Windows 10 on my laptop or NOT ?

[Bad_Company]

Hi guys, i have the following laptop (HP Pavillion dv6). Will i see any performance boost in everyday use with Win10 over Win7 ? Are Win7 heavier than Win10 ?

Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P7450 @ 2.13 GHz
3GB DDR2 @800 MHz
Nvidia GeForce 9200M GS

 

[NEmpire95]

You may see a performance gain from windows 10 however, in my opinion, if windows 7 is working currently I wouldn't upgrade. If you don't mind the possibility of having to fiddle with settings and updating drivers if windows 10 messes anything up then go for it.

Edit: Also, this kind of goes without saying but I would completely back everything up before hand just in case. It's better to be safe then sorry.

 

[Martell1977]

If you have the money, I'd suggest upgrading the RAM to the max, upgrade to Windows 10 64-bit and upgrade the CPU as far as possible. I did that to my Dell inspiron 1720 and it lasted me 9 years and my nephew now plays Diablo 3 on it (Medium settings)

The CPU should be upgradable, but you will have to match the socket and FSB speed, which is 1066. eBay will have likely have some used CPU's that would work. For RAM, you could go with used to save money, but there should be some new stuff available still.

Just some ideas to breathe new life into the system.

 

[photonboy]

If it's working FINE then I would leave it alone.

FYI, you can't upgrade the system memory unless you upgrade to 64-bit Windows because 32-bit Windows can only address 4GB of memory which includes your VIDEO and SYSTEM memory so adding more than 3GB of DDR2 memory would not make a difference.

It's hard to say if you need to upgrade or not. If you get constant STUTTERS in games or applications it might indicate a low memory issue but I don't know what games you are playing (if any).

For web browsing I'd avoid opening too many TABS but otherwise you should be okay.

Buying W10 64-bit, more memory, and reinstalling everything could be costly in money and time. You may have some data on there you don't want to lose, or have some issue reinstalling software.

*If you have SPECIFIC PROBLEMS or performance issues then mention them so we can better give advice.

 

[photonboy]

If you have the money, I'd suggest upgrading the RAM to the max, upgrade to Windows 10 64-bit and upgrade the CPU as far as possible. I did that to my Dell inspiron 1720 and it lasted me 9 years and my nephew now plays Diablo 3 on it (Medium settings)

The CPU should be upgradable, but you will have to match the socket and FSB speed, which is 1066. eBay will have likely have some used CPU's that would work. For RAM, you could go with used to save money, but there should be some new stuff available still.

Just some ideas to breathe new life into the system.

Matching the CPU socket does not guarantee compatibility, nor do I think he should do that, AND upgrade the system memory, AND buy a copy of Windows 10. That's too much money to dump into an older computer especially when we don't even know HOW he's using it.

You can buy a brand-new computer with better CPU, GPU, more memory etc for fairly cheap. Probably $400 will get you a more powerful, quieter system.

 

[Martell1977]

Matching the CPU socket does not guarantee compatibility, nor do I think he should do that, AND upgrade the system memory, AND buy a copy of Windows 10. That's too much money to dump into an older computer especially when we don't even know HOW he's using it.

You can buy a brand-new computer with better CPU, GPU, more memory etc for fairly cheap. Probably $400 will get you a more powerful, quieter system.

I did it to my Dell 1720, it was $30 for the CPU, which took a good amount of research to find the best compatible(socket and FSB is just a starting point), about $15 for the RAM (but mine maxed at 4gb), then the free upgrade to Windows 10, which should be able to be converted to 64-bit without issue(accessibility upgrade). The parts were on eBay, used of course, which is a gamble. But considering the age of the laptop, it's probably a good idea to replace the thermal paste either way.

I don't think the OP could get a better system for $45 to $60 dollars.

 

[unreal9400]

Just like what they said.
It is best to buy a new laptop instead they are faster, they have better battery life, faster graphics and they can support more RAM 16/32GB easily.
HP doesn't make Windows 10 drivers for that laptop model.

 

[Bad_Company]

Thanks for your responses guys. What games am I playing on this computer ? LOL the only thing i can play without any problems is mine sweeper :lol: I use this laptop as a secondary computer for watching movies while traveling and have internet access while im away from home. The thing is, its very slow. No matter what i do, its slow. I want to invest 0 amount of money to this old rig. I was not planning to buy Windows 10, but upgrade the Windows7 to Win10 through the Win10 for ussers of assistive technology option that Microsoft has still available, and the after upgrading perform a clean Win10 install from a usb since i have lost my Win7 prod. key. So if upgrading to Win10 is going to improve my experience even by a 5 - 10 % im willing to spend the hours to do this. I just want to be sure that my laptop wont work worst under Win10.

 

[photonboy]

Thanks for your responses guys. What games am I playing on this computer ? LOL the only thing i can play without any problems is mine sweeper :lol: I use this laptop as a secondary computer for watching movies while traveling and have internet access while im away from home. The thing is, its very slow. No matter what i do, its slow. I want to invest 0 amount of money to this old rig. I was not planning to buy Windows 10, but upgrade the Windows7 to Win10 through the Win10 for ussers of assistive technology option that Microsoft has still available, and the after upgrading perform a clean Win10 install from a usb since i have lost my Win7 prod. key. So if upgrading to Win10 is going to improve my experience even by a 5 - 10 % im willing to spend the hours to do this. I just want to be sure that my laptop wont work worst under Win10.

Ah.
Your slowdown may be software degradation so a clean install could help.

I understand how W10 Assistive works, though another option is to:
a) Backup System Image to USB hard drive (highly recommended if you can),
b) create list of programs to reinstall, copy FILES etc to hard drive or USB stick, then

c) restore Windows 7 (should be a factory image there).
d) apply all Microsoft Updates (should be set to automatic, just monitor it so you can then test computer when it's done)

If it's now working fine I'd stay with that.

Windows 10 Assistive:
follow instructions specific to that version, but should work like:
a) create the W10 Install USB (or DVD)
b) boot to the USB/DVD (often need to mess with BIOS boot order.. sometimes need to Google to figure out how to go into BIOS at all such as "F2", "F8" and newer models seem to be POWER + F2 for some.

c) choose to UPGRADE and also keep data and programs (I prefer clean install, but if you can't backup data, or aren't good with computers don't do that... you can also reinstall W10 cleanly if you have problems).
d) make sure correct NVidia driver is installed (used to be an issue, but it should install the right version)

OTHER:
I think you would have two GPU's. An Intel and NVidia, so the program OPTIMUS may be installed via the NVidia drivers.

I've never used it, but AFAIK if you want to play a game it uses the Intel GPU unless the game is on the Optimus list (which you can edit manually but I've never seen it or used it).

OTHER:
My dad's old laptop had VISTA and it got SLOOOW. Really slow. It worked with no obvious errors but it took 7.5 minutes to boot up (yep). When we did a clean install of Windows 8 (which was $40 at the time as an intro offer) the boot time dropped to 60 seconds on the SAME, slow hard drive.

We installed my old, 60GB SSD (we had two, 2.5" bays so used the 250GB HDD as storage) everything was a bit snappier but frankly it worked surprisingly well with just the HDD.

My dad's laptop can do light gaming, and works pretty well (if not too many tabs open) with these specs:
Windows 10 Home x64 (was Vista, then W8, then free upgrade to W10)
2GB system memory
NVidia 8600M GS
Intel CPU (similar to yours)

 

[Bad_Company]

Thanks for your responses guys. What games am I playing on this computer ? LOL the only thing i can play without any problems is mine sweeper :lol: I use this laptop as a secondary computer for watching movies while traveling and have internet access while im away from home. The thing is, its very slow. No matter what i do, its slow. I want to invest 0 amount of money to this old rig. I was not planning to buy Windows 10, but upgrade the Windows7 to Win10 through the Win10 for ussers of assistive technology option that Microsoft has still available, and the after upgrading perform a clean Win10 install from a usb since i have lost my Win7 prod. key. So if upgrading to Win10 is going to improve my experience even by a 5 - 10 % im willing to spend the hours to do this. I just want to be sure that my laptop wont work worst under Win10.

Ah.
Your slowdown may be software degradation so a clean install could help.

I understand how W10 Assistive works, though another option is to:
a) Backup System Image to USB hard drive (highly recommended if you can),
b) create list of programs to reinstall, copy FILES etc to hard drive or USB stick, then

c) restore Windows 7 (should be a factory image there).
d) apply all Microsoft Updates (should be set to automatic, just monitor it so you can then test computer when it's done)

If it's now working fine I'd stay with that.

Windows 10 Assistive:
follow instructions specific to that version, but should work like:
a) create the W10 Install USB (or DVD)
b) boot to the USB/DVD (often need to mess with BIOS boot order.. sometimes need to Google to figure out how to go into BIOS at all such as "F2", "F8" and newer models seem to be POWER + F2 for some.

c) choose to UPGRADE and also keep data and programs (I prefer clean install, but if you can't backup data, or aren't good with computers don't do that... you can also reinstall W10 cleanly if you have problems).
d) make sure correct NVidia driver is installed (used to be an issue, but it should install the right version)

OTHER:
I think you would have two GPU's. An Intel and NVidia, so the program OPTIMUS may be installed via the NVidia drivers.

I've never used it, but AFAIK if you want to play a game it uses the Intel GPU unless the game is on the Optimus list (which you can edit manually but I've never seen it or used it).

OTHER:
My dad's old laptop had VISTA and it got SLOOOW. Really slow. It worked with no obvious errors but it took 7.5 minutes to boot up (yep). When we did a clean install of Windows 8 (which was $40 at the time as an intro offer) the boot time dropped to 60 seconds on the SAME, slow hard drive.

We installed my old, 60GB SSD (we had two, 2.5" bays so used the 250GB HDD as storage) everything was a bit snappier but frankly it worked surprisingly well with just the HDD.

My dad's laptop can do light gaming, and works pretty well (if not too many tabs open) with these specs:
Windows 10 Home x64 (was Vista, then W8, then free upgrade to W10)
2GB system memory
NVidia 8600M GS
Intel CPU (similar to yours)

Okay, i might be exaggerating a bit about only being able to play minesweeper :lol: . I can sure play some light games but its not very comfortable anyway. I invested some time to try an brush up the laptop by uninstalling all the junk, defraging etc etc and now browsing the internet is much more comfortable than before. The problems start when i am multitasking, ( chrome, 1-2 pdfs or documents open, skype) or working on photoshop. But i guess i just demand a lot from this computer.
I cant help but compare it all the time to my desktop i5 :lol: . I found the original Win7 cd together with the product key, so i guess ill just do a clean Win7 install or upgrade to win10 and then clean install 10 again.

 

[photonboy]

1) W10 isn't free, nor will it necessarily give you any obvious performance benefit. Probably not.

2) You can RESTORE Windows 7 from an Image already on the laptop. You start with one of the Function keys on bootup. You'll lose all your data though.

3) Need 64-bit Windows as I said to benefit from more system memory, but buying W10 64-bit AND 8GB system memory (probably 2x4GB?) seems a bit expensive

4) SSD - helps bootup/program opening but system memory is more important.

*I just don't know how to justify the cost. It's buying a 64-bit copy of Windows that is the issue.

 

[Martell1977]

If you want to upgrade the RAM you can change from Windows 7 32-bit to 64-bit by downloading the 64-bit .iso and making an installation disc or USB drive. The Windows license is not tied to 32 or 64 bit, just the version (Basic, Home Premium, Pro, Ultimate). Here is the link:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7?tduid=(16c5197856fad4799b3a23ce61643dc0)(256380)(2459594)(Dsoi7kEvCX0-fHLkXL11E2_a1NvDuf2aKQ)()
But as mentioned, without 64 bit, you can't go past 4gb and get any benefit. If you are not sure what RAM or how much your machine can use, try Crucial memory's system scanner:
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/systemscanner
The chipset limitation is/was 8gb, but not all systems could handle that much.

Unless Microsoft ended the Accessibility upgrade, it should still be free to upgrade, but also an mentioned, it likely wont be much of a performance upgrade. Windows 10 64-bit + RAM upgrade would probably help a fair amount, at the very least you will get the speed boost of a fresh Windows install and less reliance on the page file.

 

[photonboy]

If you want to upgrade the RAM you can change from Windows 7 32-bit to 64-bit by downloading the 64-bit .iso and making an installation disc or USB drive. The Windows license is not tied to 32 or 64 bit, just the version (Basic, Home Premium, Pro, Ultimate). Here is the link:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7?tduid=(16c5197856fad4799b3a23ce61643dc0)(256380)(2459594)(Dsoi7kEvCX0-fHLkXL11E2_a1NvDuf2aKQ)()
But as mentioned, without 64 bit, you can't go past 4gb and get any benefit. If you are not sure what RAM or how much your machine can use, try Crucial memory's system scanner:
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/systemscanner
The chipset limitation is/was 8gb, but not all systems could handle that much.

Unless Microsoft ended the Accessibility upgrade, it should still be free to upgrade, but also an mentioned, it likely wont be much of a performance upgrade. Windows 10 64-bit + RAM upgrade would probably help a fair amount, at the very least you will get the speed boost of a fresh Windows install and less reliance on the page file.

1) I wasn't aware you could get 64-bit if you had a 32-bit Windows 7 license. They used to sell the 32/64-bit common license in addition to 32-bit OR 64-bit licenses so I guess he could put in his license key and see if it allows the 64-bit version.

2) Some additional software and drivers specific to the laptop can be missing, but in general I've not found this to be an issue. I manually found a card reader, and some things broke on a couple laptops like custom volume, brightness keys etc but often not an issue and that specific software can often still be found at the exact laptop support site.

3) W10 64-bit Accessibility is free, though it is meant for people with accessibility issues. It's sort of weird but I'm not going to impose my own morals on others.

So...
*After all my other comments, I'd say that I would focus on the following:

1) Upgrade to 8GB system memory (2x4GB) if applicable. Check to see how many slots you have, exactly what memory is supported etc to ensure compatibility

If you can find an IDENTICAL or close 3GB stick and have two slots that's worth considering but there is no guarantee of compatibility.

2) Use Memtest86 to test the new memory PRIOR to reinstalling Windows www.memtest86.com (30min approx. for 8GB.. probably closer to 60min with that memory)

3) write down programs to reinstall. write down passwords. backup data. be careful. Ideally you'd backup an Image with a tool like Acronis True Image to a USB hard drive but that may not be an option (so you can restore what you have now)

*Decide on e-mail account and user password that works with W10 (it's not required but a good idea). Not sure what works and what does not. I use an MSN account.

4) Obtain the W10 64-bit image on DVD or USB (USB preferably), and the KEY you'll be using with it. (unless that version has no key... not sure the Accessibility site will explain)

5) Boot to the W10 image (may need to enter BIOS to select boot device... different methods such as F2, Power + F2 etc so Google if stuck)

6) DELETE all the partitions to show full FREE SPACE during first part of install

7) Install, put in account/password info when prompted. key when prompted

8) finish install

9) Let Microsoft Updates finish (can type "updates" then click "check for updates")

10) Install/reinstall the NVidia drivers (don't know if MS will install the proper ones. Probably but can't hurt to reinstall)

11) reinstall programs, copy back data etc

12) test, then make backup IMAGE if possible to USB HDD

 

[photonboy]

DDR2 pricing. OUCH!!

Unless you can get some cheap, I just checked and it's expensive. $140USD for a 2x4GB kit.

 

[Martell1977]

Although they sell 64-bit and 32-bit discs, the license is interchangeable. When I bought Windows 7 it came with both discs, but the key was the same. I have also changed between the two with OEM licenses as far back as 32 to 64 bit Vista. I don't know if it works for XP, but Vista on up it does.

True that some drivers might be hard to find or not in Windows 10, but I have found many Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 driver will install, but some need compatibility settings. If everything is working in Windows 7, there is a good chance of getting it working in 10, just might take a little more effort.

As for the free upgrade, I see it as a wash. The gave Windows 10 away free, though for a limited time. Now they are still giving it free but only to specific people, with specific issues. So what's worse, discriminating against a large group of people because they didn't get around to upgrading or using an upgrade that is available, regardless of needs.

The OP more than likely has 2 modules, 1 - 1gb and 1 - 2gb (like my Dell had), and so an upgrade to 8gb will mean replacing both, assuming the chipset supports that much.

As to the price of the DDR2, at this point, it's probably a good idea to get some used off eBay as new kits are insane and can be hard to find. It's not ideal, but if the OP gets a kit from a decent seller that seems to know what they are doing (like I did when I bought some). They will have tested the RAM and will have some kind of warranty against DOA.

I mentioned this before, but if the OP is so inclined, they could do the research and find out if the CPU is upgradeable in their specific model and if so what CPU's work with it. Used CPU's are fairly cheap and it can be a serious improvement. I was able to upgrade an older Dell from a T7500 to a T9500 and the improvement was very noticeable. But the OP might have better options as the FSB is higher and might allow for much stronger CPU's. Only way to know is to research the specific model laptop.

 

[dontknowit]

win 10 is brilliant get it every time