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my girlfriend has a 7 year old laptop which is getting slow. I'm considering putting new RAM in it and doing a fresh W10 install. But is there really a point in upgrading the RAM on such an old laptop? She will only need this laptop for storing/viewing photos, printing and that kind of simple stuff.

A new laptop will be upwards op 750 euros in contrast to like 50 euros for new DDR3 RAM. I don't feel comfortable enough around this stuff to make a recommendation. Could one of you advise? This is the system info:

Systeeminformatierapport is geschreven op: 01/07/22 14:45:51
Systeemnaam: WHITIE
[Systeemoverzicht]

Item    Waarde  
Naam van besturingssysteem  Microsoft Windows 8.1   
Versie  6.3.9600 Build 9600 
Andere beschrijving van besturingssysteem   Niet beschikbaar    
Leverancier van besturingssysteem   Microsoft Corporation   
Systeemnaam WHITIE  
Systeemfabrikant    Acer    
Systeemmodel    Aspire V3-371   
Systeemtype x64-based PC    
Systeem-SKU Aspire V3-371_0918_1.29 
Processor   Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4005U CPU @ 1.70GHz, 1701 MHz, 2 core('s), 4 logische processor(s) 
BIOS-versie/datum   Insyde Corp. V1.29, 3-9-2015    
SMBIOS-versie   2.8 
Versie van ingesloten controller    1.23    
BIOS-modus  UEFI    
Fabrikant BaseBoard Acer    
Model BaseBoard Niet beschikbaar    
Naam BaseBoard  Basiskaart  
Platformfunctie Mobiel  
Status beveiligd opstarten  Ingeschakeld    
PCR7-configuratie   Binding niet mogelijk   
Map met Windows C:\WINDOWS  
Systeemmap  C:\WINDOWS\system32 
Opstartapparaat \Device\HarddiskVolume2 
Landinstelling  Nederland   
HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer)    Versie = "6.3.9600.18969"   
Gebruikersnaam  Whitie\WHITIE\******    
Tijdzone    West-Europa (standaardtijd) 
Geïnstalleerd fysiek geheugen (RAM) 4,00 GB 
Totaal fysiek geheugen  3,92 GB 
Beschikbaar fysiek geheugen 1,74 GB 
Totaal virtueel geheugen    6,42 GB 
Beschikbaar virtueel geheugen   4,48 GB 
Ruimte voor wisselbestand   2,50 GB 
Wisselbestand   C:\pagefile.sys 
Hyper-V - Modusextensies VM-monitor Ja  
Hyper-V - Extensies voor adresomzetting op tweede niveau    Ja  
Hyper-V - Virtualisatie ingeschakeld in firmware    Ja  
Hyper-V - Bescherming tegen gegevensuitvoering  Ja  

[Hardwarebronnen]



[Conflicten/Delen]

Bron    Apparaat    
I/O-poort 0x00000000-0x0000001F Controller voor directe geheugentoegang 
I/O-poort 0x00000000-0x0000001F PCI Express Root Complex    
        
I/O-poort 0x00000070-0x00000070 Systeemkaartbronnen 
I/O-poort 0x00000070-0x00000070 Systeem-CMOS/Real-timeklok  
        
Geheugenadres 0xB0500000-0xB05FFFFF Intel(R) 8 Series PCI Express Root Port #4 - 9C16   
Geheugenadres 0xB0500000-0xB05FFFFF Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 
        
I/O-poort 0x00003000-0x000030FF Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller  
I/O-poort 0x00003000-0x000030FF Intel(R) 8 Series PCI Express Root Port #3 - 9C14   
        
Geheugenadres 0xFF000000-0xFFFFFFFF Systeemkaartbronnen 
Geheugenadres 0xFF000000-0xFFFFFFFF Intel(R) 82802 Firmware-hubapparaat 
        
Geheugenadres 0xB0600000-0xB0600FFF Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller  
Geheugenadres 0xB0600000-0xB0600FFF Intel(R) 8 Series PCI Express Root Port #3 - 9C14   
        
Geheugenadres 0xB0400000-0xB0403FFF Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller  
Geheugenadres 0xB0400000-0xB0403FFF Intel(R) 8 Series PCI Express Root Port #3 - 9C14   
        
I/O-poort 0x0000FFFF-0x0000FFFF Systeemkaartbronnen 
I/O-poort 0x0000FFFF-0x0000FFFF Systeemkaartbronnen 
I/O-poort 0x0000FFFF-0x0000FFFF Systeemkaartbronnen 
        

[DMA]

Bron    Apparaat    Status  
Kanaal 4    Controller voor directe geheugentoegang OK  

[Geforceerde hardware]

Apparaat    Id van PNP-apparaat 

[I/O]

Bron    Apparaat    Status  
0x0000002E-0x0000002F   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x0000004E-0x0000004F   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00000061-0x00000061   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00000063-0x00000063   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00000065-0x00000065   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00000067-0x00000067   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00000070-0x00000070   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00000070-0x00000070   Systeem-CMOS/Real-timeklok  OK  
0x00000080-0x00000080   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00000092-0x00000092   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x000000B2-0x000000B3   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x0000FFFF-0x0000FFFF   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x0000FFFF-0x0000FFFF   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x0000FFFF-0x0000FFFF   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00001800-0x000018FE   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00000068-0x0000006F   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00000060-0x00000060   Standaard-PS/2-toetsenbord  OK  
0x00000064-0x00000064   Standaard-PS/2-toetsenbord  OK  
0x00001854-0x00001857   Systeemkaartbronnen OK  
0x00004000-0x0000403F   Intel(R) HD Graphics Family OK  
0x00000000-0x0000001F   Controller voor directe geheugentoegang OK  
0x00000000-0x0000001F   PCI Express Root Complex    OK  
0x00000081-0x00000091   Controller voor directe geheugentoegang OK  
0x00000093-0x0000009F   Controller voor directe geheugentoegang OK  
0x000000C0-0x000000DF   Controller voor directe geheugentoegang OK  
0x00004088-0x0000408F   Intel(R) 8 Series SATA Controller 1 (AHCI) - 9C03   OK  
0x00004094-0x00004097   Intel(R) 8 Series SATA Controller 1 (AHCI) - 9C03   OK  
0x00004080-0x00004087   Intel(R) 8 Series SATA Controller 1 (AHCI) - 9C03   OK  
0x00004090-0x00004093   Intel(R) 8 Series SATA Controller 1 (AHCI) - 9C03   OK  
0x00004060-0x0000407F   Intel(R) 8 Series SATA Controller 1 (AHCI) - 9C03   OK  
0x00000D00-0x0000FFFF   PCI Express Root Complex    OK  
0x00004040-0x0000405F   Intel(R) 8 Series SMBus Controller - 9C22   OK  
0x00000020-0x00000021   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x00000024-0x00000025   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x00000028-0x00000029   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x0000002C-0x0000002D   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x00000030-0x00000031   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x00000034-0x00000035   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x00000038-0x00000039   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x0000003C-0x0000003D   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x000000A0-0x000000A1   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x000000A4-0x000000A5   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x000000A8-0x000000A9   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x000000AC-0x000000AD   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x000000B0-0x000000B1   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x000000B4-0x000000B5   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x000000B8-0x000000B9   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x000000BC-0x000000BD   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x000004D0-0x000004D1   Programmeerbare interruptcontroller OK  
0x00000062-0x00000062   Ingesloten controller die voldoet aan Microsoft ACPI    OK  
0x00000066-0x00000066   Ingesloten controller die voldoet aan Microsoft ACPI    OK  
0x00003000-0x000030FF   Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller  OK  
0x00003000-0x000030FF   Intel(R) 8 Series PCI Express Root Port #3 - 9C14   OK  
0x00000040-0x00000043   Systeemtimer    OK  
0x00000050-0x00000053   Systeemtimer    OK
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2 Answers 2

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4

A RAM upgrade will help a little bit (minimum 8GB if you do), but the first thing I would do is put in an SSD, because if it has a spinning hard drive, an SSD will make your PC WAY faster (seriously, in starting up your computer it can be 3 times as fast and also with starting programs). A clean windows install is the last thing I would personally do.

For SSD, I would reccomend the Crucial MX500 series, because they are cheap and fast (95 euros for 1TB)

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  • Hi, thank you for your answer. Indeed it has an SSD. But all computers get slow over time I guess. I put 4GB extra DDR3 RAM in it from my old laptop but it doesn't see it. I cleaned everything with pressurized air and I know the ram is still working (cause I took it from a working laptop). Btw congratz on 1000 rep.
    – Anteino
    Jan 7, 2022 at 14:42
1

With a laptop of that age I'd be surprised if you could improve the performance in any significant way, The chip is actually over eight years old, and is a low power one at that. It doesn't even support dual channel memory.

One possible idea would be to open up the laptop and replace the thermal paste. This could help if it happens to overheat(you can check this by installing a monitoring program like hardwaremonitor) and seeing if it hits high temperatures(around 95c) or if it's reducing its clock speed below the stated 1.7ghz

I honestly think a cheap tablet or a refurbished laptop would be a better option, trying to speed this one up would be a waste of money, especially since the parts are heavily outdated and investments could not be reused to improve a possible replacement if it doesn't work.

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1
  • Thank you! I agree that it's kind of a waste to spend money and energy on 7 year old hardware. I will try reinstalling W10, as this has in fact made a big difference for me in the past.
    – Anteino
    Jan 7, 2022 at 16:40

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