Kindly help a technical moron find a good light laptop

[CJ2008]

For some reason this whole time it never occurred to me to change out some of the components, like you did ...or maybe just more memory...do you think if I add say 4GB or memory making it for a total of 8GB I'll see some difference? Or to get the most benefit I need to also increase the video card and HD?

Still, I do want a laptop though so the ThinkPad's still very much an option - but if I could make this system faster I'd be happy with that and keep it a couple of more years.

 

[Karl_K]

For some reason this whole time it never occurred to me to change out some of the components, like you did ...or maybe just more memory...do you think if I add say 4GB or memory making it for a total of 8GB I'll see some difference? Or to get the most benefit I need to also increase the video card and HD?

Still, I do want a laptop though so the ThinkPad's still very much an option - but if I could make this system faster I'd be happy with that and keep it a couple of more years.

I believe the memory is maxed out at 4gb of memory and for surfing and office not make a huge difference.
A ssd as the boot/program drive would really wake it up, you can get a crucial or Samsung 256gb ssd for just a bit over $100 on sale. I would stick to them vs other brands.
A $40 video card would be a large step up but less of an improvement unless you game.
This is the one I use: http://www.amazon.com/Asus-Radeon-Silence-Profile-PCI-Express/dp/B004X8EO6Q/ref=sr_1_38?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1419194400&sr=1-38&keywords=amd+video+card

What os are you running?

 

[CJ2008]

I see...it's probably why I don't ALREADY have more memory in there. I bought this thing so long ago I don't remember anything about it.

I'm running Vista Ultimate SP2.

I think I have an array setup...would that mean I need to get 2 matching drives.

 

[Karl_K]

I see...it's probably why I don't ALREADY have more memory in there. I bought this thing so long ago I don't remember anything about it.

I'm running Vista Ultimate SP2.

I think I have an array setup...would that mean I need to get 2 matching drives.

no just need one ssd to add as a boot drive and keep your existing drive(s) or a new larger drive for data.
Windows 8.1 would also be a lot faster than vista.
Vista is sloooowwwwwwwwwww and gets even slower quickly compared to 7 or 8.1.
8.1 64bit is actually the fastest on old hardware with 4gb or more ram.
8.1 32bit on a system with 2gb ram is faster than windows vista 64 bit with 4gb ram for light use on the same system specs.

If you have to pay shop rates to update your current system for the upgrades it may not be worth it because of the labor costs. But if you can do it yourself or have a geeky friend or relative who will work for pizza it might be worth it.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Let me start by apologizing for disappearing from my own thread for so long -- I have a terrible cold and it knocked me flat out for three miserable days!

I'm becoming more fond of this Lenovo! My only *real* complaint (if you can even call it that) so far is that the mouse is a little jumpy, so if I'm trying to click on something that is tiny I may have to give it a second try. I read on a forum that there's a fix for that but I'm not bothered enough (yet) to look any further into it.

One of the reasons I was excited about having a machine that converts to a tablet is because I like that feature for reading on the Kindle app, especially for reading magazines because then you get what is like a full page in portrait format. For a while I was getting frustrated because I the rotate screen function wasn't working consistently, so sometimes when I converted the machine it would work and sometimes not. Well... user error! There's a button on the side that I realized was sometimes hitting instead of the on/off button and it locks the display. I never said I was smart!

About reading magazines, for some reason I can't find my newsstand for my Kindle on here... BUT I found nextissue.com, which gives you access to some ungodly number of magazines for 9.99 month. I subscribed to that and (a) my problem was "fixed," and (b) now I can spend all of my hours in the air reading mags to my heart's content. I've downloaded four so far, but after I read those I am going to figure out how to delete the saved ones so that when I load on more issues I'm not taking up all my space with magazines.

And my earlier issue about this thing being super slow seems to have resolved itself. Not sure if this is related, but I bought a new printer (the main *super technical* criteria being that it fit into the cabinet I wanted to put it in!) and one of my neighbors, who I just learned is an IT guru, was over yesterday. He installed the printer and also 68 updates! He said that's not uncommon; apparently when you unbox a machine there are things that have been updated since the time it was built and you just have to apply the updates. Sounds reasonable to me! So anyway, whether that's all related or not, it's moving faster now

And finally, I'm still not *happy* about the lack of back-lit keyboard, but I'm definitely getting more proficient (or maybe it's just muscle memory at this point) at the keyboard so it doesn't matter as much. I have also figured out that if I put the screen as an angle that's slightly more tilted than I normally would I get light down onto the screen when I need it.

 

[TooPatient]

To save storage space, keep an eye on the Microsoft updates. My Surface RT stores all of the updates even when they aren't needed any more. Last time I cleaned it out there was almost 1GB!

I don't remember the exact path, but I think it was documents - system - updates? Give or take. Probably don't have to worry about doing often. Once or twice a year is probably plenty.

 

[CJ2008]

I see...it's probably why I don't ALREADY have more memory in there. I bought this thing so long ago I don't remember anything about it.

I'm running Vista Ultimate SP2.

I think I have an array setup...would that mean I need to get 2 matching drives.

no just need one ssd to add as a boot drive and keep your existing drive(s) or a new larger drive for data.
Windows 8.1 would also be a lot faster than vista.
Vista is sloooowwwwwwwwwww and gets even slower quickly compared to 7 or 8.1.
8.1 64bit is actually the fastest on old hardware with 4gb or more ram.
8.1 32bit on a system with 2gb ram is faster than windows vista 64 bit with 4gb ram for light use on the same system specs.

If you have to pay shop rates to update your current system for the upgrades it may not be worth it because of the labor costs. But if you can do it yourself or have a geeky friend or relative who will work for pizza it might be worth it.

I would do it myself...although I haven't messed around with hard drives or memory or the insides of a PC in a while so I feel out of practice...would suck if something goes wrong, I know how involved these things can get. That said, it would bother me to pay anybody else to do it and I don't have any techie friends (where do you live, Karl?) just kidding!

Dee, welcome back, glad you're feeling better. Karl and I kept your thread warm while you were away.

Glad you're liking your Lenovo, I'm seriously considering one!

(Karl - thanks so much for all your help!)

 

[Dee*Jay]

Too Patient, how do you know when you can delete the updates? Can you do it once they are installed or do you have to wait for the next round? Or something else...?

CJ, I'm glad you were able to get some use out of this thread! It makes me happy when people can leverage off of a post I've started (although it doesn't happen often because my topics tend to be wacky and/or very specific - ha ha!). We're all in this together!

 

[CJ2008]

Too Patient, how do you know when you can delete the updates? Can you do it once they are installed or do you have to wait for the next round? Or something else...?

CJ, I'm glad you were able to get some use out of this thread! It makes me happy when people can leverage off of a post I've started (although it doesn't happen often because my topics tend to be wacky and/or very specific - ha ha!). We're all in this together!

Thanks Dee*Jay, yes, I got a lot of out it! Karl helped me a lot.

(and for sure, if I ever need tiles or coffee machines I'll know where to go! BTW - when I went to NYC I visited the Intelligentsia locations - yes, we made it to both! Awesome coffee. My only issue with it? Not hot enough so it cooled down quickly (both DH and I like our coffee HOT). I think I remember you saying something about the temperature in your thread...does your new machine make the coffee really hot?)

 

[Dee*Jay]

Too Patient, how do you know when you can delete the updates? Can you do it once they are installed or do you have to wait for the next round? Or something else...?

CJ, I'm glad you were able to get some use out of this thread! It makes me happy when people can leverage off of a post I've started (although it doesn't happen often because my topics tend to be wacky and/or very specific - ha ha!). We're all in this together!

Thanks Dee*Jay, yes, I got a lot of out it! Karl helped me a lot.

(and for sure, if I ever need tiles or coffee machines I'll know where to go! BTW - when I went to NYC I visited the Intelligentsia locations - yes, we made it to both! Awesome coffee. My only issue with it? Not hot enough so it cooled down quickly (both DH and I like our coffee HOT). I think I remember you saying something about the temperature in your thread...does your new machine make the coffee really hot?)

CJ, the coffee comes out of my Nespresso at a temperature that I can drink it, so it may not be hot enough for you and your DH. That was one of the things I read in the reviews before it bought it, but it doesn't bother me because I don't mind being able to start sipping it as soon as it hits the cup. Glad you made it to the Intelligensia locations though. And BOTH of them -- I'm impressed!

 

[Karl_K]

Too Patient, how do you know when you can delete the updates? Can you do it once they are installed or do you have to wait for the next round? Or something else...?

this is the safe way to do it:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2143502/windows-8-1-update-tip-clean-up-that-disk-space-now.html

 

[TooPatient]

Too Patient, how do you know when you can delete the updates? Can you do it once they are installed or do you have to wait for the next round? Or something else...?

this is the safe way to do it:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2143502/windows-8-1-update-tip-clean-up-that-disk-space-now.html

I know I went through the process Karl linked but I think DH did something extra. There was an entire file he got to through a command prompt (I think you can get to it through the usual file explorer too) and then deleted everything. He said that all of the updates no longer being used were in that file and all could safely be deleted.

That said, I got a LOT more going the way Karl pointed to. There was some left over that DH got out, but I don't know that I would be comfortable trying it myself. I'll check with him tomorrow and see how he did it and if he recommends other people attempt.
(DH worked at "the big M" on the team that actually worked on the OS)

 

[Karl_K]

Too Patient, how do you know when you can delete the updates? Can you do it once they are installed or do you have to wait for the next round? Or something else...?

this is the safe way to do it:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2143502/windows-8-1-update-tip-clean-up-that-disk-space-now.html

I know I went through the process Karl linked but I think DH did something extra. There was an entire file he got to through a command prompt (I think you can get to it through the usual file explorer too) and then deleted everything. He said that all of the updates no longer being used were in that file and all could safely be deleted.

That said, I got a LOT more going the way Karl pointed to. There was some left over that DH got out, but I don't know that I would be comfortable trying it myself. I'll check with him tomorrow and see how he did it and if he recommends other people attempt.
(DH worked at "the big M" on the team that actually worked on the OS)

I am very aware of the other way and do it myself but I do not recommend it for most people.
Doing it the safe way will usually get most of them.

 

[TooPatient]

Too Patient, how do you know when you can delete the updates? Can you do it once they are installed or do you have to wait for the next round? Or something else...?

this is the safe way to do it:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2143502/windows-8-1-update-tip-clean-up-that-disk-space-now.html

I know I went through the process Karl linked but I think DH did something extra. There was an entire file he got to through a command prompt (I think you can get to it through the usual file explorer too) and then deleted everything. He said that all of the updates no longer being used were in that file and all could safely be deleted.

That said, I got a LOT more going the way Karl pointed to. There was some left over that DH got out, but I don't know that I would be comfortable trying it myself. I'll check with him tomorrow and see how he did it and if he recommends other people attempt.
(DH worked at "the big M" on the team that actually worked on the OS)

I am very aware of the other way and do it myself but I do not recommend it for most people.
Doing it the safe way will usually get most of them.

Thanks for clarifying! DH said about the same thing -- it can be done but it isn't worth it. That is one of the up/down sides of him showing me stuff as he goes. I learn all sorts of stuff but some of it is the sort of thing that is best not touched unless you are really really aware of what it all is and he doesn't always tell me which is which...

 

[partgypsy]

Storm, thank you for your wealth of information. good to know the difference between the i3 and the pentium.

Dee Jay, did you get the 11 inch or the 13", and are you happy with the size? I'm thinking of getting the 11", because I want to have something lightweight I can type in bed or on the porch and small and lightweight is important to me.

I was thinking of getting a 200 laptop for myself, but the more I'm reading here, may be worth spending more to have something better quality. Now I'm just wondering if I should buy new, or wait and see if lenova outlet get more merchandise in next month or so?

 

[Dee*Jay]

Part Gypsy, I got the 11" version. It's really not much bigger than my ipad, and I'm pretty happy with it so far. It does have it's quirks, just like anything, but I've ever worked them out or resigned myself to them. (Wait -- am I talking about my new laptop or my boyfriend... ? ) And in the beginning I remember thinking if I ever had to do some SERIOUS work (like a mega spreadsheet or something) I would just pull out my old 15" laptop and do it, but now that I've used this a bit I think I would be OK (unless it was a project where I wanted to split the screen to have two things up at once, and then I might go to the bigger one).