Hooch Tan
01-13-2010, 08:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/01/old-computers-get-young-with-ssd-upgrades.ars' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news...sd-upgrades.ars</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"SSDs are usually used in expensive computers like the Ars God Box and the MacBook Air, but SSD vendor RunCore's CES display points out that they can revitalize older computers as well. Several older computers were demoed sporting shiny new SSDs and running Windows 7 like champions. And maybe, some time this decade, that upgrade strategy might become cost-effective."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1263401817.usr20447.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>While I can certainly see the utility in recycling your old hardware and giving it a bright new future, I have to wonder if, even at a reduced cost, the upgrade of an SSD into an aging laptop is worth it. Yes, a SSD will greatly improve the performance of ancient devices like Pentium M based laptops. However, assuming you have not donated your antique to the museum, it probably does not have enough computing power to display the flash heavy websites we come across in the modern world, and their batteries are probably on their last legs. The end result is a big, bulky computing device that can manage light web surfing if you are near a power outlet. Not quite the great march of progress in technology.</p>