RAM or SSD upgrade for my Dell..? Pls suggest the right choice !

[TheSloth]

As seen from the picture, the RAM usage peaks to 85% with just 6 tabs on my edge browser.. Should I upgrade the RAM first or still stick to the 'SSD first' advice?

85% RAM consumption isn't bad if that's your normal use case. Upgrade only if you hit 100% usage on regular basis and struggling to work day to day tasks. Same goes for HDD. If you see in Task Manager that your HDD is always working at 100% for simple tasks and freezing your system then better get SSD.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Well, I don't think my RAM has hit 100% so far...
w.r.t the HDD, I have seen it hit 100% several times when multi-tasking .. (Things like browsing / opening files, etc) when there are certain other unstoppable/mandatory background activities going on such as [services like service host 'xyz' / service host 'abc' / system / windows explorer / task manager / AV updates, file transfers, other browser windows open] etc... At times, the OS would freeze as well and I would have no option but to close the browser tabs/windows to get the disk activity down... by some % at least...
Sadly, most of the times.. my hdd hits 100% due to "system processes / services" only.. I would no clue how to and whether I can 'end / stop' them abruptly without harming the OS. Not sure if windows 10 would have a different story to tell me? (in terms of some process optimizations so as to reduce the interference with the user activities...?)

Thanks !

 

[Zangetsu]

Buy SSD first and check.

SSD will make your OS, Apps & Copy/Pasting faster.

 

[vidhubhushan]

only ssd upgrade has increased performance of my laptop.

 

[K_akash_i]

u can set ur windows 10 to performance mode , removing all effects(like when u click windows icon there i an animation effect when it comes up , this would go instead u'd get a snappy pop up of windows drawer) , then also check settings to disable auto starting of apps(disable everything IMO) , there maybe tutorials to further increase performance.

 

[Zangetsu]

u can set ur windows 10 to performance mode , removing all effects(like when u click windows icon there i an animation effect when it comes up , this would go instead u'd get a snappy pop up of windows drawer) , then also check settings to disable auto starting of apps(disable everything IMO) , there maybe tutorials to further increase performance.

Software settings tweaks will only give 1~2% improvement than hardware changes

 

[karthik316_1999]

Now that the upgrade priority is very clear.. just want to confirm this out :
(I had earlier created a windows 10 bootable flash drive while upgrading from Windows 8.1 to 10)
Once I get my primary SSD..

1. Install the SSD on the same sata port as the old HDD
2. Insert the bootable flash drive
3. Have BIOS boot from the flash drive
4. Format & install a new copy of Win 10 onto the SSD (planning to have 2 partitions on the SSD ~ 120 GB each...)
5. Fix up all drivers, ignoring the ones downloaded & installed by Windows automatically

Sounds good?

 

[vidhubhushan]

looks fine except the partition part. i am not using any - neither on desktop (mx500) nor on laptop (bx500). without having any games or large software, around 100gb is filled up on my desktop.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

4. Format & install a new copy of Win 10 onto the SSD (planning to have 2 partitions on the SSD ~ 120 GB each...)
5. Fix up all drivers, ignoring the ones downloaded & installed by Windows automatically

Partitions can be ignored.
Download drives from Dell for Windows 10/8.1 for your laptop before attempting to install anything.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Just tried removing and inserting my old HDD from its slot.. just to ensure that the process is an easy diy...but

Now upon booting, I'm faced with a bsod!

• Tried 'startup repair' from the bootable win10 usb
• Tried booting into safe mode

& I'm now stuck with a boot loop as soon as the user login page comes up..
With safe mode, as soon as I give an input with keyboard/mouse.. the system restarts in the same manner..

*ibb.co/10G2Rrf

 

[karthik316_1999]

Did I screw something up ? (the silence here......)

Anyways, I ran CHKDSK & it asked me to restart so as to fix some errors. Did the same and errors were fixed.
Also ran SFC \scannow & no corrupt entries was found.
Additionally, ran DISM & no integrity failures were detected..

Assume that the OS is free of corruption & the issue has been resolved.
(The only thing that I did before getting this error was to install a software "Mediainfo")

Anyways, coming back to the discussion,

looks fine except the partition part. i am not using any - neither on desktop (mx500) nor on laptop (bx500). without having any games or large software, around 100gb is filled up on my desktop.

Is this for real ?!! If so, the 240GB would definitely not suffice for me and I will have to forego my optical drive in order to make the current SATA HDD as an internal drive..! by investing in an internal casing..

Partitions can be ignored.
Download drives from Dell for Windows 10/8.1 for your laptop before attempting to install anything.

When you say "before attempting to install anything"-- are you referring to any additional software or the OS itself?
Normally, I install the OS and then only go about with the drivers. (& this I believe is highly minimized in Win 10 where I was told that the drivers are fetched automatically)

 

[vidhubhushan]

Did I screw something up ? (the silence here......)

Anyways, I ran CHKDSK & it asked me to restart so as to fix some errors. Did the same and errors were fixed.
Also ran SFC \scannow & no corrupt entries was found.
Additionally, ran DISM & no integrity failures were detected..

Assume that the OS is free of corruption & the issue has been resolved.
(The only thing that I did before getting this error was to install a software "Mediainfo")

Anyways, coming back to the discussion,


Is this for real ?!! If so, the 240GB would definitely not suffice for me and I will have to forego my optical drive in order to make the current SATA HDD as an internal drive..! by investing in an internal casing..


When you say "before attempting to install anything"-- are you referring to any additional software or the OS itself?
Normally, I install the OS and then only go about with the drivers. (& this I believe is highly minimized in Win 10 where I was told that the drivers are fetched automatically)

240gb is sufficient unless you start storing large software or videos etc. on it. what are the software that you use? you can remove optical drive and use hdd after the installation.
to be on the safer side, before installing windows on ssd, get drivers from dell site. sometimes windows uses some generic driver which might not be optimized for the hardware so its better to try the actual driver.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Got it w.r.t drivers..

And w.r.t storage space, I would indeed store a good amount of videos only.. but as you said what to do with the old HDD can be decided afterwards also..

Further, I unfortunately ran into the same error as depicted above & it is a continuous boot loop now.

Any suggestions? I was quite careful in handling the drive previously & no physical damage could have happened..
Could this need a fresh install? (Considering the fact that I have tried chkdsk, sfc & DISM as well ..)
Note: There was a thin plastic film folded over the length of the HDD when I tried to pull it out.. I had reinstalled the film over the round metallic center portion of the drive as it was .. when inserting it back..
What's this plastic film & does it matter for this issue?

Or whether this issue needs to be posted in a different section? Pls opine!

 

[vidhubhushan]

Got it w.r.t drivers..

And w.r.t storage space, I would indeed store a good amount of videos only.. but as you said what to do with the old HDD can be decided afterwards also..

Further, I unfortunately ran into the same error as depicted above & it is a continuous boot loop now.

Any suggestions? I was quite careful in handling the drive previously & no physical damage could have happened..
Could this need a fresh install? (Considering the fact that I have tried chkdsk, sfc & DISM as well ..)

Or whether this issue needs to be posted in a different section? Pls opine!

never faced this so can't comment on this. if it would have been my case, i would have left any trial n error on the hdd and would proceed with a clean install on the ssd. when that would start working properly for few days, i would go ahead and add the hdd in place of odd.
store videos on hdd only.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Hi all, just to update.. I would be getting an SSD today & can I ask your opinion in choosing between:
- Kingston KC600 256Gb
Or
- Samsung 870evo 256gb

Both these have the same TBW rating & 5 years warranty.. with the Samsung expensive by close to 1k..

Note : The above booting issue was resolved with a clean install of windows 10..

 

[karthik316_1999]

Hello all, thanks for sharing your suggestions & helping me out.. I had installed a WD Blue SSD on my dell a couple of days back & satisfied with the difference in performance !

 

[vidhubhushan]

 

[powerstarprince]

I purchased the Samsung 870 EVO 250GB SSD and the performance of my HP laptop has significantly improved. Everything feels butter smooth now. I still use 4GB RAM (2x 2GB in dual channel mode) but I’m on a Linux OS.