Best SSD to put in Gaming Laptop

pcoog

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Mar 24, 2013
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Some General Info ///

Last week I purchased an Asus Gaming Laptop. It is the republic of gamers 17 inch laptop, newest of their line. The G750JW-BBI(then some other stuff - Full Spec Sheet from bestbuy.com) It has been absolutely wonderful coming from the old computer I was using, which was a late 2011 macbook pro i7 dual core 16gb ram piece of crap haha. This computer has maxed everything I've tried it to (or come very close in my opinion), so I have been nothing but pleased.

Edit - forgot to mention I upgraded the ram to 12gb :D, just a little update.

Actual Question ///

So this computer has 2 hard drive bay slots, which is very nice. Only one is in use from manufacturer which is a 1tb 5400rpm drive. That is not very good in my liking since I am used to atleadt 7200rpm speeds in my old hybrid drive (old comp). I can't tell that much of a difference, but it keeps bugging the back of my mind, so I want to upgrade it. I looked on Amazon for some ssds, and found SEVERAL variations of ssds for a super wide variety of prices, so I knew something was up. Which ssd should I buy that is the best price for perfomance? I'm not looking for some huge behemoth that opens programs up instantly, just something to make that difference noticable in its effects on everyday pc usage. Before when I was researching comps, I was going to buy a crucial ssd, but now since more updated ones like the samsung pro and the samsung evo have come out, I'm not so sure anymore. Any thoughts on those 2 newer ones or on the crucial ones?

Also, I'm not looking to break my back on the price, since this PC that retails for $1249 in stores I got for a tad over $850, which is a steal imho.


I know y'all give the best insight and are the most up to date computer geeks out there, so please any input is welcome and very much appreciated. Hope y'all have a great evening.

Edit - Just thought I should add a list of the specs, in case the link seems suspicious.

Intel® Core™ i7-4700HQ processor
Features a 6MB L3 cache and 2.4GHz processor speed with Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz.
Intel® Core™ i7 processor
Features 8-way processing for ultimate smart performance. Intel® Turbo Boost Technology delivers extra performance when you need it and increased energy efficiency when you don't.
8GB DDR3 memory
For multitasking power, expandable to 32GB.
Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive
Create custom DVDs and CDs.
17.3" LED-backlit TFT-LCD high-definition widescreen display
With 1920 x 1080 resolution showcases movies and games in arresting clarity.
1TB hard drive (5400 rpm)
Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M graphics
Feature 2GB GDDR5 video memory for lush, detailed images. HDMI output for connection to an HDTV.
Built-in 1.0MP webcam and microphone
Make it easy to video chat with family and friends.
2-in-1 media reader
Supports MultiMediaCard and Secure Digital formats.
4 USB 3.0 ports
For fast digital data transfer and easy peripheral connectivity.
Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11ac)
Connect to the Internet without wires.
Bluetooth interface
Easily link with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or MP3 player.
Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbps Fast Ethernet LAN
With RJ-45 connector for quick and easy wired Web connection.
Weighs 9.9 lbs. and measures just 2" thin
For portable power. Backlit, chiclet-style keyboard enables comfortable typing, even in low lighting.
Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit operating system preinstalled
Provides a stable platform for word processing, Web navigation, gaming, media storage and more.
Software package included
With Adobe Reader and more. Microsoft Office Starter 2010 also included (product key card required for activation; sold separately).
Intel, Pentium, Celeron, Centrino, Core, Viiv, Intel Inside and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
 

pcoog

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Mar 24, 2013
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Well, currently I'm using 230gb of data, so in order to make this easy I'm going to aim for atleast a 256gb ssd or a 512gb ssd. Just to make the reimaging easier and file transfers. Pretty new at all of this stuff.
 

pcoog

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What do you think about the EVO? Is it worth spending that much on an SSD if the computer is as cheap as it is?

And just another quick quesiton if you don't mind - do you think this laptop gaming computer I have will become out dated soon?
 

Live Wyre

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Sep 13, 2013
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Your current PC will last you for awhile to come :)
 

pcoog

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Almost missed some of y'all's replies! So fast!

And ya I see what you're saying. Will it be a pain in the buns to do all of this, or is it relatively simple? I mean the software part of it not the actual putting of it into the pc. Thanks for the help again!

And to Live Wyre -

That does seem like a good deal! Do you have any personal experience with that specific ssd (just wondering)? And would you know the perfomance speeds compared to other ssds in the market right now? Thanks! Y'all are so helpful!
 

pcoog

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Awesome! Because I really do think I got a snag deal on this one, as I had been looking for a gaming PC for awhile, but never found one quite as good of a deal as this. I was about to purchase the Vanquish Level 4 Ultimate Computer from DS, which is 1399, and that didn't even include the 190 monitor! After taxes only around $950 I believe is what I paid for my laptop... I should remember it was but just this last saturday :D. So I mean really I saved over $700 with this purchase! Too good to be true it seems, but I guess not!
 

Live Wyre

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Yes, I do in fact have personal experience with that specific SSD. If I had to recommend one SSD under $1/GB, I would choose that one. It has really fast read speeds and is the most reliable SSD I've had (Used to have 2 HyperX in raid 0 and 1 of them failed :( ). But if you are doing heavy writing on the SSD (I doubt you will if you are just gaming, not editing A LOT) you may want to get another SSD with faster write speeds.
 

pcoog

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Alright cool and thanks for the input. Glad to hear it has been reliable to you! And dang that stinks about the failed raid 0 ssd D:, really must've stunk man.

I think I'm going to get it then, really excited about getting an ssd in here!

Also, how do you suggest doing the reimaging and moving of files, etc.? Like use a program that clones current system, wipe out old, pop in new and load it back up there so it has everything the same just all on ssd then move everything off? I mean really it's just steam games so if push comes to shove a ton of stuff can be deleted then added back again. Really appreciate the input and fast replies!
 
I have two sandisk old extreme 240GB SSD RAID 0 they work really well.
The new extreme 2 is really much faster. It is same level as the samsung pro.

Sandisk ultra plus is good not so much slower and really relianle drive. Good price.
Samsung EVO is better for storage drive. 120GB is really slow. 250GB EVO is much better.

I have been really pleaset of my Sandisk drives. They are not fastest but reliable.
And raid gives me bit speed :)
 

pcoog

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Glad to hear that!I also have had fond memories with Sandisk with reliability. I'm in between right now, will look up some benchmarks later on. The prices have dropped substantially since I last researched.
 
Really slow for an SSD. Still blazing fast at reads, good at random, and still does several hundred MB/s writes.

I'd suggest the Samsung; they basically have the best track record out there for reliability (with the possible exception of Intel). It's not really worth going for the Evo unless there's only a few dollars difference between them.
 

pcoog

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Ok. I think I've made my mind up. I'm going to go with the 256gb 840 pro SSD. Thanks for the help y'all!
 

pcoog

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Meh... it's a 35 dollar difference to get the best there is... why not
 
Samsung 840 non pro is TLC chip. That is not good.
MLC is better. Sandisk ultra plus is MLC and its bigger.
for 150$ price it isreally good buy. You will never notice any difference speeds by using pc. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdhp256gg25

Like I daid before. It is fast enough. Reliable. You do not need anything more than that.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdhp256gg25
Samsung pro 128GB price 256GB SSD. Why not? :)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7pd128z
 

RyanEvans

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Kingston Hyperx 3K 120GB is what I have been using & is surely recommendable. As this happens to be sandforce based, I dont have be concerned on reliability issues. I have used this as a boot volume & my other data is being stored on a external USB HDD.
 
I'd still be skeptical of TLC. Sandisk Extreme 2 ultimaly fast SSD.
OCZ vector is good too. Samsung PRO is king of hill.
Still no point to pay more than really good working sandisk ultra plus.
Cheap, Fast enough. Really reliable. If yo uhave money to buy Samsung pro.
Then that is best buy. Sandisk Extreme 2 is as fast as the samsung pro.
If you want to save then best buy is sandisk ultra plus.
128GB samsung pro is about same price. So why not buy 256GB same mount of money? :)
 
But the performance difference is negligible unless you're running a webserver or using it as a rendering drive. Same goes for the NAND longevity.

At which point, look at cheapest and most reliable in terms of firmware. Which is not the Sandforce drives.

There are better places to spend the money than faster SSDs. More space, yes, but not more speed.