Laptop Upgrades, or replacement

[cmbicycles]

I have a10 year old Sony Vaio laptop running win10, nothing much done with it beyond word processing and web browsing. The area over the HD gets rather warm so I considered replacing with a ssd drive, then thought why not max out the ram to 8gb while I'm at it. For $100 is it worthwhile to "upgrade" the laptop or save my shekels for a new laptop?

[parris]

CMB I went through the same question this year. In the end it was more practical and not really much more expensive to buy a new machine. I'm keeping the old computer in the garage for web browsing and such.

[buddybikes]

Newer laptops have nicer screen, and after your upgrade chances are your motherboard AC connector will crap out.

[tbike4]

10 years is a REALLY long time for a Windows laptop. I have a 7 year old PC desktop that was top of the line when new. Today I found out some things I may not be able to do with it. Hyper-V, virtualization, blah, blah.

Get a new machine. My 2¢.

[rnhood]

Agree, get a new computer before you start upgrading one that old. And I am not one to needlessly spend money for the satisfaction of having the latest. But a 10 year old computer that is getting ready to have money spent on it....no, it's not worth it. Several hundred dollars will buy you a new machine with vivid screen, solid state drive, modern connections and interoperability, etc. It will good for another 10 years, or more.

[stien]

If you’re interested, you could breathe some new life into an old machine by putting Ubuntu (a light version) onto it. For browsing and word processing, it will get you by for another decade. I just resurrected my old 10” dell mini laptop using Lubuntu. 8 gig solid state drive!

[zmalwo]

I have a10 year old Sony Vaio laptop running win10, nothing much done with it beyond word processing and web browsing. The area over the HD gets rather warm so I considered replacing with a ssd drive, then thought why not max out the ram to 8gb while I'm at it. For $100 is it worthwhile to "upgrade" the laptop or save my shekels for a new laptop?
What processor does your laptop have?

[cmbicycles]

What processor does your laptop have?2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6600

It's a vgn-nw350f laptop.

[ultraman6970]

CMB get a new one. Thats the short answer.

THe problem with laptops is that the upgrade you can make to them is really limited. The other issue is the brand, sony computers are a real PITA, i do not even know if sony is still in the computer business...

Check bestbuy because I do not think you have a microcenter around your area.

[veloduffer]

Agree with others on buying a new laptop. Some good deals are already out there for early Black Friday.

I’m currently looking at the Lenovo Yoga C940 15” - i7 chip, SSD, 4K UHD display, built-in pen, and very good speakers in a tablet/laptop to use for work and streaming.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[weisan]

. nothing much done with it beyond word processing and web browsing

If that's all you do, you might be a good candidate for a chromebook.

Cheaper, lighter , simpler, less headache, longer battery life = happier camper.

[biker72]

Even if you do upgrade the RAM and install a SSD you'l still be saddled with a slow processor. Get a new one. Lots of good choices out there.

[CAAD]

A SSD will definitely speed things up more then ram. For what your using it for. But the battery life, weight, screen resolution, overall performance boost will be worth the upgrade from a 10 year old machine.

[Veloo]

There's also the refurbished market which can offer you a very functional and up to date machine for very cheap.

[cmb5286]

If that's all you do, you might be a good candidate for a chromebook.

Cheaper, lighter , simpler, less headache, longer battery life = happier camper.

^^This. My parents have one and they aren't the most technically inclined folks and it works just fine for them. Simple word processing and web browsing.

There's also the refurbished market which can offer you a very functional and up to date machine for very cheap.

This is also a great option. Sometimes business like to liquidate their old work machines and you can find some decent business class laptops for good prices. I'd look for a Lenovo Thinkpad T or X Series.

[kramnnim]

Keep an eye on Slickdeals. Something far better than your old one should be $300 or so.

[kramnnim]

This, for example https://slickdeals.net/f/13533268-asus-vivobook-laptop-ryzen-3-3200u-14-1080p-4gb-ddr4-128gb-ssd-vega-3-win-10-s-299-97-shipping-costco?v=1&src=SiteSearch

[cmbicycles]

Never been to slickdeals before, but no longer have Costco membership so those deals in particular are likely out. Looks like $3-400 can get a decent new computer so will probably go that route.

Brand wise I would guess most use similar components, any that I should stay away from? I've heard HP, Asus are decent brands for laptops. I had a Lenovo desktop I wasnt thrilled with in the past, but maybe their laptops are better.

[zmalwo]

2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6600

It's a vgn-nw350f laptop.

yeah not worth upgrading. i would just leave it as is and run it til it dies.

[eddief]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vega-FHD-3200U-Ryzen-Windows-ASUS-4GB-S-DDR4-Gray-AMD-128GB-mode-Scanner-Home-Thin-Light-10-Fingerprint-Graphics-F512DA-WH31-SSD-3-15-6-Slate-VivoBoo/700011839?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227308498679&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=392427871138&wl4=aud-566049426705:pla-829943163267&wl5=9032311&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=700011839&veh=sem&gclid=CjwKCAiA8K7uBRBBEiwACOm4d3Nw4mVPw9L0qYtxQQ1f vt3CEx9_NGH6Uqcy_ugHtZstqbDQwGxGIBoCRnUQAvD_BwE

[zmalwo]

This thread is mostly for gaming computer parts but occasionally you can find some general laptops as well, the price is stunning. https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/
People all over the internet find good deals and share

[kramnnim]

Never been to slickdeals before, but no longer have Costco membership so those deals in particular are likely out. Looks like $3-400 can get a decent new computer so will probably go that route.

Brand wise I would guess most use similar components, any that I should stay away from? I've heard HP, Asus are decent brands for laptops. I had a Lenovo desktop I wasnt thrilled with in the past, but maybe their laptops are better.

I'm currently typing from a Lenovo that I bought in...2013? Still works fine. It was high end back then, though. Meanwhile a Lenovo I bought at work messed up after a couple months, warranty took care of it...

I would suggest making sure whatever you get has an SSD rather than a platter drive. And you may want to avoid the lower resolution screens that some of the cheap laptops have.

If you have any interest in using it to run Zwift, get something with a 1050ti or better, they're around $500 on sale.

[559Rando]

If you're only doing word processing and web, I'd encourage you to look at Chromebooks. IMO, a full Windows 10 computer is overblown for that use. 3 or 4 years ago, I bought a Lenovo Chromebook for my 11 year daughter and it hasn't slowed at all. And it has a nice touch screen. It boots quickly and it was like $200 or $250, IIRC. If I didn't do spreadsheets and database work on my computer, I would use one myself.

At $200, that's double the price of the upgrade budget you mentioned, but I'd caution you that the RAM and HDD are only 2 parts of the whole system. Others have mentioned the screen and a new screen should look a lot better. To me a bigger issue is the battery. A new better will be vastly better, in a number of ways. Maybe your keyboard and/or trackpad don't look or work as well as new, either? Maybe there are some minor electronics that getting tired and ready to go?

And who's going to do the hardware work? If you're not accustomed to opening up and working on laptop hardware, they can be a pain.

Ordinarily, I'm against consumerism and the disposable economy but I do temper that a bit with technology. I don't upgrade my phone like others and I do keep my computers, TVs, etc. a long time, but the new machine is worth it, especially after 10 years, ATMO!

[cmbicycles]

I am not keen on the idea of a chrome book, so will likely get a win10 laptop. It will be a family computer for my kids (11 & 12) to use as well so a little more capacity will be better once they start using it more.