In This Guide
If your laptop takes 3 minutes to boot, Chrome loads painfully slowly, and everything feels like wading through treacle — there's a 70% chance the cause is a mechanical hard drive (HDD) rather than a problem with Windows, malware, or outdated hardware.
Swapping that mechanical drive for a solid state drive (SSD) is the single highest-impact hardware upgrade available for most laptops. This guide covers exactly what to expect in Brisbane in 2026 — real pricing, honest speed numbers, and a direct answer on whether it makes sense for your specific machine.
If your laptop has a mechanical hard drive and is otherwise in good shape, an SSD upgrade is almost always worth it. A machine that takes 2+ minutes to boot can be under 15 seconds with an SSD. Total cost in Brisbane: typically $265–$610 all-in (labour + SSD).
SSD vs HDD — What Actually Changes
Most laptops sold before 2018 — and many budget laptops sold until 2021 — came with mechanical hard drives (HDD). These use spinning magnetic platters to store data. An SSD stores data electronically on flash chips with no moving parts. That difference is dramatic in everyday use.
Signs Your Laptop Needs an SSD Upgrade
These are the most reliable indicators that your slowness is drive-related:
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Boot time exceeds 2 minutes On a healthy SSD, Windows 10/11 should be at the login screen within 15 seconds. 2+ minutes is a classic HDD symptom.
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Disk usage shows 100% in Task Manager Open Task Manager → Performance → Disk. If it's consistently at 95–100% while doing basic tasks, the HDD is the bottleneck.
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You can hear the drive clicking or spinning Audible drive noise means mechanical HDD — or a HDD that's beginning to fail. Either way, it's time for an SSD.
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The laptop freezes for 10–30 seconds then unfreezes This "micro-freeze" pattern is almost always drive-related, especially on FTTN connections — the HDD can't respond fast enough to memory page requests.
Real-World Speed Differences in Brisbane
These are real benchmarks from machines we've upgraded at Geeks Brisbane — not marketing numbers:
Which SSD type does your laptop need? Most laptops from 2015–2019 use a 2.5" SATA SSD (the budget option that's still a massive improvement). Most laptops from 2018 onwards support NVMe M.2 drives — significantly faster. A Geeks Brisbane tech will confirm compatibility before purchasing anything.
2026 Brisbane Pricing (Honest Numbers)
Here's what an SSD upgrade actually costs in Brisbane in 2026:
SATA SSD 500GB
- 2.5" SATA drive (~$60–$80)
- Onsite labour: $205/hr
- OS & data migration included
- Best for: 2015–2019 laptops
NVMe SSD 1TB
- M.2 NVMe drive (~$80–$130)
- Onsite labour: $205/hr
- OS & data migration included
- Best for: 2018+ laptops
Remote Assist Option
- Remote labour: $125/hr
- You purchase & install the SSD
- We handle OS/data migration remotely
- Best for: Confident DIYers
About OS migration: Simply installing an SSD and reinstalling Windows from scratch is the quick option, but you lose your applications and settings. A proper OS migration clones everything from the old drive to the new one — your files, programs, and Windows activation all transfer. Always confirm your tech includes migration, not just installation.
Get Your Laptop Upgraded Today
Same-day onsite SSD upgrades across Brisbane. We bring the right parts for your model — no guesswork.
Book an SSD Upgrade →DIY vs Professional Install
An SSD upgrade is technically possible as a DIY project, but there are real risks worth understanding before you crack open the chassis.
DIY — Risks & Challenges
- Voiding warranty if screws are stripped
- Laptop disassembly varies wildly by model — some require full teardown
- Data loss risk if cloning fails or is skipped
- Wrong SSD purchased (SATA vs NVMe, wrong form factor)
- Windows activation issues after hardware change
- No recourse if something goes wrong
Professional Install — What's Covered
- Correct SSD confirmed for your exact model
- Full data backup before any work begins
- OS, data & settings all migrated — nothing lost
- Windows activation verified post-install
- All screws and connectors handled correctly
- Post-install speed test and verification
The DIY route makes sense if you're technically confident and have done it before. For everyone else, the professional cost is justified by the data protection alone — we've recovered machines from botched DIY upgrades where the old drive was wiped before files were backed up.
When an SSD Upgrade Is NOT Worth It
We'll tell you straight when an SSD upgrade isn't the right call:
- The laptop has a cracked screen, dead battery, and broken hinge — multiple hardware failures mean it's time to replace, not upgrade
- The processor is a first-gen Intel Core (pre-2011) — an SSD will improve boot time but the CPU will still bottleneck everything
- You only have 4GB RAM — if you're running Chrome with 20 tabs, an SSD helps but you'll still hit RAM limits. Pair the SSD upgrade with a RAM upgrade (usually +8GB) for best results
- The machine is already running an SSD and is still slow — in this case malware, too little RAM, or software bloat is the actual problem. A tech diagnostic is needed, not a hardware swap
- Repair cost exceeds 50–60% of replacement value — a general rule: if the combined cost of all needed repairs approaches what a comparable new machine costs, replacement is smarter