Suggest a SSD and WiFi dongle for a old PC

E

edurgesh

Journeyman
Hello friends,

My current home PC is quite old running on 2nd Gen Intel i3 CPU, but still going strong for normal day to day work like browsing internet and using MS Office etc., even for occasional light gaming.

It's running Windows 10 Home, which has become quite slow recently. So, thinking of to add a SSD to improve the performance. Also it will be moved to a different room where there is no network cable, so need to add a WiFi dongle for internet access.

Current config:

1. Processor Intel Core i3 2100
2. Motherboard MSI H67MA-E35 (B3)
3. Graphics Card Zotac GTX 750 Ti 2GB DDR5
4. Hard Disk Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 - 500GB
5. RAM GSkill F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL- 2 * 4GB
6. SMPS Seasonic S12II 430W
7. Cabinet NZXT Gamma

Please suggest the following:

1. A suitable SSD 240/250 GB
2. USB WiFi dongle

Thanks in advance! :)
 
W

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
^^+1 Also buy ssd fast as ssd prices are going to increase this year so sooner you buy better it is.

*www.amazon.in/TP-Link-Archer-T2U-Wireless-Adapter/dp/B00K11UIV4 It looks a bit costly but it is worth it in the long term as nowadays buy only AC wifi products which supports both 2.4GHz & 5GHz as 2.4GHz band is getting congested because of many people using it.
 
OP
E

edurgesh

Journeyman
whitestar_999 said:
^^+1 Also buy ssd fast as ssd prices are going to increase this year so sooner you buy better it is.

*www.amazon.in/TP-Link-Archer-T2U-Wireless-Adapter/dp/B00K11UIV4 It looks a bit costly but it is worth it in the long term as nowadays buy only AC wifi products which supports both 2.4GHz & 5GHz as 2.4GHz band is getting congested because of many people using it.
Click to expand...

Great! I'll order the SSD today only.
Also, though I have dual-band router, that room where I'm going to place the PC, doesn't get 5GHz signal. 2.4GHz signals are fine. Is it good to go for dual-band adapter or just 2.4 will do?
Thanks!
 
W

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
edurgesh said:
Great! I'll order the SSD today only.
Also, though I have dual-band router, that room where I'm going to place the PC, doesn't get 5GHz signal. 2.4GHz signals are fine. Is it good to go for dual-band adapter or just 2.4 will do?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
2.4GHz usb wifi adapter will also do but buy dual-band adapter anyway,it is like buying usb 3 pendrive when your old pc only have usb 2 ports.
 
OP
E

edurgesh

Journeyman
Placed the order for both!

WiFi adapter will come by tomorrow.
SSD maybe in 3-4 days; the order doesn't say anything.

Thanks a lot! :)
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Kingston A400 is cheap & will be more than sufficient, unless to plan to use the SSD in the future when you upgrade your rig, in that case, Crucial MX500 500GB is a better investment.

For WiFi dongle, anyone will do IMO. Try to get a wired connection.
 
OP
E

edurgesh

Journeyman
anupam_pb said:
Kingston A400 is cheap & will be more than sufficient, unless to plan to use the SSD in the future when you upgrade your rig, in that case, Crucial MX500 500GB is a better investment.

For WiFi dongle, anyone will do IMO. Try to get a wired connection.
Click to expand...

Hi Anupam, yes that Kingston SSD is cheap (around 2800) but now I have already ordered the Crucial one; I don't think I've any choice. Yes new SSD will be definitely useful if I upgrade this PC in future, maybe in 1-2 years. I'm not sure if my current PC will go longer than that; it's already 9 years old! :)

I thought about the wired connection first, but not easily doable in that room. That's why going for wifi; it's already there.

Thanks!
 
OP
E

edurgesh

Journeyman
Received both the items! :)

Now time to install the new SSD; since it's so small, wondering if it will fit in the regular HDD bay in the cabinet.

Also I'm planning to install fresh Windows 10 on SSD, then add the old HDD as second drive for data storage and format that to make it clean. Here I've few questions:

1. Anything specific to be done for SSD; any BIOS setting?
2. I guess, I need to install all the drivers again; right?
3. My old Windows 10 Home license will work on new SSD; it was a free upgrade from Windows 7 Home?

Thanks!
 
W

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
edurgesh said:
Received both the items! :)

Now time to install the new SSD; since it's so small, wondering if it will fit in the regular HDD bay in the cabinet.

Also I'm planning to install fresh Windows 10 on SSD, then add the old HDD as second drive for data storage and format that to make it clean. Here I've few questions:

1. Anything specific to be done for SSD; any BIOS setting?
2. I guess, I need to install all the drivers again; right?
3. My old Windows 10 Home license will work on new SSD; it was a free upgrade from Windows 7 Home?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
You need to order something like *www.onlyssd.com/buy/2-5-to-3-5-ssd-hdd-mounting-bracket/

1. Nothing but just to be sure check that bios setting for hdd/sata controller is set to AHCI.

2. Only if you fresh install windows which is recommended anyway in this case.

3. Yes,changing/upgrading hdd should have no effect on windows activation.
 
OP
E

edurgesh

Journeyman
whitestar_999 said:
You need to order something like *www.onlyssd.com/buy/2-5-to-3-5-ssd-hdd-mounting-bracket/

1. Nothing but just to be sure check that bios setting for hdd/sata controller is set to AHCI.

2. Only if you fresh install windows which is recommended anyway in this case.

3. Yes,changing/upgrading hdd should have no effect on windows activation.
Click to expand...

Great! I'll order that SSD mount.
Thanks for the prompt reply!
 
vidhubhushan

vidhubhushan

Alakh Niranjan
you can check ssd mounting bracket in the local market also. before that check in the cabinet if there is an option to install it in standard hdd bay.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom