Is it worth updating to SSD or should I just buy a new laptop?

[alexandra.shanks]

Interested in people's opinions on my particular laptop (Toshiba Satellite U50d-a) and whether it is worth upgrading to a SSD such as Crucial MX500 500gb or Samsung 860 Evo 500gb) or should I just buy a new laptop? I only really use it for study and work tasks, lots of online use, videoconferencing etc and storage of media (mainly photos) but it has become increasingly slow with time. Would I get a few more years out of it with a new SSD or is the performance always going to be hindered by the other specs?

CPU AMD A6-5200 Quad Core (2.0GHz, 1600MHz MC, 2MB L2 Cache)

Operating System Windows 8.1 (64bit)

Screen Size 15.6" Widescreen HD LED Backlit Display (1366 x 768)

Resolution 1366 x 768

Screen Aspect Ratio 16:9

Memory 8GB DDR3 (1333Mhz)

RAM slot allocation Total memory expandable to 16GB (authorised service required)
Storage 750GB (5400rpm) with Toshiba HDD Accelerator

Graphics AMD Radeon™ HD 8400Graphics

Thanks for your time

 

[jay32267]

....an SSD will definitely speed it up. The question is....will is speed it up enough for you?

If it were me...I might buy the SSD and try it. You can always save it for a new machine.

 

[Prostar Computer]

An SSD in your current laptop will be faster than a newer laptop with a mechanical drive. On the same token, a newer computer will have newer, more capable hardware otherwise (i.e., a better processor, faster and/or more RAM, probably a larger capacity drive, etc.), and better driver support.

It really depends on what you want to do with the computer. Also, take into account age/wear and tear on your current computer, and it's warranty (or lack thereof).

 

[neiler0847]

It's pretty amazing what an SSD can do for an aging laptop. I put one in my old DELL laptop and the difference was incredible.

If your old laptop only had 4GB or RAM then I would have told you to just get a new laptop, but you have 8GB.

Is the laptop your only machine? Do you store lots of content on it? I personally only use my laptop for surfing, so storage capacity is not an issue. But if you store music and video files then you need a big drive, and that's where the cost adds up.

Personally, I would get a 250GB SSD and try the upgrade. The investment is minimal and the SSD is re-usable in future machines,