[SOLVED] Effect of mobo/CPU on boot speed?

[jhsachs]

I recently installed Windows 10 + Ubuntu 18.04 on two computers that I use mainly for hardware testing, replacing Windows 7 + Ubuntu 16.04 setups. I'm appalled by Windows 10's boot speed, and particularly by the long wait after the desktop's appearance before Windows gets its kit together enough to let me start an application.

I'm going to replace the HDDs with SSDs; but what about the motherboard and CPU? Both machines have rather old ones (with BIOS instead of UEFI). One doesn't even have SATA III, and I have to upgrade it enough to get that. But will it matter whether I go further? Is there a point beyond which a faster CPU and motherboard don't affect boot speed much? If so, where is it?

 

[Newtonius]

It doesn't affect boot speed all that much. As long as the SSD's are read at rated SATA III speeds (6Gb/s) you should be fine to have quick boot times.

 

[jhsachs]

Newtonius, thank you for the quick and clear answer.

I remember, at a tactile level, what it was like to boot CP/M from an 8-inch floppy disk. I pressed the reset button, the disk drive went "chuk-whush," and a second later the command prompt appeared. Those were the days!