Advice on adding new SSD

[christy4290]

Hi. I would like to add an SSD to my laptop - Dell Inspiron 3000 Series. Will the performance be the same if I add it:

1) By replacing DVD drive and add SSD there using a caddy

OR

2) By replacing HDD and add SSD there and put HDD in DVD drive slot

 

[johnb35]

What size hard drive do you have currently? It would probably just be better to get a large SSD and just replace the HDD with the SSD. You can always use the HDD as an external usb drive or copy data to the SSD.

 

[christy4290]

At present I have a 1TB HDD. I have already bought an SSD 240 GB to use it as the boot device and make the laptop faster. I can't afford a 1 TB SSD now.

 

[johnb35]

And how much of that 1tb drive was actually used? If you really need more storage, just put the HDD in the optical drive bay using a caddy. What processor does this laptop have? Also, how much ram does it have?

 

[Radesign58]

Hi. I would like to add an SSD to my laptop - Dell Inspiron 3000 Series. Will the performance be the same if I add it:

1) By replacing DVD drive and add SSD there using a caddy

OR

2) By replacing HDD and add SSD there and put HDD in DVD drive slot

I did replace my two HDD (c: and d both was 1Tb with 2Tb SSD each, plus RAM of 8 Gb increased to 32GB and my laptop (MSI) working much better. SSD is much faster and more stable than HDD.

 

[christy4290]

And how much of that 1tb drive was actually used? If you really need more storage, just put the HDD in the optical drive bay using a caddy. What processor does this laptop have? Also, how much ram does it have?

Almost 800 GB of 1 TB is used. The laptop was extremely slow. Booting took almost 2 mins+. So my primary requirement is to make it faster. As both the SSD(to be added) and HDD(existing) will be connected by SATA, I am confused whether there will be a minor speed difference if I add SSD in the DVD slot or Present HDD slot. Anyways, I will have to install Windows as I plan to have Windows on SSD.

The processor is i3 and RAM is 4GB. I am not a high end user but the entire lag is irritating sometimes.

 

[christy4290]

I did replace my two HDD (c: and d both was 1Tb with 2Tb SSD each, plus RAM of 8 Gb increased to 32GB and my laptop (MSI) working much better. SSD is much faster and more stable than HDD.

I assume its a beast now!!

 

[johnb35]

I'm assuming the I3 is a dual core, so between that and the 4gb of ram, it's still not gonna be too fast. Just make sure you stop any unneeded programs from running at bootup. Probably wouldn't install any dedicated virus software either as that will slow it down a decent amount, just use the built in windows defender.

 

[christy4290]

How can I check if its a dual core one? Not only boot up, the normal use afterwards is also kind of slow. Recently I have re installed Windows and removed the third party Antivirus. No other unwanted programs during bootup. Can you suggest me an option based on my first query:

Will the performance be the same if I add it:

1) By replacing DVD drive and add SSD there using a caddy

OR

2) By replacing HDD and add SSD there and put HDD in DVD drive slot

 

[christy4290]

Please see the attached screenshot of Processor and RAM.

 

[johnb35]

Its dual core cpu with 4 threads so it kinda acts like a quad core processor but not really. And its only 15 watts so it doesn't have a lot of power. Would always add SSD to where HDD was and put HDD in where the DVD was. Looks like the laptop is going on 6 years old at this point.

 

[christy4290]

Yes, you are absolutely correct. The laptop is 6 years old.

As you said its only 15 Watts and doesn't have a lot of power I think its better to do as you advised before like:

Use the caddy to make the existing HDD an external device and connect it when needed so the entire performance will be a lot smoother, right?

 

[johnb35]

Thats what I would do. In the meantime, you might want to start saving up for a better laptop that actually comes with PCIE NVME SSD which is much faster than a SATA SSD. You would also want at least a quad core cpu above 2.0 ghz base clock and 8gb or more of ram.

 

[christy4290]

Yes, I am saving up for a better laptop. I wish to buy an M1 Macbook Air. But for half the price of that I think I can get a Windows laptop with the specs you've said, right?

 

[johnb35]

Yes you would be right. Something like that would be around $500 usd since prices have came down a lot recently.

 

[christy4290]

Hi John,
Today i added the SSD to the HDD slot and put the HDD to DVD drive slot. Just now installed Windows. I will inform the performance tomorrow. I have a question. Can we connect the DVD drive through any cable via USB slot and be used in the desktop? If so, what's that cable?

 

[beers]

Hi John,
Today i added the SSD to the HDD slot and put the HDD to DVD drive slot. Just now installed Windows. I will inform the performance tomorrow. I have a question. Can we connect the DVD drive through any cable via USB slot and be used in the desktop? If so, what's that cable?

You can get an external USB enclosure for optical drives, but honestly they're about the same price or more than just buying an external DVD drive that already contains the drive itself. I picked one up a couple years ago for $15 or so.

 

[christy4290]

Alright. The performance now is amazing. Windows boots up in say 40 seconds. May be even lesser if I sort this issue too which is:

As I installed the SSD, the windows folders on the previous installation moved automatically to D drive. So when the new Windows boots up it shows 2 options to choose with an automatic timer set default to the new one. Then I completely formatted the D Drive. But it still shows 2 options. How to resolve this?

 

[johnb35]

When installing windows you need to disconnect all other drives. Right now the boot files were placed on the other drive instead of the ssd. So remove old hard drive, reinstall windows to the ssd. You should delete all partitions on the ssd first during the install. Once windows has been installed you can then attach the original drive. Go into bios and make sure the ssd is set for first boot device. Then you can delete anything related to windows on the original drive so that it can be used for storage.

 

[christy4290]

I installed windows and then connected the HDD. Please see the image attached.