Upgrading your laptop to a solid state drive (SSD) can provide a significant boost in performance. An SSD uses flash memory rather than a spinning hard drive, which allows it to operate much faster. Replacing a hard drive with an SSD is one of the most effective upgrades you can make to improve a laptop’s speed and responsiveness.
What are the benefits of upgrading to SSD?
There are several key benefits to upgrading your laptop to an SSD:
- Faster boot times – An SSD can decrease boot times from over a minute to under 30 seconds in some cases.
- Faster app/file loading – Programs and files stored on an SSD can open almost instantly, vs the slower loading times of a HDD.
- Improved responsiveness – Applications and everyday tasks will respond faster because data access is near instantaneous.
- Better durability – SSDs have no moving parts, making them less susceptible to damage or failure from bumps or drops.
- Lower power consumption – SSDs are more power efficient, which can improve battery life in laptops.
- Quieter operation – SSDs generate no noise since there are no spinning disks or moving heads.
The quicker speeds of an SSD make a huge difference in how snappy and responsive a laptop feels when booting, opening programs, or switching between tasks. Upgrading to an SSD delivers one of the biggest perceivable performance boosts you can get without replacing the laptop entirely.
What types of SSDs can I use to upgrade a laptop?
There are several common form factors of SSDs that can be used to upgrade most laptops:
- 2.5″ SATA SSD – The 2.5″ form factor with a SATA interface is the most widely compatible choice for laptop upgrades. Nearly all laptops have space for a 2.5″ drive.
- M.2 SATA SSD – The M.2 form factor is a smaller, more compact SSD designed to fit in the dedicated M.2 slot many newer laptops have. M.2 SATA SSDs are compatible with both M.2 connections and 2.5″ bays (with an adaptor).
- M.2 NVMe SSD – NVMe M.2 drives provide the fastest SSD speeds, but require your laptop to have a compatible M.2 NVMe slot. These are best for high-end laptop upgrades.
- mSATA SSD – The mSATA form factor is much smaller than 2.5″ SSDs. These are designed for small, compact laptops like ultrabooks that need SSD storage without taking up much internal space.
The best choice depends on your laptop model – newer laptops may support a faster M.2 NVMe drive, while older models are typically limited to 2.5″ SATA SSDs. Check your laptop’s service manual or specifications to see which types of SSD it supports.
How difficult is installing an SSD in a laptop?
Installing an SSD in a laptop is a moderately difficult process that requires disassembling the laptop to access the internal drive bays. There are some common steps to replacing a laptop hard drive with an SSD:
- Back up any important data on your current hard drive as a precaution.
- Purchase an SSD in the appropriate size and form factor for your laptop.
- Open up the laptop case to access the hard drive bay. This usually requires removing screws on the bottom panel and carefully prying up the case.
- Disconnect and remove the existing hard drive. This typically involves unscrewing a small bracket and unplugging the SATA and power cables.
- Install the new SSD into the drive bay, attaching any necessary brackets and connecting the SATA and power cables.
- Replace the laptop cover and re-insert any screws to re-assemble the case.
- Boot up the laptop, and install your operating system and programs onto the new SSD.
The basic process is straightforward, but disassembling laptops does take some care and comfort working with computer hardware. If you have experience upgrading desktop PC components, then you likely have the necessary skills for adding an SSD to a laptop. If not, it’s safest to take it slow and follow laptop disassembly instructions closely.
What’s the best way to migrate my data and OS to the new SSD?
Once you’ve physically installed the SSD, you’ll want to transfer your operating system, programs, settings, and files over from your old hard drive. There are a few options for migration:
- Clean install – Starting fresh with a clean OS installation on the SSD, then manually moving your files over afterwards.
- Cloning – Using cloning software to make an identical copy of your hard drive onto the SSD.
- Backup and restore – Backing up your data to an external drive, installing a fresh OS on the SSD, then restoring your data.
Cloning the hard drive can be the quickest way to move to an SSD since it copies the OS and data in one step. However, a clean install often results in better SSD performance by starting with a fresh OS optimizied for the SSD. Backing up files manually and re-installing programs on the SSD provides a balance of easy data migration without cloning the entire drive.
Clean Install Steps
- Backup personal files you want to move to the SSD (photos, documents, etc.) to external storage.
- Perform a fresh OS installation on the empty SSD.
- Install software and applications on the SSD.
- Transfer files from your external backup to the SSD.
Cloning Software
Popular drive cloning software includes:
- Macrium Reflect (Windows)
- MiniTool Partition Wizard (Windows)
- SuperDuper! (Mac)
- Carbon Copy Cloner (Mac)
These allow you to quickly create an identical clone of your hard drive when moving to the new SSD.
What size SSD should I get for my laptop?
When choosing an SSD, you’ll want to consider:
- Capacity – How much storage space you need. Match or slightly exceed the capacity of your current hard drive.
- Physical size – Make sure the SSD form factor fits your laptop’s drive bays.
- Interface – Your laptop’s SATA or M.2 connections will determine which SSD type is compatible.
- Performance – Faster SSDs have quicker data transfer speeds but cost more. SATA SSDs are the most common and affordable option.
For most laptop upgrades, a 500GB to 1TB 2.5″ SATA SSD provides a good balance of capacity, physical fit, and performance improvement over a hard disk drive. Higher-end laptops may benefit from a 1TB or 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD for max speed.
How can I tell if my laptop is compatible with an SSD upgrade?
Most modern laptops are compatible with some type of SSD upgrade, but you can check for compatibility by:
- Consulting your laptop’s manual or support site for drive upgrade options.
- Opening up the drive bay to check that your laptop has a standard SATA drive connector and room for a 2.5″ drive.
- Checking for an M.2 slot – this indicates it supports M.2 SATA or possibly NVMe SSDs.
- Researching your laptop’s model specifications online to see if others have successfully upgraded to an SSD.
- Contacting your laptop manufacturer’s tech support with compatibility questions.
As long as your laptop has a standard SATA or M.2 connection, and room to physically fit the drive, an SSD upgrade should work. Very old laptops may have proprietary drive connectors that limit upgrades.
Should I keep my old laptop hard drive as a secondary drive after upgrading to SSD?
When upgrading your boot drive to an SSD, you have the option of keeping your original hard disk drive and using it as a secondary drive. There are a few benefits of keeping and repurposing your old drive:
- Extra storage space – Use the HDD for mass storage of files, photos, videos, etc.
- Separate partitions – Keep work files or backups on the HDD separate from the SSD.
- Data recovery – Recover lost files from your old drive if needed.
- Revert back – You can swap your HDD back in if any issues arise with the SSD.
However, there are also reasons you may want to only use the new SSD:
- No need for extra storage – Lower capacity SSDs may not leave room for two drives.
- Don’t want to re-install HDD – Hassle of re-installing the HDD in an external enclosure.
- No performance gain – Your HDD may have little impact on performance.
- Drive failure – Old HDDs can fail. An SSD may be more reliable.
Overall, keeping your old HDD as a second drive does provide more flexibility. But if you don’t regularly need the extra storage space, then a single SSD may be simpler for many users.
Should I get an SSD with DRAM cache memory?
DRAM cache memory on an SSD helps speed up read/write times. SSDs that lack DRAM cache must use the NAND flash storage chips for caching, which is slower. The performance difference a DRAM cache makes depends on the type of work you do:
- Light users – Typical office work, web browsing, etc. see little benefit from DRAM cache.
- Power users – Video and photo editing, gaming, and other storage-intensive work see more impact.
- NVMe SSDs – Already fast enough that DRAM cache provides minimal real-world gain.
Many SATA SSDs offer both a DRAM-less version, as well as a higher priced DRAM cache model. For most laptop upgrades, the DRAM-less SATA SSDs provide excellent performance at a lower cost. Power users may want to spend extra on the DRAM cache upgrade.
Is an external SSD a good alternative to upgrading my laptop’s internal drive?
External SSDs connect over USB and can provide additional fast storage without opening up your laptop. There are pros and cons to consider:
- Pros:
- Faster than HDD external drive
- Portable to use with multiple devices
- No need to install internally
- Cons:
- Slower than internal SSD
- More expensive per GB
- Need to connect externally, risk of disconnect
An external SSD upgrade may be a good choice if:
- Your laptop’s internal drive bay is hard to access or upgrade
- You need portable external storage to use across devices
- You only want additional storage, not faster internal speed
For most laptops, an internal SSD upgrade will provide better overall performance improvement. But external SSDs are a convenient supplementary upgrade for storage and portability.
Conclusion
Upgrading to an SSD can dramatically speed up a laptop, often for under $100. For most laptops, you can easily replace the internal hard drive with a 2.5″ SATA SSD for instant boot times and faster performance. M.2 NVMe SSDs offer even quicker speeds on compatible newer laptops. Cloning your hard drive or doing a clean OS install are simple ways to migrate your OS and files to the new SSD. Just make sure to buy a quality SSD from a trusted brand with at least the same capacity as your original hard drive.