Upgrade Possibilities For A Laptop

[torrenova]

I'm wondering what upgrades are available for laptops and what to look out for when buying one.

Basically, I could do with something which today costs 60k+ but I won't pay that. What I'm investigating is whether I can purchase something which is in the 25/30k range and then upgrade chips / graphics / RAM / HD etc. if I want to when prices have come down ?

I know little about the insides of a computer let alone laptops so I don't know what you can upgrade, what you cannot or what limitations there are (such as my 3 year old PC only being able to cope with 1gig RAM).

I'd appreciate someone shedding some light on this.

[sniffdog]

Unfortunately there is no satisfying answer to your question as there are many possible solutions. Best approach is to pick a model and ask the shops for available upgrades .. However, the situation might have changed in a year or so ... I would say that hard disks are pretty easy to upgrade without having compatibility issues. For RAM check the slots inside the machine it will tell you the maximum RAM you can add (or replace).

A friend of mine picked a Sony with 1 Gb of memory ... it was standard filled with 2 x 512mb memory .. If you want to upgrade to 2 Gb you have to throw the old memory away even before you use it.

Edited October 17, 2008 by sniffdog

[phazey]

RAM

larger HDD with a higher RPM

more RAM

[Roadkill]

I don't want to get flamed for this so if you don't agree with me, fine so be it, no need to tell me you don't.

Simple answer is buy whatever you can afford. It's going to do what you need and it'll last for quite awhile.

There are people who have specific needs and they know what they need, will do the research, and get a machine that fits their needs. If you have to ask don't sweat the details.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39327...urce=EMTF_Onion

[torrenova]

I can afford whatever but I can't justify spending what I would like to - daft but true. I know it will be obsolete when I buy it but if I thought I could upgrade in a year or so then I would be happy.

I know about RAM a that is easy and I suspected that a HD is pretty standard but I want to know other things. My PC is 3 years old p4 2.93ghz but can only cope with 1gb RAM at 333/400.

Now I suspect that I cannot just swap the P4 chip for something else as there would be other issues. However, whilst I might like a 8300 to 9600 Core 2 Duo processor, it is likely I will end up with something slower. I want to know what issues there are for upgrading not just RAM and HD like the motherboard etc. Stuff which means you cannot upgrade.

[NanLaew]

I have gone down the 'bare bones' laptop avenue and in my opinion, it really isn't worth it. For sure this gave the additional option of upgrading the CPU but the laptop market is so dynamic that within a year, the super-duper stuff I packed it with was already being obsoleted and it wouldn't take the faster dual-core 2 processors that came out around that time. It's like spending extra money a few years back on external USB memory stick readers and USB Bluetooth dongles for this 'state of the art' laptop and within 6 months, most new laptops were coming out with built-in multiple card readers and BT.

Personally, I agree with the OP and do not see the value in having one of those 60k baht laptops. However, if you reckon that holding back the tide of laptop progress to stay within your budget by means of swapping CPU's for incremental performance increases, give it a try. It gets old very quickly IMHO.

I consider that 'overclocking' is a common tweak on conventional PC's where additional cooling is fairly easy to do but you are skating on thin ice if you try that in a laptop.

[benjamat]

Ah, laptops, arent they wonderfull.

All you can do with the majority of laptops is upgrade the hard disk and the memory but as has been mentioned before you will then have to dump the originals. In addition most laptops do not allow you to easily manipulate the software running the system.

If you must have a laptop then simply buy what you can afford. If it is not a must have then build your own PC and upgrade when you feel like it, its really not that difficult.

[torrenova]

The need for the laptop is for travelling. Potentially I could buy another PC in Singapore and negate the need for a laptop but I know the PC in LOS is probably nearing the end of its days so the laptop would provide a dual solution.

Thanks NanLaew as I suspect I won't be able to easily upgrade by changing this or that because the other stuff won't work with the newer faster better stuff you can upgrade to. Like my PC now, it cannot take the latest stuff. I don't know why but I accept it is probably only possible soon afterwards and then only so far.

However, with these Core 2 Duo chips, if I get one which is a 5100 or thereabouts, can I just plug in a 9600 or will something blow up ?

[benjamat]

The need for the laptop is for travelling. Potentially I could buy another PC in Singapore and negate the need for a laptop but I know the PC in LOS is probably nearing the end of its days so the laptop would provide a dual solution.

Thanks NanLaew as I suspect I won't be able to easily upgrade by changing this or that because the other stuff won't work with the newer faster better stuff you can upgrade to. Like my PC now, it cannot take the latest stuff. I don't know why but I accept it is probably only possible soon afterwards and then only so far.

However, with these Core 2 Duo chips, if I get one which is a 5100 or thereabouts, can I just plug in a 9600 or will something blow up ?

If you are talking about plugging into PC it will be no problem at all

[endure]

You're asking the wrong question. The first thing you need to ask is: 'What am I going to do with this laptop'?

If the answer is web-browsing, emailing, writing letters, watching DVDs then any modern laptop will have enough power.

[Gary A]

You're asking the wrong question. The first thing you need to ask is: 'What am I going to do with this laptop'?

If the answer is web-browsing, emailing, writing letters, watching DVDs then any modern laptop will have enough power.

I think that's true of any computer. People buy these super fast machines then use them for mostly just the Internet. I recently upgraded my desktop. The old parts were fast enough to suit me but it seemed like every week something was going wrong with it. A new motherboard, power supply, Duo core CPU and two gig of DDR2 667 RAM for a grand total of 8,600 baht including labor gave me a new machine in an old case.

[nikster]

I know little about the insides of a computer let alone laptops so I don't know what you can upgrade, what you cannot or what limitations there are (such as my 3 year old PC only being able to cope with 1gig RAM).

That's too old to upgrade. Laptop upgrades are hard because:

- The RAM standard changes every 12 - 18 months

- Amount of RAM possible in an old machine is very limited

- Processors often can't be replaced

- Even if they can be replaced, the socket changes (don't know how often, but clearly from P4->Core2Duo won't work)

- Graphics card is soldered onto the logic board

Your options are: Max out RAM, install new hard drive, re-install Windows (prepare by downloading all newest drivers for your laptop first and putting them on a USB stick).

Best bet is to sell the old one (for cheap at that age) and get a new one.

I'd recommend Mac of course, but don't want to distract from the topic.. just can't wait to get my hands on one...

[torrenova]

You're asking the wrong question. The first thing you need to ask is: 'What am I going to do with this laptop'?

If the answer is web-browsing, emailing, writing letters, watching DVDs then any modern laptop will have enough power.

Agreed but back when I got the P4 PC it was capable enough. The problem comes with stuff they develop over time from applications to anti virus stuff to whatever which (in my layman's terms) means that the old standard cannot cope. I don't want that in 12 months with a 40k laptop.

I multi task so I eat RAM so 4gb will do but I've not used Vista yet and I heard that chews up RAM and HD.

As to the quote above, then 3 years ago the P4 could do it all with ease, now it struggles. I'm looking at future upgrade possibilities, not what I need now.

[torrenova]

....... A new motherboard, power supply, Duo core CPU and two gig of DDR2 667 RAM for a grand total of 8,600 baht including labor gave me a new machine in an old case.

Gary, are you suggesting, although not for the laptop, that Somchai can take my 3 year old P4 and turn it into a Core 2 Duo for less than 10k ?

If so, why would anyone ever buy a new PC ?

Ignorant so forgive me.

[Gary A]

....... A new motherboard, power supply, Duo core CPU and two gig of DDR2 667 RAM for a grand total of 8,600 baht including labor gave me a new machine in an old case.

Gary, are you suggesting, although not for the laptop, that Somchai can take my 3 year old P4 and turn it into a Core 2 Duo for less than 10k ?

If so, why would anyone ever buy a new PC ?

Ignorant so forgive me.

If you can do without the laptop, you can save a lot of money and upgrade as needed. As mentioned before, the P4 board is obsolete and the socket will not accept a duo core CPU. I think my old P4 motherboard was causing most of the problems so that was my excuse to replace the motherboard. My CPU is a core duo and NOT a core 2 duo so it was cheaper. My old gig of DDR RAM was too old too. I have two gig of DDR2 667. The computer plays DVD's fine so I didn't bother with a video card. My two hard drives are 7,200 RPM and the DVD read/write was fairly new. The floppy and CD drives work fine. The power supply had a burned smell so I had it replaced too. A case is a case. My case is a mid tower Antec and now looks pretty empty.

So to answer your question, I thought it was foolish to buy a new computer so, yes, Somchai made me a new machine for 8,600 baht and I know exactly what's in it. It's not a super powerful machine so it runs very cool. If I should ever have the need, I can put in more RAM and a faster CPU. My most hungry program in Garmin Map Source and it runs great. No problem with Photo Shop either.

[endure]

I multi task so I eat RAM so 4gb will do but I've not used Vista yet and I heard that chews up RAM and HD.

If you're using a 32 bit version of Windows you won't see more than ~3GB of it anyway.

[torrenova]

I multi task so I eat RAM so 4gb will do but I've not used Vista yet and I heard that chews up RAM and HD.

If you're using a 32 bit version of Windows you won't see more than ~3GB of it anyway.

Yeah, read something about that when researching. Read also about possible (true or not ?) issues with RAM banks having different sizes eg. 2g and 1g if 2 slots.

Seems 64bit it overkill and some issues with drivers for existing hardware such as printers.

[torrenova]

If you can do without the laptop, you can save a lot of money and upgrade as needed. As mentioned before, the P4 board is obsolete and the socket will not accept a duo core CPU. I think my old P4 motherboard was causing most of the problems so that was my excuse to replace the motherboard. My CPU is a core duo and NOT a core 2 duo so it was cheaper. My old gig of DDR RAM was too old too. I have two gig of DDR2 667. The computer plays DVD's fine so I didn't bother with a video card. My two hard drives are 7,200 RPM and the DVD read/write was fairly new. The floppy and CD drives work fine. The power supply had a burned smell so I had it replaced too. A case is a case. My case is a mid tower Antec and now looks pretty empty.

So to answer your question, I thought it was foolish to buy a new computer so, yes, Somchai made me a new machine for 8,600 baht and I know exactly what's in it. It's not a super powerful machine so it runs very cool. If I should ever have the need, I can put in more RAM and a faster CPU. My most hungry program in Garmin Map Source and it runs great. No problem with Photo Shop either.

Thanks Gary. It's not really an either or scenario but it is an option I had not considered for getting some additional life out of my existing PC (it will just stay in LOS). RAM in it is too old at 333 as well and the system says it can only handle up to 1gb of 400 RAM so no real upgrade possibilities with existing chip or motherboard I guess.

As for laptop, some reviews for the cheaper end of the market (I want at least 15.4 screen) concern me over build quality which impacts medium term use and top end name stuff is more than I would like to spend. I guess I'm a tight wad when it comes to stuff for me and I want to get what I consider value for money with sufficient medium term performance. What I do not want is like my PC where cannot even upgrade RAM as the max it can take is below that which is available in the market !

[Gary A]

If you can do without the laptop, you can save a lot of money and upgrade as needed. As mentioned before, the P4 board is obsolete and the socket will not accept a duo core CPU. I think my old P4 motherboard was causing most of the problems so that was my excuse to replace the motherboard. My CPU is a core duo and NOT a core 2 duo so it was cheaper. My old gig of DDR RAM was too old too. I have two gig of DDR2 667. The computer plays DVD's fine so I didn't bother with a video card. My two hard drives are 7,200 RPM and the DVD read/write was fairly new. The floppy and CD drives work fine. The power supply had a burned smell so I had it replaced too. A case is a case. My case is a mid tower Antec and now looks pretty empty.

So to answer your question, I thought it was foolish to buy a new computer so, yes, Somchai made me a new machine for 8,600 baht and I know exactly what's in it. It's not a super powerful machine so it runs very cool. If I should ever have the need, I can put in more RAM and a faster CPU. My most hungry program in Garmin Map Source and it runs great. No problem with Photo Shop either.

Thanks Gary. It's not really an either or scenario but it is an option I had not considered for getting some additional life out of my existing PC (it will just stay in LOS). RAM in it is too old at 333 as well and the system says it can only handle up to 1gb of 400 RAM so no real upgrade possibilities with existing chip or motherboard I guess.

As for laptop, some reviews for the cheaper end of the market (I want at least 15.4 screen) concern me over build quality which impacts medium term use and top end name stuff is more than I would like to spend. I guess I'm a tight wad when it comes to stuff for me and I want to get what I consider value for money with sufficient medium term performance. What I do not want is like my PC where cannot even upgrade RAM as the max it can take is below that which is available in the market !

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. A 2,000 baht Asus mainboard with a 775 socket will support about anything you want to plug into it. I think it will accept any of the fast core 2 duo processors and up to 8 gig of RAM. If you have an up to date mainboard, you can do nearly anything you want.

[Gary A]

My laptop is about 2 1/2 years old and the mainboard recently failed. Fortunately it is a Lenovo (IBM) that had a three year international warranty. The mainboard was replaced at no cost to me. I mention this because Somchai can repair my desktop while I wait. The laptop is a different story. VERY few computer shops can repair a laptop.

The laptop has a 2.26 CPU with a gig of RAM. It has WiFi and Bluetooth built in. It does everything I want but Garmin Map Source is noticeably slower than the desk top. Probably another gig of RAM would help but why bother?