I've been using my Asus N751JX-T7084H-BE laptop for over ten years now. Initially, it was my primary device for about five years, then it transitioned to casual use—mainly for streaming and browsing—after I got a gaming desktop. However, I still rely on it for light gaming like Spyro and Rocket League during hospital stays. Lately, it's struggled to keep up; it boots slowly and freezes while browsing. I reinstalled Windows 10 two years ago, and my specs include 12GB of RAM (expandable to 16GB), a 1TB HDD, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 950 graphics card, and an Intel i7 processor. I'm not tech-savvy and can't handle hardware changes myself, but I'm open to investing in upgrades. Is it worth investing in upgrades for better performance, or should I bite the bullet and buy a new laptop? Also, should I stick with Windows or consider switching operating systems?
2 Answers
Upgrading to an SSD would be the most impactful change you can make. It’ll significantly cut down on your startup time and improve overall performance for browsing and gaming. Just take your laptop to a repair shop and ask for an HDD to SSD upgrade. They can either clone your existing drive so nothing is lost or do a fresh Windows installation for optimal performance. Your RAM is decent as-is, so I wouldn't stress about upgrading that unless you notice any specific issues. Stick with Windows 10 since it’s supported until 2025, you'll be fine doing that for now!
Definitely go for an SSD upgrade! It makes a huge difference in speed, especially for tasks like browsing or loading games. You can keep your 1TB HDD as a secondary drive for storage. If you feel adventurous, you could even consider switching to a lightweight Linux distro for better performance, but it's optional. Linux Mint is a good choice and you can always try it out first alongside your SSD to see if you like it.
Yeah, and Opera works on Linux too! You'd just install it through their software manager, so it’s pretty user-friendly once you get the hang of it.