Question Should I buy a new laptop or upgrade my 5 yr old one?

[aswanthshresti]

I have a 5 year old laptop(HP 15-r203TX) with i5 5th gen dualcoreprocessor 4 GB RAM(1600 MHz),1TB HDD upgradable upto 16 GB RAM and 2TB 2.5" SATA SSD with SATA III port. I am using it for programming and development related works.Is it worth to upgrade it with another 8 gb ram and 500 gb sata ssd?

 

[Pohemi]

Upgrade the machine imho. I got my Asus Vivobook with a 4k series Ryzen 7, 16GB of DDR4-3200, and a 1TB Intel nvme SSD for less than $600.

I know coding isn't super hw-intensive, but the differences in the newer processors would be worth it to upgrade in my opinion. Not just faster/more cores but more efficient, meaning they run cooler and give longer battery life when away from AC power (if it matters).

The Ryzen 4700U chip in this laptop is apparently ~equal to the Ryzen 7 2700X desktop chip that I was using prior to it, and this laptop never even feels warm, much less hot.

Edit:a new laptop will obviously cost more than some RAM and a 2TB SSD, but a 2TB SSD will likely cost half of a new system (although it wouldn't have a 2TB SSD either, but a 1TB is do-able).

 

[VirtualLarry]

You don't list the clock speed, but it may well be worth upgrading the RAM and SSD.

I just upgraded an HP Llano-based HP laptop for a client, to Win10 and a 480GB SSD. (Didn't have another 4GB stick of DDR3 SO-DIMM handy, otherwise I would have bumped that up to 8GB too.)

 

[mindless1]

Look at your stats while using it in the most demanding applications. Are you then waiting while CPU is at 100% load or are you running out of free memory?

If you keep using that laptop, I would switch it to an SSD.

 

[seoseo987654]

If you've run out of storage space, then the problem can probably be solved by either increasing your computer's RAM or replacing its hard drive. Other issues have more complex solutions that may extend more than a basic part swap can fix. For example, if your laptop is unable to compile large codes it may be that you lack the necessary graphics processor, have insufficient RAM, are running short on hard drive space, or are experiencing a combination of all three. so the better option is you should upgrade your laptop. 8 GB ram and 500 GB sata SSD upgradation is more than enough.

 

[Pohemi]

If you've run out of storage space, then the problem can be solved by either increasing your computer's RAM or replacing its hard drive. Other issues have more complex solutions that may extend more than a basic part swap can fix. For example, if your laptop is unable to compile large codes it may be that you lack the necessary graphics processor, have insufficient RAM, are running short on hard drive space, or are experiencing a combination of all three. so the better option is you should upgrade your laptop. 8 GB ram and 500 GB sata SSD upgradation is more than enough.

RAM has absolutely nothing to do with 'storage space'.

He didn't say he was doing computer animation or graphical production or imaging. A graphical processing unit is unlikely to have much to do with coding and/or pure programming.

 

[JWade]

upgrade the ram to 16b, 8gb ddr3L can be had fairly cheap, pop in at least a 512gb ssd can be had fairly cheap. total upgrade would be under $100 and deal like a new machine

 

[bracknelson]

Upgrade the machine imho. I got my Asus Vivobook with a 4k series Ryzen 7, 16GB of DDR4-3200, and a 1TB Intel nvme SSD for less than $600.

I know coding isn't super hw-intensive, but the differences in the newer processors would be worth it to upgrade in my opinion. Not just faster/more cores but more efficient, meaning they run cooler and give longer battery life when away from AC power (if it matters).

The Ryzen 4700U chip in this laptop is apparently ~equal to the Ryzen 7 2700X desktop chip that I was using prior to it, and this laptop never even feels warm, much less hot.

Edit:a new laptop will obviously cost more than some RAM and a 2TB SSD, but a 2TB SSD will likely cost half of a new system (although it wouldn't have a 2TB SSD either, but a 1TB is do-able).

Yes, having a new one with massive features could be a great idea, but if there is a possibility to upgrade the old one with enough requirements so who wanna go for a new one. I mean not I really would go in this situation.