Adding a solid state drive to your computer

By Peter Zschunke Nov 13, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - If you want to give your computer a speed boost, you should think about flash drives. If you want something affordable, you need to stick with tried-and-trusted hard drives. Or you can try to have the best of both worlds and install both in your computer.

The trick is splitting the load, so the operating system and frequently accessed programs are stored on the flash solid state drive (SSD), a more modern form of drive that boosts speed by allowing all data to be accessed simultaneously, as opposed to magnetic drives, which can only give up their information as they are read front to back.

Everything else goes on that old-fashioned drive. 'The speed gain through SSD is enormous,' says Christof Windeck, a hardware expert for the German computer magazine c't.

You don't have to be an expert to install an SSD drive into a PC. Most SSD drives are produced in a 2.5-inch format, meaning you'll need a 3.5-inch case so it fits into the PC. Those cases usually come with any SSD drive you might order.

Laptops are a little trickier, since space is limited. You might have to decide if you can do without your optical CD/DVD drive, since that function could be provided by an external device. If you make that plunge, you'll have freed up space for an SSD drive, which also needs to be fitted into a special frame to fit into a laptop.

'Installation is no problem,' says Wolfgang Hantz, who owns a hardware upgrade company in Germany. 'Even a beginner can do it.'

Alternatively, set up the SSD as your boot-up drive, using the freed-up hard drive space for your optical drive.

An SSD with about 100 gigabytes (GB) costs about 120 euros (167 dollars) at online stores. Windeck says it doesn't make sense to get one with less than 80 GB if you're planning to run Windows 7 and have a slew of space-consuming applications.

There are quality differences between different kinds of SSD. 'If you can afford it, you should consider an SLC-SSD,' advises Daniel Mauerhofer, of hard drive maker Western Digital, referring to a Single Level Cell model. 'These last much longer than multi-level cell drives and have better performance,' he says.

Then there's the hybrid solution of a magnetic hard drive with an integrated SSD, like the kind Acer has built into its 'ultrabook,' the Aspire S3. The 20 GB flash drive complements the 320 GB magnetic drive.

This kind of hybrid is also available for sale as an individual building block. There's the Momentus XT from Seagate with a capacity of between 250 and 640 GB, with the integrated 4 GB SSD drive acting as a buffer for vital data.

Even if you don't want to check out SSD drives, you might still find yourself needing to explore the hard drive market, especially if your computer crashes. 'The hard drive market has changed,' explains Windeck. 'For years it was all about performance, now there's an eye on energy conservation.'

The fastest magnetic drives, with 10,000 to 15,000 rotations per minute, are mostly targeted at gamers, though some large companies need drives like that, says Mauerhofer. Windeck says there are advantages to slower drives: 'They don't get as hot, need less ventilation and are quieter.'

Also keep an eye on whether a drive has a modern SATA connector. Avoid a drive with the older IDE technology, advise the experts at c't magazine.

To get at your notebook's hard drive, you usually just need a screwdriver to remove a plate on the bottom of the machine.

Another option is to boost your working memory. Getting at that is also a simple operation. SDRAM memory modules with Double Data Rate (DDR3) are the most modern and, according to Windeck, usually cheaper than the older DDR2 standard. Neither standard is compatible with the other, because they use different housings.

You can usually boost speed by adding more working memory. But before you start refitting your motherboard, compare the cost of getting new RAM with that of getting a new computer. Often, and just for a little more money, you can get a brand new computer with all the latest technology.

And remember, 4 GB is usually enough. 'If you only have 2 GB of working memory, then it makes sense to expand to four,' recommends Windeck. 'But an expansion from 4 to 8 GB only helps a very few applications.'