Hello friends. In this post, we’ll talk about how to find out which SSD is suitable for a laptop.
Solid-state drives that work even on the SATA interface, in terms of data processing speed in individual operations, can exceed the speed of conventional HDDs by more than 100 times.
Needless to say about SSD PCI-E. HDDs are not relevant today, it’s time for them to go to the dustbin of IT history, and SSDs are becoming more affordable to the masses every day. If you still have an HDD on your laptop, be sure to change it to an SSD. But on what type of SSD, because there are a lot of types of SSD for laptops.
let’s understand this delicate matter. Below we will figure out what kind of solid-state drives for laptops are in terms of interface, connection connector, and form factor. And let’s talk about which SSDs are suitable for which laptops.
Table of Contents
Types Of SSD For Laptop
So, SSD for laptops. These are the same drives as for stationary PCs. That on laptops, that on motherboards of PCs, all possible connectors for connecting solid-state drives can be implemented. Depending on the connector, connection interface and form factor, the following types of internal SSDs can be installed in laptops.
SSD 2.5 SATA
SSD 2.5 SATA is a regular solid-state drive, one might say classic. Connects to laptops in place of a hard drive in a 2.5 form factor via a connector and SATA interface. Those. connects instead of HDD or instead of an optical drive. A 2.5 SATA SSD can be installed in any laptop if it has a 2.5 hard drive space, and this will be so in most cases if we are talking about ordinary laptops, and not ultrabooks, netbooks, thin hybrids with a touch screen. And even the most modern laptops can be delivered without the ability to connect a 2.5 disk, but only with the ability to connect M.2 drives.
If you have a very old laptop made before 2009, it might even potentially have no SSD connection slots in the compact mSATA and M.2 form factors. In such a laptop, you can only install a 2.5 SATA SSD. If your laptop was released later than 2009, see if it has support for mSATA or M.2 slots for connecting drives with the same form factors. If you have, you can install an mSATA SSD or an M.2 SSD in such slots and use a 2.5 disk along with the existing laptop. All you need to install a 2.5 SATA SSD is knowing about the possibility of installing it in a laptop. Well, if you don’t have 2.5 disk space, you can only use mSATA or M.2 drives.
SSD mSATA
SSD mSATA is an SSD format designed specifically for laptops, tablets and other compact portable devices. Such a drive is installed in a special mSATA slot inside the laptop. Has a form factor and mSATA connector. Works through the SATA interface. It has no advantages over a regular 2.5 SATA SSD, other than being more compact in shape. And it still does not take up a seat for a disk in the 2.5 form factor. That is, I repeat, if your laptop has a slot for mSATA, you can have two hard drives on the laptop – one mSATA, another SSD 2.5 SATA or a regular HDD.
Outwardly, mSATA is similar to SSD in the M.2 form factor, but it has structural differences and is incompatible with them. mSATA appeared in 2009, was not relevant for long, starting from about 2015 it was ousted from the market by the connection connector and the M.2 form factor,
All you need to know to install an mSATA SSD is whether your laptop supports this connector.
SSD M.2
SSD M.2 is the modern standard for connecting solid-state drives, it provides an M.2 connection connector and an M.2 form factor.
But through the M.2 connector, drives can be connected both via the SATA interface and via the PCI-E interface. In the case of an M.2 SATA SSD, its capabilities will not differ in any way from mSATA and 2.5 drives, because they will all rest on the speed potential of SATA III. Just over 2.5, M.2 SATA, like mSATA, will have the advantage of being compact in physical form. And, again, an M.2 SSD will not take up the footprint of a 2.5 drive if available. But M.2 PCI-E drives will significantly outperform any SATA drives in linear data processing speeds. Drives with PCI-E interface are different: with or without NVMe technology support, with different generations and PCI-E interface lines.
Laptops and PC motherboards began to be equipped with an M.2 drive connector no earlier than 2014, so if your laptop is older, it cannot have an M.2 slot for installing an M.2 drive. Choosing an M.2 drive is not as simple as choosing 2.5 and mSATA drives, but more on that later.
Which SSD Is Right For Your Laptop?
So, laptops can be equipped with 2.5, mSATA, M.2 SATA, and M.2 PCI-E SSDs. Accordingly, first of all, you need to find out about which slots your laptop has for connecting drives. This can be learned in different ways, in ways such as:
- Internal inspection of the hardware capabilities of the laptop;
- Using the specification page and laptop manual;
- Contacting the support of a laptop manufacturer or seller;
- Contacting the service;
- Third party resources on the Internet.
Having determined which drives the laptop supports, in the case of mSATA and 2.5, then we can go to trading floors, set filters for these form factors, and look after the goods. But in the case of M.2 SATA and M.2 PCI-E, you still need to figure out some of the nuances:
- Keys,
- The size of the form factor,
- If PCI-E, then with support for AMD processors.
A few words about replacing the drive. If you have a working HDD now, it can definitely be replaced with an SSD 2.5. And if you want to replace your existing solid-state drive, just view its specifications using programs like AIDA64, CrystalDiskInfo, SSD-Z, etc.
Search the web for form factor information and other missing data by drive model. And finally, friends, choose the best SSD for yourself from among those that suit you in terms of interface, connection connector, and form factor.
