@mattgraz:
Since you asked about transferring your existing installation, there's also a pretty easy option within Windows itself, assuming you can sufficiently shrink the current C: drive. You wouldn't have to buy 3rd party programs.
As already mentioned, the gist is that you make an image of the current system drive, then restore it to the SSD. In a little more detail, there there are a couple more steps than that:
- Move all extra data off the C: partition (any of your photos, music, etc.)
- Uninstall any programs you don't really want
- Defragment the C: partition
- Shrink the partition in Disk Management (to the size of the SSD)
- In Windows Backup & Restore, create a system image and system recovery disk
- Physically install the new SSD and update its firmware (if needed)
- Use the system recovery disk to restore the image to the SSD
- Boot up just like you did before....only now it's from the SSD, and it's faster
Finally, another option, if your computer is new & you haven't put much of your own stuff on it yet...and you do want the OEM installation....is to do a factory restore to the SSD.
- Make a set of recovery DVDs (using AI Recovery in the current installation)
- Physically install the new SSD and update its firmware (if needed)
- Use the recovery DVDs to perform a factory restore to the SSD
