Upgrading Inspiron-5749

AOKost · February 9, 2020

I have an "old" Inspiron-5749 with an i7, and it's starting to 'slow down'. The screen is still in great condition, even if some of the rest of the computer has seen better days.

For example, it takes me, on a fresh reboot, ~12 - 15 minutes to load Stellaris (a game), let alone load a game to start playing... Granted, I am using quite a few mods...

What I'm hoping to glean from this discussion is if it's possible, and worth while to even try to upgrade anything about this laptop. I know that I can change out the Ram, and HD, and a new motherboard will likely run about $150 US, not including new Ram and potential new HD. I'd also like to get a new keyboard, but that can definitely wait.

haghighi · February 9, 2020

I think whether it's worth upgrading will depend on some of the notebook's other specifications. It's also worth deciding on a budget so you can figure out whether upgrading to something newer is feasible.

If you're not already on Windows 10, you should look in to upgrading. You should also do a fresh install of your OS to improve performance if you haven't done one in a few years.

If you have only 4GB of RAM, you are probably regularly running in to the limit. Your notebook supports a single DDR3L 1600MHz SODIMM (PC3-12800). Any module will do, but here is Dell's own upgrade for your machine to use as a spec reference.

The next thing I would consider is a solid state drive. Any 2.5" SATA SSD, especially the nicer TLC or MLC models, will breathe new life into the system if you are still on the factory hard drive. This upgrade can go hand-in-hand with a Windows fresh install like I mentioned above. Some options include the Samsung 860 EVO, Crucial MX500, or SanDisk Ultra 3D SSD/Western Digital Blue 3D.

Since you already have the i7, I doubt you will see a meaningful performance increase replacing the motherboard. You would have to go to a board with the NVIDIA graphics if you don't already have one. Make sure to find out if the same upgrade has been successfully done by somebody else before.

AOKost · February 9, 2020

@haghighi Thank you so much for your help and suggestions! It has been a few years since I installed Ubuntu, and I have been thinking about going back to Windows as I'm not a great Linux user, and for sure not a "power user" lol

It sounds to me like a HD upgrade to a SSD and a fresh OS install will do a world of wonder. I already have the 8 gigs of Ram from the factory, so I doubt it'll do me any good to try to replace or upgrade.

haghighi · February 9, 2020

2 hours ago, AOKost said:

@haghighi Thank you so much for your help and suggestions! It has been a few years since I installed Ubuntu, and I have been thinking about going back to Windows as I'm not a great Linux user, and for sure not a "power user" lol

It sounds to me like a HD upgrade to a SSD and a fresh OS install will do a world of wonder. I already have the 8 gigs of Ram from the factory, so I doubt it'll do me any good to try to replace or upgrade.

I didn't realize you were running Ubuntu. Your system is new enough that I think either Linux or Windows will feel just as snappy on a new, fresh SSD install. And if your memory is working, replacing it won't do any good.

You're welcome!

zogthegreat · February 12, 2020

Hi AOKost,

Someone just gave me a Dell Inspiron 17R SE 7720 because they didn't like how slow it was. Turns out that it had only 4 gb of memory and a 5400 rpm hard drive! I popped in another 4 gb of memory, a 128 gb mSATA SSD for the OS and a 1tb 7200 SATA drive for storage. The system runs great now. Of all the parts that I put in, I think that the biggest performance increase came for installing the OS onto the mSATA drive. I'm not sure if you have a expansion slot for a mSATA. If you do, then I would recommend something similar. If not, evaluate how much actual storage you need and then grab a 2.5" SSD that's in that size range. Samsung drives would be my first choice, their pretty much the leaders in SSD/HDD tech these days. Western Digital or Intel SSD's are a good choices also. New and used drives are pretty much the same price, so get a new drive from you favorite online seller.

16 gb of system memory is fine unless you run VM's or compile code. Your system should have a COA for Windows installed into the system BIOS. To download a new copy of Windows 10 for free, all you need is the Microsoft Media Creation Tool:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

However, you will need a Windows machine to create the USB installer. You can also create a Windows 10 install USB on a Ubuntu system by following the directions found here:

https://itsfoss.com/bootable-windows-usb-linux/

Be sure to download the drivers for your system off of the Dell support website and copy them to a separate drive. Yeah, yeah, I know, but you would be surprised how many people save the drivers to their hard drive and then erase the hard drive installing Windows!