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I'd like to install Windows 7 on its own SSD drive (everything else would be on a standard hard disk), but I don't want to break the bank. I saw a 40 GB one on newegg.com for US$124.99, but I've heard that you get better performance with SSD drives if they have more free space on them.

On Microsoft's site it says that you only need 16 GB for the 32-bit version. It seems like having more than twice that would be enough... Thoughts?

3 Answers 3

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More free space makes your drive perform better, yes [credit sblair]. One thing you might want to keep in mind is that besides the operating system you will also have all of the files you put on your desktop on the SSD drive (unless you redirect that directory or use Active Directory, etc).

As long as you install large programs to a different drive you shouldn't have any issue. I would go for the 40 just for simplicity sake. In most cases, the frustration and time wasted on a smaller drive isn't worth the cost to just get the next larger one.

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    The first sentence is not true. SSDs generally are faster the more free space that is available, because it helps reduce the write amplification ratio: anandtech.com/show/2829/8
    – sblair
    May 27, 2010 at 18:34
  • Interesting, do you know much about "write amplification" and "spare area"? I'm having a tough time reading that graph. May 27, 2010 at 18:40
  • whoops, I'll edit my answer.
    – Daisetsu
    May 27, 2010 at 21:01
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I wouldn't go less than 64 GB for this, even though the OS is all that will be there. Even that is pushing it.

Too many old programs break the rules and try to put things directly on the C: drive, and the Windows 7 update history can get large over time.

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Windows 7 takes 16 GB, so a 24 GB SSD gives you 8 GB free space, a 40 GB SSD gives you 24 GB of free space, and a 64 GB SSD gives you about 47 GB free space.

As of July 30, 2014 a 64 GB SSD on Amazon costs about $50.

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