Opinion on upgrading to SSD on HP Envy 17 Quad

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AlexHouston

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Feb 18, 2014
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I recently purchased a laptop from HP - it is an ENVY 17 Quad with the following specs:

i7 4800MQ (2.7Ghz and 3.7GHz in Turbo Mode)
16GB DDR3 Memory
1TB HDD (5400rpm)
2GB NVIDIA 740M

It's as would be expected from such configuration, reasonably fast and I use it primarily for music production.

I've been reading about how SSDs are super fast and also save power. I was wondering, would upgrading to an SSD significantly help my performance?

I haven't installed an mSATA drive either. This site HID evolution
http://www.hidevolution.com/hp-envy-touchsmart-17t-j100-quad-edition-notebook-pc.html

Says that a maximum of 4GB of SSD can be installed in my specific PC (1GB mSATA, 1GB for Drive 1 and 1GB drive 2 and replacing the optical drive with 1GB = 1+1+1+1 =4GB), so the storage issue is not really a concern. Price also, not a huge factor.

All I want to know is -

!. Would upgrading to SSD significantly speed up my system?
2. Would doing so void my warranty?
3. Would it help increase the life of the laptop? I don't really need much higher specs as such in terms of CPU/memory for a few years, but the speed is an essential factor.
4. How much would my battery life gain? (obviously not looking for exact figures :p )

Any help would be much appreciated :) Especially from users with similar configurations who can provide real life stories :)

PS: The reason I even went with the crappy 5400rpm HDD was because HP doesn't offer the option to upgrade (except a 32GB mSATA which I felt was pointless)
 
Solution
USAFRet
So yes, IMHO and SSD is better than an HDD. Faster, cooler, quiter, more reliable...

Replace it is you choose.
You system will be and feel much much faster
It won't void the warranty
You'd probably some battery life gain.

I'm not sure what the middle part of your original 1+1+1+1 was.

As far as the migration tool? It works. Usually.
I always recommend a fresh install on a new SSD. Far fewer potential problems.
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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An SSD is a replacement or addition to the HDD.

Your link of the specs says nothing about:
"Says that a maximum of 4GB of SSD can be installed in my specific PC (1GB mSATA, 1GB for Drive 1 and 1GB drive 2 and replacing the optical drive with 1GB = 1+1+1+1 =4GB), so the storage issue is not really a concern. Price also, not a huge factor. "

SSD drives are replacements for regular spinning hard drives. 120GB, 256GB, 960GB....
 
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AlexHouston

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Feb 18, 2014
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I know :)

I was intending on replacing the existing HDD with an SSD. Samsung Evo 840 comes with a HDD cloning software which I hear makes things really simple

And that 4GB thing was for a new laptop which is custom built by them, so it wouldn't come with the 1TB 5400 rpm
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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So yes, IMHO and SSD is better than an HDD. Faster, cooler, quiter, more reliable...

Replace it is you choose.
You system will be and feel much much faster
It won't void the warranty
You'd probably some battery life gain.

I'm not sure what the middle part of your original 1+1+1+1 was.

As far as the migration tool? It works. Usually.
I always recommend a fresh install on a new SSD. Far fewer potential problems.
 
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AlexHouston

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Feb 18, 2014
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4,510
Wow. A fresh install huh? Thing is, I have loads of production software already installed and some of them take a really long time to install (some of them run up several GBs - like this one software is 380GB alone). Would it be problematic if I just migrate?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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How large is the new SSD? How much space is taken up on the current HDD?

Migration usually works. Usually.
Especially problematic if you are going from a large HDD to a small SSD.

But I read a LOT of threads in here. And see all sorts of problems.
If you take 200 people that just got a new drive. SSD, HDD, whatever. 100 select to migrate to the new drive, and the other 100 select to fresh install.
The 100 fresh install group will have far fewer problems than the migrate group.

It works, Usually.
This is probably an easy fix, but.... http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2032001/cloned-ssd-change-boot-order.html

When it doesn't, 'fixing it' takes far longer than just the fresh install would have.
 
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murrayotl

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Oct 20, 2015
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Running into same problems. Have 1TB HDD in purchased Envy 17t n100 CTO. I want to add a SSD in 2nd drive opening and use both, SSD for OS and commonly used programs and 1TB for storage.
The manual has
Dual storage configurations as
● 1-TB + 256 GB M.2 SATA SSD (TLC)
● 4-TB: 2-TB (5400-rpm) x 2
The SSD comes in a PCIe and basic 2.5, 7.0mm drive on paper.
Tech support told me once laptop opens warranty is void and any service/accidental contract, laptop has to be as purchased.
Link to conversation http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2989084/add-2nd-ssd-envy-17t-n100.html
 
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