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Laptop HDD to SDD worth it?

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  • 14-02-2018 2:50pm
    #1
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭


    I've got one of these:
    http://www.toshiba.ie/discontinued-products/qosmio-x70-b-10t/?categoryNameProductPage=laptops

    It's a few years old but has a i7-4720HQ and 16Gb of RAM. I would expect it to be sprightly, but the hard disk seems to be a big bottleneck. HD Tune Pro shows an average transfer rate of 80Mb/s and no health issues. After boot, the disk monitor shows 100% for ~5 mins, and 50-70% for a few minutes more. At 100% sometimes it's only moving 3-4mb/s according to the task manager, but the system is definitely sluggish while this is happening - keypresses can be buffered for several seconds before registering.

    I'm wondering if swapping out the HDD for an SDD along with a clean install of windows would be likely to give a significant boost?
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-inch-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B00P73B1E4/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1518615824&sr=1-1&keywords=ssd
    is on sale for 117 at the moment. I love the machine otherwise - big screen, and am running 3 screens with it (hdmi and vga outs). So question is whether to put the €117 towards a new desktop system with a Ryzen 5 2400G or eke out some more time from what I have with the new SSD, and then put the SSD in a new system later.

    I'm doing more video editing these days, and I think the graphics card is a bigger factor in rendering than mass storage throughput?

    Any insights welcomed.


Comments

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    #2
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,167 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    100% upgrade. With modern platforms you're crazy not to.


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    #3
    SVI40
    Registered Users Posts: 612 ✭✭✭SVI40


    Upgraded my laptop to an SSD about a year ago, best thing ever. I couldn't go back to a non SSD HDD.


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    #4
    TerrorFirmer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    Yes, it would give you a massive boost. The machine is decent enough otherwise for most tasks including editing.

    As for the upgrade, up to you. If you've the money to spare, sure. But I think to get a significant upgrade in terms of raw power and make it all worthwhile, you'd really ideally be looking at Coffee Lake i5 (six core; high budget option) or Ryzen 1600 (6 core; lower budget option).


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    #5
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Appreciate the advice, all. SSD it is!


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    #6
    jebidiah
    Registered Users Posts: 1,450 ✭✭✭jebidiah


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Appreciate the advice, all. SSD it is!

    It will literally change your life. Such a massive upgrade in terms of snappiness and responsiveness. Should you build a pc in the end for your other uses, I guarantee you will want to keep the laptop around for a lot longer than if you kept the HDD.


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    #7
    Serephucus
    Registered Users Posts: 7,180 ✭✭✭Serephucus


    Yes.

    Didn't read the thread. Don't need to. Absolutely yes.


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    #8
    Moon54
    Registered Users Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭Moon54


    Yes, definitely worth it, best bang-for-buck ever.
    Also doing a clean install is advisable, as Windows will set itself up with proper TRIM settings for SSD etc.

    Another benefit is that you can keep around the old HDD as a backup....
    or put it in an HDD enclosure like this one;
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tool-free-Inateck-External-Enclosure-FE2004-Black/dp/B00IJNDBM4/


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