Q&A: Will replacing the hard drive with an SSD make a PC run hotter?

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Question from Michael: I have a three year old laptop that runs a bit on the warm side. It always has, ever since I first took it out of the box.

I read your post about replacing a hard drive with an SSD and I’d love to replace the existing 1TB hard drive in this laptop with a 1TB SSD.

The thing is I’m afraid it will cause the laptop to overheat since it’s getting really warm already. Do you think it might?

Rick’s answer: Michael, I think replacing your laptop’s hard drive with an SSD is a great idea, and right now is the perfect time to do it because the prices of SSDs have dropped to a level that’s pretty close to amazing.

As a matter of fact, several 1TB SSDs that would make perfect high-speed replacements for your laptop’s hard drive are currently selling for as little as $50 online and at many local retail stores.

But to answer your question, the answer is almost certainly no simply because most solid state drives tend to actually run cooler and consume less energy than traditional hard drives.

In short, although there are no guarantees, installing an SSD in place of the hard drive could well make your laptop run a little cooler than it does right now, with very little chance of it making it run hotter.

My recommendation would be to go ahead and purchase a 1TB SSD and make the switch. I believe you will be quite pleased with the results.

And by the way, while you’re shopping for the SSD I recommend that you also spend a few bucks for an inexpensive external USB hard drive enclosure. Use that enclosure to turn your existing hard drive into an external USB hard drive after the upgrade has been completed and you’ll have an instant backup of everything that’s currently on your laptop’s hard drive.

I hope this helps, Michael. Good luck!