Don’t buy the wrong type of SSD

Upgrading from a traditional hard drive to an SSD (solidstate drive) is a quick and easy way to speed up your computer. Windows will boot faster, programs will load quicker and – if you’re using a laptop – its battery will last longer. But if you’re not careful, you could end up buying an SSD that’s incompatible with your PC or laptop.

SSD types explained

First, we’ll explain the various types of SSDs. The 2.5in SATA SSDs (like the Crucial model pictured below) are the most common because their physical size means they’ll work with almost all desktop PCs and laptops. To communicate with your PC’s processor, they use the SATA interface, which has a maximum speed of around 560MB/s – much faster than the 150MB/s of most traditional