SATA3 SSD in SATA1 laptop?

electric ant · 19 May 2012 at 22:16

Just wondering if it's possible to run a SATA3 (or SATA2) SSD in my laptop which is about 4 years old, and it only has SATA1 interface. Would it even work?

Would it be worth installing an SSD and what speeds am I likely to get on SATA1?

nickeverett · 19 May 2012 at 22:25

Sata1 is 1.5Gbps (up to 190Mbps), Sata2 is 3Gbps (up to 380Mbps), Sata3 is 6Gbps (up to 760MBps).

Sata3 SSDs give read speeds of about 500MBps.

A Sata3 SSD on a Sata1 connection would give theoretical read speed of 190MBps.

So in my opinion, no, it isn't worth it. There might be a minor performance increase. But not enough to warrant the expense.

EDIT: I haven't taken into account overhead or anything else in these calculations, so the performance is likely to be lower than estimated.

PistolPete · 19 May 2012 at 22:47

Would still be faster than a HDD tho.... just not as quick as it could be.

Surveyor · 19 May 2012 at 23:01

nickeverett said:
Sata1 is 1.5Gbps (up to 190Mbps), Sata2 is 3Gbps (up to 380Mbps), Sata3 is 6Gbps (up to 760MBps).

EDIT: I haven't taken into account overhead or anything else in these calculations, so the performance is likely to be lower than estimated.

Achievable figures are more like 140, 280 and 560MB/s.

nickeverett · 19 May 2012 at 23:04

Surveyor said:
Achievable figures are more like 140, 280 and 560MB/s.

Thanks!

Like I said, not exact, just estimates.

nickeverett · 19 May 2012 at 23:06

PistolPete said:
Would still be faster than a HDD tho.... just not as quick as it could be.

My ST3000DM001 does an avg read of 170MBps through Sata3 or Sata2 connection. Not tested it on Sata1.

feck199 · 19 May 2012 at 23:12

nickeverett said:
So in my opinion, no, it isn't worth it. There might be a minor performance increase. But not enough to warrant the expense.

It really is more to do with access times, Like most people say they do not notice the difference between sata 2 and 3 ssd's. You only really see it with benchmarks.

I'd expect programs still to feel much more snappy on an ssd even with sata1.

electric ant · 19 May 2012 at 23:23

Thanks guys, good to know that SATA is backwards compatible.

With SSD prices dropping to a reasonable level, I'm tempted to take the plunge, as even with SATA1 it seems like it'll be worth it versus the mechanical hdd.

PistolPete · 20 May 2012 at 01:31

nickeverett said:
My ST3000DM001 does an avg read of 170MBps through Sata3 or Sata2 connection. Not tested it on Sata1.

Good luck fitting that in your laptop.

Large numbers of 2.5" drives are only 5400rpm and have slower throughputs than 3.5" 7200rpm drives

Philtor · 20 May 2012 at 01:56

I have just installed an Intel 330 series SSD in my Samsung NC-10 which is only SATA 1. It's a lot more responsive and the battery life is great. Glad I did it.

nickeverett · 20 May 2012 at 10:04

PistolPete said:
Good luck fitting that in your laptop.

Large numbers of 2.5" drives are only 5400rpm and have slower throughputs than 3.5" 7200rpm drives

True true

feck199 · 20 May 2012 at 11:43

philtor said:
I have just installed an Intel 330 series SSD in my Samsung NC-10 which is only SATA 1. It's a lot more responsive and the battery life is great. Glad I did it.

That's another good point.

SSD will be more friendly to the battery! afaik.

Orcvader · 20 May 2012 at 11:49

It will be worth it. Low access times + less power = fast, snappy, slightly longer life laptop

. And no vibrations/heat from it as well!