Upgrade Cpu In A Laptop

[lazygourmet]

My partner, she is using an Acer 4920 with Intelcore duo 2; I am using an Acer 4320 with Intel Celeron.

At the beginning, when we bought them together -except mine being more cheaper- I didn't notice a lot of difference.

But now, after nearly two years of frequent use, mine it's getting much more slower (actually a lot...).

Being not at all computer savvy, I am just wondering if it's possible (just) to change the processor to improve my "machine"?

Or... just get rid of it and buy a new one; because she's getting upset every time I'm borrowing "hers"!?!

[bino]

Probably not possible. I didn't google your laptop to check (you can do that), but almost all laptops have the processor soldered directly to the motherboard.

[harrry]

Usually not worth it and even if you can you may find your operating system stops working as it is tied to the old computer setup if it is an OEM version.

[Crushdepth]

You could try defragging your hard drive and cleaning up some file space. That might help improve its speed. Another thing that can really slow your computer down is a full hard drive - if you haven't got much space left, it will really bog your machine down.

[lazygourmet]

Thanks for prompt answers...

As I mentioned before, I do not have to much clue about IT; so I thought that it was as easy changing cpu, as like increasing the ram memory.

I do frequently defrag & cleaning; and both disks are half full.

But, just after reading another thread regarding some cpu problems; I realise that I should send it for "physical" cleaning because it's overheating as well... And the cat sitting on my knees while writing this post might be a part of the problem!?!

[ungcas]

Thanks for prompt answers...

As I mentioned before, I do not have to much clue about IT; so I thought that it was as easy changing cpu, as like increasing the ram memory.

I do frequently defrag & cleaning; and both disks are half full.

But, just after reading another thread regarding some cpu problems; I realise that I should send it for "physical" cleaning because it's overheating as well... And the cat sitting on my knees while writing this post might be a part of the problem!?!

Over time computers tend to get slow. Usually due to a lot of applications installed, viruses, spyware(find a free scanner for these 2). Ram upgrade can help a lot. 1 Gig is really the minimum these days, 2 would be good if you are running Vista.

You said you already defrag regularly. I would try to check and see what programs can be uninstalled(you might be surprised to find what is installed).

You might have a lot of programs loaded on startup. Run msconfig and disable unnecesary items(i would use google for how to do this and find out what applications can be disabled).

Aside from that all you can do is a format and reinstall of the OS. When I was younger I used to do this every 3 months. My PC was always quick and responsive.

[Carmine6]

I don't know if you can download this from Thailand but I have 2 laptops that are 3 and 4 years old. They got really slow to where I was going to buy a new laptop. I added memory and new hard drives and they were still slow.

What really uncluttered things was System Mechanic v7, now v8. I've bought licenses for my 3 computers, but the trial version would let you clean things up and then you can remove it.

Unlike a lot of registry programs, their version has not screwed things up on my PCs. They also have a registry defragmenter, disk defragmenter, spyware tools, etc. They have wizard type fixes that do several things, but I find doing the tools individually gives you more control.

Definitely a good first step before thinking of a new cpu or laptop.

http://www.download.com/System-Mechanic/30....html?tag=mncol

[monty]

I've just done a clean re-install of windows on my laptop.

After a tad over 2 years it started to slow down as well.

Not easy to do without losing data if you're not IT savvy, you gotta find out what software is installed, back up your e-mail programs if you use them etc.

Normally laptops come with a recovery CD which installs windows and the programs it shipped with back to the state how it was when you bought it.

[webfact]

You can't simply upgrade the CPU in your laptop. As mentioned above they are hooked to the motherboard. Also, for a HDD or RAM your manual should state what actually is supported. Some older laptops only support up to a 80GB HDD or 1 GB RAM. After 2 years in service notebooks become slow, even the most expensive. This is mostly due to a lot of installed software, fragmented HDD and a lot of "crap" hidden on the latter.

If you have your data stored in My Documents, back it up and if you use Outlook then backup as .pst file. Some other email clients can be backed up entirely i.e. Thunderbird, with a free utility called Mozbackup.

Thats it. Even for an old laptop you don't need the recovery CD as XP will find 95% of every driver if you reinstall your OS. But before you take that step you should download at least 4 drivers from your laptop brand web site

modem driver, Lan driver and Wi-Fi driver, sound driver. If you have 512K RAM upgrade at list to 1GB. You will realize a significant improvement.

Hope that helps.

Edited March 4, 2009 by webfact

[Wolfie]

Go buy yourself a 250gb or 320gb external USB hard drive from any large electrical store (or Pantip if you can get there) - you will pay around 3000b for one.

Use that drive to back up all your data, files, etc etc

Then use the recovery disk that came with your laptop to 'reinstall' windows - or ask a IT Savvy friend to do it for you.

Windoze, unfortunately, is an operating system that needs to be rebuilt from the ground upwards at least once every 12 months - just to maintain speed and keep the machine healthy.

I tend to tweak a lot and tend to install & uninstall a lot of applications - so i actually rebuild windows about twice a year - providing all your files are backed up this should be a fairly quick (2-3hrs) painless experience.