Laptop upgrade (SSD query)

kfish2oo2

I have an old Inspiron 1720 with the following specs:

Intel Pentium T2390 (1M Cache, 1.86 GHz, 533 MHz FSB, Dual Core)
2GB DDR2 (PC2-5300)
GeForce GT8600M (256MB)
120GB 5,400RPM Seagate

As it stands, the laptop is far to slow for anything involving media (Photoshop, video editing, 3D modelling etc). I was wondering if it would be worth my while to install an SSD and upgrade the RAM to 4GBs - would I see a performance improvement in loads times and general responsiveness? I would love to be able to do some of my college work on it when away from the desktop on weekends etc

I am aware that the SSD won't necessarily improve actual program performance (which is down to the CPU, GPU and RAM) - my main concern is would any of the existing components bottleneck the SSD and therefore negate its performance gains?

You will see a massive increse in overall system responsiveness and massive decrease in load times. Even on that system it is totally worth adding an ssd. Not sure you would see any benefit from more ram unless you are adding faster modules or are using the full amount at the moment. I recommend the crucial m4 ssd's.

myrscossie

you will get better battery life to and the laptop should not get as hot, will probably be quieter and lighter to when you think about it.