Is it worth installing a SSD in my "old" laptop?

Hi, I'm new to this forum (and also to the world of computer modification). Hope this is the right place to ask this question. I have a five year old Sony vaio vgn-cr353 laptop. Since my laptop is slow to start up and doesn't stream some videos smoothly (like the trailers in imdb.com), I was wandering if I should replace my hard drive with a SSD or buy a new laptop?

I don't have much problems using this laptop. The only other problem it has (besides the speed issue) is that whenever I shut down my computer, I will have to leave the lid open.

After I install a SSD, can I still use this laptop for another 4 years? If not, then I might as well buy a new laptop.

Anyway, I can't seem to tell if my computer has SATA. According to this website ( Untitled Page VGN-CR353), it has SATA 2.

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

Installing an SSD is a great upgrade that can breath new life into a slow computer. Doing a fresh install of your OS after 4 years has benefits too. What is your cpu, and how much ram do you have?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

 

4 years depends on your preference. But SSD will definitely improve the experience and hopefully you're running Windows 7, otherwise Vista may take a few tweaks to get it running optimally. As far as trailers at IMDB, I don't think an SSD will help you there, that's pretty much solely on your CPU.

 

This would be a foolish 'upgrade' imo.

First, because you need at least a 240/256GB SSD to make moving to an SSD worthwhile (smaller capacities are only asking for trouble).

Second, because this platform is at least three generations old, if not four if we count Haswell, the current gen.

Third, given the capacity point - the SSD will cost as much as half a new system and still give the same 'performance'. Sure, it will boot up, shut down and open programs faster... but that is called responsiveness, not performance - again; 'performance' will not change with an SSD (it can't; cpu+ram='performance' or, 'work done').


This is a score of your current performance:

See PM score '1310':
PassMark CPU Lookup


These 'budget' SSD's I would recommend; Sandisk Extreme 240GB or the Crucial M4 256GB SSD.


This is the minimum platform I would be currently considering (an i5 Ivy Bridge based setup...):

See (example):
Amazon.ca: Buying Choices: Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Notebook (Intel Core i5-3230M, 4GB-DDR3, 500 GB SATA (5400 rpm), 15.6LED, Windows 8)


For comparison, the above system has a PM 'score' almost exactly 3 times of your current system, but it will feel more like an order of magnitude more powerful in real world use.

See PM score 3994:
PassMark - Intel Core i5-3230M @ 2.60GHz - Price performance comparison




Sure, you've just spent at least double than simply getting a decent/worthwhile SSD would have cost.

But you'll also have all the benefits and advantages of a new/current hardware platform, a new warranty, the latest O/S (highly recommended with new hardware (like SSD's...) going forward...) and a huge and real upgrade to the performance the system is capable of which will almost guarantee that you'll be using it for more than the next half decade (at least).

With such a system (IB platform (or higher), i5 (or higher), 4GB RAM (or higher) and Windows 8 x64 (SP1 coming soon!)...), if, in the next year you do decide to get an SSD and/or upgrade the RAM (8GB PC3 12800 or better highly recommended), it will be worth it and will probably give you a system that will be usable for the next decade or more.


To 'properly' install an SSD, you may want to read this thread (or see some of my previous posts...);


See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/solid-state-drives-ssds-flash-storage/718208-asus-ux32vd-db71.html



Hope this helps a little.

Good luck.

 

http://www.sony.com.hk/press/pdf/20080617_01e.pdf from this link your machine appears to be SATA.. so I would not add an SSD. First I would do a clean install of your present OS (and do not install any bloatware to spped up your startup, and do some research as to why trailers are an issue - I tried a few and there can be tweaks to adobe flash that can improve that situation. Also what are your upload and download speeds? CenturyLink Speed Test is one of many good sites for testing.
Also as HT alluded to what OS are you running?

 

Installing a 7200RPM hard drive of decent bit density (500GB or more) plus a clean install of Windows 7 would give you a decent speed boost, but playing video is entirely dependent on your CPU, video chipset, and internet connection. If you can only afford $200, the Crucial M4 would be a good boost. If you can afford $600, a new laptop would last you far longer, and you can always get a SATA3 SSD for it later.

 

Get a cheap drive like this in the link below and enjoy the speed for the time being.
Samsung MZ 7PC128B 128 GB Internal 2 5" MZ 7PC128B WW SSD Solid State Drive 036725604902 | eBay

 

Finally a Samsung SSD that is priced accordingly :0 ... still wouldn't buy it though...



(But the OP may find it useful, given that he can do a clean install with the appropriate drivers of the newest O/S he can get).

 

Yes, it's working fine for me after 18 months usage ( Samsung 470 128GB) in my "old" laptop similar to the OP, I don't test them but rely on the knowledge of people like you, my needs are very minimal, no video rendering, programing so it suits me. Technology moves at a frightening speed, you posted about the SATA express ssd and I'm still hanging on to my SATA I laptop