Upgrading an old laptop with a SSD - worth it?

marathonic

My dads laptop HDD has recently given up and I've been tasked with replacing it.

I'm not experienced in any way when it comes to this but know that the laptop is worth repairing if the only cost is parts - but not if I have to take it to a repair shop (it's too old).

It's a Compaq Presario CQ70 and the spec can be seen below. It's got Windows Vista but I'll be upgrading to Windows 7 - I believe the processor is compatible with Windows 7 64 bit. Is this correct?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01611441&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3846872

My main concern is - should I buy a 250gb HDD or a SDD? As long as it's above 120gb, he should be fine.

Would something like the following be compatible?

Crucial M500 120GB mSATA Internal SSD

If so, would the performance in this laptop be significantly better or would I be better going for the HDD with twice the (unneeded) capacity for a little cheaper?

marathonic

Actually reading around a little more now. It looks like I might need a standard SATA SSD as opposed to mSATA. Is this correct?

I'm really showing my inexperience here

Addled

Yeah you would need a standard 2.5 SATA SSD for that laptop, luckily the sata version is about the same price.

Most people can manage with 120GB but it depends on use.

There are also hybrid SSDs, if you search for "ST500LM000" on amazon there's a 500GB standard drive with a small ssd used behind the scenes to cache the most commonly accessed files. (Sorry I can't post links yet).

It would start the most frequently used app/os file sectors on the ssd to start them faster but would be just as slow as a conventional drive for say file transfers or loading up new files.

I have a hybrid in my own laptop but I'd prefer a pure SSD for silence and transfer speeds, they're usually a bit faster even for cached data too.

Serephucus

I stuck an SSD in my dad's very old (similar to your dad's one) laptop a few months back, and it made a massive difference. Definitely worth it.

As to the size, yeah, you'll want a standard SATA drive:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT120M500SSD1-2-5-inch-120GB-Internal/dp/B00BQ4F9ZA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399824767&sr=8-1&keywords=120gb+m500
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT240M500SSD1-2-5-inch-240GB-Internal/dp/B00BQ8RM1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399824678&sr=8-1&keywords=240gb+m500

Might as well spring for the 240GB version, as it's much better value.

AlanS181824

Thinking about doing this myself and from looking online it seems to be definately worth it.

WhiskeyGoblin

When I had my acer laptop HDD give out, I put a nice Samsung SSD in it and my jasus, the difference it made was unreal. Unfortunately the laptop didn't survive much longer due to neglect when I originally got it. But, the SSD is still going strong in my PC. Well worth every cent.

ED E

Theyre so cheap now youd be mad not to.

Morf

I have a laptop with a HDD that's failing some SMART tests and freezing often.

A SSD is a very tempting option.

Have a 120gb in this desktop so would make sense to go 240gb and swap.

marathonic

Thanks all for the advice.

I've just gone for the Crucial 240GB M500 drive for a grand total of £68.88 (as I can get it delivered via https://flubit.com/ to Northern Ireland)

Roll on delivery so I can see what difference it'll make.

beauf

With a SSD you can move it to a new machine when you get one. So its not a waste buying one for an old machine.

I have a SSD in an old machine. It does make the machine nicer to use. But it depends where the bottleneck is and what you are doing.