Laptop Upgrade

[Cs342]

I'm getting the upgrade itch to replace my laptop, but it's only 2 years old and I don't want to waste money. Do you think I should just upgrade some of the parts instead of buying a new one?

 

ASUS Zenbook UX32VD

Core i5 3317U

6GB DDR3 1600MHz SDRAM

500GB Hard Drive with 24GB SSD Cache

NVIDIA Geforce GT 620M Graphics

13.3" 1366x768 Display

 

 

 

[shiftberry]

laptop parts are pretty expensive if you don't want to waste money! 

the only component that you would add or remove is the RAM but still, RAM is an expensive part too for laptop!

 

build your own PC, it will cost you twice cheaper than buying a laptop!

 

Desktop PC includes large fans that would prevent from overheating and offers better cooling and better performance than laptop! 

[Paralectic]

Replace the current HDD with an SSD and you'll be fine, the rest is fine for a multimedia/word processing laptop.

[lani100]

You could get a ssd but you can't upgrade the graphics or anything like that.

It's a nice laptop but not very wel suited for gaming.

[Cs342]

You could get a ssd but you can't upgrade the graphics or anything like that.

It's a nice laptop but not very wel suited for gaming.

It already has dedicated graphics and runs most of my games like LoL at high settings, so I'm not too worried about graphics performance. What do you think of the laptop as a whole? Still considered good in 2014?

[lani100]

It already has dedicated graphics and runs most of my games like LoL at high settings, so I'm not too worried about graphics performance. What do you think of the laptop as a whole? Still considered good in 2014?

Yes it's a nice laptop and if you only play Lol you should be fine, get a nice ssd if you have the money and this laptop should run another 3/4 years atleast.

[Cs342]

Yes it's a nice laptop and if you only play Lol you should be fine, get a nice ssd if you have the money and this laptop should run another 3/4 years atleast.

Do you happen to know what my upgrade options are for the SSD? Do I have to remove the current drive (with my OS and apps on it) and start again, or can I just add another drive in?

Also, will I benefit from upgrading from 6GB to 8GB RAM?

[lani100]

Do you happen to know what my upgrade options are for the SSD? Do I have to remove the current drive (with my OS and apps on it) and start again, or can I just add another drive in?

Also, will I benefit from upgrading from 6GB to 8GB RAM?

I would get something like a samsung evo the size is up to you but i would get atleast a 250gb.

Best thing to do is make a backup of all your files and do a new install of your windows.

The ram upgrade won't help that much.

[Cs342]

I would get something like a samsung evo the size is up to you but i would get atleast a 250gb.

Best thing to do is make a backup of all your files and do a new install of your windows.

The ram upgrade won't help that much.

My laptop didn't come with a Windows disk and it doesn't have an optical drive, so unless I can add an SSD without removing my current HDD, I don't think I can do much

[lani100]

My laptop didn't come with a Windows disk and it doesn't have an optical drive, so unless I can add an SSD without removing my current HDD, I don't think I can do much

You can find the Windows iso's online and you can burn it to a bootable flashdrive the key is usally on a sticker or can be found with some software.

[shiftberry]

whatever, it's good but still you want to upgrade your storage disk to an SSD

[BudgetEngineer]

Get an external USB Enclosure for your new SSD and download CloneZilla.  Install CloneZilla onto a CD or USB drive and you can clone  your hard drive onto your SSD bit for bit, install your new SSD and your computer will run perfectly without needing to reinstall anything.  I've used it with great success for all my friends and family.

[MoonSpot]

ugh 13" screen...it's like a pocket calculator.  Maybe buy components that you sort of dock with as a stepping stone to putting together a PC?  SSD and maybe speakers.  even a monitor perhaps?  utilize the hdmi & or mini vga port you (apparently) have, until you buy a mobo/case.

[Cs342]

Get an external USB Enclosure for your new SSD and download CloneZilla.  Install CloneZilla onto a CD or USB drive and you can clone  your hard drive onto your SSD bit for bit, install your new SSD and your computer will run perfectly without needing to reinstall anything.  I've used it with great success for all my friends and family.

Will this make the new SSD slower than if i did a clean install? And I would probably have to get a 500GB SSD to do that which is quite expensive

[BudgetEngineer]

Probably a bit, but not much. You wouldn't notice in day to day use with a decent ssd. If you want to do a clean install then backup your data and transfer it after.

[Cs342]

Probably a bit, but not much. You wouldn't notice in day to day use with a decent ssd. If you want to do a clean install then backup your data and transfer it after.

What's the least expensive SSD I can get for this purpose?

[BudgetEngineer]

SSD's can last for 8-10 years or even more.  Worth it to spend the money now.  I'd go with an 840 Evo (I believe Samsung includes great data migration software and trim utilities?) Adata XPG SX900, or Crucial M500/M550.  Kingston HyperX 3K is also very good.  Amazon has a lot of SSD sales, prices are always going down.