Is your computer running at a snail’s pace, causing frustration and hampering your productivity? Installing a Solid-State Drive (SSD) might be a game-changing improvement. Â
We’ll look at how to speed up your computer by replacing your regular Hard Disk Drive (HDD) with an SSD. Get ready to witness a significant performance boost that can make your computing experience smoother and more enjoyable.
Time to use an SSD on your computer!
Before we get into our recommended SSDs, let’s go over why they’re such game-changers:Â
Blazing Speed: SSDs store data using flash memory, which means they have no moving components. This produces much faster data access times than HDDs, resulting in speedier boot times, lightning-fast program launches, and increased overall system responsiveness.Â
Reliability: Because they are less prone to physical damage and data corruption, SSDs are fundamentally more dependable than HDDs. This increased longevity guarantees that your data is secure and that your system performs consistently.
Reduced Noise and Heat: SSDs produce actually no noise and generate less heat since they lack spinning disks and read/write heads. This results in not just quieter operation but also helps to keep your system cooler.Â
Energy Efficiency: SSDs require less power than HDDs, resulting in longer battery life for laptops and cheaper electricity expenses for desktop users.Â
Compact Form Factor: SSDs are available in a variety of forms, including 2.5-inch SATA, M.2, and NVMe drives, and are appropriate for a broad range of computers, including desktops, ultrabooks, and gaming consoles.Â
As of writing, these are the SSDs I have tested and can recommend:
WD Green 2.5-inch SATA SSD
If you have an old laptop or desktop, maybe it only has a SATA port, you may want to buy this WD Green 2.5-inch SATA SSD that is very cheap nowadays. This is what I use on my 9-year-old laptop which makes it faster and usable. Switching up to a SATA SSD from a traditional HDD will also make your laptop lighter.Â
Price starts at PHP 860 (240GB) – Shopee link | Lazada link
This WD Green SATA SSD offers up to 545MB/s sequential write performance and has up to a 3-year limited warranty. It is recommended if you want to speed up your device without breaking the bank.Â
Crucial P3Â
Modern laptops and desktops already have M.2 slots aside from SATA ports. There’s also M.2 SATA that offers the same speed as 2.5-inch SATA SSD, but this Crucial P3 is a PCIe Gen 3 NVMe SSD that offers up to 3,500MB/s sequential read and 3,000MB/s sequential write speed. It is one of the budget-friendly NVMe SSDs I have tried that offers great performance.Â
However, it doesn’t have DRAM which could have boosted the performance even more. But don’t worry, using the Crucial Storage Executive application, you may turn on the Momentum Cache feature to boost your Crucial P3. This feature is not as fast as having DRAM, but at least we have a little performance boost.Â
Price starts at PHP 1650 (500GB) – Shopee link | Lazada link
If you have an M.2 slot on your device, you should skip buying a SATA SSD and buy an NVMe SSD instead. Â
Samsung 970 EVO PlusÂ
If you have a budget, this Samsung 970 EVO Plus PCIe Gen 3 NVMe SSD is a no-brainer. Unlike the Crucial P3, this NVMe SSD features DRAM which gives additional speed and durability. This one also offers up to 3,500MB/s sequential read and up to 3,300MB/s sequential write speed.Â
This is the current one I use on my desktop, and it is the fastest SSD I have used. Although there are more modern NVMe out there like the PCIe Gen 4 and PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSDs that offer up to 4x speed performance than PCIe Gen 3, for now, I don’t have one to recommend because I haven’t tried them yet.
Price starts at PHP 2078 (500GB) – Shopee link | Lazada link
Personally, I can say that this Samsung 970 EVO Plus is still better than trying the latest generation of NVMe because they haven’t really been optimized yet. If you want faster boot times and program launches, an SSD that has DRAM is the best. By the way, some SATA SSDs also have DRAM like the Crucial MX500 and Samsung 850 EVO.
Upgrading your computer with an SSD is one of the most effective ways to significantly improve the performance of your system. SSDs are a great purchase that may extend the life of your computer and improve your computing experience due to faster speeds, increased reliability, and energy efficiency.
Don’t allow a sluggish computer to hold you back—upgrade to an SSD immediately and unleash your machine’s full potential!Â
