How to Upgrade Your Old Computer to Make It As Fast As Before

Upgrade Your Old laptop

How old is your laptop? Is it no longer sufficient for your video editing and you want to replace it but don't have the money? Check out some inexpensive ways that how to upgrade an old laptop. Some methods are not very expensive.

Have you ever thought of upgrading an old laptop to improve its speed and performance? However, before you start upgrading your old laptop, make a complete backup of your computer data. This will help in the recovery of your operating system and programs in case of an issue.

The method you use to upgrade depends on the laptop issue. You can use a couple of the forms or just one. However, before upgrading on your own, seek professional help to see the best way to boost your laptop. If the laptop model is too old, you can consider selling it and buying a newer laptop model type.


1. Replace or Add an SSD

Replace or Add an SSD on laptop

Suppose you bought your computer years ago before SSDs became popular. Your old laptop may have a 2.5-inch mechanical hard drive and may need a drive bay to add a new campaign to the laptop. It may not have an M.2 port.

Always check the hardware parameters of your laptop online before you buy it. When you add an SSD to your computer, it will help to speed up your laptop.

Read this article: How to install SSD


2. Increase the RAM module

Increase the RAM

Older laptops come with only 4 GigaBytes of RAM, but manufacturers usually reserve a spare slot for additional memory. First of all, you need to check the memory type of your laptop. You can use Speccy or CPU-Z to check your memory type. Generally, an old laptop is about DDR3, so you can buy a piece of memory with the same size and frequency from Amazon and install it.

It is advisable to use or buy a laptop with at least 8GB of RAM. However, even if you have a laptop with 4GB of RAM, you can still upgrade to 8GB. This will make your laptop faster and manage many heavyweight applications like Android Studio.

Read this article: How to install a memory stick.


3. Replace the Battery

Replace the laptop Battery

The battery life of lithium batteries usually reduces after long-term use. It can be challenging to buy the same laptop battery as your laptop was probably discontinued years ago. Hence, once your laptop battery gets worn out, you can choose to buy a new laptop or take the chance to see if you might find the battery on the market.

If not, you can survive by using your old laptop when it’s always connected to a power source. However, when lights go off, you may lose crucial unsaved work.

Read this article: How to check your battery life.


4. Replace the High Matching Motherboard

Replace the High Matching Motherboard

Some laptops come with different laptop models, such as the HP starts at 14, which requires a Pro version. However, the two are the same size, meaning you can buy a premium motherboard to replace and install.

You can opt for this option if you want your laptop o to be more efficient. A motherboard helps connect the CPU, memory, hard drives, video cards, and other parts of the computer. Hence, if it is high-performing, your computer efficiency will improve.

Read this article: How to Choose a Motherboard.


5. Add a Large Screen Monitor

Large Screen laptop Monitor

If your laptop screen is cracked or damaged, I suggest you buy a monitor instead of replacing it, because the monitor can still be used even if your laptop is obsolete. 24 inches screen is the best size for work and gaming.

Replacing a cracked screen may cause adverse effects on your computer. It is hard to find the specific laptop model’s screen, and you can whether replacing the screen will return your laptop to its normal state.

Read this article: How to Overclock a Monitor.


6. Add an External GPU

External GPU

If your laptop doesn't have a graphics card but a core CPU, or if your graphics card is solder to the motherboard, you can buy an external graphics card. However,  your laptop needs to have a Thunderbolt 3 USB port.


7. Replace the CPU

Replace the CPU

If you have an old CPU like a Pentium 166, you need to replace it. Generally, you can use Corel 3 series and above or AMD Dragon 3 and above. The performance is enough to support your computer to run.

Replacement of your CPU is complex, and it's recommended to take the laptop to the computer repair shop to let professionals replace it for you. You can make a mess if you try to replace the Central Processing Unit (CPU) yourself.


8. Update the Operating System

Update the Operating System on laptop

If you want to install a new operating system, do it on the new SSD.Microsoft updates Windows often, and if you've used Windows 7 and Windows 10, you'll feel the speed boost from the Modern Operating System. Using the latest operating system helps make the laptop more efficient.

There might be an essential app version that can only be accessed using the latest operating system. At times you may find an older version is working, but there is not enough support for the app or software and can lead to you getting stuck when using it.


9. Clean and Replace the Radiating Paste

Clean thermal Paste on laptop

To carry out the above installation and replacement operation, it is necessary to open the notebook. First, clean up the dust of the cooling fan, clean any previous radiating paste that was there, and then replace the cooling silicon grease of the CPU. These steps help to reduce the temperature of the hardware to get better performance. Overheating of the laptop can lead to low performance.

Read this article: How to clean up the radiator paste on the CPU and radiator.


10. What Can You Do With an Old Notebook Laptop?

Change laptop hardware

Unlike a laptop that is a portable computer that weighs about 2-4kg, a notebook is a personal computer that is lightweight and small. They are “notebook-sized” to fit easily in a backpack. Major notebook models are from HP, Apple, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and Dell.

  • First try to make the old notebook laptop good, if it has minor damages. Change any necessary hardware and update software to see if it will have a more excellent performance.
  • Turn your notebook laptop into a wireless hotspot or extender for WiFi to reach places that don't get a strong connection.
  • Use your notebook laptop as a projector if you want to make things visually bigger.
  • Remove valuable parts, tools, and hardware from it, like the laptop processor. You can use the features on other devices.
  • Trade the notebook if you are not using it anymore or convert it into a gaming server.

Conclusion

There are many ways to upgrade your laptop, but I recommend replacing the solid-state drive. If you're a heavy memory user, adding a memory stick will do the trick. Other methods require investing more money and are not cost-effective. It is better to consider buying a new notebook or Desktop PC than to invest the money in upgrading the old laptop. Always remember to do a backup of your laptop to ensure even if any repairs are made, your data remains safe.

2 thoughts on “How to Upgrade Your Old Computer to Make It As Fast As Before”

  1. Wow it’s a amazing post. here are the benchmarks I ran on the old SATA-based SSD, Graphics card drive I was using for the Windows 10 PC. Thanks for sharing this article.

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