Question I'm looking for best available/necessary upgrades for an old HP PC ?

[hondochica]

Greetings . . .

I have an OId (2010!) HP Pavilion a4310f - that I have pulled out of storage after many years on the road - and my laptop finally gave up the ghost. I cannot afford a new PC/laptop at this time. Would like to make this puppy run at least another couple years. It's running Win 7 64 bit - fully updated (or at least as much as I can update ). Basically - it does Most of what I need it to do: basic Office tasks, internet, minor photo editing.. However it seems the CPU - and graphics are not capable of multitasking. I don't game so don't need anything super fast. But browsing the internet with multiple tabs can really bog down this machine. and I probably need more/new RAM.

I have CPU_ID installed and can give you any specs you may want Here's what it says:

Motherboard: Pegatron corp. Model Narra 6; chipset Nividia MCP61 rev A3; southbridge Nividia MCP61 rev A2
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 2550; (what else do you want to know?)
Memory: DDR3 4063 mbytes
graphics: Nividia GeForce 6150SE
Power supply: don't know how to find this but initial research suggests I'll need to update that too.

What do I need to replace? Everything? OK - I get that . . . but what can make this run a bit better with fewest upgrades?

Really appreciate your time!!

Kelly

 

[USAFRet]

There's not a lot you can do with it.

It is old enough that....Change one part, you need to change all.

New CPU = new motherboard = new RAM = new PSU = new case.

 

[Konntakdt]

Hi, I would buy a new 400w PSU to replace the old one as a power supply tends to fails as it ages, I'd buy a good 16 GB ddr3 ram, I'd buy an SSD for windows installation, I'd buy a cheap second hand 1050 Ti to replace the old Geforce 6150SE, I'd upgrade the CPU to the best quad core the motherboard can support as this dual core athlon no longer cuts it, I'd upgrade to Windows 10 or Tiny 11 (Windows 11 but a lot lighter and faster). the good thing is that all these upgrades are relatively inexpensive you can skip the GPU upgrade since you don't game

 

[USAFRet]

Hi, I would buy a new 400w PSU to replace the old one as a power supply tends to fails as it ages, I'd buy a good 16 GB ddr3 ram, I'd buy an SSD for windows installation, I'd buy a cheap second hand 1050 Ti to replace the old Geforce 6150SE, I'd upgrade the CPU to the best quad core the motherboard can support as this dual core athlon no longer cuts it, I'd upgrade to Windows 10 or Tiny 11 (Windows 11 but a lot lighter and faster). the good thing is that all these upgrades are relatively inexpensive you can skip the GPU upgrade since you don't game

And being an HP Pavilion, that PSU/motherboard is very likely to be proprietary.
A standard ATX PSU won't work.

 

[Bob.B]

Greetings . . .

I have an OId (2010!) HP Pavilion a4310f - that I have pulled out of storage after many years on the road - and my laptop finally gave up the ghost. I cannot afford a new PC/laptop at this time. Would like to make this puppy run at least another couple years. It's running Win 7 64 bit - fully updated (or at least as much as I can update ). Basically - it does Most of what I need it to do: basic Office tasks, internet, minor photo editing.. However it seems the CPU - and graphics are not capable of multitasking. I don't game so don't need anything super fast. But browsing the internet with multiple tabs can really bog down this machine. and I probably need more/new RAM.

I have CPU_ID installed and can give you any specs you may want Here's what it says:

Motherboard: Pegatron corp. Model Narra 6; chipset Nividia MCP61 rev A3; southbridge Nividia MCP61 rev A2
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 2550; (what else do you want to know?)
Memory: DDR3 4063 mbytes
graphics: Nividia GeForce 6150SE
Power supply: don't know how to find this but initial research suggests I'll need to update that too.

What do I need to replace? Everything? OK - I get that . . . but what can make this run a bit better with fewest upgrades?

Really appreciate your time!!

Kelly

Replace the hdd with a ssd.....don't run or even load unneeded stuff.

 

[Niklas_13]

There's not a lot you can do with it.

It is old enough that....Change one part, you need to change all.

New CPU = new motherboard = new RAM = new PSU = new case.

Time for a new one M8

It served you well for the past 14 years, dig a hole and lay the old dog to rest !

 

[NedSmelly]

Find a spare 2.5" SATA SSD and install Linux on it. That's as far as I'd go.

It's running Win 7 64 bit... basic Office tasks, internet, minor photo editing

Don't use Windows 7 for general household internet access. All the main browsers stopped supporting it with updates a while ago.

Hi, I would buy a new 400w PSU to replace the old one as a power supply tends to fails as it ages, I'd buy a good 16 GB ddr3 ram, I'd buy an SSD for windows installation, I'd buy a cheap second hand 1050 Ti to replace the old Geforce 6150SE, I'd upgrade the CPU to the best quad core the motherboard can support as this dual core athlon no longer cuts it, I'd upgrade to Windows 10 or Tiny 11

Mate, that's called a new computer. Unless the OP has an existing pile of e-waste to play with, I wouldn't bother.

Postscript: You might actually be better off just getting a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with PiOS. Similar, if not better, performance with modern features and security updates for around the same money as a mid-range SSD.

 

[stonecarver]

The only chess move that is even remotely helpful would be memory. If you can get 16 Gb's and call it on the old girl. If you get the itch to maybe try windows 10 get a $30.00 ssd from amazon and pull your Windows 7 working hard drive. Keep it if you ever want the use of Windows 7 in the future as once you delete 7 it's game over.

Good news on that model it does take a standard power supply but the point is mute as there is not really a positive path besides only memory as any kind of performance boost.

All is not lost if you decide to sell it there are people looking for that kind of a machine to make a retro gaming computer. There are people buying these older machine on ebay to do just that.

 

[hondochica]

thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply - it is as bad as I feared! @Niklas_13 - if only I HAD used it for 14 years! It's actually only been used about 4-5; then stuck in storage for 9 years. that's why I'm so hesitant to just 'chuck it' - I've hardly used the thing.

@stonecarver - I can't imagine anyone would buy this ol girl (the computer that is) - hmmmmm . . thanks for the info

I'll look in the RAM upgrade - looks like that's realistically all I might be able to do.

Cheers to all - and Thanks!

Kelly

 

[Bob.B]

thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply - it is as bad as I feared! @Niklas_13 - if only I HAD used it for 14 years! It's actually only been used about 4-5; then stuck in storage for 9 years. that's why I'm so hesitant to just 'chuck it' - I've hardly used the thing.

@stonecarver - I can't imagine anyone would buy this ol girl (the computer that is) - hmmmmm . . thanks for the info

I'll look in the RAM upgrade - looks like that's realistically all I might be able to do.

Cheers to all - and Thanks!

Kelly

Don't be surprised if you find that 4GB is the max.

 

[NedSmelly]

Don't be surprised if you find that 4GB is the max.

Looks like this is correct.

Kingston website
HP support forum
Memorystock
Crucial website

 

[dos_box]

Most things have already been said.

1st and most important: Replace HDD with SATA-SSD. 256GB ones are super cheap (around 30 Dollars or less) which should be plenty of space for the system and some documents and pictures (even some HD-Videos). If there is free SATA-ports you might even keep the HDD for back-up storage or get an adapter SATA to USB (be aware that the 3.5' HDD need an external power supply to work with adapter, only 2.5' work without) and use it externally via USB.
2nd: Don't use Windows 7, since it does not receive any more security updates and isn't widely supported anymore. Use a decent Linux distribution instead. Much less hardware-demanding than Windows and therefore on an old System the better choice. Needs less RAM and offers better security
3rd: About replacing the GPU. That's the third thing, that you can do. It does not have to be a 1050Ti, in fact I think that is already overkill. Either get a Nvidia GT 1030 which should sell around 50 bucks or you could even try to get an even cheaper used GTX 750 or GTX 950. Would try to avoid invest too much into this system.
4th: Power Supply maybe, but if the old one runs smoothly and doesnt get loud or anything, I'd probably skip it.

The 1st and 2nd are probably a must. The 3rd and 4th if you can afford and really want to invest in the system.

And yea does not support more than 4GB. Even more reason to use Linux.

Edit: Actually thinking about it, tbh I would absolutely try to add a new GPU. The one you have is really old and will probably struggle even with a standard Full-HD Screen, let's not even think about playing youtube videos in that resolution.. . Even a GTX 650 will help, which can be found on ebay for 20-30 US$. Just check any available used GTX 650/750/950 on ebay. Just check which one is available cheaply. And adding a SSD around 250 GB you shouldnt invest much more than around 50 US$ total.