[SOLVED] Is a Gen4 SSD on a Gen3 laptop worth it for future-proofing?

[Zishaan18]

Hi, I'm considering upgrading my dreadfully slow I5-7200U laptop with 8gb memory and a 1TB 5400rpm HDD to an SSD, I live in India where the prices for storage and memory are abnormally expensive.

Right now I'm trying to choose between 3 drives, a

1. WD SN550 https://www.amazon.in/Western-Digital-SN550-Internal-WDS500G2B0C/dp/B07YFF3JCN (55 usd)
2. A WD SN750SE (Gen 4) https://www.amazon.in/Western-Digital-SN750SE-3600MB-WDS500G1B0E/dp/B095H8XDXP (65 usd)
3. Kingston A2000 (which I feel is slightly out of my budget). https://www.amazon.in/Kingston-Internal-2000MB-SA2000M8-500G/dp/B07VXCFNVS (71 usd)

My laptop is a Lenovo Yoga 520-14IKB from 2017, and the slot for storage is PCIe Gen 3, not Gen 4 but storage is cross compatible. I might go ahead and buy a 6th gen ryzen laptop later this year but am not sure.
For some reason the Gen3 Kingston A2000 is more expensive than the WD SN750 SE at this moment, possibly because it has Dram Cache which the other 2 do not possess.
I'd be using this drive as my boot drive and I'm wondering if I should buy the SN550, the SN750 SE or the Kingston A2000.

Thanks for your replies in advance!

 

[USAFRet]

No.
There is no "future proofing", and even less so for storage devices.

By the time you need a new laptop, it will come with its own Gen 4 or 4 M.2 drive.

 

[Hellfire13]

DDR4 is not important but DRAM cache is. It does contribute to performance.

Here is a cheaper option with DRAM...
https://elitehubs.com/adata-xpg-gammix-s11-pro-512gb-m-2-nvme-ssd/ (55USD)

 

[Bob.B]

Hi, I'm considering upgrading my dreadfully slow I5-7200U laptop with 8gb memory and a 1TB 5400rpm HDD to an SSD, I live in India where the prices for storage and memory are abnormally expensive.

Right now I'm trying to choose between 3 drives, a

1. WD SN550 https://www.amazon.in/Western-Digital-SN550-Internal-WDS500G2B0C/dp/B07YFF3JCN (55 usd)
2. A WD SN750SE (Gen 4) https://www.amazon.in/Western-Digital-SN750SE-3600MB-WDS500G1B0E/dp/B095H8XDXP (65 usd)
3. Kingston A2000 (which I feel is slightly out of my budget). https://www.amazon.in/Kingston-Internal-2000MB-SA2000M8-500G/dp/B07VXCFNVS (71 usd)

My laptop is a Lenovo Yoga 520-14IKB from 2017, and the slot for storage is PCIe Gen 3, not Gen 4 but storage is cross compatible. I might go ahead and buy a 6th gen ryzen laptop later this year but am not sure.
For some reason the Gen3 Kingston A2000 is more expensive than the WD SN750 SE at this moment, possibly because it has Dram Cache which the other 2 do not possess.
I'd be using this drive as my boot drive and I'm wondering if I should buy the SN550, the SN750 SE or the Kingston A2000.

Thanks for your replies in advance!

Of those 3 get the 550.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I'd be using this drive as my boot drive and I'm wondering if I should buy the SN550, the SN750 SE or the Kingston A2000.

There is no "future proofing" with SN750E.
It has performance characteristics below a good gen3 nvme ssd. It's gen4 just in name (not in performance).

 

[Zerk2012]

Hi, I'm considering upgrading my dreadfully slow I5-7200U laptop with 8gb memory and a 1TB 5400rpm HDD to an SSD, I live in India where the prices for storage and memory are abnormally expensive.

Right now I'm trying to choose between 3 drives, a

1. WD SN550 https://www.amazon.in/Western-Digital-SN550-Internal-WDS500G2B0C/dp/B07YFF3JCN (55 usd)
2. A WD SN750SE (Gen 4) https://www.amazon.in/Western-Digital-SN750SE-3600MB-WDS500G1B0E/dp/B095H8XDXP (65 usd)
3. Kingston A2000 (which I feel is slightly out of my budget). https://www.amazon.in/Kingston-Internal-2000MB-SA2000M8-500G/dp/B07VXCFNVS (71 usd)

My laptop is a Lenovo Yoga 520-14IKB from 2017, and the slot for storage is PCIe Gen 3, not Gen 4 but storage is cross compatible. I might go ahead and buy a 6th gen ryzen laptop later this year but am not sure.
For some reason the Gen3 Kingston A2000 is more expensive than the WD SN750 SE at this moment, possibly because it has Dram Cache which the other 2 do not possess.
I'd be using this drive as my boot drive and I'm wondering if I should buy the SN550, the SN750 SE or the Kingston A2000.

Thanks for your replies in advance!

Just dropping the HDD will make a huge difference.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9LyNXpsOo

 

[geofelt]

5400 HDD devices are built for battery savings, you are correct they are slow.
Replacing one with a SSD will make a major difference in how quick your pc is.
You actually have two options, a m.2 device or a 2.5" sata device.
Benchmarks look great for m.2 but you will not be able to tell the difference.
Here is an amusing video:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA


One issue you will have is how to move your current C drive to the new ssd.
Most vendors will have a clone utility to do that.
I would first read up on how to do that.

While they are more expensive, I very much endorse the samsung devices.
Puget systems does also:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/hardware-reliability-puget-systems-2021

Conversion to a m.2 device is easy.
Install it and run the samsung ssd migration app.
It is a C drive mover, not a clone.
Here is a link to the app and instructions:

Tool & Software Download | Samsung Semiconductor Global

Download various software related to your product, including Samsung Magician, designed for use with Samsung's memory products, and find related information.

www.samsung.com

If you want to replace with a 2.5" ssd which would be equally good, you use a usb to sata cable to do the copy.

 

[Zishaan18]

Thanks everyone, I'll try to find Gen 3 Dram drives to buy, really appreciate it!