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Resolved Question

Should I ditch an overly outdated laptop

by Oct 7, 2014 8:27PM PDT

sorry for this overly "newbie" question,
but I do wonder if this is actually doable (or worthwhile, in this case).
My laptop is a an eight year old SONY VAIO CR35T with the specs are as listed in the link below:

http://www.sony-asia.com/product/vgn-cr35g

Well as far as I'm concerned, I only know that the motherboard won't be able to recognize the most widely used USB 3.0 gadgets.

And I also want to a SSD as my system disk, should I keep this computer or just a buy brand new one?

The problem is, I kind of do want a really large RAM and if I purchase a new one I might as well need to expand the RAM myself, which will directly/indirectly spoil up the warranty.

Any thoughts please? TIA!

Discussion is locked

LilyW620 has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer
13 Posts
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Best Answer

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I have an Acer laptop
by Oct 13, 2014 2:49AM PDT

I purchased in 2006 it was Cor e 2 duo processor with Vista and 2 memory slots like that. It would only allow me to go to 4 GB of ram. Now it has and SATA interface so it will work with a SSD. Your probably better off getting a 500-600 laptop over upgrading which depending on size of SSD and Memory could be between 200-300. Plus to use 4 gb of ram you would need a 64 bit OS. Get a new laptop with i5 and 4 GB to 8 GB of ram and it could last at least 4 or 5 years it treated good.

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Answer
Re: new laptop
by Forum moderator Oct 7, 2014 8:36PM PDT

It shouldn't be a problem to buy a laptop with an SSD (if you want that) and enough RAM for your needs coming with warranty for everything. The first laptop I just tried to configure (it happened to be a Lenovo) let me choose from 4, 8 or 16 GB. Few people need more than 8 GB and most people find 4 GB enough. So most people would call 16 GB as outrageouly large.

Kees

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seriously
by LilyW620 Oct 8, 2014 6:43PM PDT

I didn't even know that LAPTOPS allow such high RAM/DRAM expansion,
which lenovo laptop is that if don't mind??

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Re: laptop
by Kees_B Forum moderator Oct 8, 2014 7:24PM PDT

I found it on the Dutch site, so you'll have to do a little bit of translation.

On http://shop.lenovo.com/nl/nl/laptops in the left column filter on "Geheugen" (that's Dutch for "Memory" or "RAM") 16 GB. It finds 3 models.The results are mostly in English, and you should be able to find those models in your local site.
I'm sure other makers have them also. 8 GB is enough for you, there is much more choice.

Any sales person in any laptop should should be able to advise you.

Kees

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Answer
8yrs. old...move on
by Oct 8, 2014 4:53AM PDT

The plain fact its that old and probably stuck with hardly any room to really improve in the way you want would be fruitless. The cash would be better spend getting a newer laptop and then improve the new one or get it with what you wanted. Ram and SSD can be added later or if available as part of the purchase then get it. I don't know what your final use is, but allow that to dictate your final needs. Maybe the s/w or requirements post some actual level(s), thus try to match or exceed those within reason.

tada -----Willy Happy

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Re: older laptop
by Oct 8, 2014 10:50PM PDT

And if you pour all of the time/money into upgrading the memory on the older laptop & it doesn't work, or it doesn't work for long, you've wasted the time/money to do that. If you start from scratch with a new one that has good memory & a warranty, you're ahead.

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Yes, and no
by Oct 10, 2014 12:20PM PDT

Silvertiger7,

After looking at the specs, I would say that this is a nice little Lap Top, and it could be upgraded. A simple Memory upgrade (to 4 GB), swap in a new SSD, and upgrade the operating system to Windows 7 (while we wait for Windows 10), and you will have an entry level Lap Top that's comparable to some systems on sale today.

However, you are right about the mother board not liking USB 3 devices. If that is an issue for you, than you must buy a new one. Your concerns about memory are unfounded thought. True, if you shop at the big box stores, you can only take what they have. But, if you are willing to shop online to a system builder like Dell, or HP, you can order your new Lap Top with as much RAM as you'll need.

One word of advice, if you do shop on line with a system builder, do not shop in their Home & Office section. Instead go to their Business Section, if you're looking for a work computer, or their Gaming Section if you're looking for a gaming computer. The point is, if you're looking for a big, powerful Lap Top, a top notch Gaming Lap Top, is also a top notch Work Lap Top. I hope this helps.

Regards,
Mr. Windows

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I second "Yes and No"
by Oct 10, 2014 2:34PM PDT

I have some old (10+) years laptops still in daily use. I don't have any immediate plans to replace them and unlike yours, 64 it and SSDs are not an option for me. So why keep them? Because they do the job I want them to, reliably and at an acceptable performance level. And I think that is the crucial question - Does the machine do all you want of it? From your question, it sounds like it is getting to the stage where "Not really" is close to the answer.

If reliability is questionable, then on a machine thos old, get rid of it - laptaps don't get better!

If you need new features or functionality that can't be fitted to the existing machine, get rid of it and go for a new one.

But if it's reliable, it's really a cost benefit analysis of the upgrade or replacement options.

A Crucial MX100 SSD 256 GB costs abut $130 Australian here, that's a tad more than you have, if you wanted to double that size the price would go up to $240-ish.

Most USB 3 devices are backwards compatible, so will run on a USB port, albeit at USB 2 speeds. If you need the functionality, that might not be a problem, if you need the speed, it will, so replace.

Your RAM might be the deciding factor, depending what you mean by "really large". I think the spec limits you to 4 GB, if you need more, then your current machine won't support it. And of course, you'll need to upgrade to 64 bit if you aren't already at that level. From what you've said, this would suggest that it's time for a replacement. Are you in the USA or do you have the equivalent of Black Friday / Cyber Monday coming up? That might be the time to go for it.

Good luck!

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Should I ditch an overly outdated laptop?
by rfriendship Oct 10, 2014 7:56PM PDT

May I congratulate Zouch for this answer.

I have considered using my own example as, perhaps, help for those who were getting along ok with their old Laptop or PC using Windows XP until the end of Support and who do not wish to throw it out. There are limitations but it depends entirely on how you wish to use your machine.

This is my take on it and is based on my own experience.
I have several "machines" and have the latest hardware and software - BUT;

I have a ten year old Compaq Presario notebook with 1Gb ram (max) and 160Gb hard drive (not original)
It became very slow with all the applications, 8-10 minutes to be fully ready to work with.
I split the drive into 3 partitions ( one for My Documents) and re-installed XP on a new empty partition and used MS SP3 DVD which you can buy (or could) for about £9, to bring it up to SP3 spec.
This done, when booting, you are offered the two XP installations from which to boot.
I only "compute" with this new installation so I have bare minimum progs.
MS Office 2003, and a couple of other small progs., but NO "Helper" progs, for example, anti malware, PC cleanup/speedup etc. NO antivirus and use Windows Firewall. I do not use this install for e mail at all but could by accessing through my ISP's website and I defrag the drive using Windows Defrag..
The partition is checked for infections from the old XP installation, when I choose use it.

I have the Network connection icon on the desktop so I can easily enable/disable my internet connection at will and have my 8 year old Brother All In One configured if I wish to scan or print.

So, how does this go? It is up and ready, from Boot selection at POST, in 1 minute 30 seconds!
Everything works just fine and with the kind of speed associated with it when the notebook was new.
That said, it is not as fast as todays' new computers but it is quite acceptable (to me).

My SSD Quad core machine with 12 Gb Ram (it does have a lot of Apps) takes almost 3 minutes.
Until there is some failure in the Compaq I shall be pleased to use it everyday as needs be.

The World is filling up with discarded and useful material and there are many who would most probably be glad of the use of some parts of it.(Just my view)

Best wishes to all,

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I'd clean the old system off
by Oct 10, 2014 3:24PM PDT
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Keep the old one
by Oct 10, 2014 11:06PM PDT

For under $250, you can replace the hard drive in your computer with a 256Gb solid state drive, upgrade the memory to 4Gb and install a legal license copy of Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 8.1 (according to the spec sheet, you have Windows Vista). The machine will then outperform almost any under $700 new machine.

You will still not have USB 3.0. Most USB 3.0 devices work on USB 2.0, but do so slower. If USB 3.0 is on your must have list, you can buy an express card USB 3.0 dual port adapter (plugs into existing socket on your machine) for around $30.

I am using an 11 year old Dell Inspiron E1505 with 2Gigs of memory and an Intel T2600 Core Duo processor. I can't expand memory on this machine above 2 Gigs. Still, this machine performs quite well using Windows 8.1 Pro. I have other, "faster" computers in the house. But for most things I do, there is no perceptible speed difference between them; reading email, surfing the net, watching youtube videos, Facebook. Your processor is approximately 25% faster and you maximum memory is 4 Gigs to my 2 Gigs.

Replacing the hard drive with a Solid State drive is usually not difficult on an older PC. It's easier to do the swap if you are installing a new operating system. "Cloning" the old one gets a little more difficult, but still doable. (The cloning option also brings all the old "crap" on the PC over to the new drive)

There are YouTube videos available and much information on the internet. Perhaps you should Google it first and see what you're getting into. I would choose this option if it were me, but it's up to you to decide whether you want to get into it.

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cost vs benefit
by seamonkeyball Oct 11, 2014 4:54AM PDT

To be honest £50 for a 128gb SSD and ebay for another 2gb. Then its a keeper.

I wouldnt do more than that. So lets say £90 and it will be a nippy little machine even by todays standards.
The key is the SSD and additional memory. If you can live with the cost and the limited SSD then its viable.

The laptop might be old but given that it does not need the latest SSD, you can buy a cheap one.

Reinstall WIndows seven and it will feel faster than it was was you first bought it.

Set yourself a budget and you wont regret it.

I paid £50 for an old core 2 desktop, installed a cheap ssd and £25 gfx card and I can watch all my 1080p movies in bed............ its starts in 10 seconds and ready to go. That has 2gb in it.

I do recommend going to 4gb if you are going to use it for anything serious though.

USB 3.0 may be good when the technology inside the devices can saturate it. Put it this way..........if you are considering whether to resurrect "the beast" then going out and buying usb drives............. not the best bargain atm

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The problem with replacing an
by orlbuckeye Oct 13, 2014 2:56AM PDT

OS with a OS that's newer is the driver support. That's why you have better luck with drivers if you buy a machine with the OS installed by the OEM.

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