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Question

Compaq CQ56 Upgrades

by Jun 27, 2013 12:21AM PDT

Hi people, this is my first post on CNET! So im hoping to get some good responses and quick answers if possible!

You guys are a lot more experienced and knowledgeable about laptops than I am!

So this is my situation... I work in an office job 9-5
And the laptop I'm using right now is the compaq CQ56. So its on 8 hours a day. then when i go home its on for a few hours on a night aswell..

Here are its specs..


pentium r dual core cpu T4500 @ 2.3GHz
4gb ram
64 bit op system
windows 7 home premium
450 gb C drive
20GB D drive
not sure on the graphics card but i know thats not upgradeable.

this laptop is about 4 years old now! So im looking to future proof it abit.

What can i upgrade on it?? how much would it cost?
I want it to be faster. It also heats up ALOT! so is there anyway of cooling it down (i have a cooling stand but that doesnt work very well)


thanks in advance!!!

Discussion is locked

2 Posts
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Answer
Several things you should do
by Jun 27, 2013 12:39AM PDT

First, if you need to upgrade that laptop, you'd probably be better off buying a new one, but there are things you could do. First regarding the heat, get some compressed gas and blow it into the air intake ducts on the bottom of the laptop to clear out the accumulated lint and dust. If you haven't done that in 4 years, it should make a marked difference in temps. Next you could go to Crucial.com and run their memory tool to see if you can upgrade your RAM and what it would cost. You could also put in a bigger hard drive although I'd think a 450 GB C: partition would be more than enough for the vast majority of folks. If you consider that, be sure to check with Compaq because some models in the past will only work with specially prepared drives, and will not boot from other drives.
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Good luck.

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Answer
I have grim news.
by Forum moderator Jun 27, 2013 12:44AM PDT

It's been a fine machine but 4 years on one laptop is average. You can for little money use the canned air as well as bump the RAM up to its maximum but all that should be under 99 bucks.

I would not plan any future with a 4 year old laptop.
Bob

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