I have a 2015 Acer Aspire laptop featuring an Intel i5 5th generation processor and 8GB of RAM. Currently, I'm using a 250GB Lexar NQ100 SSD, which seems to cause lag spikes when Windows 10 runs, showing disk usage hitting 100% despite low CPU and RAM usage. Since my SSD lacks DRAM, I suspect that's part of the issue. I'm looking to upgrade to a 2.5" SATA SSD with DRAM (around 250GB). Any recommendations to help improve the performance of Windows?
3 Answers
Make sure to check if your laptop has an M.2 NVMe slot. Many older Aspire models come with this option. If yours does, upgrading to an M.2 NVMe drive will significantly boost your speed. Otherwise, I'd recommend looking at the Samsung 870 EVO for a great SATA option.
The NQ100 has no DRAM and uses QLC flash, which can slow things down. Some great drives you might consider are the WD Red SA500, Transcend SSD230S, or Samsung 870 EVO. They all have DRAM and should perform much better.
I found a 256GB Transcend on Amazon, which is perfect for me! Thanks for the suggestion; I'm going to grab that one.
The MX500 is a solid choice if you're looking for a reliable drive. Just keep in mind that it might be hard to find these days, as they aren't produced anymore.
Yeah, it's unfortunate. I was hoping to find one myself.
I wish I had an NVMe slot, but I checked and it's not there. Time to stick with SATA then!