I think to upgrade my system HD (seagate 7200.12 1T)and to put also my Cubase projects and some samples on this partition (this is why I want 128GB).

Since it seems like the Samsung is very relaible and is fast too I thought to go for it. Other option was the Crucial M4.
Price (+ a kit for desktop) is about 150€

My computer spec:
Intel dp35dp Mobo (have only SATA II not III)
4GB of Ram 800mhz
Intel E6750
Windows XP 32bit (so for the moment can't use more RAM)

I make a heavy use of different vst's - cubase5 is my sequenser
Superiordrum
Gonna soon to install finally my Kontakt 4 (which I bought in the Komplete6 bundle more than a year ago and didn't have time to use ) with about 10 instruments a track

Will it be worth to do this upgrade?
will it be better to opt for 64bit system and upgrade RAM or upgrade my CPU to a quadcore?

I thought to go for the SSD since I'll be able to use it also in a new computer upgrade but the other components I wouldn't.

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Pro. violinist who likes some experiments...
www.myspace.com/pagannini

Your current board as it's sata II will (unless you also for out for a Sata III card interface) only be able to handle around half the data through put of the current generation of drives. This however will be roughly 2.5 times faster than your current mechanicals, so certainly an improvement.

Is it worth it? Well it'll make everything zippy that is on the drive, but if you have a vast amount of sample banks to deal with then anything that would require loading off a second drive will slow it down. That said if you can get everything important into 128GB then you could certainly investigate that route futher.

Is it worth it over doing all the other upgrades first? It depends on what your requirements are right now. Are you pushing the current CPU to breaking point or running out of memory? If so then those improvements would have more impact on your workflow than sticking a SSD in there. SSD's are the iceing on the cake of a well put together system, but the's no point having the speed benefits they bring if your hitting a brick wall in the other requirements.

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ScanProAudio & 3XS Audio Systems
ScanProAudio Blog

Hiya,

I upgraded to a Samsung 830 as part of my recent switch to Windows 7 Pro 64bit. It's also running at Sata II but on a Gigabyte GA-EX58UD3R motherboard.

I would say it's one of those things that's expensive (I pushed the boat out for a bigger SSD) but having got one I wouldn't ever go back. Having said that, for me it was tied in with the move to Windows 7 which was painful but well worth it in the end. I have a boot time of around 40 seconds of which half is the BIOS. I could make tea and toast while XP started up! So again, never again... Sonar X1 also now behaves far better with access to more RAM (now 8 Gb).

I hope this helps you.
Best wishes,

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Have a look and listen to our music:
TobesMusic.com

Thanks Toby and Pete,
seems from your responds that first upgrade will be to windows 7 64bit + more Ram and then I'll see how to proceed (soon I see that windows 8 is coming out though...)

From what I read, searching on the net, I understood the SSD should be put in the bios in AHCI modality? What about the other HD? (I don't remember how they are set for now).
thnx again!

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Pro. violinist who likes some experiments...
www.myspace.com/pagannini

AHCI is handy and yeah certainly worth swtiching on and it's fine to have it enabled for both the SSD and the mechanical. If your installing a new OS make sure you enable it in the bios before you start to software the drive. Failure to do so means you have to apply a driver/patch in windows to then enable it after the event.

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ScanProAudio & 3XS Audio Systems
ScanProAudio Blog

Thnx again Pete for your help!
Cheers,
Jonathan

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Pro. violinist who likes some experiments...
www.myspace.com/pagannini

I have a 128GB Samsung 830 in my machine. It's a great drive IMO. What drew me to it was that it's entirely manufactured by Samsung (rather than using a SandForce controller or whatever) and has a great reputation for reliability, as the last thing I wanted was random issues with blue screens and what have you on my new rig.