How much to spend upgrading Acer Aspire M5810?

[supr-tx]

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: ASAP
Budget Range: Open

System Usage from Most to Least Important: This computer (my mother-in-law's) is mostly used for office applications and surfing the Internet. Some image editing, but that's way down the list in order of importance.

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: RAM and/or CPU and/or add SSD

Do you need to buy OS: No - OEM Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium is installed.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: no preference

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Austin, Texas, USA AND/OR Vienna, Austria

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, no preference on RAM (Samsung to match current RAM if I decide that just adding new RAM is all that's necessary)

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Am looking at either just adding RAM (2X2GB Samsung 1333 is currently in the system) or maybe also upgrading from an i5 (750) to an i7 (860 or 870), which might also make 8GB of 1600 RAM a better option than 8GB of 1333 RAM. Am also considering adding an SSD in order to speed up access to virtual memory, if that might make sense.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: The system churns like crazy when multitasking or doing anything that requires any degree of horsepower. I supposed that's due primarily to the anemic memory situation.

It looks like I can add 2x2GB of 1333 or 1600 RAM for around $40 (I think 8GB is the max this board and CPU will support). This would be the cheapest option, and might be enough to make a noticeable difference.

I've found an i7-870 (new without original packaging) for $215, but not sure whether upgrading to that CPU is a good value. With my current CPU, I'm stuck using 1333 RAM. The i7 860 and 870 would allow me to use slightly faster 1600 RAM, instead.

W/r/t the SSD, I'd probably throw in a 256GB (maybe Samsung 840 EVO) drive, migrate windows over to it and use the current drive as file storage. I figure we might notice a boost in performance if the virtual memory is on the SSD rather than the current, slower drive.

Just trying to decide how much money it makes sense to sink into a computer this old. I figure the SSD is something that would be useful in a newer computer, when my m-i-l decides to upgrade in the future. Adding 2X2GB of 1333 RAM is also not a huge hit on the pocket book. Guess the only open question is whether or not it makes sense to spend a couple of hundred bucks on an i7-870.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[geosh]

As you describe it, I'd first try to reinstall the system and check that the thing isn't overheating or something of the sort. The cpu should definitely still be more than sufficient for general office use and I don't think the i7 of the same generation would make a real difference. Upgrade of the memory can't hurt and ssd will make the system more responsive (though I don't see why you would use it as a virtual memory as you mention).

IMHO if you experience serious slowdowns, low ram could be the cause. 4GB isn't too much and google chrome definitely knows how to fill it. But on the other hand, it should still be sufficient for most of the basic stuff. Afterall, even nowadays it's still a common sight in many laptops. So I'd try to make sure that the problem isn't elsewhere.

It's hard to tell more, since we don't know what you mean precisely by multitasking and requiring horsepower, how much ram is actually used when you experience problems, what are the remperatures...

PS: unless you are overclocking, the ram frequency really isn't too important (just make sure that it doesn't need excessive voltage -- if I remember correctly, it should be at most 1.65, preferably the standard 1.5V)

 

[supr-tx]

Not overclocking. I use Chrome, and often have multiple separate Chrome profiles, each with up to 10 tabs open at one time.

I also run Lightroom 5.7.

For instance, let's say I have 20 Chrome tabs open and am trying to export a bunch of edited photos and/or videos from Lightroom OR I am running a virus or SpyBot system scan. The computer slows to a crawl and churns forever until either the Lightroom export or SpyBot system scan has finished up. (this is classic 'too little memory' behavior, as the OS switches to using virtual memory on the HD, which is super slow in comparison to RAM).

Regarding Virtual Memory - I don't understand your confusion here. Windows always uses hard drive space for virtual memory or 'overflow' when its RAM has filled up. So, if you've filled all 4GB of your RAM with running processes, but your system needs 10GB at the moment, Windows will use space on a hard drive to store the overflow 6GB, aka virtual memory.

My question is whether I'd likely notice an improvement in speed if Windows was using a faster SSD drive for virtual memory rather than the current, slow drive.

 

[geosh]

Yep, I know how virtual memory works, I'd just always try to avoid it at all costs. (I understand that sometimes it isn't possible, it's just not what I imagine under office and internet surfing use.)

Well, in that case both the problem and the solution seem obvious. If 8 gb of ram would be sufficient, add them. If you insist on often needing more, then it would seem the most reasonable to upgrade the whole system (at least the motherboard and whatever is needed with it).

SSD for swapping can probably help but I have no personal experience with that, so I can't tell you more than google can. I just guess it's not quite optimal for its lifespan.

 

[supr-tx]

OK, so it sounds as though you wouldn't recommend upgrading the CPU.

Rather, add RAM and maybe consider installing an SSD for the OS and virtual memory, for times when the system needs more than 8GB of RAM (since that's the max the system will support).

 

[geosh]

Yes. If the computer is swapping and the extra 4GB could be enough to help it (at least most of the time), go for it. An ssd is definitely a nice thing to have, could help with the lightroom and I recommend it. I'm just not sure if it's a good long term solution to lack of ram. If problems persist I'd really suggest getting rid of the motherboard even if it meant buying a new licence of Windows. Upgrading cpu without the mobo especially at that price doesn't make much sense to me. I'm pretty sure that for $300 you can get a contemporary i5 and a decent motherboard supporting at least 32 GB ram.