Where can I find two hard drives for my Toshiba Tecra R850-S8510? My fren got rid of these but there’s no hard drives in the

lizjeanz1

Prominent
Oct 2, 2017
3
0
510
I also have a Toshiba Satellite C650 (PSC2EU-09C027) that needs a hard drive as well.. how do I know what to buy!! Please help
 
Solution
Both laptops have a 2.5" bay for you to install a hard drive (HDD) or a SSD (Solid State Drive). SSDs have much higher read / write speeds compared to HDDs, however, they are also more expensive. A laptop with a HDD could take 45 to 60 seconds to boot up compared to a laptop with a SSD that can boot up in 20 seconds or less. Generally speaking, programs launch much faster from a SSD; they make laptops feel more responsive compared to HDDs because of the speed at which programs load.


Here's an example of a 2.5" 1TB HDD for laptops which only costs $50.

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-2-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000LM048/dp/B01LYNQXCP/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1507039241&sr=8-3&keywords=2.5%22+1tb+hard+drive


Here's a 2.5" 1TB SSD...
Both laptops have a 2.5" bay for you to install a hard drive (HDD) or a SSD (Solid State Drive). SSDs have much higher read / write speeds compared to HDDs, however, they are also more expensive. A laptop with a HDD could take 45 to 60 seconds to boot up compared to a laptop with a SSD that can boot up in 20 seconds or less. Generally speaking, programs launch much faster from a SSD; they make laptops feel more responsive compared to HDDs because of the speed at which programs load.


Here's an example of a 2.5" 1TB HDD for laptops which only costs $50.

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-2-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000LM048/dp/B01LYNQXCP/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1507039241&sr=8-3&keywords=2.5%22+1tb+hard+drive


Here's a 2.5" 1TB SSD which sells for $280. It is one of the least expensive 1TB SSDs from a reputable brand name.

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX300-Internal-Solid-State/dp/B01IAGSDUE/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1507039446&sr=1-3&keywords=2.5%22+1tb+ssd



You will also need to purchase an operating system (OS). Each laptop will need it's own OS which means you need to purchase two copies. Below is a link to purchase Windows 10 for $110 each.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/huc/view.html?ie=UTF8&newItems=C1970350c-e58b-4931-9837-08898140c20d%2C1
 
Solution

lizjeanz1

Prominent
Oct 2, 2017
3
0
510


 

lizjeanz1

Prominent
Oct 2, 2017
3
0
510
Wow great thank you so much!! Is it worth purchasing those or is it better to purchase a new one? I feel they would work fine I did purchase those hard drives.. however thank you for your very informative response!
 
The best bang for the buck is to buy a HDD for each laptop since the same capacity SSD is almost 6x more expensive, though you can get a smaller capacity SSD to reduce the cost such as the following 250GB Samsung SSD for $100. But that may not be enough storage for your needs.

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OAJ412U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1507048559&sr=8-4&keywords=256gb+2.5%22+ssd


Many people find that when they use a laptop / desktop with a SSD they cannot go back to using one with a hard drive. But for people working with a limited budget, a SSD is considered a luxury.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Toshiba Tecra R850-S8510 is an old laptop, but it should be decent enough to spend about $160 + tax (HDD and Windows 10) to get it up and running again if you need to use the laptop. It should have a 2nd generation Intel Core i3 or Core i5 CPU from 2011 which is good enough for basic use.

The Toshiba Satellite C650 (PSC2EU-09C027) may or may not have a similar CPU. It could have an older CPU less powerful since I cannot find any specific information about that laptop model. So it may or may not be worth spending money to get it up and running again.

I would say upgrade the Tecra first to determine if the performance is decent enough for you before you bother with the Satellite.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


On the other hand you can spend $350 on a brand new laptop that really offers good bang for you buck. The following 15.6" Acer has a 7th generation Core i3-7100u and a 1920x1080 resolution screen; pretty decent for the price. Based on reviews the battery life is generally between 5 to 6 hours based on average usage. The two old laptops will likely have very bad battery life, unless the batteries are new.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-E5-575-33BM-15-6-Inch-Notebook-Generation/dp/B01K1IO3QW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1507050137&sr=8-3&keywords=acer+i3-7100u