I purchased this to update a good running Windows 10 PC with upgraded RAM and a relatively fast quad-core processor being held back by the HDD. Any time a program was opened there was a delay due to the HDD. Windows "task manager" illustrates the HDD vs SSD for a typical large program.
The job was comically easy and the results are a drive that now reads 5-6x and writes 7-8x faster than the HDD (per the Samsung software metrics) with no observed downside (other than the cost and a couple of hours of my time).
I'm not a computer tech and have no special skills or equipment. Here's how I did it.
1. Prepare
Know how to open a PC and work in it safely. Know the basics. The drive will need power via a power cable and signal to the main board via a SATA cable. I used the power and SATA cables from the original drive, and removed the HDD to "archive" in case of future failure / retrofit (I do not need a 2nd drive for storage). Decide how you intend to mount a smaller 2.5" drive in place of a 3.5" original (buy an adapter). Easiest way I found to clone the drive is to buy an aftermarket USB to SATA drive "adapter" cable. This allows the old drive to stay installed as-is while connecting the new SSD via USB to do the drive clone. Know what kind of USB ports your machine has. Mine has USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0 to SATA cable is usually not backward compatible.
2. Clone the drive
Download and install the (free) Samsung "Data Migration" software from their website. Make sure when you open this software nothing else is running, and you don't run anything else while it is running. Connect the USB to SATA cable to the SSD and then plug it into the PCs USB port. The software should detect it. If it does not I have no idea what you would do. Then it's as simple as picking the source drive, picking the new SSD as the destination drive, and clicking OK. This cloning process can take 4-5 hours easily on even a moderately large drive (1TB). Don't panic, just let it run. At points it may appear to have not started or not finished but it is likely working fine. At the end, the PC will shut down.
3. Install the drive
With the power off and your hands grounded, open the case and unplug both the power and SATA cables from the old drive. Remove the old drive. Physically mount the new drive. Connect both the power and SATA cables to the new SSD. Power the machine back up.
4. Check function
If you did it correctly, the PC should boot back up, and a lot faster than before. Download and install the (free) Samsung "Magician" software from their website. This has all sorts of neat diagnostic tests to show speed, update firmware, etc.
Rejoice in spending a little bit of money to get a huge performance increase and not needing to go out and buy a new computer.
**UPDATE**
I performed the same upgrade on an older but still very good laptop computer than has very similar issues and results. It was even easier than the desktop PC as the original 2.5" HDD was the exact same physical size. I couldn't be happier with the performance and ease of this upgrade. The computer boots up in seconds. It runs quietly and cool. Every function works perfectly and noticeably (a lot) faster. This appears to be the best performance upgrade you can give an older computer with an OE HDD.
| Hard Drive | 4 TB Solid State Hard Drive |
|---|
