There’s little that’s more alluring in the tech world than a shiny new laptop. More speed, better battery life, better graphics performance – pretty much whatever you want could be yours for a price.
That price is key, however, because even mid-range laptops can be pricey affairs, and if you’re only struggling with a few key areas on your existing laptop, an upgrade to its capabilities might be a wiser financial move.
There’s a lot of variance in laptop upgradeability, but here’s some broad factors to consider:
- A faster hard drive can make a huge difference: If your laptop can take a new hard drive, and especially if you’re jumping from a mechanical drive to a solid state drive (SSD), the differences in performance can be remarkable. SSDs are quieter – there’s no moving parts – and boast transfer rates that leave traditional drives in the dust. However, if your laptop has an entirely sealed drive, you may not be able to take full advantage. You could make some improvements with an external SSD, which would still get you the speed, preferably on a USB 3.0 connection for maximum speed.
- You can’t typically upgrade your processor: The core processor of your computer is quite fixed, and you can’t upgrade it the way you can in most cases with a full desktop computer. For some makes and models you may be able to improve performance with a new external graphics processing unit (GPU) but this is typically pricey and of interest most to gamers.
- It’s cheaper to get a new battery than a new laptop: If the problem with your existing laptop isn’t processing power but battery endurance, you may be able to get it replaced by the original manufacturer. This almost always involves sending it back to them unless your notebook uses a modular battery, which is super rare these days. As such, remember to make a a full backup of your data before you send it in!
- Does it make financial sense? Laptop prices have dropped markedly over the years and they’ve improved a lot. It’s one thing to spend $100 or less on a battery swap or RAM upgrade, but as soon as you have to combine several of these you’re getting close to the entry level price point of modern budget laptops. If you’re using a laptop with more than 4-5 years on the clock, those budget models might actually be quicker than your old clunker. At a certain point, you’ll have an easier time with a new system, even if it does create a bit of a budget pinch for you.
Of course, if you need any help with feasible laptop upgrades, setting up a new laptop or assessing problems with your existing computer, a Geeks2U technician is ready to help.
