Laptop Upgrades: HDD, Hybrid or SSD? RAM?

[Ulti]

I recently bought a Vostro 3550 (courtesy of the legend on HUKD) with an i5-2310M, 4GB RAM, 6330M graphics and a 500GB Scorpio Black drive for £316 and seeing as it was so cheap and great I was thinking of upgrading the drive. Now specs wise, this laptop is pretty much on par with my desktop in terms of CPU, RAM and graphics power. However, the storage department loses out a bit so I was thinking of changing it.

The uses of the laptop will be mainly for streaming and media usage via HDMI linking to the tv, the only game I play is League of Legends which runs fine. I browse the web a lot using Firefox and generally have Skype and msn open in the background and that's about it.

I might take the laptop into uni on some days but it's not the most portable thing in the world (although it's a laptop) and other times I'll take it to my girlfriends to use if needed.

So these were the choices that were left to me:
HDD: Keep the WD Scorpio Black drive.
Hybrid: Buy a Seagate Momentus XT 250GB/320GB/500GB for £67/£71/£80
SSD: Buy a Kingston 96GB V+100 SSD for £102

If I choose the Hybrid or SSD option I'll be selling the HDD for £40.

I'm currently swinging towards the SSD as I'm not gonna have much media on the drive, it mostly be stored on my desktop and I'll probably get a USB3 drive as the laptop has USB3. The Laptop does have 3 USB ports, 2 USB3 and 1 USB2. I'll be using 1 USB2 port for a wireless mouse so if I go this route I'll still have 1 USB3 port free for whatever I may need in the future. However, this option will cost a lot but will definitely be fast I'm sure.

I'm not too good with networking but I know that I can also access my desktop files with my laptop over air and although my desktop doesn't have much storage (80GB SSD, 250GB HDD) I still have plenty of free space.

Anyway, just want to get some opinions from the rest of you.

EDIT: Also as it's running a single stick of 4GB RAM, if I get another 4GB stick, will it improve performance significantly for my tasks? I know RAM is mostly needed for hardcore gamers/photoshoppers or people running servers/virtual stuff but RAM is so cheap now, (4GB stick will only cost £30) but obviously if the performance won't be seen at all then there won't be any point of spending that £30. Also, how badly would it affect battery life? I've read this thread but it seems a bit outdated and a little basic.

[no_numb]

I'd say SSD. The scorpio black should be a quick drive. So not sure how big an improvement the hybrid would be. Heard mixed things about it.

Could you post some benchmarks of the scorpio black?

I have an ssd in my netbook and I mostly stream my media so dont miss the extra space. Love the speed increase.

[mrt9888]

If you don't use the DVD drive you could try and replace it with a bracket that holds a hard drive, and put the DVD drive in a USB enclosure.

[Saracen]

Interesting question for a "poor student".

I see this kind of thing a bit differently from many, as many people will know. Having been there, done that, with upgraditus, I now look at it from the other end. That is .... what is it about the current performance of this machine that justifies spending the extra money on it? What do I need it to do that it won't do, or won't do fast enough?

If you don't have a good answer to that (and I mean one that's good to you, not me or anyone else) then you're just looking for an excuse to spend some money. Well, if you've got money to burn and montetary cost means nothing to you, then I'll PM my address and you can send it to me.

Otherwise, if the money will give you value when you spend it, then buy what you think you need. If you just want an SSD-based machine, then fine, buy one. Otherwise, put the money aside in a little "computer upgrade fund" and keep it for when you have something you really do need to buy.

i.e. exercise a little self-will, and prepare for the next laptop upgrade. Or buy a better spec'd one in the first place, next time.

Ultimately, were it me, the SSD will give it a more responsive feel, but is it responsive enough to justify the money? Only you know, because it's a very subjective judgement. Will it make any real-world difference to the use of the laptop, or do you just want to keep up with the Jones and the latest tech? If so, fair enough .... but do it eyes-open.

[Ulti]

I'd say SSD. The scorpio black should be a quick drive. So not sure how big an improvement the hybrid would be. Heard mixed things about it.

Could you post some benchmarks of the scorpio black?

I have an ssd in my netbook and I mostly stream my media so dont miss the extra space. Love the speed increase.

What type of benchmarks should I post? As in what program? I'm not too fond of the hybrid too but it didn't sound that bad from what I've read in reviews.

I don't think I need the space too, especially if I can manage to sort of setup the network well, I see most people on Hexus are quite good with networking so I was hoping someone could share some tips with me.

If you don't use the DVD drive you could try and replace it with a bracket that holds a hard drive, and put the DVD drive in a USB enclosure.

I'd like to have a DVD drive as it's nice to have it for a media player and don't really fancy putting an external drive along with my laptop in front of the TV.

Interesting question for a "poor student".

I see this kind of thing a bit differently from many, as many people will know. Having been there, done that, with upgraditus, I now look at it from the other end. That is .... what is it about the current performance of this machine that justifies spending the extra money on it? What do I need it to do that it won't do, or won't do fast enough?

If you don't have a good answer to that (and I mean one that's good to you, not me or anyone else) then you're just looking for an excuse to spend some money. Well, if you've got money to burn and montetary cost means nothing to you, then I'll PM my address and you can send it to me.

Otherwise, if the money will give you value when you spend it, then buy what you think you need. If you just want an SSD-based machine, then fine, buy one. Otherwise, put the money aside in a little "computer upgrade fund" and keep it for when you have something you really do need to buy.

i.e. exercise a little self-will, and prepare for the next laptop upgrade. Or buy a better spec'd one in the first place, next time.

Ultimately, were it me, the SSD will give it a more responsive feel, but is it responsive enough to justify the money? Only you know, because it's a very subjective judgement. Will it make any real-world difference to the use of the laptop, or do you just want to keep up with the Jones and the latest tech? If so, fair enough .... but do it eyes-open.

Well I think the price for the spec is brilliant, £300 for this sort of spec is amazing IMO, if I were to get a higher specced laptop it would at least double the price.

I certainly want to get an SSD, it's more like I'm asking for people to criticise my decision incase I forgot any bad points.

[Samwood]

Going from a standard HDD to either a Hybrid or SSD you'll get v.nice boosts.

If you can live with only 100GB (or so) then grab an SSD. If you need more storage (or cant afford the high price tag of SSDs) get the hybrid.

SSDs are still a little expensive, so a hybrid is probably going to be one of the most cost effective upgrades you can do.