upgrade to SSD...Mirror or fresh install

[web docta]

I'm looking to install a 240GB OCZ Agility 3 into my new Asus U46E notebook. It has a 750GB HDD right now. Since the original drive is larger than the SSD, can I use Acronis to clone? Obviously I don't need everything that's on the original drive...so I can either erase it or select parts if that's an option?
Would it be better to do a fresh install of windows 7 Ultimate? I have a ton of applications so I really would prefer to simply clone the SSD if that's at all possible.

[EH100501AC]

You can clone it even if the original hard drive size is bigger.
For convenience's sake just clone.

[rdgrimes]

You'll want to be certain that partition alignment is correct. If the cloning tool does not handle this right you will suffer a performance loss.

Personally, I'd take this as an opportunity to do a fresh install to further clean and speed things up. Installations go pretty quick on the Vertex.

And in case you're not aware, the SATA-3 controller must be in AHCI mode before doing anything. That includes the Windows AHCI driver.

[web docta]

Since I currently am not using this as my primary computer, I will try cloning the SSD first and if there are any issues, I'll wipe the drive and do a fresh install. I've got USB3 support on the Asus so I'm guessing the cloning should go pretty quick...Newegg shipped last Friday so I'm guessing it arrives here maybe Tuesday, can't wait!

[EH100501AC]

I always favor a fresh install too however since it's on a notebook, since there are typically more drivers and bloatware to re-install, it might be a time saver to simply clone since you probably have your OS, settings, etc. how you like it.

[web docta]

just got my OCZ Agility 3 delivered this afternoon.....
I used Acronis to mirror the installed HDD,left the computer running to run some errands and came back in less than an hour later & it was done.!
I popped off the back of my Asus U46E and simply replaced the WD Blue 750GB Scorpio drive that was in there with the cloned SSD and fired it up. No problems, no issues and everything was exactly the same....except for the speed......
All I can say is WOW....holy freakin WOW!
What used to take 2-3 minutes to boot up and load everything now takes about 20 seconds total! Everything is unbelievably faster.
I highly recommend this drive...can't wait to see the extended battery life also.
Also, one of the perks is that I now have a free 750GB drive that I can store lots of stuff on using a cheap $10 USB drive bay.
The drive cost me $239.00 total after rebate and a Newegg limited Daily Deal that wasn't online for very long before they raised the price again but it's still a bargain even at the raised price.
This was definitely a game changer...

[richardd43]

If you want to check to make sure the alignment is correct download AS SSD Benchmark. As soon as you start the benchmark (in the upper left hand corner) you will see the alignment number and a Good or Bad behind it.

There is no need to actually run the benchmark after you check the alignment.

http://downloads.guru3d.com/AS-SSD-B...load-2569.html

[web docta]

If you want to check to make sure the alignment is correct download AS SSD Benchmark. As soon as you start the benchmark (in the upper left hand corner) you will see the alignment number and a Good or Bad behind it.

There is no need to actually run the benchmark after you check the alignment.

what is "alignment"?
Here's a screenshot of the test
I didn't see any alignment # in the upper left hand corner before I started the test....
Actually the read/write times should be twice those numbers but remember this machine doesn't have SATA-6...they still appear to be pretty awesome numbers to me to get a 7.8 on my WEI disk performance score.

[rdgrimes]

"103424K - OK"

That is your alignment, and it shows that you have the default 100MB system/boot partition plus the correct alignment.