Can I replace the HDD with an SSD for the Dell Inspiron 17R-N7110?

I've had this laptop for longer than I can remember. I found it and got it fully factory new. The specs are not bad (i7 and 8gbs RAM).

However, my fans are always going crazy and speed is consistently slow, even with a clean Windows install. I checked Task Manager and found that the HDD (Disk) is always at near 100% whenever I do anything. The only times where the PC is fine is when a task is being run without changing it's state. (ie staying in one webpage, not forking any new processes.) However, if I start anything or change state, then the throttle comes in.

I suspect that the HDD is bottle-necking the performance of the computer and would like to know if there is a way of improving the hardware. I want to know if we can avoid the bottleneck or if its not worth the time/effort.