Best place to buy mid-level laptop with SSD?

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Best place to buy mid-level laptop with SSD?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

2074 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1220859 23-Jan-2015 15:33

timmmay: If you install your own SSD (Samsung 8x0 recommended) check the bay height first.

What exactly is a Samsung 8x0?

Is this the sort of thing you would recommend?

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=HDDSAM3250&name=Samsung-850-EVO-MZ-75E250BW-250GB-3D-V-NAND-SATA-I

Cheers,
Ben

Sideface

9357 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220869 23-Jan-2015 15:44

"Best place to buy mid-level laptop with SSD?"

Almost by definition laptops with SSDs are not mid-level.
If you want the very real benefits of an SSD you need to pay more.
Retrofitting an SSD is neither easy nor cheap.

Sideface

lxsw20

3552 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1220871 23-Jan-2015 15:46

Sideface: Retrofitting an SSD is neither easy nor cheap.

If the laptop has a standard 2.5" Drive, it's both easy and cheap.

SumnerBoy

2074 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1220901 23-Jan-2015 16:28

SumnerBoy:
timmmay: If you install your own SSD (Samsung 8x0 recommended) check the bay height first.

What exactly is a Samsung 8x0?

Is this the sort of thing you would recommend?

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=HDDSAM3250&name=Samsung-850-EVO-MZ-75E250BW-250GB-3D-V-NAND-SATA-I

Cheers,
Ben

Ah - I think I see what you mean - 840 or 850 etc. Sorry, new to this!

* HP 8GB DDR3L-1600 1.35V SODIMM - 8 GB - DDR3 SDRAM - 1600 MHz - 1.35 V - SoDIMM
* HP ProBook 470 G2 Intel i7-4510U 2.0GHz 8GB 750GB 17.3" HD LED 1600x900 Radeon R5 M255 2GB DVDRW Win7Pro 64bit (Win8.1Pro Lic) 1yr 6Cell BT4 USB3 Webcam WiFiN
* Samsung 850 EVO MZ-75E250BW 250GB, 3D V-NAND, SATA III 6GB/s, R/W(Max) 540MB/s/520MB/s, 97K/88K IOPS, 2.5". 7mm, 5 Years Warranty

So all up I am looking at a touch over $1700 for this lot. A bit over my budget but perhaps $1500 was a little unrealistic for what I was after.

Appreciate all your comments and help - GZ never fails to deliver!

timmmay

20580 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220916 23-Jan-2015 16:53

Yep, the 840/850 range. I have the 840 pro, works well. Pro is two bits per cell, evo is three, pro will be more reliable but the evo is no slouch.

Sideface

9357 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220929 23-Jan-2015 17:18

lxsw20:
Sideface: Retrofitting an SSD is neither easy nor cheap.

If the laptop has a standard 2.5" Drive, it's both easy and cheap.

It's not cheap if you include the cost of the supplied HHD that you are discarding.
The last 2.5" (1TB) SSD that I bought cost $700 in a sale.

Sideface

richms

28176 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220932 23-Jan-2015 17:19

Sideface:
lxsw20:
Sideface: Retrofitting an SSD is neither easy nor cheap.

If the laptop has a standard 2.5" Drive, it's both easy and cheap.

It's not cheap if you include the cost of the supplied HHD that you are discarding.
The last 2.5" (1TB) SSD that I bought cost $700 in a sale.

Small slow 2.5" drives as supplied in laptops are cheap as. You can stick it in a box if you want but I usually just clone it then stick it on the shelf if I need to return the laptop.

Richard rich.ms

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29763 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220961 23-Jan-2015 17:34

to install RAM and SSD takes a screwdriver

Sideface

9357 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220967 23-Jan-2015 17:43

joker97: to install RAM and SSD takes a screwdriver

To install RAM takes a screwdriver.
To install an SSD in some laptops (eg a Vaio) requires major surgery, and you really, really need to know what you are doing.

Sideface

Batman

Mad Scientist
29763 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220975 23-Jan-2015 17:52

I have retrofitted 5 of my old laptops with 3 SSDs playing musical chairs, in and out goes the the spinning, another spinning, another SSD, back to spinning, ... maybe I'm a surgeon?

SumnerBoy

2074 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1220981 23-Jan-2015 18:02

So the ProBook is not too bad in this regard?

Batman

Mad Scientist
29763 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220985 23-Jan-2015 18:09

just make sure you get the right thickness, 2.5" SSDs come in I think 7mm and 9mm. 7mm will fit in 9mm but not the other way round

Sideface

9357 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220990 23-Jan-2015 18:20

joker97: I have retrofitted 5 of my old laptops with 3 SSDs playing musical chairs, in and out goes the the spinning, another spinning, another SSD, back to spinning, ... maybe I'm a surgeon?

So you really, really know what you are doing.
Respect.

Sideface

Batman

Mad Scientist
29763 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1220992 23-Jan-2015 18:25

umm ... as I said the only tool I used was a screwdriver!

I consider myself no good with my hands - can't DIY, can't fix the house can't service the car can't do housework properly can't do the garden ... but I can change SSDs!!!! yeee ha

SumnerBoy

2074 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1221096 23-Jan-2015 20:19

Thanks guys, can anyone check the specs of the laptop, ram, and ssd that I posted above and confirm they are ok? Would like some piece of mind before shelling out $1700!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5