Q&A for How to Upgrade a Laptop

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Is it worth buying parts to upgrade a laptop?

Matt Ham
Computer Repair Specialist
Matt Ham is a Computer Repair Specialist and the CEO and President of Computer Repair Doctor. With over a decade of experience, Matt specializes in Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, and Smartphone repairs and upgrades. Matt holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. Matt has expanded Computer Repair Doctor to seven different locations. He is also a Co-Owner of Repair Life, a full-scale marketing agency specializing in driving both online and offline leads to cell phone and computer repair shops and device retailers.

Matt Ham

Computer Repair Specialist

Expert Answer

It depends on how much money you have and how old your laptop is. If it's only a year or two old, it's probably worth upgrading some of the components if you want to improve the speed. If you've got a dinosaur on your hands though, it may be worth just replacing it.

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Question

If I could replace one component, what should it be?

Matt Ham
Computer Repair Specialist
Matt Ham is a Computer Repair Specialist and the CEO and President of Computer Repair Doctor. With over a decade of experience, Matt specializes in Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, and Smartphone repairs and upgrades. Matt holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. Matt has expanded Computer Repair Doctor to seven different locations. He is also a Co-Owner of Repair Life, a full-scale marketing agency specializing in driving both online and offline leads to cell phone and computer repair shops and device retailers.

Matt Ham

Computer Repair Specialist

Expert Answer

If you don't have a solid-state hard drive, that's probably the best choice. Switching from an old school hard drive to a solid state hard drive is like moving from a golf cart to a race car. If you've already got a solid-state drive, I'd probably look at upgrading your RAM.

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Question

How can I keep my computer from slowing down without buying new pieces?

Matt Ham
Computer Repair Specialist
Matt Ham is a Computer Repair Specialist and the CEO and President of Computer Repair Doctor. With over a decade of experience, Matt specializes in Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, and Smartphone repairs and upgrades. Matt holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. Matt has expanded Computer Repair Doctor to seven different locations. He is also a Co-Owner of Repair Life, a full-scale marketing agency specializing in driving both online and offline leads to cell phone and computer repair shops and device retailers.

Matt Ham

Computer Repair Specialist

Expert Answer

Reinstall your operating system every 18 months or so. A lot of people don't do this, and it's a great way to keep your computer from getting clogged up with junk and old files.

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How can you update your graphics card in a laptop?

Community Answer

Getting the right drivers and making sure the computer runs as smooth as possible can help. Or maybe make sure it's cool enough for your laptop. Updating would only work if your laptop is able to get updated that way. Normally laptops don't come with cards you can put in or take out.

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Question

How do I upgrade to iOS 9 on my HP 15.6 laptop?

Community Answer

You can't. It uses a Windows operating system, and Windows doesn't support iOS.

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Question

How do I upgrade to Windows 10?

Community Answer

Purchase Windows 10 and follow the installation instructions.

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Question

Can a laptop be changed from Windows 7 to Windows 10 through the internet?

Community Answer

You cannot upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 via internet. You must download the Windows 10 file from Microsoft and install that to your computer.

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Can I add a Bose speaker to my laptop?

Community Answer

Yes. Just follow the instruction manual that came with the speaker.

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Question

Where can I buy a graphics card for my laptop? I'm currently using a Radeon R7 M360 on my Lenovo z-51. Please help me find the correct one.

Bryan Beege Berry

Community Answer

If you're looking to buy a different graphics card, you may be out of luck. Laptops and graphics cards each have a specific form factor, and the likelihood of compatibility between any arbitrary two is unlikely. If you're looking to replace the existing one with the same model, it should be relatively easy to find the correct one based on the model number.

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Question

I have Laptop compaq 58 Core i3, the hard desk is 500 GB, can I replace it by another that 2 TB?

Community Answer

Most computers can be upgraded to 2TB HDDs. However, you need to make sure that the HDD will fit in your computer. PS: If you want more speed (faster boot ups) get an SSD.

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Question

So, can I simply just get my laptop to an electronic store that will do it for a price? I'm not too keen on disassembling my laptop.

Rudy Toth

Community Answer

Yes you should do just that. To take apart the laptop can be difficult, and what is far worse is trying to place it all back together again, which never works like you think it will. The person repairing it will do it for a price that includes the labor and not just the parts that might go into the laptop, so it won't be cheap.

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Question

Is there any way i could upgrade the graphics card in a laptop both externally and internally?

Arrogance

Top Answerer

It very much depends on the laptop. Most laptops don't have removable / upgradable GPUs. If your laptop has a Thunderbolt port, you can attach an eGPU. For older and lower-end laptops, the only way to use an external GPU would be to remove the wireless card or NVMe SSD and install an "EXP GDC" adapter. This runs a USB or ribbon cable out of the laptop's case, which you then plug into a breakout board that has a standard PCI-E slot.

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