[SOLVED] Should I upgrade my laptop with PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSD or Intel OPTANE memory?

[JCMaxxwell]

System:- HP 15s-DU0094TU
Current OS:- WIN11
Processor:- Core i3-8145U
RAM:- 8GB
Current storage:- 1TB 5400 RPM SATA HDD Toshiba MQ04ABF100
PCIe 3.0 system

I need to upgrade my laptop as it has too slow in loading apps and also it takes so long to boot the OS.
Now should I upgrade with M.2 SSD or Intel OPTANE memory to get faster boot time, faster applications loading and smooth apps running?

I have chosen:
1. SSD:-
https://www.amazon.in/Samsung-Internal-Solid-State-MZ-V7S250BW/dp/B07MHXYL6T

2. Intel OPTANE memory:-
https://www.intel.in/content/www/in...m-pcie-3-0-20nm-3d-xpoint/specifications.html



Which one should I choose to upgrade my laptop?

Also, can you please suggest, any better SSD (M.2, PCIe 3.0, 240-256GB) than the SAMSUNG 970 evo Plus?

 

[Bob.B]

System:- HP 15s-DU0094TU
Current OS:- WIN11
Processor:- Core i3-8145U
RAM:- 8GB
Current storage:- 1TB 5400 RPM SATA HDD Toshiba MQ04ABF100
PCIe 3.0 system

I need to upgrade my laptop as it has too slow in loading apps and also it takes so long to boot the OS.
Now should I upgrade with M.2 SSD or Intel OPTANE memory to get faster boot time, faster applications loading and smooth apps running?

I have chosen:
1. SSD:-
https://www.amazon.in/Samsung-Internal-Solid-State-MZ-V7S250BW/dp/B07MHXYL6T

2. Intel OPTANE memory:-
https://www.intel.in/content/www/in...m-pcie-3-0-20nm-3d-xpoint/specifications.html



Which one should I choose to upgrade my laptop?

Also, can you please suggest, any better SSD (M.2, PCIe 3.0, 240-256GB) than the SAMSUNG 970 evo Plus?

We all have different storage size needs.
Consider getting a proper size ssd and replacing the hdd.

 

[USAFRet]

The 970 EVO, in whatever size you need. Replace the HDD completely.
Ignore the Optane thing.

 

[JCMaxxwell]

The 970 EVO, in whatever size you need. Replace the HDD completely.
Ignore the Optane thing.

I want to keep the existing HDD.
The HDD is TOSHIBA MQ04ABF100, 1TB (5400RPM, 2.5" SATA )
And I wish to buy the SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus 250GB (NVMe M.2 PCIe 3.0).
And wish to use that as the current Windows (C:\) volume partition i.e., Install the Windows in it and using it as the BOOT DEVICE and load the APPLICATIONS (Program Files, AppData etc.) here.

Will it be sufficient to make the Laptop run smoother?
Already it has 8GB of RAM (2400MHz, CL17)

Please suggest me,

1. If I can get a better SSD (NVMe M.2, PCIe 3.0, 250GB) than the Samsung 970 EVO Plus?
2. How can I migrate the WIN11 OS to the SSD?

 

[USAFRet]

Please suggest me,

1. If I can get a better SSD (NVMe M.2, PCIe 3.0, 250GB) than the Samsung 970 EVO Plus?
2. How can I migrate the WIN11 OS to the SSD?

1. The 970 EVO Plus is probably the best one to consider.

2. You can't migrate only Win 11. All from the HDD.

How much space is consumed on your current drive?
What SSD size are you considering?

To migrate, see below:

-----------------------------
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Both drives must be the same partitioning scheme, either MBR or GPT
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, install the relevant driver for this new NVMe/PCIe drive.
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive

[Ignore this section if using the SDM. It does this automatically]
If you are going from a smaller drive to a larger, by default, the target partition size will be the same as the Source. You probably don't want that
You can manipulate the size of the partitions on the target (larger)drive
Click on "Cloned Partition Properties", and you can specifiy the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing
[/end ignore]

Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD. This is not optional.
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
-----------------------------

 

[JCMaxxwell]

1. The 970 EVO Plus is probably the best one to consider.

2. You can't migrate only Win 11. All from the HDD.

How much space is consumed on your current drive?
What SSD size are you considering?

To migrate, see below:

-----------------------------
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Both drives must be the same partitioning scheme, either MBR or GPT
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, install the relevant driver for this new NVMe/PCIe drive.
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive

[Ignore this section if using the SDM. It does this automatically]
If you are going from a smaller drive to a larger, by default, the target partition size will be the same as the Source. You probably don't want that
You can manipulate the size of the partitions on the target (larger)drive
Click on "Cloned Partition Properties", and you can specifiy the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing
[/end ignore]

Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD. This is not optional.
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
-----------------------------

1. How to know the current file system and that of the SSD is MBR/ GPT?
2. Will the system read/show the newly installed SSD before updating its firmware/driver?

I mean, will the SSD device be shown in the task manager PERFORMANCE tab before the driver install?
3. Suppose, I install the SSD and lock the lid of the laptop.
Then I update the firmware/driver for the SSD, and reboot the system.
Then I clone the OS to the SSD, reboot the system and while rebooting go to the BIOS Setup utility and change the boot order keeping the SSD at the first replacing the C drive.
Now it will boot from the SSD, right?
Ant the HDD will no further be read to boot?
Is this alternative way any good?

 

[USAFRet]

Physical disconnection of the old drive before you first boot up after the clone process.

Not simply changing the boot order.

Depending on your current OS, driver for the new drive may not be needed.


GPT vs MBR:
Disk Management
Right click on the square at the left for that drive
Select Volumes
It will be shown in Partition Style:

 

[JCMaxxwell]

Physical disconnection of the old drive before you first boot up after the clone process.

Not simply changing the boot order.

Depending on your current OS, driver for the new drive may not be needed.


GPT vs MBR:
Disk Management
Right click on the square at the left for that drive
Select Volumes
It will be shown in Partition Style:

Still I have some queries:-

1. What should be the partition style of the SSD------MBR/GPT?

2. What should be the File System of the SSD--------NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/other please mention?

3. Once I migrated the OS to the SSD and made that the Primary Boot Device, and attach the HDD, what should be its
-Partition Style------MBR/GPT?
-File System-------NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/other please mention?

4. What folders should the SSD contain?
I want it to contain the OS data, apps. installation files (Program Files) etc.
But, the Users (C:\Users) folder that the C drive contain, includes the appdata, users data etc. and I dont want to store the Users data (Downloads, Videos, Documents, Pictures etc.) in the SSD. So what should I do?
Should I manually move these folders to the HDD from (C:\Users), keeping the [C:\Users\*\AppData] in SSD?

 

[USAFRet]

1, 2, 3....The target drive must be the same as the source drive.

4. Do NOT relocate the /Users/ folder to elsewhere. This will break many things.
You also do not need to manually relocate the user Libraries.

Windows and applications have gotten really good at utilizing multiple drives and locations.
For your Downloads, simply change that in your browser settings.
For your personal files, siply create a couple of folders off on some other drive.
When an applications wants to save something, navigate to there. The next time that application wants to save, it will want to use that place as the default.