Upgrading your Laptop with Solid State Drive (SSD)

Tested on:
Dell Inspiron N4030
Intel Core i3 processor, 2.53 GHz, 4 GB RAM

SSD Used:
Transcend SSD340 TS128GSSD340, 2.5 inch, 128GB 

Result:
Boot time before upgrade: >30 sec
Boot time after upgrade: 8-10 sec

Copy speed from external HDD to internal SSD improved by 25% (34.6 MB/s with SSD).
Write speed on SSD to SSD improved by  175% (~83 MB/s with SSD)

Cost of upgrade:
SSD costed Rs 4600 from Snapdeal (Cheapest of all 128GB SSD)

Bottom Line:
It's a cheap upgrade to see substantial improvement in performance. With the existing hardware, full read & write speed (520 and 290 MB/s respectively) are not achieved. However, it is a substantial improvement and worth it.

---

Installing SSD:

Solid State Drive (SSD) can be installed in two ways:

1. Replacing the existing internal hard drive (HDD).
2. Installing SSD along with existing HDD using caddy.

Steps to be followed for 1st method:

• Clone the HDD to SDD using the Disk cloning software suggested by Transcend. Procedure for the same is found here - Disk Cloning (In case of fresh install this is not necessary)
  
• Switch off the laptop, remove the battery and unscrew the HDD.
• Unscrew the 2.5inch plate attached to existing HDD and fix it to SSD.
• Fix the SSD into HDD slot and ensure that pins are properly seated into the groove.
• Fix the battery and start the laptop to find the change (In case of fresh install you need to install the OS).

This step makes the existing HDD redundant. So, it can be put to use in 2 ways: Use as external HDD or use as internal HDD by using caddy.

2nd Hard Drive Caddy

2nd Hard Drive Caddy is an innovative solution to have two hard drives in a laptop. Essentially it is a replacement of CD/DVD drive with a slot suitable for holding hard drive. As CD/DVD drives have almost become redundant, it is a good idea to go for it.