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Worth upgrading old laptop for school?

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  • Laptops
  • AMD
  • Systems
Last response: in Systems
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August 9, 2013 7:37:28 PM

I have an old laptop that I want to bring to school and stuff.

Current specs:
AMD E-350 1.6GHz
AMD Radeon HD 6310
3GB DDR3
5400RPM HDD


Would it be worth getting a cheap SSD such as this one:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...

and an extra few GB of RAM? It could support 8GB maximum.

Basically, is the computer worth upgrading, or does the APU completely write if off as anything worth upgrading?

Thanks,

EDIT: Just to clarify, I don't plan on playing games or anything on it. I simply want a laptop I can bring with me to school and type/web browse on. Right now it is so slow compared to my desktop that I can't tolerate it.

More about : worth upgrading laptop school

August 9, 2013 7:46:54 PM

I don't think it will make use of 8 GB of ram. a SSD would help with startup/load times only but its not a bad idea because you can reuse it when you dump your laptop in 6-12 months.
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August 9, 2013 8:50:38 PM

refllect said:
I don't think it will make use of 8 GB of ram. a SSD would help with startup/load times only but its not a bad idea because you can reuse it when you dump your laptop in 6-12 months.


Nah, I wasn't planning on going up to 8GB. Maybe just 5 or 6.

But yeah, that's the other reason I want to do this. When I don't need it any more I can put the SSD in my main computer for some speedy game loads.
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August 9, 2013 9:58:03 PM

Make sure its a 64 bit OS. If its 32 bit, adding memory is pointless.
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August 9, 2013 10:27:00 PM

jitpublisher said:
Make sure its a 64 bit OS. If its 32 bit, adding memory is pointless.


Yup.
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August 10, 2013 4:45:12 AM

SSD is a good idea. RAM is not that much because as everyone said you probably have 32bit OS hence the amount already installed by manufacturer.
And your laptop is not too old. You can also buy 2.5" adapter that you can put in DVD bay if you are not using it. Thus you'll have spinning cheap HDD for data and fast SSD for OS and apps
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August 10, 2013 10:32:46 AM

iskra said:
SSD is a good idea. RAM is not that much because as everyone said you probably have 32bit OS hence the amount already installed by manufacturer.
And your laptop is not too old. You can also buy 2.5" adapter that you can put in DVD bay if you are not using it. Thus you'll have spinning cheap HDD for data and fast SSD for OS and apps


It came with Vista 32, but I installed 7 64 about a year ago. The 2.5" adapter is an interesting idea. I probably don't need more than 60GB or so, as there wouldn't be any games or large files on it, but if something like this is all I need, it would make sense to do it.

http://www.amazon.com/ORICO-AC52535-1S-SV-2-5-Converter...

Is that what I need, or do I need something designed for laptops?
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Best solution

August 10, 2013 10:56:01 AM

No you need something like this http://www.ebay.com/sch/Laptop-Desktop-Accessories-/315...
depending on your laptop you need either 12.7mm or 9.5mm one with PATA or SATA external port.

I dont think you need more memory than 3GB for that kind of use. Yet what you can do is install 32bit W7 if possible — 32bit binaries takes less memory footprint in RAM and HDD.
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August 10, 2013 5:22:57 PM

iskra said:
No you need something like this http://www.ebay.com/sch/Laptop-Desktop-Accessories-/315...
depending on your laptop you need either 12.7mm or 9.5mm one with PATA or SATA external port.

I dont think you need more memory than 3GB for that kind of use. Yet what you can do is install 32bit W7 if possible — 32bit binaries takes less memory footprint in RAM and HDD.


Ok, thanks.
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