD to your existing build and/or performing a clean install of Windows is probably what you need to do instead of spending a shedload of money on something that will make little difference to performance for basic usage.

 

[smmden]

Most notably, I'll start typing in a browser address, and the whole computer lags. Then all the text appears at once.
It's the same with browsing pages, scrolling down or loading new ones. It just stutters, struggles to perform.

I mean, my PC is going to die someday. I'd rather buy a new one than struggle with it.

But if you think buying an SSD will work , maybe I'll try that.

I play a lot of games at the moment. Specifically an mmorpg, where I'll have spotify running, discord running.
I also draw. So I use photoshop a lot, and listen to music, watch movies.

EDIT: So that's actually another issue. If I'm using detailed brushes, I'll draw on my tablet and my pc will literally draw it out in slow motion, trying to keep up, and I have to sit back and watch as it draws what I drew like 10-20 seconds ago.

 

[Oussebon]

Most notably, I'll start typing in a browser address, and the whole computer lags. Then all the text appears at once.
It's the same with browsing pages, scrolling down or loading new ones. It just stutters, struggles to perform.

That's not because your CPU etc is old. A 3rd Gen i5 is still quite capable for this sort of thing.

Does your system have an SSD (what drives does it have and which is Windows installed on)?

When's the last time you performed a clean install of Windows?

Even if you do decide to treat yourself to a new system, you'll want to sort all this before giving the PC to relatives, so worth doing the above before deciding whether to shell out £1000. What you're describing sounds to me not like old hardware, but an old Windows install. And adding an SSD if you don't have one is a huge quality of life buff and would be well timed with a fresh install

Remembering that an SSD can either be gifted to relatives or transferred to a new system even if you do buy a new PC for yourself, so it's not dead money.

 

[smmden]

I've never actually re-installed Windows. I guess I will do that then. Worth a shot.

I don't have an SSD. If I bought one would it be relatively easy to move over the OS?

I have 1x 1TB HDD with Windows 10 on. (and everything else)

I really appreciate your help! Thank you.

 

[Wildcard]

Your best bet would be to buy an SSD and reinstall Windows. You could move your installation over to the SSD, but that's not a completely straight forward process, and getting rid of all the crap that your Windows installation collected over the years will do you a lot of good as well. Just save all your old stuff first.

But yeah an SSD is what you want. I have a 11 year old, cheap Core 2 Duo laptop that I use to play music for parties. It doesn't have a battery, it has 2 cores and 4GB of memory, but what it does have is an SSD, and I'd rather do any kind of work on that machine than on a new middle class laptop with a HDD. If you are running your OS on a HDD and suffer from "everything is sluggish and lagging randomly", an SSD is definitely what you want.

 

[Oussebon]

As above - add the SSD, and perform a clean install of Windows on that. Rather than migrating your original installation.

What version of Windows are you on exactly? Windows 7 64 bit home? Windows 10 Pro 1809? You can use Winver to check.

 

[ubuysa]

Whilst in full agreement that an SSD is the best solution, if you have a 1TB HDD on an old oldish PC and you've never reinstalled Windows, then all your problems could simply be poor (or no) HDD management.

Before spending any money, even on an SSD, I would backup all user data on the HDD and do a clean reinstall of Windows (from bootable media) to that HDD.

The difference in performance just doing that will be noticeable and may even give your PC a new lease of life and avoid you having to spend anything for a while...

Sent using Tapatalk

 

[Oussebon]

I agree that an SSD may not be necessary - and only recommend it as a major quality of life upgrade. Decent 240gb ones can be had for ~£30.

Though an SSD is highly recommended for Photoshop.

 

[Scott]

I would argue that the SSD is a no brainer for photoshop. It makes a huge difference when dealing with RAW files or even high detail JPG. For the money involved (the hassle is the same) I would definitely plum for a SSD drive. 250ish GB will be perfect.

 

[smmden]

I know this might sound silly. But if I bought an SSD to stick in my PC;

Would I need to buy any wires? Sata etc?
How difficult will it be to move over my operating system?

 

[Scott]

You need a SATA cable. This should be in with your motherboard if you received this back. If not, you just need a SATA cable.

I wouldn't move it over, it's not recommended in the slightest.

 

[smmden]

You need a SATA cable. This should be in with your motherboard if you received this back. If not, you just need a SATA cable.

I wouldn't move it over, it's not recommended in the slightest.

But I thought having your OS on the SSD makes it start quicker?
How will Photoshop and stuff run better if I just have an SSD plugged in, acting like a 2nd drive? Or do I install stuff on there.

 

[SpyderTracks]

But I thought having your OS on the SSD makes it start quicker?
How will Photoshop and stuff run better if I just have an SSD plugged in, acting like a 2nd drive? Or do I install stuff on there.

The point is, don't transfer it, install from scratch.

 

[Oussebon]

Cables:

As above, a sata (data) cable that you probably already have with the goodies from your motherboard or could pick up very cheap.

Also a Sata power connector. There's probably a free one on the PSU cable currently connected to your HDD (there are usually 3-4 sata power connectors on each sata PSU cable)

See:

Installing Windows:

So a clean install. Delete all the partitions from your HDD during the process. And install Windows onto the new HDD.

See: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/clean-install-Windows-10/

And where it says "You’ll need to delete the primary partition and the system partition. To ensure a 100% clean install it’s better to fully delete these instead of just formatting them." delete all partitions that you see until all you see are 2 drives with only "unallocated space"

Obviously back up any important data to another device or cloud storage first(!)

 

[smmden]

Thanks a lot Oussebon.

So here I am, on my newly installed Windows 10, with my 250GB SSD, and everything seems smooth as a smooth cucumber.

I guess now I'd just like to ask if there's some general good practice rules I should follow?
Should I avoid storing documents on the SSD? Anything I should know?

I heard that defragging an SSD can be harmful also?