A few SSD questions

[Spork829]

My laptop has been having some issues recently. I believe the HDD is failing, because read/write speeds are sometimes very low and I get random stutters/freezes in a lot of programs. However my CPU usage/temps and RAM usage are totally fine. So, a few questions:

1. I think it's the HDD failing, (it is almost 4 years old, I should add) but could it be something else? 

2. I don't want to get a whole new laptop, so can I stick an SSD in the 2.5 inch slot in there? Will I need some sort of adapter?

3. Knowing I'll probably go for 240GB and don't need amazing speeds, what SSD would you recommend?

 

Thanks.

[mikat]

1) check your SMART status (http://www.howtogeek.com/134735/how-to-see-if-your-hard-drive-is-dying/)

2) yes

3)

Samsung 850 EVO (5 yr warranty, best performance, but most expensive)

Crucial BX100 (3 yr warranty, little cheaper, but still fast)

OCZ Trion (3 yr warranty, same performance as the bx100, cheaper)

Adata SP550 (3 yr warranty, slower, cheapest)

 

[Spork829]

1 minute ago, mikat said:

1) check your SMART status

2) yes

3) Samsung 850 EVO or Crucial BX100

I totally forgot about SMART! Yeah, it's definitely the HDD. Thanks for the suggestions

[JefferyD90]

8 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

My laptop has been having some issues recently. I believe the HDD is failing, because read/write speeds are sometimes very low and I get random stutters/freezes in a lot of programs. However my CPU usage/temps and RAM usage are totally fine. So, a few questions:

1. I think it's the HDD failing, (it is almost 4 years old, I should add) but could it be something else? 

2. I don't want to get a whole new laptop, so can I stick an SSD in the 2.5 inch slot in there? Will I need some sort of adapter?

3. Knowing I'll probably go for 240GB and don't need amazing speeds, what SSD would you recommend?

 

Thanks.

It's really easy to know if a hard drive is failing.  Simply do a "Disk Check" and you'll find out!

 

There is no connection adapter that you will need, SATA is SATA no matter if its on a HDD or a SSD.  But some SSD's are slimmer than your standard 2.5in bay, but if they are, they almost always come with a little frame that you'll just stick on the SSD, so it has a snug fit.

 

I'd go with this then: https://amzn.com/B00A1ZTZNM

[Spork829]

6 minutes ago, JefferyD90 said:

It's really easy to know if a hard drive is failing.  Simply do a "Disk Check" and you'll find out!

 

There is no connection adapter that you will need, SATA is SATA no matter if its on a HDD or a SSD.  But some SSD's are slimmer than your standard 2.5in bay, but if they are, they almost always come with a little frame that you'll just stick on the SSD, so it has a snug fit.

 

I'd go with this then: https://amzn.com/B00A1ZTZNM

Yep, both disk check and SMART point to the drive. Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely consider that Kingston one