SSD Upgrade Issues

[GeoffF100]

I successfully reconnected the hard disk and formatted it is a data drive from a live DVD using Gparted. Initially, I needed root permission to access it. I fixed that by giving everyone read/write access to the mount point directory using chmod. It might be helpful if the hard disk mounted automatically on start up. I should be able to achieve that by adding a line to /etc/fstab.

I fixed the SSD in place using two daisy chained cable ties. The picture linked in my opening post shows two slots, which sit on either side of the SSD. I pulled the cable ties through, underneath the SSD, with a piece of string that I had pulled already through with a bent piece of wire. I managed to insert the bent wire into the larger slot and manoeuvre it so I could grab it with pliers through the smaller slot. I have also fixed the cables firmly in place with cable ties. The SSD is now pretty secure. A hundred 3.5 mm cable ties cost me just over £1 from Screwfix.

[GeoffF100]

Hard Drive and SSD Benchmarks

I used the benchmarking facility on the Disks application menu to benchmark the hard drive and SSD:

250 GB Hard Drive
Read 102.1 Mb/s
Access 18.30 ms

120GB SSD
Read 266.7 Mb/s
Access 0.12 ms

The SSD is working at near full speed for SATA II. The read speed for the hard drive is a little under half that of the SSD, and the access time is much longer. The SSD roughly halved the boot time and the time to load Firefox, which makes sense given these numbers. A factor of two improvement does not sound very much, but it is very noticeable.

When I got it, my 10 year old PC would hardly run the installed Windows 7 at all. Lubuntu made it useable. The hardware upgrades have made it into a fast machine. My modern i5 is faster, but the difference is not very noticeable on basic tasks like web browsing and Libreoffice.

[GeoffF100]

Sorry that should be MB/s, not Mb/s.