PC Tech Thread

I want to upgrade my old laptop which used to be my folks and have some questions.

I want to:

1. change the HDD to SSD,
   
2. increase the RAM,
   
3. Update the graphics card software (which I seem to struggle installing driver updates for - it's got two, idk if that's normal)
   
4. Fresh install of everything - W10 with Ubuntu dual boot
   
   

Questions:
A. If I keep the old HDD can it just be popped back in anytime in the possible but rare situation my folks need something from it, or even better can I keep it in one of those caddies and boot from it if I hit esc or whatever on startup

B. Is there a particular order I should do everything? Ram > SSD > graphics software

C. Is there anything else I need to think about?

Cheers.

I guess the first question is whether it's actually worth it? Modern laptop processors are far more efficient so much cheaper to run/much better battery life. Also better screens pretty often. What laptop is it?

You should be able to boot up from it if you put it back in. Only issue may be Windows licensing throwing up issues if you use the same key for your new install.

Booting from one of those caddies will probably fail. Personally I'd clone the hard drive and run it in a virtual machine if you ever need anything from it.

change the SSD to HD

?

Corrected.

System SKU LENOVO_MT_80NT_BU_idea_FM_Lenovo ideapad 500-15ISK
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6200U CPU @ 2.30GHz, 2401 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date LENOVO CFCN21WW(V1.03), 10/08/2015

Bluetooth Core Specification 4.2

Graphics = AMD Radeon R7 M360 and ?

GPU 0

Intel(R) HD Graphics 520

Driver version: 21.20.16.4627
Driver date:    09/03/2017
DirectX version:    12 (FL 12.1)
Physical location:  PCI bus 0, device 2, function 0

Utilisation 2%
Dedicated GPU memory    
Shared GPU memory   0.2/5.9 GB
GPU Memory  0.2/5.9 GB

GPU 1

AMD Radeon(TM) R7 M360

Driver version: 15.201.1001.1002
Driver date:    14/08/2015
DirectX version:    12 (FL 11.1)
Physical location:  PCI bus 1, device 0, function 0

Utilisation 0%
Dedicated GPU memory    0.0/2.0 GB
Shared GPU memory   0.0/5.9 GB
GPU Memory  0.0/7.9 GB

I managed to find a cheap 2nd hand ram that matches the current one, so then ~£90 for a Samsung 870 EVO SSD and a fresh install seems like a fairly economical way to get it running better

So you have integrated Intel HD graphics on your i5, and a dedicated AMD GPU as well. It's normal to have a driver for each, and it's normal on a laptop to use the integrated graphics except for apps that really need something with more grunt (and for which you don't mind using some more power, especially if you're on battery).

the two graphics cards is normal, in as much as the Intel 520 is part of the CPU (integrated graphics vs dedicated/discrete). The OS will decide which to use, and only one will be used at a time.

Edit: beaten to it

GPU 0 is the one built into the CPU, which will be much slower and use much less power. GPU 1 is the 'discrete' proper GPU.

Edit: jinx

dunno if anyone has said, but one is built into the CPU...

also - if you're using Windows the majority of the time could you get away with Ubuntu on WSL rather than dual booting?
https://ubuntu.com/wsl

If you like it and can upgrade cheaply then that's probably worth it assuming you don't care much about battery life.

I'd probably go cheaper on the SSD, it's not going to make much difference having something fractionally slower. Something like this https://www.scan.co.uk/products/480gb-wd-green-wds480g3g0a-25-7mm-ssd-solid-state-drive-sata-30-6gb-s-max-read-545-mb-s

And depending on what you want it for, as Duncs said, WSL is good for Ubuntu.

Cheers all.

Good to know on the WSL.

@aggi

It's 17" so not really something that moves very fair for very long.

Fair point in going for a cheaper SSD. When I was looking 1TB seemed like the right price point for me in terms of storage vs price. At which point £88 for the Samsung wasn't that different to Crucial MX.

...Plus a bit of marginal gains I guess.

Pretty basic issue in that this desktop 2ont power up correctly. It's at my sons house so I have only seen this short vid he sent me. Small noise made as light flashes and switches off again.
Any ideas or is it fkd?

1 Attachment

• VID-20221025-WA0000.mp4

I would suspect the power supply.

That doesn't even look like a POST failure... it looks like when power is at max draw during the startup process that it just bombs out.

I would translate that to... pretty fkd. Though the hard drive will be salvageable.

Thanks boss

Oh... and I would add. If it is the power supply... stop turning it on.

You don't want power surges going through the system as that is the way to make the HDD not be salvageable.

The age of that machine, I wouldn't buy another PSU as it's likely going to be the price of that machine.

What I would consider (if you're really broke and need a cheap solution) your local high street computer store (the small one with dusty boxes run by a solo older guy) will sell a fully complete and working machine for £100-200 including Windows, etc. Get that and plug in the old HDD and copy things over.

Does anyone know anything about setting up sound properly?

I have an Asus x570-PLUS, which uses a reltek sound chipset, and connect to a Logitech z906 setup with an optical cable.

Nothing I play ever produces 5.1 sound though - only 2.1 (actully more like 3.1, as the front speaker works ok)

What am I doing wrong?

I need a replacement charger/power supply for my XPS 15 (9560) I think. They're £80 from Dell, more than I was expecting. Are there any decent cheaper options available that won't burn my house down and/or fry my laptop ?

Plenty of authentic dell chargers available for a lot less than £80. Google it.

Thanks again, that was going to be my next question about replacing the PSU given that I built it for him using parts sourced separately and yes you correctly identified that it was quite a few years ago.

I'd just get a USB C one unless you're using the port. Probably £20-£30 for one from someone reputable.

I have this saved for my latitude - is that enough W for your xps?

65w Dell USB-C Type-C Power Adapter for Dell Chromebook 3380 5190, Venue 5855 5056, Latitude 3380 3390 5285 5289 5290 7212 7275 7289 7370 7389 7390, XPS 9250 9365 450-AGOL 2YK0F M1WCF Block Shape https://amzn.eu/d/en6fRZ1

Thanks for that, but I think I need 130W

I guess this means I'll have to install Crysis again.

1 Attachment

I assume you've seen the stuff about the power lead melting?