No matter what configuration you opt for, your laptop will get old and slow eventually. Then, to fix this you have to come up to the decision whether to buy a new laptop or go for an upgrade. Well, the upgrade will obviously cost less however buying a laptop could put a dent in your budget. But, you need to decide on the basis of the option suitable in either way. Also, there are specific parts which could be upgraded and also your laptop could be able to work through.
Confused? Don’t worry! We will help you to decide whether you need an upgrade or should buy a new machine. In this post, we will talk about things that you should know before going for an upgrade of your laptop hardware.
Is Your Laptop Ready For Upgrade?
A laptop is a compact PC which has various parts soldered on and not all the parts can be removed. This is the reason people stress on future proof their laptops they buy.
You can check it by reading the manufacturer’s user manual. If you don’t have it with you, you can use a tool, one of the good ones is the Crucial System Scanner tool. Run it on your laptop and check if the parts can be upgraded.
You can Google this as well. To do that, you need to type, “Upgrade RAM in Laptop(model number). You will get a guide to help you with it. If there is nothing related to your laptop model number, then going for an upgrade could be bad for you.
Apart from this, you can use iFixit, a website which offers help to repair electronics. The website has manuals and detailed guide on opening laptops & changing parts.
Deciding Which Parts Need Upgrade
There are certain parts which could be upgraded with ease such as hard drives, RAM modules, wireless cards, and batteries, provided any of the parts are not soldered in.
The easiest parts that can be replaced are Hard drives and RAM modules. Adding an SSD or more RAM could significantly bring a new life to your dead laptop.
However, wireless card and battery can’t always be changed or upgraded. Therefore, you need to research and find out if you can replace them. If the battery can be changed, you need reach out the manufacturer to get the compatible part.
However, Wireless cards can be bought from Amazon. If you have an old laptop, then you want to be compatible with Wireless AC standards then get mini-PCIe.
Getting Compatible Parts
Even if you get to know you can replace the old parts, you can make your laptop work, you still need to figure out what to get. Let’s say you need to replace your laptop RAM, then deciding it needs DDR4, DDR3 or DDR2.
When you look for SSDs or RAM modules, you need to check for a compatible part for your laptop. For that, you can check out Kingston Memory Search will help you know about it.
To know about it, you need to know laptop manufacturer and model, the tools will list the compatible SSD and RAM. The tool will also tell about DIMM expansion slots and maximum memory
With this information, you can easily search for the component on any of the websites or check out the stores as well.
A Few Parts Are Not Worth The Upgrade
Motherboard, processor, screen are some parts which should be left out from the criteria of an upgrade. Every laptop is assembled with specific processor and motherboard, as these two decide the amount of heat generated by a laptop. The estimated heat produced can be evaporated. Replacing the screen is never worthy. It could not be possible to do that either. In case, it is broken, you can get the same one, not the upgrade.
Upgrade or Get A New One
Look for the signs and you will know. If your laptop runs slow, can’t keep ok with new software installed, not working properly with the new OS, then you might be thinking of buying a new one.
It is not totally a bad idea as there are cheaper laptops available.
So, upgrading and nullifying the warranty is not a good idea. Upgrading comes in question when a part doesn’t work properly. If a machine is old, then also even after repairing some parts, there is no guarantee. If your laptop is new, just replacing parts, then go for choose to upgrade.
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