Beginner New Laptop/Desktop Options. An idiot seeks advice!

Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester

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Hi

My laptop (Asus X53E i5-2410M 2.3 GHz Windows 7) is showing signs of old age (frequently runs slow; does not always come out of sleep mode) so I’m thinking about replacing it.

I realise that this is a ‘how long is a piece of string’ type question; but I wonder what my options are.

I guess one option is not to replace it; but to try to speed it up. I have no idea how to go about this, but if this is a practical option, I’d appreciate some guidance as to how to go about it.

I have heard of people using older laptops running Linux with some success. I know nothing about Linux other than it is an alternative OS to windows. Where I would get Linux from or how I would install it; I have no idea. So if this is a practical option from a complete computer idiot; I’d appreciate any advice on how to do this.

If I do replace my laptop (and I have no objection to buying a desktop instead if need be – my laptop never moves from my desk) what do I choose? There seem to be several possible routes.

1: Buy another Windows machine (presumably now Windows 10?). I’d like to have a reasonably speedy machine; so I’m guessing that means one with OS installed on a SSD and a separate HDD for data? Can anyone suggest some options please?

2: Buy a MAC of some description. I understand that they tend to run faster than comparable specced Windows machines. The problem is I have never used a Mac in my life. Are they difficult to get to grips with for a complete novice? I’m slightly hesitant about this as a recent for sale ad in the forum for a Mac was because the seller (a Windows user) couldn’t get on with his recently acquired Mac.

I should add that I currently do not use my laptop for anything too demanding i.e. internet surfing (though I have a bad habit of keeping lots of tabs open in my browser), word processing, ripping CD’s using DbPoweramp to an external NAS. That’s about it.

I am a novice photographer and I currently do no post processing, but at some point, that will change. Currently I have no idea what programme/s I will use for post processing; but I will need any new computer to be powerful enough to run any possible programme that I may choose.

I don’t really have a budget in my mind but I guess it would be £500-£1k. If it is worth spending more; then I’m happy to wait longer until I have the funds to do so. I am in no great hurry to buy a machine; as I have use of my wife’s laptop if my machine was to die tomorrow. By the same token, if there was a great bargain to be had, I don’t want to miss out.

Also; I would be happy to buy second hand / refurbed either from the classifieds here or some other reputable company.

As you probably see; I am no computer expert at all. They are all a great mystery to me. I’m still surprised that you don’t need a pair of Doc Martin’s to reboot a computer!

Please assume total idiocy on my part and explain things to me accordingly; so no jargon please!

Thanks for your help.
 
Was it fast when you bought it and do you have the original windows 7 disk ?

If yes then put the disk in the PC and do a fresh install assuming you were planning on starting from fresh with a new PC.

The idea being you flush everything from the PC to get it like it was in the factory.

I guarantee it will work like the day you bought it.

Why ? Because internet use over time has the general effect of making a PC run badly.

The laptop I am using now is malfunctioning like hell and slow but every time I do a clean install and wipe its memory it is extremely fast PC that runs like new.
 
I would maybe do as above for your current use and hold off buying new until you actually have the need (photo processing). That way you'll buy a bit of time. Rather than buying new now and then having the machine part--way into its effective life-cycle before you begin with the photo stuff.

Linux as an option - it's downloadable, free. Linux Mint is good, though the interface can be a bit arcane at times for doing certain things. But obviously you can only run programmes that run on Linux, so for word processing it would be Libre Office (which can open and save Word files).

As far as I know, Macs running faster than Win machines for graphics apps was years ago, not now.
 
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GTG said:
Was it fast when you bought it and do you have the original windows 7 disk ?

If yes then put the disk in the PC and do a fresh install assuming you were planning on starting from fresh with a new PC.

The idea being you flush everything from the PC to get it like it was in the factory.

I guarantee it will work like the day you bought it.

Why ? Because internet use over time has the general effect of making a PC run badly.

The laptop I am using now is malfunctioning like hell and slow but every time I do a clean install and wipe its memory it is extremely fast PC that runs like new.
Click to expand...

Hi

Yes; it was fast when I bought it. The first thing I did (not personally) was to have the RAM increased to it's maximum capacity.

I'm afraid Windows 7 was pre-installed. I have no separate Windows 7 disk. I wouldn't be too sure how to install it if even if I had.

Cheers.
 
droj said:
I would maybe do as above for your current use and hold off buying new until you actually have the need (photo processing). That way you'll buy a bit of time. Rather than buying new now and then having the machine part--way into its effective life-cycle before you begin with the photo stuff.

Linux as an option - it's downloadable, free. Linux Mint is good, though the interface can be a bit arcane at times for doing certain things. But obviously you can only run programmes that run on Linux, so for word processing it would be Libre Office (which can open and save Word files).

As far as I know, Macs running faster than Win machines for graphics apps was years ago, not now.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I'm inclined to do as you say and wait as long as I can to replace my laptop. That said, if the laptop dies in the near future, I'd like to have an idea as to what I should do.

I really know nothing about Linux. Can I install it on my laptop alongside Windows 7; or do I have to remove Windows 7 and it's associated programes? Where on the web would I find Linux mint and is it straight forward to install?

So; there is no point in me looking at a Mac?

Sadly as I have just said, I don't have a Windows 7 disc. Is there anyway I can get one and re-install it?

Cheers.
 
Mr Bump said:
how much ram does it have?
What HDD?

could be a cheap upgrade.
Click to expand...

When it was purchased it had 3Gb RAM; this was upgraded to 8Gb which I believe is the maximum the processor supports.

The sticker on the laptop describes it as having 320GB HDD; although when I check the information under 'Computer' it says 96.3GB free of 273GB.
 
Uncle Fester said:
When it was purchased it had 3Gb RAM; this was upgraded to 8Gb which I believe is the maximum the processor supports.

The sticker on the laptop describes it as having 320GB HDD; although when I check the information under 'Computer' it says 96.3GB free of 273GB.
Click to expand...
yeah the HDD bit sounds about right and 8gb is enough for W7 and you could even look at a W10 upgrade.


https://www.ebuyer.com/695893-samsung-850-evo-500gb-2-5inch-ssd-mz-75e500bw

£150 for a nice 500GB SSd which you can just re-use down the line.
 
Mr Bump said:
yeah the HDD bit sounds about right and 8gb is enough for W7 and you could even look at a W10 upgrade.


https://www.ebuyer.com/695893-samsung-850-evo-500gb-2-5inch-ssd-mz-75e500bw

£150 for a nice 500GB SSd which you can just re-use down the line.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

However, as I said, I'm a complete computer idiot. I wouldn't have a clue how to install the SSD.

Wouldn't Windows 7 have to be copied over from the current inbuilt HDD onto the new SSD? I have no idea how to go about it!

Would it make a big difference to the speed on the laptop?
 
Uncle Fester said:
Thanks.

However, as I said, I'm a complete computer idiot. I wouldn't have a clue how to install the SSD.

Wouldn't Windows 7 have to be copied over from the current inbuilt HDD onto the new SSD? I have no idea how to go about it!

Would it make a big difference to the speed on the laptop?
Click to expand...

personally you could get a local computer shop to fit it and if you have your original W7 media then could start the install for you.
You would need to backup your files from your old disk before that and be prepared to reinstall your apps and stuff.

That's SSD is samsung Evo one of the fastest around and even though I suspect your laptop will be SATA3 (not the faster SATA6) it will fly.
 
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Mr Bump said:
personally you could get a local computer shop to fit it and if you have your original W7 media then could start the install for you.
You would need to backup your files from your old disk before that and be prepared to reinstall your apps and stuff.

That's SSD is samsung Evo one of the fastest around and even though I suspect your laptop will be SATA3 (not the faster SATA6) it will fly.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

If by 'original W7 media' you mean a W7 installation disc; I don't have one. W7 was pre-installed on the laptop when I bought it. Does that make the installation of a SSD impossible?

My files are backed up to an external HDD; so that should be OK.

To be honest it seems like a lot of hassle i.e. paying £150 for the SSD and then more to pay someone to do this for me. It's money that I'd be prepared to put toward something newer and faster; but I appreciate your advice.

If I were to look at a new laptop/desktop is there anything out there that folk can suggest?

Cheers
 
Uncle Fester said:
Thanks.

If by 'original W7 media' you mean a W7 installation disc; I don't have one. W7 was pre-installed on the laptop when I bought it. Does that make the installation of a SSD impossible?

My files are backed up to an external HDD; so that should be OK.

To be honest it seems like a lot of hassle i.e. paying £150 for the SSD and then more to pay someone to do this for me. It's money that I'd be prepared to put toward something newer and faster; but I appreciate your advice.

If I were to look at a new laptop/desktop is there anything out there that folk can suggest?

Cheers
Click to expand...

it is a bit of a hassle but you will not get a 500gb SSD in a new laptop anyway without spending a lot.The local shop can supply the media it is generic.
You have a nice spec laptop with decent memory, to replace with new with 500gb SSD you will be looking at £700 easy
 
Mr Bump said:
it is a bit of a hassle but you will not get a 500gb SSD in a new laptop anyway without spending a lot.The local shop can supply the media it is generic.
You have a nice spec laptop with decent memory, to replace with new with 500gb SSD you will be looking at £700 easy
Click to expand...

OK; thanks.

That food for thought.

One more question. Instead of copying my files back to the new SSD. Could my current internal HDD be mounted into a caddy which I then use to access my existing files? I would then use the new SSD only for W7 and new files?

Cheers
 
Uncle Fester said:
OK; thanks.

That food for thought.

One more question. Instead of copying my files back to the new SSD. Could my current internal HDD be mounted into a caddy which I then use to access my existing files? I would then use the new SSD only for W7 and new files?

Cheers
Click to expand...

yes you could mount your disk in a caddy no issues.
the disk might look a bit funny though as it will have all system files on it.

you will need to properly install W7 on the new SSD though and you should get someone to do that if you are not sure.
 
Mr Bump said:
yes you could mount your disk in a caddy no issues.
the disk might look a bit funny though as it will have all system files on it.

you will need to properly install W7 on the new SSD though and you should get someone to do that if you are not sure.
Click to expand...


Ok; thanks.

I'll have a mull over this and contact my local computer shop.

Appreciate you advice.

Cheers.
 
On the bottom of the laptop there should be a 25 key that looks like this :
Windows product key (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx).

Get a USB storage drive 32GB or more, ( very cheap to buy )

Go to here and enter the key and click verify and follow easy instructions to download windows 7 onto the USB :
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7

Pick 64 bit ( 32 bit would not have been used with that CPU )

There should be very easy instructions, I think you just restart the PC with the USB attached and its almost automatic.
You just click you want a fresh install, English, time zone.
Its easier than setting up a new TV, its mostly automatic or very obvious.
 
GTG said:
On the bottom of the laptop there should be a 25 key that looks like this :
Windows product key (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx).

Get a USB storage drive 32GB or more, ( very cheap to buy )

Go to here and enter the key and click verify and follow easy instructions to download windows 7 onto the USB :
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7

Pick 64 bit ( 32 bit would not have been used with that CPU )

There should be very easy instructions, I think you just restart the PC with the USB attached and its almost automatic.
You just click you want a fresh install, English, time zone.
Its easier than setting up a new TV, its mostly automatic or very obvious.
Click to expand...


Thank you; I'll try this.

I presume this will wipe everything off my laptop?

Cheers.
 
Uncle Fester said:
I understand that they tend to run faster than comparable specced Windows machines.
Click to expand...
That is a total myth. There have been many tests which show a PC running Windows 10 is faster than a MAC with the same spec hardware.
 
Uncle Fester said:
Thank you; I'll try this.

I presume this will wipe everything off my laptop?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Yes. Prepare to start over. Save essential files you really need.

Find as many product codes as you can for your software you intend to use again.

Find and write down passwords and usernames for your emails and whatever.

Its like abandoning ship, grab a few essential things first
 
GTG said:
Yes. Prepare to start over. Save essential files you really need.

Find as many product codes as you can for your software you intend to use again.

Find and write down passwords and usernames for your emails and whatever.

Its like abandoning ship, grab a few essential things first
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I know that there will be something really important that I will forget/miss.

As was mentioned earlier; I think I prefer the idea of removing the existing HDD and installing that in a caddy and using that as an external drive. Then installing a new SSD and then installing Windows 7 onto the SSD. That way I should get the speed increase I want and no possibility of losing something important.

I'm not sure if that makes any sense to anyone!
 
Asus laptops (including the X53E) come with a restore partition instead of a reinstall disk, the basic instructions for accessing and using it are here.
If you can get your computer shop to clone the HDD partitions onto the SSD when they fit it, you'll be able to to a fresh install in less than an hour.
 
Just to update the thread.

In the end; I took the advice of Paul (Mr Bump) in post # 8 and had someone install a Samsung EVO 850 SSD. THe OS was also changed from Windows 7 to 10.

Wow! What a difference. It is now faster than it was new; no doubt helped by the removal of bloatware the laptop came with. I'm well pleased by the performance improvement for a reasonable amount of money.

Thanks all for your input.
 
Uncle Fester said:
Just to update the thread.

In the end; I took the advice of Paul (Mr Bump) in post # 8 and had someone install a Samsung EVO 850 SSD. THe OS was also changed from Windows 7 to 10.

Wow! What a difference. It is now faster than it was new; no doubt helped by the removal of bloatware the laptop came with. I'm well pleased by the performance improvement for a reasonable amount of money.

Thanks all for your input.
Click to expand...
I was going to suggest a win 10 upgrade, I bought mine on ebay for a ridiculous price of about £20 I think and it works fine. To fit a ssd yourself and load win 10 is really child's play.
Anyway, glad you got yourself sorted.
 
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