[SOLVED] Will adding an SSD to an old PC improve it's performance

[wordpressprogrammer]

Hi,
I am a newbie to computer hardware.

I have the following system (old one, built in 2010-11)
Intel Dual core E5400 2.7GHz
Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L motherboard
4GB DDR3 800MHz RAM
500GB HDD
No graphics card.
Windows 7 ultimate

I am into WordPress & PHP website development and my typical day-to-day usage is -

1. Multiple tabs of Chrome browser
2. Text editor to edit PHP code
3. Occasionally, Photoshop CS5

The system works okay for my requirements, but with more browser tabs and programs running, it becomes a bit sluggish.

I am wondering if it would be possible and beneficial to install Windows 10 and all the softwares (e.g. photoshop) on an SSD while keeping the rest of hardware same? Will the sluggishness of the system be taken care of by doing so?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[CountMike]

Hi,
I am a newbie to computer hardware.

I have the following system (old one, built in 2010-11)
Intel Dual core E5400 2.7GHz
Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L motherboard
4GB DDR3 800MHz RAM
500GB HDD
No graphics card.
Windows 7 ultimate

I am into WordPress & PHP website development and my typical day-to-day usage is -

1. Multiple tabs of Chrome browser
2. Text editor to edit PHP code
3. Occasionally, Photoshop CS5

The system works okay for my requirements, but with more browser tabs and programs running, it becomes a bit sluggish.

I am wondering if it would be possible and beneficial to install Windows 10 and all the softwares (e.g. photoshop) on an SSD while keeping the rest of hardware same? Will the sluggishness of the system be taken care of by doing so?

Thanks in advance for your help!

"Sluggish" may be due to little RAM but an SSD will certainly make it look faster specially with disk heavy programs.
Another problem is that your MB doesn't have any SATA 3 (6gbps) ports so SSD would not be able to run full speed although it would still be much faster than any HDD.

 

[wordpressprogrammer]

Hey, Thanks so much for sharing the insights with me.
So I guess upgrading the system could be a possible solution to the sluggishness.

Given my day-to-day tasks and a limited budget in mind, could you please share your expert views on the following configuration, the one that was suggested to me just now by one of my tech enthusiast friends ...

Intel Pentium Gold G5400 Processor
Gigabyte H310M-H Motherboard
8GB DDR4 RAM
240GB SSD (to install disk-heavy programs ?)

Please let me know if this processor is capable enough to handle my day-to-day tasks well and also if it would be possible for me to use Adobe After effects for occasional video editing work with the above configuration?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[CountMike]

Hey, Thanks so much for sharing the insights with me.
So I guess upgrading the system could be a possible solution to the sluggishness.

Given my day-to-day tasks and a limited budget in mind, could you please share your expert views on the following configuration, the one that was suggested to me just now by one of my tech enthusiast friends ...

Intel Pentium Gold G5400 Processor
Gigabyte H310M-H Motherboard
8GB DDR4 RAM
240GB SSD (to install disk-heavy programs ?)

Please let me know if this processor is capable enough to handle my day-to-day tasks well and also if it would be possible for me to use Adobe After effects for occasional video editing work with the above configuration?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Yes it would be better for sure for everyday tasks and as far as video editing is concerned, nothing is enough, this one would work but it just depends how heavy editing and how long you are prepared to wait for results. Those programs are insatiable for resources.

 

[wordpressprogrammer]

Heyy!

Thanks so much for your prompt reply and the expert advice. I appreciate it 👍👍

 

[fzabkar]

I have a similar configuration (dual core 2.4GHz, 4GB DRAM). There was a noticeable performance improvement when I switched from a 160GB HDD to a 1TB SSD.

 

[wordpressprogrammer]

I have a similar configuration (dual core 2.4GHz, 4GB DRAM). There was a noticeable performance improvement when I switched from a 160GB HDD to a 1TB SSD.

Hi,
Thanks for your valuable insights.

So if I upgrade to SSD, is there a reliable software / utility that will allow me to mirror the applications (Windows, Photoshop etc.) and data from the existing HDD to the new SSD, so that I need not install the existing applications again on the SSD and use it as my primary boot device right away?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[fzabkar]

Samsung SSDs come with Samsung's data migration software. Other SSD manufacturers have their own.

 

[wordpressprogrammer]

Samsung SSDs come with Samsung's data migration software. Other SSD manufacturers have their own.

Great ! Thanks for this valuable information.