Add SSD to XPS 410

[daanodinot]

Hi,

A few months back I decided to buy a new GPU for my 'ancient' XPS 410. As it turned out, it was the right decision: the performance increased significantly. Since I'm not planning to buy an i3/i5/i7 system anytime soon (too expensive for me..), I've been looking for components I'd be able to add that would useful as well as future-proof. One of these components is a new SSD.

As far as I know, I'd need a SSD and a controller (because my PC has no SATA 3). So I looked around and found these products:

http://amzn.to/mbnRon
http://amzn.to/iGvPrG

Lastly, it would be great to use my existing hard drive (300GB 7200rpm HD) next to the SSD to store the larger files. So no RAID setup, just seperate disks.

So this leads to my questions: (forgive me for just listing them )
- Would it be a good option to upgrade my PC with a SSD?
- Would I be able to install these in my PC?
- If so, are these indeed the right/best products for the job?
- Can I use SSD in combination with my existing HD?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ubrales]

You don't need the USB 3 card in order to use the SSD. Set the jumpers to 3 GB/s

Here are the answers to your questions:

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. What you selected is a good product. Of course there will be other products just as good or better. You will need to do a complete products research in order to find your answer.
4. Yes.

Keep in mind that USB 3 and SATA III are unrelated. If you must have USB 3, then install the USB 3 card.

 

[daanodinot]

Thanks for your response! Yeah, you're right about the usb 3 card, I was already a bit confused about that. So if I understand you correctly the SSD would have an option to make it work with sata II right? BTW, the reason I looked into sata III was that I found a review that stated that sata II actually bottlenecked the SSD. So if I'd want to upgrade to sata III, would I have to replace the whole motherboard?

 

[Ubrales]

Thanks for your response! Yeah, you're right about the usb 3 card, I was already a bit confused about that. So if I understand you correctly the SSD would have an option to make it work with sata II right? BTW, the reason I looked into sata III was that I found a review that stated that sata II actually bottlenecked the SSD. So if I'd want to upgrade to sata III, would I have to replace the whole motherboard?

Yes! You will have to replace the motherboard if you want 6 Gb/s option.

Leave the motherboard as-is. Use the motherboard that you currently have. Install the SSD. The SSD will speed up things by a very wide margin over what you currently have. You will not notice the 'drop' in speed between 3 Gb/s and 6 Gb/s.

 

[daanodinot]

Alright, yes I'd imagine the drop won't be too much compared to the overal speed gain. The more I think about, the more I'm excited about trying this : )

I'm trying to thing of anything I could be missing, but it looks that there are no real 'downsides' except the high price they ask for flash memory (although 128gb is still kinda affordable). If you can think of one please tell me(!), because I've some experiences in the past where I bought things too hurriedly.

One last point, would I be able to clone the data on my current HD to the SSD? I've heard some people mention Acronis...

 

[Ubrales]

Alright, yes I'd imagine the drop won't be too much compared to the overal speed gain. The more I think about, the more I'm excited about trying this : )

I'm trying to thing of anything I could be missing, but it looks that there are no real 'downsides' except the high price they ask for flash memory (although 128gb is still kinda affordable). If you can think of one please tell me(!), because I've some experiences in the past where I bought things too hurriedly.

One last point, would I be able to clone the data on my current HD to the SSD? I've heard some people mention Acronis...

Yes you are on the right track! And yes, the price is still a little steep. You can try the Memorial Day sale or wait for the coming 4th. of July sale.

Regarding cloning. Yes cloning would be the way to go. That way you don't have to re-install all your software. Acronis comes to mind.

The one caveat with cloning is that the destination (SSD) disk must be larger in size than the data (OS, programs) on the source disk, which would be your present disk.

(BTW, we all get an itchy trigger finger when it comes to buying exciting stuff! - )