Any 2.5" SSD will fit in your laptop and replace your current HDD.

If you want to have both snappy speed and large storage space, you can look into some hybrid drives, such as Seagate's SSHD 1TB.

However, it only has 8GB of flash memory, so it definitely won't perform like a pure SSD.

$150 is a little tight for an SSD, as you can get the 120/128GB models but IMO they're not enough to be used in a laptop.

The Samsung 840 Pro's are pretty good, but if you've never used an SSD before, you'll be impressed with a Samsung 840 (plain) as well.

 

SSDs are 2.5" form factor which is what laptops use. You won't have any issue putting an SSD in your laptop.

Hybrid SSD/HDDs exist but they are really just HDDs with a SSD swap to make it load stuff a little faster. You can't actually specify to install anything onto the SSD portion. I think the general consensus is to avoid those drives.

For a $150 budget you can get a nice 128 GB drive with money to spare, or if you are willing to put down a few more bucks you can get a 256 GB drive on sale. There are lots of recommended SSDs in the SSD subforum. Samsung 840 Pro immediately comes to mind as one of the best.

 

I'm not too limited on the money I can spend, but I am thinking about giving this laptop to my dad, and putting the $500 he will give me towards a gaming laptop/a rig for home, so I am debating whether I should shell out the money. Thanks for the help!

 

The Samsung 840 240GB SSD goes on sale for $140-170, would be fine for this purpose.
The Kingston 120 GB V300 IS $90 on amazon at the moment, I prefer it to the Samsung 120 GB 840 when it costs less, just on specs.
2.5 inch SSDs come in two thickness, 9.5 mm (same as laptop HDDs) and 7mm (for Ultrabooks and other thin laptops). Some 7mm come with spacers to fit 9.5mm spaces. I have heard the stick on felt "cushions" recommended when they do not.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by brasslad

The Samsung 840 240GB SSD goes on sale for $140-170, would be fine for this purpose.
The Kingston 120 GB V300 IS $90 on amazon at the moment, I prefer it to the Samsung 120 GB 840 when it costs less, just on specs.
2.5 inch SSDs come in two thickness, 9.5 mm (same as laptop HDDs) and 7mm (for Ultrabooks and other thin laptops). Some 7mm come with spacers to fit 9.5mm spaces. I have heard the stick on felt "cushions" recommended when they do not.

Yes, avoid the Samsung 840 120 GB (and just the 120 GB version). The TLC NAND leads to low endurance at that capacity. Larger drives have more NAND so the TLC issue is largely mitigated.
Kingston 120 GB is a middle of the road performance (compared to other newer SSDS) SandForce drive. SandForce drives tend to suffer performance degradation over time (especially if the drive is filled to near-capacity) even with the TRIM command enabled. Aggressive price point though.

My suggestion:
Wait for the Samsung 840 250GB to go on sale for $150 or less, without silly mail-in-rebate. Use a website like slickdeals.net or techbargains.com to keep track of deals.

 

Samsung 840 EVO is expected in August, slots in between the 840 and the 840 PRO, supposed to address 840 issues, eventually replace 840?