RAM vs SSD vs new notebook

Hey guys,

for the last 4.5 years I've been using an ASUS PL80 Notebook but I'm not quite happy with its performance
Here are the specs:
Notebook: Asus PL80
Processor: Intel Core i5 430UM @ 1.2 ghz
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 310M
RAM: 4 GB (2x2) PC-10700
Hard Drive: 500 GB
Display: 14.0 inch, 16:9, 1366x768 pixels

I'm currently writing my bachelor's thesis and my notebook slows down significantly when using lots of tabs in Chrome, Word, Excel and a PDF reader at the same time.
I also use that computer for music recording/editing and video editing.

I think there are 4 options:
1. upgrade RAM (I could get 8gb for 50€)
2. replace dvd drive by a 128 GB SSD (50€)
3. 1+2 (100€)
4. buy a new notebook 500-700€

Do you think it is worth to upgrade RAM/SSD?
My concern is that the i5 430UM CPU might be the bottleneck (when I try to watch yt videos in 1080p I get a CPU usage close to 100% and everything's lagging).

Why I hesitate to buy a new notebook: I would like to have a small laptop (13-14 inch display, non-glare), but unfortunately most of them have ultra low voltage CPUs, so I think the increase in performance would not be that great. I'm actually looking for a small, but still powerful device (battery life is not that important).

Currently I tend to put a 8 GB module in my notebook, keep my old laptop for a while and then reuse that 8 GB module when I buy a new notebook (in about 8-12 months).

 

Start with the RAM if you want to keep that computer. Note that you may not be able to use the memory module in the new computer. DDR4 will be there at some point and quite a few ultrabooks have soldered RAM even if we're still using DDR3 in a year.

EDIT: On second thought, the i5-430UM is a low voltage CPU, so a broadwell ULV would be a rather decent improvement actually.

 

I have the very similar U30Jc with Win8.1x64Pro, 8GB RAM and a 512GB Crucial M4 SSD in it.

I had the hardware (i.e. 'no cost') to increase the RAM and put in an SSD and the computer is good enough to browse the 'net with. Same gpu (310M) but the Arrandale mobile platform was not the best to put an SSD in if performance was the goal, even if the SSD gives a performance boost, it is still a laggy system because of the chipset.

In your case with an UM processor (even an i5 vs. my i3...) I would not recommend giving good money for RAM and an SSD (and yes, you'll need both to see a true performance increase, no matter what system you have) in this ancient platform.

See:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/pt7_cpu_list.php

(Search above link for your cpu).

See:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel Core i3 M 330 @ 2.13GHz

The above shows the cpu in my U30Jc with ~400 points higher score than your cpu or about 26% greater performance.


Compare this to a notebook with an i5-4200M or higher; double or triple the performance of your current system and well within your budget.

Of course, you'll still want a system with an SSD and RAM of 16GB or more to fully appreciate a new platform. Either increase your budget expectations or save a little longer to do this upgrade properly.

Good luck.


Edited to show correct platform name of my U30Jc: Arrandale.

 

I would very much suggest a new machine, considering what you have. Especially its age; it definitely doesn't have any guarantee of another few years etc.

 

Another vote for a new machine... This machine is just too old now.. especially since it's a ULV CPU..

 

+1 for new machine.

 

Unless you can also upgrade that CPU (which is fairly weak btw, and likely soldered to the motherboard), perhaps going with a new laptop might be a better idea.

Still, if you are not in a rush to get new hardware, then upgrading the RAM and SSD would indeed be your best bet (you can then hold off on getting a new laptop until more powerful hardware comes out - because we are close to a turning point in terms of technology, so perhaps waiting a bit on a new laptop would be better - and in the meantime, this upgrade should help).

One thing I would suggest if you opt for an upgrade instead of a new laptop would be to replace the HDD with the SSD, and then simply replace the DVD with your existing HDD.
I think the regular port for the HDD is faster than the dvd port when we talk about SSD speeds (I could be wrong though).

 

The CPU is soldered in Intel ULV notebooks so no luck there.. Honestly, this laptop would been thrown away if I had to deal with such problems.. Even my Ultrabook once it warms up doesn't do this...

 

I would propose the following:

- Upgrade the RAM. With the slowdowns being when you have lots of things open, it sounds like RAM is likely the bottleneck
- Watch YouTube videos in 720p, instead of 1080p. At least if you are using the internal 1366x768 screen, you don't get any practical benefit from 1080p over 720p anyway, due to the limited screen resolution. The CPU is more likely to be able to keep up with 720p than 1080p.

If you routinely watch videos on an external monitor with full HD resolution, it may be worth considering upgrading to something with a more powerful CPU. Any current-gen Intel or AMD CPU should be able to handle 1080p, except perhaps the very lowest-power ones that would be more targeted to tablets than laptops.

The 430UM is pretty slow as CPUs go these days. At first I thought it was odd that my 2.2 GHz 2007 Core 2 Duo can do 1080p, if without a lot of headroom, and a Core i5 couldn't... but at 1.2 GHz for the 2010 430UM, it makes sense. And it is indeed soldered in, and thus not replaceable.

 

Apollo pretty much nailed it. There is quite the difference between Arrandale and Haswell/Broadwell dual core low voltage CPUs.

 

tijo; exactly.

I'll now go and edit my post which incorrectly stated my U30Jc as a SB platform - no; it is the ugly (for performance) Arrandale.

Thanks for reminding me of the correct platform.