My first SSD. Am I doing it right? Help please.

[xofa87]

Hello HWC ! First off I would like to say thanks. Thanks for the awesome reviews you guys have done. It did help me a lot making my final decision chosing my hardware

My setup is this:

Kingston HyperX SSD 120GB 2.5 OS
WD HDD 1TB
Samsung 7200 rpm

Motherboard: MSI Z68A-GD65 (Gen3), Socket-1155
CPU: Intel 2500k
Ram: 16 gb 1600 mhz.

My question is: I put my SSD and samsung into Sata 6GB ports while my other things in 3gb ports.
I install Windows on my SSD along with programs and such. Videos, music, pictures, random stuff I use my 1TB hdd while I use my 300gb samsung for my games only.

Is this a good idea so far?

Is there anything I should be aware of using a SSD? Like formating it when installing windows??

I heard some time ago you shouldn't format your SSD since it will "lose" power / performance?

Anything els you think I should be / be aware of?

Thanks ! :)

[lightninstrikr]

Turn off any scheduled defragment programs your SSD may have enabled.

[chrisk]

If you install Windows onto a SSD as a new install, defrag should turn itself off. A delete and creation of the partition is all I do when installing Windows.

Your plan sounds good, except that you should ensure the following:

1. Make sure that the SATA on your mobo is set to AHCI mode, and not IDE/Legacy, etc. Do this before installing Windows on it.
2. I make sure that my boot drive (ie. your SSD) is the only hard drive plugged in when installing Windows. Sometimes Win7 will install stuff on additional hard drives, and you want to avoid this. After Windows is installed, just plug the extra HDD.

[xofa87]

What about the Smart Response Technology ? Should it be on or off?

[xofa87]

chrisk: Thanks! :) However I have set it to AHCI :)
And am also doing that little neat trick of yours hehe. I have seen on other forums that some people say I should NOT enable the SSD feature that my motherboard has? Hmmm ... Would like some clear info on that part.

[chrisk]

I have never used the Intel Smart response, but if all you have installed is the SSD then I don't see how you could enable it as it requires a HDD and SSD.

Also, just use the defaultMS drivers for the mobo, as the Smart Response also requires drivers too.

There is a thread around here on it...Ill dig it up.

[chrisk]

Here is the guide on Smart Response that eldonko set up: Step-by-step guide to setting up SSD caching on Z68

Says you need to set it a raid, sio if you set it to AHCI and not raid mode then Smart Response should be disabled by default.

[xofa87]

Thank you very much. I have set my ssd to AHC. Then installing my OS.
I got 2 other HDDs.. Samsung with 7200 rpm and a 1TB HDD with 10k RPM. Using the 1k TB as overall storage while the samsung 7200 (300gb) for games only. The samsung and SSD I use in my 2x SATA 6GB ports.

[xofa87]

Chrisk: So I read the link you gave me and I got one question.. "Enter BIOS, change HD mode to RAID" ?
Shouldn't I keep my SSD in AHCI mode and not raid mode (Maximum performance) ?

[xofa87]

My 3 HHDD are these:
- WD VelociRaptor 300GB SATA 3,5 - for games ONLY.
- Seagate Barracuda ES.2 1TB SATA2 32MB 7200RPM - for storage ONLY.
- Kingston HyperX SSD 120GB 2.5 for OS ONLY.

How to set it up? AHCI or RAID? Or how?

Would be very glad if someone could help me out here. Im VERY confused on which to pick.

Thanks in advance.