G53-SX-A1: Questions regarding SSD set-up and OS

[Phate18]

Hello, fellow gaming enthusiasts!

I have recently purchased a G53-SX-A1 from the States and it should be arriving soon. It has an OCZ Vertex 3 as the boot drive and a 750 SATA II HDD as a secondary drive. I am just wondering what the procedure should be when I get it... I saw Chastity's driver thread, which I shall follow, but it doesn't give anything regarding SSDs.

It's a fresh install of Windows 7 Home Premium (without the bloatware), so I realise crucial things may be missing. I haven't used a Windows computer for about three years (I dabbled in MacBooks, please don't lynch me ), and I realise the jump from XP to 7 might be a bit of a shocker! To get to the point, would the first thing to do be to disable defragmentation and enable TRIM?

Also, what's the best way to ensure the SSD stays as clean (read: non-cluttered) as possible? Should I just move folders manually (music, documents, downloads etc.) or is there a way to tell the system I don't want anything to be put on C: ?

My last question is concerning programs. As the SSD is only 120GB, I only want the crucial software (Office?) and a few games on it. Will programs work if I install them on the secondary (non-OS) drive, and if I wanted to move a program between the drives, what's the easiest way of doing that without confusing the OS? Is there an advantage in having small programs (Alcohol 120% and other utilities) on the SSD or is it marginal?

I realise the amount of questions I have is overwhelming and some of them might be quite noobish, but I really appreciate any help I could get from you guys! I noticed the ASUS ROG community is very welcoming and willing to help, so I hope you won't mind my selfish hogging of your time, as appreciated as it is!

Thank you and in return I offer smiles (^-^)/ and a picture of a kitten !

[JRd1st]

I don't have SSd yet so I'll only answer the parts of your post that I know about.

I'd assume that your new laptop (Congratulations!!) will have all the necessary drivers installed. As far as the "bloatware" , I too did a clean install of Win7 and it turned out to be a good move as it got rid of almost all the little things I didn't initially like. I've only installed Power4Gear Hybrid v1.1.43, Wireless Console 3 v3.0.19, FastBoot v1.0.10, and LifeFrame3 v3.0.24. . Either get everything from Chastity's Thread, or try to find the driver pages for the device. Rarely ASUS will have something that's not outdated on your model's support page. lol

120 GB is PLENTY of room for a system drive if you keep it clean. Put your games on another drive (I'd make a 100GB to 200 GB partition depending on how many games you plan to install) if you want to keep your SSD clean. Also MOVE your personal folders on another drive ; see THIS THREAD. I'd install non-game programs on the SSD .

A good rule of thumb is "Don't install it until you need it." You'd be surprised how much stuff you have that you don't need. And if you're the type that likes to "tweak" the you should get Acronis TrueImage Home 2012 so you can make system backups in case your tweaking goes awry.

BTW, I like the kitten photo!

[Phate18]

Thank you, JRd1st! That was very helpful

So you're saying I shouldn't install games on the SSD? I thought it might help with loading the textures faster etc.

I guess you're right about them not putting old drivers in, that wouldn't make sense.

Glad you like the kittahn!