proper ssd for my 4 yr old laptop

[Jonathan Vlaming]

My goal is to get a 500 to 1,000 GB SSD that works well with my laptop, is easy to install, and which will work best with amateur music recording & production, and my music library mgmt and playback.

here's my system:
HP envy 14
Core I5 Intel HM55
8 gb Ram DDR3 PC3-12800
SATA 2 - 3Gb/s
5,600 rpm hard river with about 400 gb of stuff on it
Windows 7

Questions:
since it is a Sata 2, what should my target speeds be when looking for a SSD?

Is there a downside, other than price, for going with a 1 TB instead of a 500 GB SSD?

Are there particular brands that are better than others for my setup?

Is Windows 8.1 worth the upgrade for my uses?

thanks!

 

[ktriebol]

I think your plan to switch your four year old laptop over to an SSD is worth while. Pretty much every SSD that is available these days is made for SATA 3, but that's not a problem. A SATA 3 SSD will operate very fast in your SATA 2 laptop. You will be amazed. I put a Samsung 830 in my five year old Dell Inspirion 1545 and am very pleased.

My recommendation for you is a Samsung 840 EVO. They are available in many capacities including 500, 750, and 1000GB. They are fast, reliable, and priced right. I don't see a downside to any of them. It just all depends on how much storage you want. A 1TB unit will cost you about $450 at newegg. Go there and read the reviews.

Windows 7 is a great operating system. I think it is the best version of Windows ever. Windows 8.1 is a big change and will take lots of getting used to, but if you want to keep up with the latest in the tech field, you just have to go with it and suffer along with everybody else. That's what I am doing. At least it sounds like future editions will be friendlier to the mouse and keyboard.