Upgrade laptop or buy new?

[QuizQuack]

Hello!

 

This is my first post on this forum, but I have enjoyed watching the LTT channel for a while..

 

I've got an HP Spectre X360 that I've had a few years now. It's this model (https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c04608424) which I think I bought back in 2015.  To be honest, it's served me well and has no real issues at all.  

 

However, lately I've been having a go at learning video creation.editing and producing YouTube videos - and the laptop is starting to show it's age...  I downloaded a trial of Adobe After Effects and it barely works ha. I also do a lot of converting PowerPoint presentations to videos, and the machine really struggles.

 

I had a look to see if I could stick some more RAM in, but it looks like these models are non-upgradable in that regard (side note: Is this strictly true? HP say the RAM is onboard so there are no additional slots). Could somebody with the right knowhow do this?

 

Anyway, I've been having a look at what else is out there. I use my laptop everyday for work (nothing fancy) but would like something that can cope with video editing (purely from a hobbyist point of view) without grinding to a halt.

 

I note that the HP Spectre X360 models are still highly rated by lots of review sites, and now come with a lot more oomph than what my current model has.   But I also like the look of the Zenbook Duos.... 

 

Any thoughts or advice will be welcome.  Apologies if General Discussion isn't the most suitable forum for posting this.  Please feel free to move to somewhere more appropriate if needed.

 

Thank you!!

[Electronics Wizardy]

From the looks of it, only thing you can change is storage, so if you want it faster, your gonna ned to get a different system.

[QuizQuack]

Just now, Electronics Wizardy said:

From the looks of it, only thing you can change is storage, so if you want it faster, your gonna ned to get a different system.

That's what I thought, thanks. It's a shame, if I could upgrade this one I would as I really like it, but I guess that's the price you pay for the slimline style etc.

[jaslion]

6 minutes ago, QuizQuack said:

That's what I thought, thanks. It's a shame, if I could upgrade this one I would as I really like it, but I guess that's the price you pay for the slimline style etc.

Amd is currently shaking up the mobile market and has pretty much exactly what you want and need for video editing in slimline devices but they are still launching all of it and it has been a slow/ delayed launch due to the corona virus. So if you can wait a bit you could get full on 8 core cpu's in devices that would otherwise ship with quad cores or maybe the very expensive 6 core u series i7 from intel.

[Kisai]

2 hours ago, QuizQuack said:

Hello!

 

This is my first post on this forum, but I have enjoyed watching the LTT channel for a while..

 

I've got an HP Spectre X360 that I've had a few years now. It's this model (https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c04608424) which I think I bought back in 2015.  To be honest, it's served me well and has no real issues at all.  

 

However, lately I've been having a go at learning video creation.editing and producing YouTube videos - and the laptop is starting to show it's age...  I downloaded a trial of Adobe After Effects and it barely works ha. I also do a lot of converting PowerPoint presentations to videos, and the machine really struggles.

 

I had a look to see if I could stick some more RAM in, but it looks like these models are non-upgradable in that regard (side note: Is this strictly true? HP say the RAM is onboard so there are no additional slots). Could somebody with the right knowhow do this?

 

Anyway, I've been having a look at what else is out there. I use my laptop everyday for work (nothing fancy) but would like something that can cope with video editing (purely from a hobbyist point of view) without grinding to a halt.

 

I note that the HP Spectre X360 models are still highly rated by lots of review sites, and now come with a lot more oomph than what my current model has.   But I also like the look of the Zenbook Duos.... 

 

Any thoughts or advice will be welcome.  Apologies if General Discussion isn't the most suitable forum for posting this.  Please feel free to move to somewhere more appropriate if needed.

 

Thank you!!

 

If it supports DDR4 memory, you can just max it out to 64GB. If it's Haswell or earlier (eg DDR3) then it's better to replace it. I have not seen a HP system that has non-replacable RAM, however I was told by a dell tech that Dell IS doing this on their thin laptops.

 

That link is to a Broadwell chip (Haswell's die shrink), which is also DDR3, so I would probably recommend replacing it instead. The HP Business model equivalent of these were the Elitebook G2's, and it was very easy to open the chassis (just push the two unlock latches and the back came off without even needing a screw driver) All of those had replacable memory. However, a teardown video suggests that not only is the ram soldered down, it's underneath a metal shield. Only the SSD can be replaced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GDRRiley]

I'd replace with a new ryzen 4000 based laptop. more should be coming out soon.

[javidben]

Yes get a new AMD laptop