Question Should i get an external GPU or upgrading my laptop processor??pls help :(

[Dumbn00b]

for about 2 years ago, my potatoe laptop can run almost any game that released before 2010 without almost no fps problem on the lowest settings,

But now, i dont know why but my laptop feel much slower than before
i always got random fps drop in any old games i play

So im starting to think to get an external gpu, or upgrading my processor to an i5
(I have checked that my laptop processor is replaceable)

My laptop specs are:
i3-M370 2.4ghz
3GB RAM DDR3
Intel HD Graphics

 

[DSzymborski]

If your laptop is running slower than before, you should deal with that symptom rather than consider an upgrade a panacea. When was the last time you did a full wipe and reinstall of Windows?

An external GPU is only worth bothering with if you have a Thunderbolt connection. Replacing your wireless card tends to be extremely janky.

A CPU upgrade is kinda pointless considering what is available. Those old first-generation i5s are mainly just binned versions of i3s that can reach higher clock rates. The best you can really do -- and this is assuming the manufacturer's BIOS even allows the upgrade -- is an i5-580m and anything your CPU struggles to do, this one will struggle with too.

 

[luyong20121221]

I doubt that your motherboard supports EGPU even though it may have MINI PCIE or ExpressCard slots

 

[Hsmad91]

for about 2 years ago, my potatoe laptop can run almost any game that released before 2010 without almost no fps problem on the lowest settings,

But now, i dont know why but my laptop feel much slower than before
i always got random fps drop in any old games i play

So im starting to think to get an external gpu, or upgrading my processor to an i5
(I have checked that my laptop processor is replaceable)

My laptop specs are:
i3-M370 2.4ghz
3GB RAM DDR3
Intel HD Graphics

Try to upgarde rams to 8GB ram ddr4 and upgrade
proccessr to i5 or i7 and gpu to amd

 

[DSzymborski]

Try to upgarde rams to 8GB ram ddr4 and upgrade
proccessr to i5 or i7 and gpu to amd

It would be helpful to not suggest several things that are impossible to do. The original poster cannot run DDR4 memory in a laptop with 2010 components, it's unlikely any i7 will work and there's no i5 worth upgrading to, and there's no GPU to upgrade to.

 

[Dumbn00b]

If your laptop is running slower than before, you should deal with that symptom rather than consider an upgrade a panacea. When was the last time you did a full wipe and reinstall of Windows?

An external GPU is only worth bothering with if you have a Thunderbolt connection. Replacing your wireless card tends to be extremely janky.

A CPU upgrade is kinda pointless considering what is available. Those old first-generation i5s are mainly just binned versions of i3s that can reach higher clock rates. The best you can really do -- and this is assuming the manufacturer's BIOS even allows the upgrade -- is an i5-580m and anything your CPU struggles to do, this one will struggle with too.

I dont know what are the symptoms
Everything looks fine
No processes that use high memory nor cpu
No startup programs
Aero disabled
All visual effects are disabled except for thumbnails(Control Panel->System and Security->Sytem->Advanced System Settings->Advanced Tab->Performance->Settings)
Last time i reinstall Windows is probably last year(i dont really remember)
And i have never done a full wipe(i dont know how and why would i do this?)

Is my HDD free space affect my laptop performance?
because i got total of 78 GB free space out of 407 GB in my HDD

 

[Hsmad91]

It would be helpful to not suggest several things that are impossible to do. The original poster cannot run DDR4 memory in a laptop with 2010 components, it's unlikely any i7 will work and there's no i5 worth upgrading to, and there's no GPU to upgrade to.

Ok atleast upgrade rams the Prosscers or a new gpu can’t work with that slow ram

 

[Dumbn00b]

Ok atleast upgrade rams the Prosscers or a new gpu can’t work with that slow ram

I wanted to upgrade my RAM too
but i've seen alot of people saying that upgrading RAM doesnt affect to much in gaming
i dont know if thats true or not that RAM doesnt improve performance that much

 

[Hsmad91]

I wanted to upgrade my RAM too
but i've seen alot of people saying that upgrading RAM doesnt affect to much in gaming
i dont know if thats true or not that RAM doesnt improve performance that much

It Does affect your pc performance
do you use Windows 10?

 

[Dumbn00b]

It Does affect your pc performance
do you use Windows 10?

No, i use Windows 7
And i know that RAM affect my PC Performance but not for games
Does increasing my RAM affect games performance??
i think 3 GB is enough or should i upgrade my RAM to 4 GB or more?

 

[Hsmad91]

No, i use Windows 7
And i know that RAM affect my PC Performance but not for games
Does increasing my RAM affect games performance??
i think 3 GB is enough or should i upgrade my RAM to 4 GB or more?

what games do you play?