Question I need suggestions for upgrading laptop HDD to an SSD ?

[njclaw]

Hello,
I have a pretty old laptop (I found few people mentioning i5 and i3 config as ancient. I am not sure what qualifies for mine).
the configuration is as follows :
Model : Lenovo Thinkpad SL400
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6570 @ 2.10GHz
Memory : SODIMM DDR2 Synchronous 667 MHz (1.5 ns) - 4GB (2GB x 2)
Storage : SATA HDD 230GB
OS : Ubuntu 22.04 (default DE)

With this configuration, it takes approximately these times.
boot into the os : 2m30s
shutdown : 20s
firefox first launch : 50s
firefox subsequent launch : 8s

My question is, If I upgrade to an SSD (I am thinking of crucial mx500 500gb) , will my boot speed and firefox launch be quicker ?

PS : Previously I used to use Archlinux and it was quite snappy (of course i did not have a DE, just a window manager).

Thanks.

 

[ThatVietGuy]

An SSD will speed up everything, even for a system that old an SSD can do wonders.

 

[lvt]

Sure, upgrading to SSD will make your old laptop run faster overall.

BTW you also can upgrade the CPU with a better one (make sure you update the Bios first).

 

[njclaw]

Sure, upgrading to SSD will make your old laptop run faster overall.

BTW you also can upgrade the CPU with a better one (make sure you update the Bios first).

is that possible ?. I was under the impression that the CPU is not changeable in a laptop.
If yes, the other processor should be pin-compatible right? Is there any guide/article regarding this?
I can change it if I see a procedure.

 

[Lafong]

That CPU was introduced 14 years ago. It's a Core 2 Duo running at 2.1 GHz

An SSD will "help", but I would have limited expectations......and I don't know what your expectations might be.

Additionally, your machine has only 4 GB of RAM. That's pretty much a minimum to be tolerable for Windows. You might get some noticeable improvement if you could move that up to 8 GB...or not. I'd guess a change to an SSD would be more worthwhile than a RAM upgrade. I'm not even sure if you could upgrade the RAM.

You have a very old horse. It's a personal decision on how sensible it might be to buy oats for it. I would not, but it's entirely up to you.

 

[njclaw]

hi,
Right now (for atleast another 2 years) I don't plan on buying a new machine. This works fine for my needs albiet a bit slow as I mentiond which I am trying to make "somewhat good".
I don't plan to run windows in such a old machine. I am currently running Ubuntu 22.04. But I would happily switch to any suggested distro if it can be snappy and as useful as ubuntu.
As for the RAM, there are no extra slots and I don't find any single 4gb sticks in a DDR2 variety.

Thanks.

 

[Lafong]

hi,
Right now (for atleast another 2 years) I don't plan on buying a new machine. This works fine for my needs albiet a bit slow as I mentiond which I am trying to make "somewhat good".
I don't plan to run windows in such a old machine. I am currently running Ubuntu 22.04. But I would happily switch to any suggested distro if it can be snappy and as useful as ubuntu.
As for the RAM, there are no extra slots and I don't find any single 4gb sticks in a DDR2 variety.

Thanks.

OK; realistically, an SSD is about all you can do.

If the laptop drops dead a week after you install the SSD, perhaps you could then make use of the SSD in another machine.

SSD improvement will be most noticeable when booting, opening big applications, or when doing disk operations that last more than a few seconds. Probably not noticeable when saving a spaghetti sauce recipe. So your satisfaction with SSD improvement will be strongly correlated to how you use the laptop. And most importantly....to your expectations. It's not uncommon for users to be underwhelmed by SSD improvement on hardware that has other limitations (such as raw CPU horsepower or low RAM).

But it is a good time to buy an SSD. Prices at the 500 GB to 2 TB capacity levels have fallen significantly in the last year.

That laptop is so old it might have limitations on hard drive capacity. I'd check that before taking the leap.

 

[lvt]

is that possible ?. I was under the impression that the CPU is not changeable in a laptop.
If yes, the other processor should be pin-compatible right? Is there any guide/article regarding this?
I can change it if I see a procedure.

I have upgraded the CPU on my Lenovo R51e and R60 laptops, those laptops are very friendly with upgrading parts.

Your SL400 can be upgraded to T8300 CPU, they are both Core 2 Duo so the pins are the same.

There is a video about upgrading the CPU (except that he used a P8600 CPU).

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8nT7utaIho

 

[njclaw]

Thanks. But is that small increase in clock speed and performance will make a difference? And mine is a PGA. I have to hunt for the same because I saw that the T8300 is available in both bga and pga. And also, it is not easy to find.
i think I will go with the @thevietguy's advice and change to a SSD which is selling for about 3k (INR) which I can shell out now.!

Thanks for the suggestions and input guys!

 

[lvt]

Thanks. But is that small increase in clock speed and performance will make a difference? And mine is a PGA. I have to hunt for the same because I saw that the T8300 is available in both bga and pga. And also, it is not easy to find.

FYI there are plenty of T8300 on eBay that can be had for $5 each.

Of course your CPU will be in PGA.

A difference of 0.3Ghz and extra 1MB L2 cache means a lot for old CPU like this.

I've read that the SL400 laptop can be upgraded to T9900 which is a very powerful CPU (6MB cache, 3.0Ghz), but it's safer to start with the T8300.

Anyway with a laptop of this age, you should replace the thermal paste as the original thermal paste already goes bad after these years. So why don't you upgrade the CPU at the same time?

 

[geofelt]

Upgrading to a ssd will make all the difference in the world as to quickness.
It may be as easy as replacing the 2.5" HDD with a 2.5" ssd.
You would then load your os.
An alternative would be to clone your current os installation to the new ssd using a usb to sata adapter cabble.
When done, just replace the HDD.

I guarantee you will be pleased with the change.

 

[njclaw]

FYI there are plenty of T8300 on eBay that can be had for $5 each.

Of course your CPU will be in PGA.

A difference of 0.3Ghz and extra 1MB L2 cache means a lot for old CPU like this.

I've read that the SL400 laptop can be upgraded to T9900 which is a very powerful CPU (6MB cache, 3.0Ghz), but it's safer to start with the T8300.

Anyway with a laptop of this age, you should replace the thermal paste as the original thermal paste already goes bad after these years. So why don't you upgrade the CPU at the same time?

Thanks for the information. The hinge broke for this laptop and I replcaed the hinge last year. At the same time, I re-installed the thermal paste for both processor and another chipset.
By the way, the problem is location. I am from India. There is no ebay here. And i cannot find these processors online. Also, I don't trust websites like ubuy as they are imported from China.

Upgrading to a ssd will make all the difference in the world as to quickness.
It may be as easy as replacing the 2.5" HDD with a 2.5" ssd.
You would then load your os.
An alternative would be to clone your current os installation to the new ssd using a usb to sata adapter cabble.
When done, just replace the HDD.

I guarantee you will be pleased with the change.

Yes. Thank you. i will definitely try this method. Changing CPU or not, I am going to change to a SSD.

Thanks.