External SSD for Laptop

[Stannojj]

So i've got the HP 17-w200na and want to use an external Hard drive to load games onto for faster loading speeds for titles like Total War, I've currently got a Samsung Evo, how do i go around installing this SSD? I have 3.0 USB Ports and i believe a SATA port if that helps.

 

[kanewolf]

According to this -- https://support.hp.com/rs-en/document/c05368577 You don't have an eSATA port. You have a USB 3.1 port. That will be the best interface you can use for your SSD.

 

[Stannojj]

According to this -- https://support.hp.com/rs-en/document/c05368577 You don't have an eSATA port. You have a USB 3.1 port. That will be the best interface you can use for your SSD.

Perhaps i was mistaken then, Never really dealt with storage issues before, but is the Evo 850 compatible with an 3.1? And is just a simple plug in once i get the right cable?

 

[kanewolf]

An 850Evo (assuming 2.5 inch) would require an external case like this -- https://www.vantecusa.com/products_detail.php?p_id=76&p_name=NexStar+3.1+-+2.5%22+Enclosure&pc_id=1&pc_name=2.5%22+Enclosures&pt_id=1&pt_name=Hard+Drive+Enclosures

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The thing is, the SSD advantage would be nerfed by the cable / interface bandwidth limitations.

Have you checked whether your model has room for a 2nd drive ?

Not long ago we tested two laptops configured identically as follows:

a) 120 GB SSD + 7200 rpm HD
b) 7200 rpm SSHD

The test ran 6 weeks w/ 5 users and they were unaware that they were not identical. Both had a 120 GB boot partition so the looked the same in Explorer.

Tho I'm sure that benchmarks would have shown a significant differences, no one ever noticed any difference in performance. And the reason should be obvious ... folks don't generally do disk intensive tasks in their normal usage.

To address this in the future, you might want to have your lappie custom built whereby you can pick your storage devices to fit your needs. We buy them with an SSD these days for the boot drive and then add an SSHD for Games and Data storage

https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np7850-clevo-n850hp6/

 

[kanewolf]

A SATA SSD is 600MB/s that is 4.8Gb/s. A usb 3.1 interface is 10Gb/s. You should get full bandwidth from a single SATA SSD with a USB 3.1 interface.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Have identical backup SSHDs, one internal SATA, the other USB . The same backup takes much longer on the docking station. The problem is likely based on the fact that real world performance and specification burst speed are not the same.