Pretty sure my HD is dying - Time for SSD?

[saint2e]

Hey all,

My desktop has been acting up quite a bit lately, and I'm pretty sure its due to the HD failing slowly. This morning I woke up to a BSOD with KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR, and it was referencing ataport.sys.

All signs point to imminent hard drive failure. On the good side, this is only my OS/apps driver, so I feel like now would be a good plunge into the SSD market, as I have 2 other SATA hard drives for data, and an external drive for my photos (I do a bit of a photography business on the side).

Some questions:

1) Is my assumption that my HD is on it's last legs correct?
2) What should I be looking for in an SSD drive?

[george__]

Run a Error Scan with HD Tune (www.hdtune.com/). Not the quick scan <-- Don't check it.
^ Depending on the size of the drive, it might take some time...

SSD drive - depends on your needs.
* Do you want long warranty?
* Hardware encryption needed?
* Budget?

[saint2e]

Basically I'm considering SSD due to it's speed of access. I ideally want to install Windows 7, Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop on the SSD and use the other regular SATA drives for storage...

I don't need encryption, and I'm looking to spend around $100.

I figure I can probably get away with a 120Gig SSD drive to replace the current OS drive.

[PiusPatronus]

Definitely a good move if you want to have faster read/write speeds. Make sure to properly configure your BIOS and settings of your OS upon installation to maximize the speed of your SSD.

[xalex0]

To be sure you can check SMART stats and run surface scan with MHDD

[saint2e]

To be sure you can check SMART stats and run surface scan with MHDD

At this point, I'm not sure I wanna run the risk of still having that hard drive. It's caused my PC to go down twice in the last month for different reasons, so I would sooner be done with it.

@PiusPatronus, what BIOS settings/OS settings should I be looking for?

[xalex0]

At this point, I'm not sure I wanna run the risk of still having that hard drive. It's caused my PC to go down twice in the last month for different reasons, so I would sooner be done with it.
Assuming that it's actually the HDD problem.

[n3o321]

Definitely a good move if you want to have faster read/write speeds. Make sure to properly configure your BIOS and settings of your OS upon installation to maximize the speed of your SSD.

whats there to configure? (total noob question)

I had to RMA that OCZ 60 gig SSD 3 times. gave up the 4th SSD and went back to my old HD.

Looking to buy an intel SSD now.

[george__]

Go with a Intel or Crucial or Samsung. They are reliable. Stay away from OCZ PERIOD!

[saint2e]

Go with a Intel or Crucial or Samsung. They are reliable. Stay away from OCZ PERIOD!

Doh. I just picked up a OCZ Vertex 3 120gb unit from Canada Computers.

To be fair, the sales guy tried to impress upon me that the aData ones are more reliable (and $25 more)

[george__]

Doh. I just picked up a OCZ Vertex 3 120gb unit from Canada Computers.

To be fair, the sales guy tried to impress upon me that the aData ones are more reliable (and $25 more)

Get full refund back... I swear the horror stories you hear all over the web about their OCZ needing to be rma...

edit: I just noticed your from KW! Me too!!

[saint2e]

Get full refund back... I swear the horror stories you hear all over the web about their OCZ needing to be rma...

edit: I just noticed your from KW! Me too!!

Thinking of popping in on my way home and swapping for another brand. Thanks for the heads up.

Yup, I live in SouthWest Kitchener, and work in Waterloo near Philip/Albert.

[george__]

Thinking of popping in on my way home and swapping for another brand. Thanks for the heads up.

Yup, I live in SouthWest Kitchener, and work in Waterloo near Philip/Albert.

Check HOT DEAL comp section on RFD... You might get a good deal on the brands I mentioned...
I recently bought a Intel 520 through memory express and got free shipping because I price matched hookbag. The item came to me in under 5 days from BC.

edit- CC prices aren't too bad if you're in a hurry

[saint2e]

Check HOT DEAL comp section on RFD... You might get a good deal on the brands I mentioned...
I recently bought a Intel 520 through memory express and got free shipping because I price matched hookbag. The item came to me in under 5 days from BC.

Nice. Unfortunately I need to get something ASAP as I can't have my home computer down for an extended period of time. :( Otherwise, I'd totally hit up that B&H deal on the 240 gig..

[george__]

Nice. Unfortunately I need to get something ASAP as I can't have my home computer down for an extended period of time. :( Otherwise, I'd totally hit up that B&H deal on the 240 gig..

Yeah CC prices aren't that bad... Look @ the Crucial M4 128GB. They want $130 + tax... So just above $1/gb give or take..

OR

Sandisk

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1088&item_id=047585 <--- $119.99

^^ Good reviews on that card too

[xalex0]

Get full refund back... I swear the horror stories you hear all over the web about their OCZ needing to be rma...
That sandforce bug has been fixed, so if you are in a rush and can't spend much time on research, it will do.

[saint2e]

That sandforce bug has been fixed, so if you are in a rush and can't spend much time on research, it will do.

is it fixed via a firmware update or will it be fixed out of the box?

[xalex0]

is it fixed via a firmware update or will it be fixed out of the box?Depends when that particular drive was manufactured.

[saint2e]

Depends when that particular drive was manufactured.

I see that the firmware was released October 2011...

I'll give it a shot since it's been about 9 months since it's been released.

[mingyang]

so much bashing on OCZ lately, my OCZ ssd runs just fine

[saint2e]

Running the OCZ Vertex 3 now..

Firmware was 2.22 out of the box, so I think I'm good to go!

[xalex0]

Running the OCZ Vertex 3 now..

Firmware was 2.22 out of the box, so I think I'm good to go!In case you haven't looked into this, here are some tips on SSD usage: http://lifehacker.com/5802838/how-to-maximize-the-life-of-your-ssd