Help me out here please, SSD question

[madokie]

I wasn't aware that SSD drives have moving parts. From reading this it appears they do.
I'm wanting to put an SSD in my old dell dimension 4700 computer to install the operating system on, hopefully to speed things up a tad.
I'm not sure which one I need. I know I have a SATA drive now. Will any of the newer SATA Solid State Drives (SATA2 or 3) work with my old system?
I'm not wanting to spend a lot of money because if I do that I'd rather buy a new computer but I really don't want to do that. This old box I have seems to work fine, I'd just like to speed it up a tad. I'm running a 3 gig pentium 4 with 2 gig of ram.
Any help in directing/educating me will be appreciated

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Crucial-M4-64-GB-Internal-4200-RPM-2-5-CT064M4SSD2-SSD-Solid-State-Drive/191011727300?_trksid=p11070.m2411&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D252%26meid%3D3741355465351492674%26pid%3D100097%26prg%3D1130%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D191007886402%26&ssPageName=ADME:X ROI:US:1120

Detailed item info
Product Description
The NAND process technology used in the Crucial Technology CT064M4SSD2 internal SSD delivers an enhanced processing performance. The 415 MB/s read speed of this Crucial Technology internal SSD quickens the data accessing output. This Crucial Technology solid state drive consumes less power, saving on energy and money. Integrated with advanced controller technology, the Crucial Technology CT064M4SSD2 SSD delivers error-free results. The second-generation SATA 6 GB/s interface of this Crucial Technology internal SSD offers superior connectivity. Constructed with a rugged design and a light weight factor, this Crucial Technology solid state drive is durable.

Product Identifiers
Brand Crucial
Model M4
UPC 649528752178

Key Features
Enclosure Internal
Capacity 64 GB
Hard Drive Type SSD (Solid State Drive)
Spindle Speed 4200 RPM
Interface Serial ATA
Designation Laptop Computer

Technical Features
Platform PC
External Data Transfer Rate 600 Mbps
Form Factor 2.5"

Dimensions
Height 0.37 in.
Width 3.95 in.
Depth 2.75 in.
Weight 0.17 lbs

[ChromeFoundry]

1. The Dell 4700 supports SATA-1 drives...

but SATA-2 and greater drives are backwards compatible with SATA-1.
When you do plug in the drive, be sure to plug it into the SATA #0 port which is your master boot device (C .

Hope this helps.

[madokie]

2. Thank you

It does and It answers my biggest question.

[PrestonLocke]

3. Your first instincts are correct

SSDs do not have any moving parts. The item description is incorrect. Be wary web shopper!

There are HDs with small SSDs in them, some sort of hybrid setup. The hybrid setup is probably not what you want. It's probably not what anyone wants, really.

When searching the part number listed on the auction (CT064M4SSD2), I find a normal crucial SATA III SSD. All SATA should be compatible -some tweaking may be required- however, you will not see the full capability of the drive without SATA III.

If you're looking to speed up an old system, an SSD is your ticket! It will blow your freaking mind!!! Your old P4 will run like never before. It will bootup and launch programs faster than almost any machine with a classic HD, old or new. Even using SATA I. Slow disk caching is a thing of the past! Be free!!! Also, when you do choose to get a new PC, you will be able to migrate your SSD with. That's an investment!

The part number listed is a good SSD. I know it may be tempting to buy an older or refurbished SSD at a better price, and that's OK. Just make sure the SSD you are going to get has a sandforce 2 or better controller. Any drive that is SATA III compatible should be fine. 64gb should be the smallest drive you're considering.

[madokie]

4. I just ordered this one here last night for $52.95

http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Digital-Adapter-Solid-SV300S37A-60G/dp/B00A35X6GM/ref=sr_1_9/191-8161582-5963263?ie=UTF8&qid=1388375696&sr=8-9&keywords=ssd+drives

I notice this morning they've raised the price.
I'm going to keep my old 160 hd to put pictures or music etc on. I didn't figure I needed the SSD to be all that big so thats why I purchased this one.
I plan to use this box I have and upgrade the mother board and processor sometime in the near future so this drive should be just what I want for it.
I've got a 500 gig usb3 toshiba drive also that I put ubuntu 12.04.3 on. I purchased a usb3 card and put it in my computer but when I installed ubuntu to the usb drive and plugged it in to the usb3 card it won't boot to it so I have to use the usb2 thats on the front of my computer to use it. I wish I could figure out how to get the computer to boot to the toshiba drive connected to the usb3 card but can't. I tried different settings in the bios too to no avail.

My computer is one I purchased back in 2001. its a dell dimension 4700 with a 3 gig hard drive with 2 gig ram. I've been running ubuntu or mint for the last 5 or 6 years now.

we have a sony laptop that I may put a SSD in too. It has a dual core pentium4 and 2 gig of ram.

[PrestonLocke]

5. Congrats!

I'm serious, it will be like a completely different machine!

Kingston is a well-known brand. 60gb should be enough, especially running linux vs m$.

I know the older dell boards are limited on options and the bios does leave something to be desired. If you really wanted to boot to the external, it is possible. You would still need to use the internal drive as the master boot, but you could edit your bootloader, usually GRUB, to boot off of the external and probably the USB3 card.

[madokie]

6. This is going to be a long week waiting for the drive to get here

I order the adapter to fit it in my 3.5 inch bay from ebay and it should be here by the weekend.

[madokie]

7. I wish I was smart enough to figure out a motherboard cpu combo

that would fit my case so I could upgrade that part of my system.
I remember when it was easy to understand what processor was the fastest but those days are long gone, for me anyway

[PrestonLocke]

8. no worries, I'm in the same boat

Just don't have time to keep up on all the new toys anymore.

I can tell you though that you will probably need a new case, I believe those dells used a custom form factor.

I mean, if you really want you could probably make a mini-atx fit in the case without too much modification.

[madokie]

9. I was afraid of that

I seem to remember that dell was different.

a new case isn't that expensive anyway as far as that goes. I was looking at one earlier for less than 50 bucks. I think that included a power supply too. Not the prettiest thing in the world but who cares about that anyway

Anyways I'm working my way up to a new system. From time to time I see some good buys on used motherboard and processors on Ebay for some pretty good prices.
My biggest problem is I really don't know processors any more. Used to I pretty much did but not any more. When they went to the multi cores they lost me.

[madokie]

10. I received the Kingston 60 gig and installed it just now

It sure it faster than the old maxtor 160 I had. I had a SATA2 plug on my mother board so I was able to use it. I plan to buy a IDE sata3 card and plug into it. Is that going to work? Is it going to cause me any problems?
Thanks for any and all help

I put ubuntu 12.04.3 and install Mate to it as I really liked the old gnome desktop.

Damn this thing is fast

[jtuck004]

11. I noticed your talk about a new computer. Unless you need the big case for something,

look around ebay at the Lenovo Core 2 Duo's. (T400 or R400 (the second one is slightly heavier). They can hold up to 8GB (I bought mine from Crucial for $70ish, but others have told me they have cheaper stuff that works) - the one I got had an ssd, and I bought a hitachi drive and replaced the cd rom (I use mostly USBs now) - Other than memory (I run 3x that in my bigger case so I can work with virtual servers) this thing really does well.

Running Linux Mint 15 xfce today, have had ubuntu, other linux, Windows 7, and will probably have Mint 16 xfce on it before the week is out. I also run VirtualBox on it so I can run virtual machines, so I have Windows 7 and some Ubuntu server on it as well at the moment.

I'm at about $350 with it, and frankly, other than when I have a specific need for more memory, it does just as well as my desktop.

You can get into the I3, I5 and up, and get 16gb of ram on a Lenovo T520, but they cost more.

And most likely you can use that ssd on the laptop.

Anyway, just something to put in your thinking mix...

[madokie]

12. Good Ideas

We have a laptop with a pentium dual core and it way our perfoms this old dell of mine.
When Intel changed their naming system I became lost in what is and what isn't the better processors. Sure wish I had some help with understanding them.

I'll have a look at some lenovo desktops to see what I can find. I really don't have any need for a big box at all as long as I've got a machine that lets me do AutoCad, with wine that is, and surf the web. AutoCad 2000 which I have isn't that big of a hog so it really doesn't take that much processor power to run it just fine for the work I do with it.

[jtuck004]

13. For most of the desktops I think i3, i5, and i7, more power and $ in that order,

takes care of most of it.

Some into here:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/core/core-processor-family.html

And you can always look at tom's hardware site and just browse through their stuff. They do a build every month or so, vary between AMD (which I don't use so I know nothing about them) and Intel, and watching what they are using can give you some good background.

Unless I have a real need, I doubt I will ever get anything other than a laptop again. I got a tablet a while back, and that has proven to be useful, but only as an adjunct to the laptop. I would not have that by itself.