Should I Replace HDD or Upgrade Laptop?

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The_Man12

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Mar 22, 2014
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Hello!

My uncle gave me his laptop yesterday saying it was really slow and he wanted me to fix it. As I started getting into it I saw that the hard drive has 44 reallocated sectors and 22 pending ones. Crystal Disk just gives you a warning but doesn't say that it has failed. I did notice though as the computer heated up it got slower and slower, and the HDD was always at 100% usage even though nothing was using it (according to Task Manager on Windows 10). He doesn't use it as much, just light web browsing and music. The laptop is an Acer 5736Z-4460. (I'll list the specs below)

So, question. Should I tell him to replace the HDD or just save for another one?

Specs:
Processor: Intel Pentium T4500
RAM: 3GB DDR3
GPU: Intel GMA 4500MHD
HDD: WD 320GB

I'm not sure what to tell him because the laptop is around 4-5 years old. I'm not sure if it's worth changing the HDD since it's not the newest laptop so it can get slower as the years pass. Maybe it's a good idea to get a new laptop altogether?
 
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basroil

basroil

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Oct 19, 2013
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1) That system can't handle youtube 1080p all that well, even 720p can see issues on some browsers
2) It doesn't support AES natively, so HTTPS sites and many web streaming services will be greatly impacted
3) 3GB ram is nowhere near enough for Windows 10 plus web browsing, you'll be looking at maybe a few tabs on chrome before you hit 90%+ a few dozen on firefox
4) OP also describes the computer heating up more than normal, which means possible damage elsewhere or a highly taxed CPU
 
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The_Man12

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Mar 22, 2014
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No I didn't say it heats up more than usual. I mean that as the HDD warms up, its performance is impacted. The processor runs cool and the fan is quiet. The computer is actually faster than I thought it'd be. The computer was rarely used actually, the HDD only got like 250 hours on it, it's in pristine conditions. The computer is fine, it's just the HDD that needs replacing. I was just wondering if it was a good idea to replace it or buy a new laptop altogether.
 
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basroil

basroil

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Oct 19, 2013
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You did say
which generally means thermal throttling of the CPU. You can replace the disk if you want, but 99% chance is that you'll be throwing away money because other parts will fail, starting with the battery (especially if you rarely use it but always keep it at 100% charge)
 
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The_Man12

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Mar 22, 2014
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Okay let's not focus just on that little misunderstanding. :) Moving on, CPU doesn't throttle, runs cool, everything is perfect. Is it seriously that bad? I don't want to tell my uncle he needs a new one unless I am completely sure because that kinda sounds like a very drastic and expensive solution. I don't want to be in a situation where I tell him he needs a new one, he goes for it and buys another one, and it turns out the old one was still good for what he needed you know.

Hey SkyNetRising, what do you think? Anyone else?
 
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SkyNetRising

SkyNetRising

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Jan 4, 2016
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1 - I seriously doubt that screen resolution of that laptop is more than 720p, so nobody will watch 1080p youtube videos on it.
3 - There are Atom tablets with 2GB of ram and they run windows 10 just fine, so 3GB ram is not an issue.

I stand by my suggestion. Put in an SSD and you'll be amazed how fast that old laptop feels.
 
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Samer1970

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Oct 23, 2014
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The Right Answer is : tell him both options , say to him , I can replace the HDD for you , and it will work like before (or even faster with SSD) . OR we get a new modern notebook , What do you think uncle ?
 
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The_Man12

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Mar 22, 2014
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Good thinking! Yeah the screen is 720p and the computer overall runs fine (with a working HDD of course), YouTube is smooth and everything. CPU Usage is kind of in the 50s usually when doing something but the computer doesn't freeze. So, do you think a Pentium T4500 is more powerful than an Atom that would be in a tablet?
 
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The_Man12

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Mar 22, 2014
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True, I guess I should tell him that. He's not very computer savvy though so there's gonna be some explanation to do lol.
 
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