Is this computer upgradable at all?

[azeem40]

My mom and brother currently use an "ancient" Gateway Profile 5 All-in-one computer.

Here are the specs:
Intel® Pentium M 2.8 GHz CPU Socket 478
Intel® Springdale-G (Intel 865G + ICH5) Chipset
2 GB DDR2 RAM
40GB SATA HDD
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 GPU

Is it upgradeable at all? It is mostly for email and general web browsing, but idk if upgrading is even needed.

 

[eocoolj]

Honestly thats not really all that ancient. If it were me the only thing I would consider upgrading is the hard drive, which I would imagine is close to full if they store any large volume of video or music on it. If the computer has a bay for an extra hard drive it should be a really easy upgrade.

If things are getting sluggish you could also back everything up and do a reformat. Most newer computers have a recovery partition that will allow you to bring the computer back to brand new in half an hour. Then uninstall 75% of the junk they preinstall for you. You may be amazed at how much faster the computer runs.

Why do you want to upgrade? Are they complaining that its slow or are you just looking for a project? If they arent complaining I would just leave it.

 

[azeem40]

Well my mom does sometimes complain, but I don't think it is anything major. I could upgrade the HDD. What would you recommend?

 

[eocoolj]

If she is complaining about speed an upgraded hard drive isnt really going to make much difference unless the hard drive is very full (like greater than 90%). If they dont store a bunch of games or media on it, it may still be moderately empty.

More often than not computers get all junked up over the years with all kinds of programs running in the background. This is what slows it down and sends most people looking for a new computer. You can either try to manually remove all the clutter or just do a reformat and start brand new as I mentioned above. Be aware you will lose all data in the process so back everything up before starting.

 

[memadmax]

If it's just for email and web browsing then don't worry about it.... ur only using approximately .10% of the computers' useable power......................... other than that, it's just idle.....................

 

[azeem40]

Thanks eocoolj. However, the hard drive is close to full and all the files are important. My mom's complaints are about the OS loading too slowly or files loading too slowly.

 

[eocoolj]

What is your skill level with these things? Easiest thing if your HD is truly almost full is to get another one and transfer files to it so that the first one is at least 25% free. External hard drives are very affordable now and are available in huge sizes. If you got an external you don't have to worry about having a free bay or somehow screwing things up inside the computer if you are new to this stuff. I was looking at one for myself the other day at walmart. It was like $80 for a 500 gig external. That is more room than your mom will ever need for plenty cheap. Also it will provide you with piece of mind, since you can back up all your files to it, and if your computer ever crashes, its as simple as plugging it into a different computer.

I still think a reformat or decluttering would help you quite a bit too. Moms click on all kinds of junk that your computer doesn't need and slow it down.

 

[azeem40]

I am mostly good with current technology. Computers that are 2010 and below I am not good with. I recently got into current technology and have learned a lot in my time at TH. Thanks for the HDD suggestion!

 

[biscuitasylum]

Thanks eocoolj. However, the hard drive is close to full and all the files are important. My mom's complaints are about the OS loading too slowly or files loading too slowly.

if its almost full... you might want to consider adding or getting an external.

in general, a full hard drive can degrade drive performance, especially virtual memory. I believe at least 10% needs to be available just to defrag.

its a general rull of thumb to keep 10 - 15% of the drive empty. I usually keep around 20% free

 

[eocoolj]

Haha 2010 and below. The first computer I worked on had a 16mhz processor, 1 meg of RAM, and a 40 meg hard drive. Those are megabytes, not gigabytes. And I'm not even that old.

The one thing I would caution you on, especially with your mom's computer, is dont reformat or change internal hardware unless you are sure of what you are doing. Last thing you want to do is ruin her computer.

 

[azeem40]

My mom is pretty bad with technology, so I can't really explain it to her. She only understands, "everything runs fast."

 

[biscuitasylum]

Haha 2010 and below. The first computer I worked on had a 16mhz processor, 1 meg of RAM, and a 40 meg hard drive. Those are megabytes, not gigabytes. And I'm not even that old.

The one thing I would caution you on, especially with your mom's computer, is dont reformat or change internal hardware unless you are sure of what you are doing. Last thing you want to do is ruin her computer.

That's funny... I still have my first computer... The TRS-80 Model III 2.03 MHz Z-80 processor

 

[azeem40]

Haha 2010 and below. The first computer I worked on had a 16mhz processor, 1 meg of RAM, and a 40 meg hard drive. Those are megabytes, not gigabytes. And I'm not even that old.

The one thing I would caution you on, especially with your mom's computer, is dont reformat or change internal hardware unless you are sure of what you are doing. Last thing you want to do is ruin her computer.

I know about old technologies; just I don't know how to upgrade since I am not familiar with the sockets. I only know of 1155, 1156, and 2011 sockets lol.

 

[azeem40]

Best answer selected by azeem40.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey