I have this ancient spaceship of a gaming laptop that I got back

Thread replies: 6
Thread images: 1

Anonymous
2016-10-31 18:26:34 Post No. 213662
[Report] Image search: [Google]

File: 1017158.jpg (49KB, 450x384px) Image search: [Google]

Anonymous 2016-10-31 18:26:34 Post No. 213662 [Report]

I have this ancient spaceship of a gaming laptop that I got back in 2009. It still has Vista, a lot of storage, and has been an insanely good computer over the years. I don't game anymore, so it's basically a gaudy internet browser and word processor.

Main problem: Internet videos and web pages are starting to get pretty laggy, Word docs sometimes crash if they have a lot of pictures, and it tends to run hot if I'm on it for most of the day.

I don't know jack shit about computers. I'm not expecting it to run like new, but what sort of things can I do to make it run smoother? Is it worth investing some money into upgrading such an old machine or should I just go for a new one?

Anonymous 2016-10-31 19:00:03 Post No.213682
[Report]

Anonymous 2016-10-31 19:00:03 Post No.213682 [Report]

>>213662
For the most part you cannot change much of the hardware on a laptop - maybe add RAM or change the HDD but really that is about it.

One option would be to check out your system tray for any programs you can uninstall/disable from loading when you turn on your computer. The same goes for any games and applications you not used a LONG time.

A 7yo laptop is probably nearing the end of any driver and contemporary hardware/software that is available. If all need now is a word processor and internet browser, I would recommend you do the above and see if it makes any difference in stability but if it does not, perhaps its time to move on to another laptop with faster CPU and more RAM.

What kind of laptop do you have?

Anonymous 2016-10-31 19:04:07 Post No.213688
[Report]

Anonymous 2016-10-31 19:04:07 Post No.213688 [Report]

>>213662
Clean out its fan(s).

喝氿 2016-10-31 19:13:39 Post No.213695
[Report]

喝氿 2016-10-31 19:13:39 Post No.213695 [Report]

>>213662
Clean the interior, give it new thermal paste, upgrade RAM and to an SSD, and use Windows 7/10.

Anonymous 2016-10-31 19:35:34 Post No.213701
[Report]

Anonymous 2016-10-31 19:35:34 Post No.213701 [Report]

>>213682
It's a Dell XPS M1730. Thanks for the advice. I've been pretty good about uninstalling and disabling programs that I don't use, but I'll double check.

>>213688
I definitely need to do this. I haven't cleaned the fans in probably two years.

>>213695
>thermal paste
I didn't even know this existed. Thanks for the other suggestions too.

I'm not sure about exact prices, but it looks like new RAM, an SSD, and upgrading to Windows 7 could run over $300. If that gives me another 4 years out of this computer, I think it'd be worth it.

In any case, I need to do some more research. Thanks for the suggestions, anons!

Anonymous 2016-11-01 08:18:11 Post No.213936
[Report]

Anonymous 2016-11-01 08:18:11 Post No.213936 [Report]

>>213662
If it's currently running Vista I'd switch it to Windows 8.1 which is piss easy to pirate these days. I've seen that every computer that came with Vista runs like new with 8.1 from personal experience

I'm aware that Imgur.com will stop allowing adult images since 15th of May. I'm taking actions to backup as much data as possible. Read more on this topic here - https://archived.moe/talk/thread/1694/

I'm aware that Imgur.com will stop allowing adult images since 15th of May. I'm taking actions to backup as much data as possible.
Read more on this topic here - https://archived.moe/talk/thread/1694/