Is there anything more annoying than using a slow laptop for daily works?
I think you know the answer. Do you have an old laptop that is not performing up to the mark, and you are planning to improve its performance by installing an SSD?
If that’s the case, this article is for you to clear out all of your confusion.
As a techie, I have used different generations of laptops, and I know what makes a computer faster. Recently, I’ve installed an SSD on my work laptop. I’m gonna share the experience with you to make you understand.
So, let’s answer your first question: Does SSD make laptops faster?
Do you want to know more about this? Continue reading the article instead of roaming around.
Check out our separate post on SSD good for Gaming.
How Does SSD make Laptop Faster?
Solid state drives use a different mechanism in terms of data storing. They are made with interconnected flash memory chips and they stay put while reading or writing data. Like its predecessor, it doesn’t spin any magnetic platter. That means SSD is faster, and it uses less power than HDD.
As I said earlier, I have installed an SSD on my work laptop, which is quite old. I found an impressive performance boost by doing so.
In this section, I’ll be explaining the benefits I’ve got after setting up a new SSD. And how an SSD makes your laptop accelerated.
Follow our guide to fixing Can SSD Overheat.
SSDs Improve Load Time
If you are having trouble with the load time of your laptop, it is probably because of your slow hard drive. When you are booting up your PC, SSDs can lower the time by up to 60%.
For instance, it would take a minute to start up my computer before installing the SSD. After the modification, it only takes 10- 15 seconds to be on the start menu.
This huge improvement is not just applicable to booting, you can also see the difference in the gaming department. Game loading time gets surprisingly decreased compared to the previous experience.
Improved loading time means a faster workload, and this is one of the manners how an SSD makes a laptop quicker.
Multitasking Gets Easier
When you have an SSD installed on your laptop, your load time gets lower than usual. And for that, you can complete a task faster than you used to, This means, you can access into loads of programs at once.
From accessing apps, websites to backing up your data, scanning antivirus, an SSD allows you to multitask without waiting anymore.
The same thing happened to me as well. In earlier days, I used to get confused about which task I should give first priority due to a slow device. After adding a solid drive, multitasking was not even an issue furthermore.
Go through our epic guide on Fix Motherboard Can’t Detect Hard Drive.
SSDs are Quieter
Don’t you get tired of the weird “whirling” sound your computer makes while it’s working at full capacity? Well, that happens when the HDDs magnetic platters spin for collecting data.
If you install an SSD, your computer does twice the work and it stays quieter. As there’s no moving part available inside SSD, it makes zero noise.
SSDs are Power Efficient
Since there are no tiny moving parts inside an SSD it does not require much power. It increases the laptop’s battery efficiency. In fact, your laptop’s battery will be thankful to you for this massive upgrade.
SSDs only need power for internal circuits, whereas their predecessor needs far more to rotate several platters. This makes an SSD more competent and productive.
Faster Software Installation
One of the best benefits I’ve found using an SSD as my primary drive is the software installation time.
For example, take windows installation time. If you are installing windows on your laptop, it can take 20 minutes to 40 minutes, depending on which version you are installing and your laptop configuration.
I was amazed to see that, it takes roughly 13 to 18 minutes to install windows after this little upgrade on my laptop.
Surprising, right?
Not just that, I found games setup time has also reduced dramatically. The other day I was installing GTA 5 on my computer. I was shocked to see that it took only 28 minutes to install, whereas without the SSD it took 50 minutes.
That is the greatest advantage I found after installing an SSD.
These are the advantages you’re gonna get if you install an SSD on your laptop. In this manner, your laptop gets faster than usual.
In a hurry? Check out my new post on Is SSD Affected by Magnets.
How Does External SSD Make Laptop Faster?
Like I said earlier, If you can set your SSD as the primary drive, it will make your laptop faster. But with an external SSD, you can’t do such a thing unless you want to make the external SSD permanent for your laptop.
But, yes. External SSD can make your laptop faster if you can use it properly. How to do that? Don’t worry. Just follow my instructions.
Here’s how you can use external SSD to make your laptop faster:
- Mount that SSD as your primary hard drive: Yes, it’ll create problems like moving it from time to time. But, hey, you will be able to enjoy the speed. Just install your operating system and all other applications. You are good to go.
- Install essential files only: If you are not comfortable with making external SSD primary, Just install the big softwares which makes your laptop slow, such as Photoshop, Video editing tools, antivirus programs. You can plug it into your laptop and get done with your work.
- Back up your necessary files: Backing up your data can be really challenging if you are not using a faster device. With an external SSD, you can back up all of your data and it wouldn’t take much time.
- Use it for multitasking: External SSD drives are designed for multitasking. You can do different types of work at a time and unplug the drive after you’re done. It can be useful to you if you are using more than one computer in order to transfer files faster.
- Improve gaming experience: You can install games directly on External SSDs if your laptop takes too much time. It’ll help you load games more quickly and you won’t be stuck for hours.
These are the ways you can be possibly benefited if you use an external SSD.
Note: Before buying an external SSD make sure your laptop has a USB 3.0 port ( USB- C is preferable). Otherwise, you won’t be able to see the differences in a huge margin.
In a hurry? Check out my new post on What are the fastest PCIE 4.0 SSDs.
Conclusion
So, to sum up, I’ll say one thing. An SSD can make your computer work faster, but it can’t enhance the specification. Chose why you want to use the laptop and then make your decision.
Though you can get so many benefits by installing a new SSD, it has a drawback like every other thing in the world. The only pitfall I found is that SSDs are expensive compared to HDDs. You can upgrade other components with that amount of money.
So, should you go for it? It’s completely up to you. I described how an SSD makes your computer faster and how fast it can get. Anything beyond that will be your responsibility.
Feel free to comment if anything is unclear.
