HELP - Replacing Optical Drive with SSD on Laptop

[xirenia]

Hello Errbody.

So I am wanting to replace the optical drive in my Asus N550JK laptop with a 256GB SSD. I have been trolling the web for hours looking for information on how this is going to work for me, and I'm starting to get a bit overwhelmed. I thought one of you tech geniuses could help me out with a simple question or two.

I have learned how to physically replace the thing, what caddy to buy etc. I just can't seem to figure out whether the SATA driver/connector/whatever for the optical drive is going to slow down the SSD.

Essentially, I have (I think) found out that it is only SATA I, while the driver for my HDD is SATA III (see image attached). And therefore, what I want to know is if I put an SSD in where the Optical drive is, is it going to be slowed down? And if it is, is it as safe (as safe as messing around inside your laptop with no experience can be) to put the SSD in where the HDD is, and put the HDD where the optical drive is? As much info as you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all

 

[Rickster]

If it is indeed 1.5Gb/s, who cares? Its still much faster than a HDD.

Best option is to put in a spare HDD and see if it changes to Sata 3.

 

[sajunky]

I just can't seem to figure out whether the SATA driver/connector/whatever for the optical drive is going to slow down the SSD.

Essentially, I have (I think) found out that it is only SATA I, while the driver for my HDD is SATA III (see image attached). And therefore, what I want to know is if I put an SSD in where the Optical drive is, is it going to be slowed down? And if it is, is it as safe (as safe as messing around inside your laptop with no experience can be) to put the SSD in where the HDD is, and put the HDD where the optical drive is? As much info as you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all

View attachment 460131

If optical drive is SATA1 device, it can't negotiate higher interface speed, it is normal. Hdinfo shows current mode of operation. I see no reason why interface for optical drive should be different to the hard drive interface. Connector may differ, but you have caddy. Besides, a newer device will not damage old interface (if you are asking this question). Short answer, try it.

 

[ChilliPepper]

I did this on a week old Dell Inspiron, but I removed the HDD and put THAT in the CD tray and put the SSD in the the HDD's spot as I was going to boot from that and assumed that would ensure the best speed.

 

[xirenia]

Yes, thanks ChilliPepper. My feeling is that I might have to do exactly that to ensure the best results. Is it not dangerous to move the HDD with the OS on it? Or is it best to maybe clone the OS onto the SSD first and then move things? I really don't know much about this stuff at all.

 

[Swa]

They are all compatible. The mode will be that of the slowest interface. Best is to test it. If it's operating at or near the 1.5Gb/s (remember this is bits where drive transfer speed is usually bytes) then it might be the interface crippling it. If it's not then nothing to worry about.

 

[JerryMungo]

I suspect it's reporting 1.5 because that's the optical drive's technology / limit. As suggested, flip your regular drive to the caddy and boot up + test again... then come back here and report

 

[ponder]

I see no reason why interface for optical drive should be different to the hard drive interface.

I don't know why but in many laptops it is indeed the case where the optical drive is on a slower interface. So it's advisable to move the HDD to the optical caddy and install the SSD into the HDD bay.

 

[Swa]

I don't know why but in many laptops it is indeed the case where the optical drive is on a slower interface. So it's advisable to move the HDD to the optical caddy and install the SSD into the HDD bay.

It's because the optical drive is way slower than an HDD. But with it being the case many people forgo the drive and go with a second HDD instead it would be better if they used the same interface. Still many SSDs don't even reach the SATA 1.0 limit so I'd check with proper benchmarking software first to see if it makes sense to move things around.

 

[sajunky]

I don't know why but in many laptops it is indeed the case where the optical drive is on a slower interface. So it's advisable to move the HDD to the optical caddy and install the SSD into the HDD bay.

On the Haswell chipset interface will have the same speed. I don't argue what is in the real world - I may even agree to the suggestion - as I know that designers may not take the same attention to the tracing tracks and keeping it away from the noise. DVD-ROM interface is usually slower, so they don't care as long it works with optical device. However when laptop is advertised with a swappable bay (business models do), they would.